All these comments about Ole being 'bitter' is getting old! Try actually listening to what he's saying, and look a bit deeper. He may not be nice, but he knows his stuff.
Actually, I think Ole was very nice. In this interview he mentioned that he respected the territorial arrangement of all the promotions and even though Georgia Championship Wrestling was the first promotion to have a cable-TV station broadcast its matches nationwide, he did not attempt to infringe on the other promotions' territories. This may have been why his other partners later betrayed him and sold out to Vince McMahon Jr. As he said, if it really wanted to, GCW could have been what WWE is today but if it had, it would have violated the territorial agreement GCW had with the other promotions. So I believe that Ole is justified for not being nice but at least he has integrity. Sadly, in the business world, good guys often finish last.
@Damien Jones What does that have to do with my post? Did I once say that Anderson was right to "fire" Hogan? If you're going to comment, please make sure that what you say is germane to the discussion.
WWE isn't a pro-wrestling promotion, it's a live action(partly) television show - did you know their on-air announcers are actually FORBIDDEN to use the term 'pro-wrestling'? I think that says *alot*.
The WWF in the 1980s was the Walmart of pro wrestling. Whenever Walmart moves into a small town, the mom-and-pop stores close down because they can't compete with that behemoth. The same thing happened when the WWF would move into territories served by the regional promotions. And as with Walmart, the quality usually declined after the WWF took over wrestling.
+MrCarl220 "All these comments about Ole being 'bitter' is getting old! Try actually listening to what he's saying, and look a bit deeper. He may not be nice, but he knows his stuff." yep!
Ole just doesnt have the patience for Meltzers horseshit. And for the Vince defenders..If Vince LOVES competion so much why did he blackball PPV companies from putting starcade on when JCP was whitehot which is what bankrupted the crockets? Because he knew JCP was a better product and he could not compete against them straight up.
@@Tony-fq5bn agreed. He's competitive but doesn't seem to have underlying morals or character, which would push him to have a better product rather than knocking other promotions down.
And let's not forget what happened later. JCP held the Bunkhouse Stampede Battle Royal Finals at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, NY, which was in Vince's backyard. However, it didn't attract that big of a crowd because fans up there weren't used that type of match. Plus once again, Vince countered by showing the first ever Royal Rumble (Rumble Royale) live and free on the USA Network. Also a lot of the NWA crew really didn't want to be up there plus the fact that some were PO'd at Dusty for booking himself to win it all again; Tully Blanchard, especially.
Anyone old enough to remember the golden age of the Superstation , the tag team scene , the angles and storyline , Ole was a huge part of that and no amount of hatred and wisecrack's about him will change that. He's a definite as hole though , lol
Ole saved Georgia Wrestling almost single handedly. He had limited resources and limited funds, but he did not want to have anything to do with Vince K. Jr. He called in favors from friends, and even wrestlers he didn't even care too much about, because he didn't want to let the GCW fans down. When he got the right backing...GCW was back and better. I didn't care for Ole, but I give him credit for saving the wrestling I enjoyed the most. The rest from '84 til WCW got goofy.
Yeah, I think Ole said it best in a similar interview with Meltzer: "to be honest this interview just sounds like Dave Meltzer interviewing Dave Meltzer... or do you ever stop talking?"
hold up if the interviewer knows everything why talk to wrestlers, he knows everything or he remembers everything if i was ole i'd just say please buy my book and hang up
The difference between Ole Anderson and Vince McMahon Jr. is a code of honour. Ole believed in the NWA and respecting the territories while McMahon viewed them as fiefdoms ripe for the taking. It seems McMahon has a disdain for “wrestling” and wanted to turn it into “sports entertainment.” McMahon was a transformative figure in wrestling but he was also a bane to the business. Now that McMahon is out of WWE, the wrestling business can get back to its roots and be great again. I just thought the WWE product was mediocre when it came to 2010.
Vince Jr. basically said "fuck all the territories"....these are my territories. He went out and bought all the talent from Georgia, Florida and the AWA and Texas. And took it all over.
And people have forgotten more frequently about Ole then any one will know. Ole was a less charismatic Kevin Nash- by his own words onky cared about drawing money yet craps all over bigger, more popular names who made 10x what he did.
I've lived in Charlotte most of my life and I still remember the first WWF card they held here and the main event was Jake Roberts and the Ultimate Warrior vs Ted Dibiase and Akeem. This was before Warrior was even IC champ. It drew flies and they didn't come back Flair was challenging Savage for the WWF title and didn't come back after that until Austin and Rock were hot.
Legally, it's not considered stealing but Vince did acquire GCW in an underhanded way. Before he acquired GCW, he tried to convince Ted Turner to sell him the time slot allotted to GCW on WTBS but Turner told him to get stuffed. This was how he acquired the time slot on USA Network. USA was originally broadcasting matches from the old Southwest Championship Wrestling but McMahon offered the network more money to sell that time slot to him. The man is completely without principle.
The WWWF/WWF was never broadcast in my area during the Vince, Sr. years, but I have seen clips of matches from those days on TH-cam. Comparing those to the product Jr. has produced leads me to the conclusion that the former was far superior. I wish I'd had an opportunity to watch it on TV when Vince, Sr. was in charge.
First wrestling I watched was the then WWF, but what got me hooked on it was the Mid Atlantic Pro Wrestling and the various NWA Aflliates. I'm glad that the NWA is still in existence although the territory system is smaller. What they need is a dominant territory on a Cable network similar to Georgia and later Crockett's Mid Atlantic which was later called the World Championship area on TBS. Turner bought out Crockett and WCW pulled out of the NWA.
Well thanks to my Superstar Pro Wrestling Game, I still have the NWA you are talking about. I have the TBS shows on weekends & I go on tour every week & do house shows & I even have PPVs to. Plus I have up my own website where I post the results at. Yea it may not be on TV but its sure better than the lame ass WWE crap that Vince keeps trying to stuff down people's throats every week. Besides, my shows are way more entertaining anyways. I've been at now for 30 years. And I wouldn't change a damn thing. 30 great years & the magic continues.....
