Arn Anderson remembers the day of Magnum TA's car crash
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
- Nobody had a career like Arn Anderson. For more than three decades he has been the epitome of “old school.” Hear him as you’ve never heard him before every Tuesday at 6am Eastern as you gives you a peak behind the curtain for the first time ever. Each week Conrad Thompson will examine Arn’s days in the territories, becoming an Anderson, creating the Four Horsemen in the NWA, becoming a Hall of Famer, and being a producer behind the scenes for years for WWE proving “The Enforcer” has a story unlike anyone else. Known for his trademark Spinebuster and incredible “promos” in front of the camera, it’s his timing and wit that has kept “the boys” in stitches behind the scenes. Hear for yourself why ARN is the new “symbol of excellence” in professional wrestling podcasting exclusively on Westwood One Podcast Network, Tuesdays at 6am Eastern.
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I'm now 50 and Magnum's accident still bothers me. He was the best I've ever seen, the most fun to root for. There have been fun ones since, Steve Austin, the Rock, but no one, for me, had the appeal of Magnum TA. So happy he's created such a good life outside of wrestling. But what could have been.
I am also 50 and remember when this happened..Wrestling was so hot back then..I’ve always said and thought that his accident changed the coarse of wrestling..Magnum was the next big thing and i ho heartedly think that if that accident never happened wrestling would have been different than it is now..
I'm 44 & at my elementary school in East Tennessee Crockett NWA for 3 or 4 years was more important to us than Tennessee Vols football, I know that's a big & bold statement but it's the truth!! Magnum TA was such a big part of Crockett all my buddies & myself were devastated & depressed for a long time when he had his accident, we couldn't believe that he would never wrestler again & really couldn't believe he was fighting for his life! We loved it & were on cloud 9 when he was able to walk to the ring with Dusty but wrestling was never quite the same without him!! I agree with y'all on the what could have been, he was well on his way to being one of the all time greats then his career was over!! To me personally I put Magnum TA right behind Bo Jackson with the what could have been if they could have had a full career!!
I'm 49 and remember this like it was yesterday, he was my favorite!!
@@kevwell1 same here. we had just gotten cable and I could watch saturday night wrestling. magnum quickly became my favorite and it was a shock it was all over for him.
Same here. I was about 11-years old at the time and a total mark. He was like a cartoon hero, then they tell me he may not live, much less wrestle. It was a formative experience. I could tell that the announcers and wrestlers were really bothered. None of it made sense to me, because I could tell that the heels were bothered by it, too.
I remember Magnum was a true superstar in the making. I saw how women responded to him. Children, youth and the elderly adored him. Everybody loved