I'm thinking about going to Maryland Championship Wrestling when they come to Waldorf in May.. The shows in Joppa are a little to far for me to go from Rockviller, plus you gotta pay $5 each way in the Fort McHenry Tunnel. Probably will just get the tickets in advance, because I don't want to be shut out for travelling 30 miles. Some stars have wrestled there, Diamond Dallas Page, Jerry Lawler to mentioned a few. Went to the only independent pro wrestling card in Montgomery County in Rockville at Magruder High School, the main event was Big John Studd who was the babyface against Ivan Kolloff. Place was 3/4 full. TBS is not a superstation and has not been since 2007, Channel 17 in Atlanta is now WPCH Peachtree TV an independent TV station.
Hogan was good for what Vince Jr. wanted, a circus. I won't knock Hogan for that. But when it came to mat skills, Hogan didn't have any. It's just a fact. Guys like Mr. Saito, Brisco, Iron Sheik were legit. And could stretch Hogan anytime they felt like it.
Who is they? Sam Muchnick? Vince Sr.? Verne Gagne? There is no way Sam Muchnick was putting the NWA strap on Hogan. Vince Sr. wasn't ever going to make Hogan the champ and same goes with Gagne. What fan would pay to see Jack Brisco vs. Hulk Hogan? A legit wrestler vs. a big man with no skill. I'm not knocking what Hogan did with Vince Jr. He was successful. But in the 70's, when they were shooting, I don't see it. I don't see Hogan going for hour draws like Race did, on a nightly basis. No way! Plus, have you ever notice that Hogan had the same finish every match. Lumber around the ring, point, 4 punches, throw the opponent in the ropes, foot to the face, leg drop! Every match! I'll pass.
You had to able to draw. Hogan wrestled in Georgia under the name of Sterling Golden. You can see some of his matches right here on youtube. He wasn't good. Hogan didn't know how to work in the ring. The only wrestler that would work with Hogan was Andre the Giant. But like I said, Vince Jr. had a vision with Hogan as his champ. It worked. I'm not knocking it at all. Hogan had charisma. No doubt. Sports Entertainment and Pro Wrestling are different. Hogan was good for Vince Jr. But when Hogan wrestled for Vince Sr., he didn't make it. He didn't sell. Christ! Hogan never wrestled Backlund in MSG. Why?
@landrykkb Yes he did. You missed the point of this interview. Many people considered going national, some could have done it. They didn't because there was a territory agreement. Jr. didn't go national because of genius, he did it because of a willingness to break the agreement, ignoring years of other promoters helping his father and honoring the agreement.
my dad would take me to see "All star"and "stampede" wrestling in the late 70's to the early 80's. wrestlers like , my fav's, archie the stomper...and the nwa , with the purple haze and kevin sullivan. these days it feels more like a circus now. big biz only caters a few, territories had a place for all to participate
Ole Anderson for all his legend legacy and stubbornness should absolutely be in the hall of fame period and for his role in the Horsemen version 1.0 version 3.0 and . versions 4.0 annd maybe 5.0 regardless if I'm a stint too much he still is no question I Believe he should !!!
VeryFriendly Nihilist Well it did kill off the amount of talent that accumulated from the different territories in the 80's that climaxed in the 90's. It's kinda why Vince/Triple H started their very own high end developmental system.
I dont think Ole is “bitter” per say,I think he is more so disappointed with what the Wrestling business has become. One thing I hate is that a lot of new fans have been brainwashed into hating “Rassling” and its southern roots. Whether you like it or not,Wrestling much like Hip Hop was something that once belonged to a small sector and culture of ppl and now its been exploited,pimped out and degraded by corporate pricks who haven’t the slightest idea of where it comes from. Vince has always hated the South and Southern culture imo and destroying Wrestling and creating Sports Entertainment.
Vince himself said that his father probably would not have sold him the company if he knew what he was planning to do. Vince McMahon (Jr.) completely killed the Territorial side of Professional Wrestling in the U.S.. It was only a matter of time. The Federation couldn't employ everyone, and with this, a lot of people in the Business had no where to go. The Indies are ok (today) but the territories were awesome for wrestlers that weren't in the Federation. Vince killed that scene like a Mob boss.
that's just Ole though. it's common knowledge that Ole is old school and one abrasive SOB. after so many years of working in and running territories on top of how most old schoolers view the whole "shoot interview" concept, his business dealings with the NWA/mcmahon AND a clear understanding of the nature and demeanour of the guy himself, are you really surprised that he comes off as a stodgy abrasive confrontational prick?? it's Ole Anderson, you were expecting maybe Ghandi?
True, but even Vince would state that they had move cable coverage on WTBS at the time then he did on the USA Network--which is why Vince made the move he did to go after Georgia Championship Wrestling.
So losing a lawsuit with The World Wildlife Fund and dropping the F from what was at that time World Wrestling Federation Entertainment making it World Wrestling Entertainment that somehow ruined the entire product? That's ludicrous. If you know history it was the World Wide Wrestling Federation until 1979. If they had just brought back the Wide and made it the WWWF instead of WWE would it have really changed the product? All sports & entertainment changes and evolves, this industry is no different. Wrestling has changed and guess what it will continue to change. I've been a fan for almost 40 years, I've seen it all and I still watch...won't ever stop.
no man . not the initial the tone of the product is turning people off . There is no reason to think that winning a match is important in wrestling anymore .
@MagicKirin Even though Ole was NOT an angel he still got the job done with booking and performing. By the way the Horseman with Ole put down the worst beat downs. I still can't see Windham has a heel. I know a lot of people thought he clicked but I just can't see it.
People think that because Vince made a billion dollars off that bullshit he call "Wrestling" he's the so called KING of Wrestling, all he ever did was destroy Wrestling,that's why Sting didn't go over there, I remember hundreds and hundreds of top name Wrestlers that should have been in the WWE Hall of Fame, but WWE acted like they did
And now they are trying to make money off the territories they destroyed with their WWE Network. It's a joke. Wrestling is limping along, but I seriously wonder how much longer this shit can go on for. It's unwatchable in its present form. It will be really interesting to see what happens once Vince is totally out of the picture/croaks. Something has to give at some point.
yardape99 the territories are not coming back thought they had to go. Cable was going to kill them in one way or another. The lack of competition is what is killing the business they need TNA to die so someone else can challenge WWE where that is New Japan coming over here or ROH or Jarrett's new promotion
yardape99 Well at least Jarrett has set up a live cast to watch the New Japan promotion via online. May cost you, but at least it's pure wrestling compared to 3 hr soap operas.
My grandfather had alzheimers before he passed. An example of things i witnessed... One day i found him laying on the floor in the den and to his knowledge he had been in his recliner the whole time. Big difference from putting on wrestling clinics with MVP at back to back PPVS right before you are found dead....
In Lou Thesz's day, promoters treated each other like brothers and did everything they could to avoid paying their talent. Vince spent lots of money on his talent and treated other promoters like the competition. Not to defend everything Vince did, but you have to admit he followed a normal business model a lot closer than guys like Ole here did.
What I am getting from Ole here is that he feels hurt - because they did so much to help Vince SENIOR out and Vince JUNIOR crapped on them. It hard for me to see who Ole is trying to criticize for this since Vince Senior actually did respect the old territory system, and he would have disowned his son for the way he took over the whole industry. Besides which, Vince Senior was already dead by the time Hulkamania was running wild.
@fjccommish I didn't say nobody else didn't consider going national because I knew for a fact for example that a lot of people under Fritz Von Erich in WCCW were encouraging him to do so,but he wouldn't and wanted to keep it in his local area of Dallas and other cities/towns in Texas.Maybe Vince Sr. wanted to go national,but not at the expense of any rival promoters.
Many argue that he only helped ECW for ratings since they figured if another promotion was on raw it would help ratings and since it didnt they never mentioned them again. I give him credit though cause that raw was great. It was a good deal since fans saw RVD and Sabu on raw and many felt they sold out (at least the ECW fans). It'd be great if he still did when ring of honor had their awesome roster.
It was national, but not in all cities and this is pro wrestling where everything is a work. Exaggerations were commonplace in every territory, except St Louis, where Sam Muchnick treated the fans with honesty and respect.
Listening to that interview,I understand what Ole is saying,but all promoters under thaw NWA banner were to afraid to go against the grain!!Dont bite the hand that feeds you mentality,Vince Jr knew what he wanted and got the blessing from his father!!So look where we are now!!Its not a bad thing like its made out to be,Ole will never accept the fact that change happens,he is and always will be an old school thinker!!
What happened was Ole wanted to put the money back in to the business and the Briscos wanted to keep all the money. for themselves so they sold out to Vince.
That's easy. Allot of people hate Vince and the style entertainment the WWE puts on. Nothing will last forever and the WWE will fall or be bought by a bigger company, someday. But I don't see that happening for a lonnnnnnnng time. Vince doesn't know how to quit, and he's 3 steps ahead of everybody else.
Vince had a vision of being a worldwide entertainment company. How was he supposed to do that without leaving his one territory? Please explain that to me.
@lildwayne21 Keep in mind that the Hulk Hogan WWF era you and I grew up with under Vince Jr.'s regime and the Bob Backlund era as WWF Champion are like comparing apples and oranges.Vince Sr. hadn't even dreamed of going national,or even international like Jr. eventually went.
Ole may have a lot of antiquated ideas on wrestling, and it cost him, but read his book, Inside Out. If he had opened his mind more to the new way that wrestling was going, and implemented it, he would have a shot to being the guy to made wrestling global. He had one HELL of a mind for wrestling. Yes, he is bitter, and a self-coined "asshole", but he absolutely knew his shit. It's just a shame that guys like him, Verne, and Watts, three very intelligent and knowledgable men on professional wrestling, did not run with the times. It was, and is, always about making money. They lost sight of that.
He is under no obligation to help anyone. When WWF was in financial trouble in 1996-1997, I didn't see anyone rushing to help them. You think if Wendy's was in trouble, McDonald's and Burger King would be rushing to help them and make sure they didn't go out of business? You think if Pepsi was in trouble, Coke would be helping them out? You're being ridiculous. Oh, you're wrong when they never mentioned them again.
in the early days of WWE only the top guys where making big money. The lower/mid card guys where making a few hundred a night. But when your on the road seven days a week, and you have to pay for hotel and travel there wouldn't be a lot left over.
Ole still to this day cannot get out of his old mindset of territories. Listen as he asks how is Vince doing here and how is Vince doing there. Meanwhile the company's revenue was over $500 million last year. Vince doesn't care what Thursday's show in Minnesota did. It's about a much bigger picture.
Vince Jr. turned wrestling into a circus. He's made money. And a lot of it. But lets be for real. Old school wrestling and todays wrestling shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence. The clowns you see today, wouldn't have made it in the business 40's years ago. Lets just clear that up now.
mcfrs I think it's a bit close-minded to say that Vince turned wrestling into a circus and that today's wrestlers wouldn't make it 40 years ago. First of all, tell me any business that still operates EXACTLY the same as it did 40 years ago. Wrestling had to evolve to it's audience. You can't just keep doing the same things over and over without losing popularity. New generations of fans demand new ideas or ratings drop.
Tom Cottle Actually they could have just kept doing the same things because it's an ever changing audience. Every time there is a new generation those people are seeing wrestling for the first time. Since they're seeing it for the first time then obviously they aren;'t tired of ideas that have been used before because they have never seen them! Ole is right on the money with what he's saying here. Meltzer seems very uncomfortable having to answer Ole's questions and for the most part he doesn't answer them; Meltzer repeatedly evades Ole's questions.
Kendall2001 That is the same mind set of Baseball and Hockey look where they are at now. the territories where going to die. they need competition though
There is professional wrestling now but it's not WWE. The UFC is the leading pro-wrestling promotion in the country now, even the world. They don't call themselves pro-wrestling but they're just taking things back much closer to how they were done in the 20's and 30's. Remember pro wrestling was a shoot before it turned into a work. It started as a shoot, went as far as it could away from being a shoot until it became impossible to believe and the fans lost interest. So now the pendulum has swung back to the other side of pro wrestling which is the one that is similar to how pro wrestling was a hundred years ago. It's a cyclical business. After a while people will start getting tired of the shoots in The UFC just like people started to get tired of shoot pro wrestling and gradually UFC will incorporate more of a worked style that is still believable. The UFC has to change to a more worked style because look at how little people are talking about The UGC compared to 5 or 6 years ago. Their PPV buyrates are way down as well from what they were 5 or 6 years ago. Complete shoot wrestling is boring to most people. That's the whole reason the promoters of pro wrestling started having their wrestlers do worked matches instead of shoots.
Anyone is free to compete with Vince McMahon. If no one wants to come out and do it, how is that Vince's fault? Vince worked hard to build his company into a worldwide juggernaut. That is exactly what all the other promoters should have been doing. Instead they stayed as shitty little local promotions with terrible production quality. As far as helping smaller companies, that's what Vince did with ECW. But they still failed.
Really good perspective from too different angles,.Ole really came from the depression era and probably had a terrible child hood.Meltzer is a slick cool west coast guy with some brains ,that much i'll say about him.In the end ole could say whatever and not be afraid cause he got his money and got out.lol Both men are rather revered in wrestling for totally different reasons.At the very least ,hell they're keeping kayfaybe alive .
The thing with Vince Jr and the NWA is like Michael Corleone and his war with the 5 families. Vito may have drawn the peace but not the son. Atlanta had an opportunity to go national like Vince jr. The Brisco bros wanted it (being shareholders). Jim Barnett and Ole didn't want to interfere with fellow NWA territories. That's why Jack and Jerry sold their shares to Vince Jr in 1984.
This is what really started the ratings war that accumulated into the now famous/infamous Monday Night War. The WWE/McMahons won, but A LOT of "dead bodies" were left on that field. Too many really good and loyal people, as well as too much real talent, pay the price for what marks (and yes I am saying this) started by falling for the "bigger/flashier is better trap", and it is hurting WWE again, and TNA is doing more than "surviving on the leftovers" because of it.
Wow TBS only "penetrated " Ohio and Michigan. My point is and still is, Vince bought syndication into major wrestling markets such as the AWA, St. Louis ,
And you do not get that all of the old nwa/awa promoters may of had a chance to run McMahon out of their territories if each of them banded together and stood up to him. But McMahon said it best "All NWA promoters agree they want to run me out of business but after that they can not agree what to order for lunch".
It turns Ole was right huh? Fuck Vince! RIP Ole.
I can't believe i'm just discovering Ole Anderson lately. Can't get enough of him now lol.
Check his shoot with Stu Hart.
@@teller1290 it's bruce hart
@@fatalsniper3413 thx
@@fatalsniper3413it’s Smith Hart
he just died.@@genghishank1
Glad to hear the truth about Vince Jr. from someone who has alot of guts 👍. Thank you Ole!!!
I don't care what anyone says Ole needs to take his place in every wrestling Hall of Fame, including the WWE one.
I actually enjoy how Ole schools these interviewers or educates them on the sport of professional wrestling and it's history.
All these comments about Ole being 'bitter' is getting old! Try actually listening to what he's saying, and look a bit deeper. He may not be nice, but he knows his stuff.
Jose Perez
I wouldn't wish that on anyone., trust me!
Jose Perez
And when you think of it, McMahon wouldn't be where he is now without NWA!
So he's a mean old bastard who knows his stuff
Actually, I think Ole was very nice. In this interview he mentioned that he respected the territorial arrangement of all the promotions and even though Georgia Championship Wrestling was the first promotion to have a cable-TV station broadcast its matches nationwide, he did not attempt to infringe on the other promotions' territories. This may have been why his other partners later betrayed him and sold out to Vince McMahon Jr. As he said, if it really wanted to, GCW could have been what WWE is today but if it had, it would have violated the territorial agreement GCW had with the other promotions. So I believe that Ole is justified for not being nice but at least he has integrity. Sadly, in the business world, good guys often finish last.
@Damien Jones What does that have to do with my post? Did I once say that Anderson was right to "fire" Hogan? If you're going to comment, please make sure that what you say is germane to the discussion.
WWE isn't a pro-wrestling promotion, it's a live action(partly) television show - did you know their on-air announcers are actually FORBIDDEN to use the term 'pro-wrestling'? I think that says *alot*.
Look what became of Vince now. Everyone who deserves it always gets it in the end.
The WWF in the 1980s was the Walmart of pro wrestling. Whenever Walmart moves into a small town, the mom-and-pop stores close down because they can't compete with that behemoth. The same thing happened when the WWF would move into territories served by the regional promotions. And as with Walmart, the quality usually declined after the WWF took over wrestling.
@Plemons Residence Totally agree. Vince killed the business.
+MrCarl220
"All these comments about Ole being 'bitter' is getting old! Try actually listening to what he's saying, and look a bit deeper. He may not be nice, but he knows his stuff." yep!
I always liked ole. tough as nails.
Ole just doesnt have the patience for Meltzers horseshit. And for the Vince defenders..If Vince LOVES competion so much why did he blackball PPV companies from putting starcade on when JCP was whitehot which is what bankrupted the crockets? Because he knew JCP was a better product and he could not compete against them straight up.
I think Vince does love competition, its just that he loves to win too and will do so at any cost
@@Tony-fq5bn agreed. He's competitive but doesn't seem to have underlying morals or character, which would push him to have a better product rather than knocking other promotions down.
And let's not forget what happened later. JCP held the Bunkhouse Stampede Battle Royal Finals at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, NY, which was in Vince's backyard. However, it didn't attract that big of a crowd because fans up there weren't used that type of match. Plus once again, Vince countered by showing the first ever Royal Rumble (Rumble Royale) live and free on the USA Network. Also a lot of the NWA crew really didn't want to be up there plus the fact that some were PO'd at Dusty for booking himself to win it all again; Tully Blanchard, especially.
Anyone old enough to remember the golden age of the Superstation , the tag team scene , the angles and storyline , Ole was a huge part of that and no amount of hatred and wisecrack's about him will change that. He's a definite as hole though , lol
You cannot blame Vince for what he did but as a fan I enjoyed wrestling much more when there was various territories.
Ole saved Georgia Wrestling almost single handedly. He had limited resources and limited funds, but he did not want to have anything to do with Vince K. Jr. He called in favors from friends, and even wrestlers he didn't even care too much about, because he didn't want to let the GCW fans down. When he got the right backing...GCW was back and better. I didn't care for Ole, but I give him credit for saving the wrestling I enjoyed the most. The rest from '84 til WCW got goofy.
Why is Meltzer talking more than his guest? I've never understood that about talk shows.
Yeah, I think Ole said it best in a similar interview with Meltzer: "to be honest this interview just sounds like Dave Meltzer interviewing Dave Meltzer... or do you ever stop talking?"
Until Melter acquires the skill of completing a sentence, he needs to stay away from interviewing ANYONE.
hold up if the interviewer knows everything why talk to wrestlers, he knows everything or he remembers everything if i was ole i'd just say please buy my book and hang up
The difference between Ole Anderson and Vince McMahon Jr. is a code of honour. Ole believed in the NWA and respecting the territories while McMahon viewed them as fiefdoms ripe for the taking. It seems McMahon has a disdain for “wrestling” and wanted to turn it into “sports entertainment.” McMahon was a transformative figure in wrestling but he was also a bane to the business. Now that McMahon is out of WWE, the wrestling business can get back to its roots and be great again. I just thought the WWE product was mediocre when it came to 2010.
Ole was the man
it's true: the WWF/WWWF/WWE (Titan Sports) was a regional pro wrestling territory once known as "New York."
This is a smart man who you could learn from who doesnt waste time with idiots.
Ole's book goes for $75 currently on Amazon
It's great
Ole is one of the few that didn't get bought out by McMahon and went to the wwf back then
Vince Jr. basically said "fuck all the territories"....these are my territories. He went out and bought all the talent from Georgia, Florida and the AWA and Texas. And took it all over.
And today he does not own WWE, and NWA is still going, baby.
Nwa with Billy Corgan is horrible...Now they are almost dead thanks to Corgan's deal with CW.
Vince is still rich as hell stop it😂@@edwardclement102
Ole has forgotten more about wrestling than you'll ever know.
And people have forgotten more frequently about Ole then any one will know. Ole was a less charismatic Kevin Nash- by his own words onky cared about drawing money yet craps all over bigger, more popular names who made 10x what he did.
@@marcelmoreau2733 *than *anyone
@@marcelmoreau2733what’re you talking about…?🤨
How so?
I've lived in Charlotte most of my life and I still remember the first WWF card they held here and the main event was Jake Roberts and the Ultimate Warrior vs Ted Dibiase and Akeem. This was before Warrior was even IC champ. It drew flies and they didn't come back Flair was challenging Savage for the WWF title and didn't come back after that until Austin and Rock were hot.
I believe Vince stole Ole's company and time slot from under him.I wouldn't be Vince's fan either
It was the nwa traitors the Brisco Bros.
Legally, it's not considered stealing but Vince did acquire GCW in an underhanded way. Before he acquired GCW, he tried to convince Ted Turner to sell him the time slot allotted to GCW on WTBS but Turner told him to get stuffed. This was how he acquired the time slot on USA Network. USA was originally broadcasting matches from the old Southwest Championship Wrestling but McMahon offered the network more money to sell that time slot to him. The man is completely without principle.
@@davebrakefield161 And Jim Barnett...
The WWWF/WWF was never broadcast in my area during the Vince, Sr. years, but I have seen clips of matches from those days on TH-cam. Comparing those to the product Jr. has produced leads me to the conclusion that the former was far superior. I wish I'd had an opportunity to watch it on TV when Vince, Sr. was in charge.
Wow Ole was quite well behaved in this interview hahaha.
Agreed
This is short version. Search for part 123
I was expecting the usual "he's a piece of shit he still owes me money's " maybe he's scared Vince will have him.offed
True. He didn't get the reason why you do these interviews is to promote the book - so grumpy Ole did show up.
I can understand why Ole Anderson doesnt like Vince.
NWA was wrestling, while WWF during that time became Sports Entertainment.
First wrestling I watched was the then WWF, but what got me hooked on it was the Mid Atlantic Pro Wrestling and the various NWA Aflliates. I'm glad that the NWA is still in existence although the territory system is smaller. What they need is a dominant territory on a Cable network similar to Georgia and later Crockett's Mid Atlantic which was later called the World Championship area on TBS. Turner bought out Crockett and WCW pulled out of the NWA.
Well thanks to my Superstar Pro Wrestling Game, I still have the NWA you are talking about. I have the TBS shows on weekends & I go on tour every week & do house shows & I even have PPVs to. Plus I have up my own website where I post the results at. Yea it may not be on TV but its sure better than the lame ass WWE crap that Vince keeps trying to stuff down people's throats every week. Besides, my shows are way more entertaining anyways. I've been at now for 30 years. And I wouldn't change a damn thing. 30 great years & the magic continues.....
I'm thinking about going to Maryland Championship Wrestling when they come to Waldorf in May.. The shows in Joppa are a little to far for me to go from Rockviller, plus you gotta pay $5 each way in the Fort McHenry Tunnel. Probably will just get the tickets in advance, because I don't want to be shut out for travelling 30 miles. Some stars have wrestled there, Diamond Dallas Page, Jerry Lawler to mentioned a few.
Went to the only independent pro wrestling card in Montgomery County in Rockville at Magruder High School, the main event was Big John Studd who was the babyface against Ivan Kolloff. Place was 3/4 full.
TBS is not a superstation and has not been since 2007, Channel 17 in Atlanta is now WPCH Peachtree TV an independent TV station.
Check out NWA power on TH-cam
Hogan was good for what Vince Jr. wanted, a circus. I won't knock Hogan for that. But when it came to mat skills, Hogan didn't have any. It's just a fact.
Guys like Mr. Saito, Brisco, Iron Sheik were legit. And could stretch Hogan anytime they felt like it.
LOL! Not worth talking about.
Who is they? Sam Muchnick? Vince Sr.? Verne Gagne? There is no way Sam Muchnick was putting the NWA strap on Hogan. Vince Sr. wasn't ever going to make Hogan the champ and same goes with Gagne. What fan would pay to see Jack Brisco vs. Hulk Hogan? A legit wrestler vs. a big man with no skill.
I'm not knocking what Hogan did with Vince Jr. He was successful. But in the 70's, when they were shooting, I don't see it. I don't see Hogan going for hour draws like Race did, on a nightly basis. No way!
Plus, have you ever notice that Hogan had the same finish every match. Lumber around the ring, point, 4 punches, throw the opponent in the ropes, foot to the face, leg drop! Every match! I'll pass.
Back then? no! Now? Yes, different style. Its sports entertainment now. Big difference.
You had to able to draw. Hogan wrestled in Georgia under the name of Sterling Golden. You can see some of his matches right here on youtube. He wasn't good. Hogan didn't know how to work in the ring. The only wrestler that would work with Hogan was Andre the Giant.
But like I said, Vince Jr. had a vision with Hogan as his champ. It worked. I'm not knocking it at all. Hogan had charisma. No doubt.
Sports Entertainment and Pro Wrestling are different. Hogan was good for Vince Jr.
But when Hogan wrestled for Vince Sr., he didn't make it. He didn't sell. Christ! Hogan never wrestled Backlund in MSG. Why?
You are probably right. Hogan was perfect for what Vince Jr. wanted.
@landrykkb Yes he did. You missed the point of this interview. Many people considered going national, some could have done it. They didn't because there was a territory agreement. Jr. didn't go national because of genius, he did it because of a willingness to break the agreement, ignoring years of other promoters helping his father and honoring the agreement.
Oles promos v Dusty in the Horseman days were great. The live one with Sting getting kicked out of the Horsemen was great.
Say there Omunchhausen,please upload all of OLE ANDERSON interview with
Dave Meltzer. This is real good. Peace.
RIP To Mr Ole Anderson
my dad would take me to see "All star"and "stampede" wrestling in the late 70's to the early 80's. wrestlers like , my fav's, archie the stomper...and the nwa , with the purple haze and kevin sullivan. these days it feels more like a circus now. big biz only caters a few, territories had a place for all to participate
Ole Anderson for all his legend legacy and stubbornness should absolutely be in the hall of fame period and for his role in the Horsemen version 1.0 version 3.0 and . versions 4.0 annd maybe 5.0 regardless if I'm a stint too much he still is no question I Believe he should !!!
Vince Sr knew his son would destroy pro wrestling which he has to a large degree. Vince Sr would not done what Jr did.
VeryFriendly Nihilist Well it did kill off the amount of talent that accumulated from the different territories in the 80's that climaxed in the 90's. It's kinda why Vince/Triple H started their very own high end developmental system.
Vince Jr also made Pro Wrestling bigger than it ever was
@@DreDaDon16 Bigger doesn't always mean better.
@@georgfriedrichhandel4390 I Agree
I dont think Ole is “bitter” per say,I think he is more so disappointed with what the Wrestling business has become. One thing I hate is that a lot of new fans have been brainwashed into hating “Rassling” and its southern roots. Whether you like it or not,Wrestling much like Hip Hop was something that once belonged to a small sector and culture of ppl and now its been exploited,pimped out and degraded by corporate pricks who haven’t the slightest idea of where it comes from. Vince has always hated the South and Southern culture imo and destroying Wrestling and creating Sports Entertainment.
Ole had a confrontation with Vince, along with Gorilla Monsoon, in the TBS parking lot after his purchase of Atlanta.
@NealsViews why? If it were up to Ole Anderson, you probably wouldn't know what professional wrestling is...
Vince himself said that his father probably would not have sold him the company if he knew what he was planning to do. Vince McMahon (Jr.) completely killed the Territorial side of Professional Wrestling in the U.S.. It was only a matter of time. The Federation couldn't employ everyone, and with this, a lot of people in the Business had no where to go. The Indies are ok (today) but the territories were awesome for wrestlers that weren't in the Federation. Vince killed that scene like a Mob boss.
Uh...impressed with Ole Anderson's insights and honesty ! 🤨
that's just Ole though. it's common knowledge that Ole is old school and one abrasive SOB. after so many years of working in and running territories on top of how most old schoolers view the whole "shoot interview" concept, his business dealings with the NWA/mcmahon AND a clear understanding of the nature and demeanour of the guy himself, are you really surprised that he comes off as a stodgy abrasive confrontational prick?? it's Ole Anderson, you were expecting maybe Ghandi?
True, but even Vince would state that they had move cable coverage on WTBS at the time then he did on the USA Network--which is why Vince made the move he did to go after Georgia Championship Wrestling.
So losing a lawsuit with The World Wildlife Fund and dropping the F from what was at that time World Wrestling Federation Entertainment making it World Wrestling Entertainment that somehow ruined the entire product? That's ludicrous. If you know history it was the World Wide Wrestling Federation until 1979. If they had just brought back the Wide and made it the WWWF instead of WWE would it have really changed the product? All sports & entertainment changes and evolves, this industry is no different. Wrestling has changed and guess what it will continue to change. I've been a fan for almost 40 years, I've seen it all and I still watch...won't ever stop.
no man . not the initial the tone of the product is turning people off . There is no reason to think that winning a match is important in wrestling anymore .
You're right. Fans nowadays are just babies and they want their inner child entertained
@MagicKirin Even though Ole was NOT an angel he still got the job done with booking and performing. By the way the Horseman with Ole put down the worst beat downs. I still can't see Windham has a heel. I know a lot of people thought he clicked but I just can't see it.
Your the man
People think that because Vince made a billion dollars off that bullshit he call "Wrestling" he's the so called KING of Wrestling, all he ever did was destroy Wrestling,that's why Sting didn't go over there, I remember hundreds and hundreds of top name Wrestlers that should have been in the WWE Hall of Fame, but WWE acted like they did
And now they are trying to make money off the territories they destroyed with their WWE Network.
It's a joke.
Wrestling is limping along, but I seriously wonder how much longer this shit can go on for. It's unwatchable in its present form. It will be really interesting to see what happens once Vince is totally out of the picture/croaks. Something has to give at some point.
yardape99 the territories are not coming back thought they had to go. Cable was going to kill them in one way or another. The lack of competition is what is killing the business they need TNA to die so someone else can challenge WWE where that is New Japan coming over here or ROH or Jarrett's new promotion
yardape99 Well at least Jarrett has set up a live cast to watch the New Japan promotion via online. May cost you, but at least it's pure wrestling compared to 3 hr soap operas.
Yeah man. A lot of people are either too young to remember that or have conveniently forgotten it.
My grandfather had alzheimers before he passed. An example of things i witnessed... One day i found him laying on the floor in the den and to his knowledge he had been in his recliner the whole time. Big difference from putting on wrestling clinics with MVP at back to back PPVS right before you are found dead....
I remember turning the tv on to watch wrestling and McMahon was on the opening segment of Georgia Championship wrestling. I was like what's this?
why the different companies aka territories did not team up to stop McMahon once they seen what he was doing I have never understood.
By the time they really knew what he was going to try to do, it was pretty much too late.
A Lonely Christian Male They tried. Google Pro Wrestling USA
They did (Pro Wrestling USA), but they couldn't work together since each owner wanted his man to headline.
In Lou Thesz's day, promoters treated each other like brothers and did everything they could to avoid paying their talent. Vince spent lots of money on his talent and treated other promoters like the competition. Not to defend everything Vince did, but you have to admit he followed a normal business model a lot closer than guys like Ole here did.
No Turner did not own GCW, it was its own promotion that just happened to be on Turners station. Ole was VP of GCW and Jim Barnett was the owner
What I am getting from Ole here is that he feels hurt - because they did so much to help Vince SENIOR out and Vince JUNIOR crapped on them.
It hard for me to see who Ole is trying to criticize for this since Vince Senior actually did respect the old territory system, and he would have disowned his son for the way he took over the whole industry. Besides which, Vince Senior was already dead by the time Hulkamania was running wild.
@fjccommish I didn't say nobody else didn't consider going national because I knew for a fact for example that a lot of people under Fritz Von Erich in WCCW were encouraging him to do so,but he wouldn't and wanted to keep it in his local area of Dallas and other cities/towns in Texas.Maybe Vince Sr. wanted to go national,but not at the expense of any rival promoters.
every time i think about ole, i remember the black scorpion. wow
2003 almost 18 years wow
Many argue that he only helped ECW for ratings since they figured if another promotion was on raw it would help ratings and since it didnt they never mentioned them again. I give him credit though cause that raw was great. It was a good deal since fans saw RVD and Sabu on raw and many felt they sold out (at least the ECW fans). It'd be great if he still did when ring of honor had their awesome roster.
Lou Thesz always made sure to get the count of the number of tickets sold and made sure that each wrestler appearing on the card was paid fairly.
@wheatbull and what exactly is Bruno and Haynes claiming Vince did to them??? lol
People thinking like Ole is the reason Vince Jr. took over like he did
Can I find the whole interview in your videos? If not, where?
The problem with Ole Anderson interviews is, he asks more questions than the interviewer. Just tell your stories Ole.
Or maybe the interviewer has to show how smart he is and go on 3 min long rants every 20 seconds.
They call it the Socratic method
Ole did have national tv years before vince. Say what you want about Ole, he did not backstab the other promoters like everyone's cartoon hero.
It was national, but not in all cities and this is pro wrestling where everything is a work. Exaggerations were commonplace in every territory, except St Louis, where Sam Muchnick treated the fans with honesty and respect.
Love the guy
I miss The NWA & the territories when wrestling was Great! Unlike today?
Me too man. The product is not nearly as good these days..
Listening to that interview,I understand what Ole is saying,but all promoters under thaw NWA banner were to afraid to go against the grain!!Dont bite the hand that feeds you mentality,Vince Jr knew what he wanted and got the blessing from his father!!So look where we are now!!Its not a bad thing like its made out to be,Ole will never accept the fact that change happens,he is and always will be an old school thinker!!
What happened was Ole wanted to put the money back in to the business and the Briscos wanted to keep all the money. for themselves so they sold out to Vince.
its ole's book there talking about. its called Inside Out: How Corporate America Destroyed Professional Wrestling.
Love him
I just used google myself. It should still be out there.
He the best heel ever and knows his stuff
That's easy. Allot of people hate Vince and the style entertainment the WWE puts on. Nothing will last forever and the WWE will fall or be bought by a bigger company, someday. But I don't see that happening for a lonnnnnnnng time. Vince doesn't know how to quit, and he's 3 steps ahead of everybody else.
Is this tuna meltzer?
Vince had a vision of being a worldwide entertainment company. How was he supposed to do that without leaving his one territory? Please explain that to me.
@lildwayne21 Keep in mind that the Hulk Hogan WWF era you and I grew up with under Vince Jr.'s regime and the Bob Backlund era as WWF Champion are like comparing apples and oranges.Vince Sr. hadn't even dreamed of going national,or even international like Jr. eventually went.
Well one things for certain never help Vince McMahon change his tire
Dude, that is genius! Kudos!
the briscos and barnett knew what was coming. vince was taking over and promoters like ole, watts and even gagne were getting squeezed out.
Let's remember, WWWF used to have NWA wrestlers on their cards and even shows: Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, Roddy Piper, etc
Ole may have a lot of antiquated ideas on wrestling, and it cost him, but read his book, Inside Out. If he had opened his mind more to the new way that wrestling was going, and implemented it, he would have a shot to being the guy to made wrestling global. He had one HELL of a mind for wrestling.
Yes, he is bitter, and a self-coined "asshole", but he absolutely knew his shit. It's just a shame that guys like him, Verne, and Watts, three very intelligent and knowledgable men on professional wrestling, did not run with the times. It was, and is, always about making money. They lost sight of that.
Georgia Championship Wrestling was 2 hours. It was never hokey! LOL!
what book is talking about what the name of the book
He is under no obligation to help anyone. When WWF was in financial trouble in 1996-1997, I didn't see anyone rushing to help them. You think if Wendy's was in trouble, McDonald's and Burger King would be rushing to help them and make sure they didn't go out of business? You think if Pepsi was in trouble, Coke would be helping them out?
You're being ridiculous.
Oh, you're wrong when they never mentioned them again.
@HobertC83 Didn't the NWA order him out and bought him out for twice what he paid to buy Georgia Championship Wrestling or something to that effect?
It's very simple. Vince was and is a better businessman.
in the early days of WWE only the top guys where making big money. The lower/mid card guys where making a few hundred a night. But when your on the road seven days a week, and you have to pay for hotel and travel there wouldn't be a lot left over.
Ole still to this day cannot get out of his old mindset of territories. Listen as he asks how is Vince doing here and how is Vince doing there. Meanwhile the company's revenue was over $500 million last year. Vince doesn't care what Thursday's show in Minnesota did. It's about a much bigger picture.
Vince Jr. turned wrestling into a circus. He's made money. And a lot of it. But lets be for real. Old school wrestling and todays wrestling shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence. The clowns you see today, wouldn't have made it in the business 40's years ago. Lets just clear that up now.
mcfrs I think it's a bit close-minded to say that Vince turned wrestling into a circus and that today's wrestlers wouldn't make it 40 years ago. First of all, tell me any business that still operates EXACTLY the same as it did 40 years ago. Wrestling had to evolve to it's audience. You can't just keep doing the same things over and over without losing popularity. New generations of fans demand new ideas or ratings drop.
Tom Cottle Actually they could have just kept doing the same things because it's an ever changing audience. Every time there is a new generation those people are seeing wrestling for the first time. Since they're seeing it for the first time then obviously they aren;'t tired of ideas that have been used before because they have never seen them!
Ole is right on the money with what he's saying here. Meltzer seems very uncomfortable having to answer Ole's questions and for the most part he doesn't answer them; Meltzer repeatedly evades Ole's questions.
Kendall2001 That is the same mind set of Baseball and Hockey look where they are at now. the territories where going to die. they need competition though
There is professional wrestling now but it's not WWE. The UFC is the leading pro-wrestling promotion in the country now, even the world. They don't call themselves pro-wrestling but they're just taking things back much closer to how they were done in the 20's and 30's. Remember pro wrestling was a shoot before it turned into a work. It started as a shoot, went as far as it could away from being a shoot until it became impossible to believe and the fans lost interest. So now the pendulum has swung back to the other side of pro wrestling which is the one that is similar to how pro wrestling was a hundred years ago. It's a cyclical business.
After a while people will start getting tired of the shoots in The UFC just like people started to get tired of shoot pro wrestling and gradually UFC will incorporate more of a worked style that is still believable. The UFC has to change to a more worked style because look at how little people are talking about The UGC compared to 5 or 6 years ago. Their PPV buyrates are way down as well from what they were 5 or 6 years ago. Complete shoot wrestling is boring to most people. That's the whole reason the promoters of pro wrestling started having their wrestlers do worked matches instead of shoots.
Anyone is free to compete with Vince McMahon. If no one wants to come out and do it, how is that Vince's fault? Vince worked hard to build his company into a worldwide juggernaut. That is exactly what all the other promoters should have been doing. Instead they stayed as shitty little local promotions with terrible production quality.
As far as helping smaller companies, that's what Vince did with ECW. But they still failed.
Really good perspective from too different angles,.Ole really came from the depression era and probably had a terrible child hood.Meltzer is a slick cool west coast guy with some brains ,that much i'll say about him.In the end ole could say whatever and not be afraid cause he got his money and got out.lol Both men are rather revered in wrestling for totally different reasons.At the very least ,hell they're keeping kayfaybe alive .
The thing with Vince Jr and the NWA is like Michael Corleone and his war with the 5 families. Vito may have drawn the peace but not the son. Atlanta had an opportunity to go national like Vince jr. The Brisco bros wanted it (being shareholders). Jim Barnett and Ole didn't want to interfere with fellow NWA territories. That's why Jack and Jerry sold their shares to Vince Jr in 1984.
This is what really started the ratings war that accumulated into the now famous/infamous Monday Night War. The WWE/McMahons won, but A LOT of "dead bodies" were left on that field.
Too many really good and loyal people, as well as too much real talent, pay the price for what marks (and yes I am saying this) started by falling for the "bigger/flashier is better trap", and it is hurting WWE again, and TNA is doing more than "surviving on the leftovers" because of it.
Wow TBS only "penetrated " Ohio and Michigan. My point is and still is, Vince bought syndication into major wrestling markets such as the AWA, St. Louis ,
Started wondering when they started hitting the upper Midwest territories,like Columbus,&Lansing.
And you do not get that all of the old nwa/awa promoters may of had a chance to run McMahon out of their territories if each of them banded together and stood up to him. But McMahon said it best "All NWA promoters agree they want to run me out of business but after that they can not agree what to order for lunch".
I just wonder how wrestling would be good or bad if we still had the territories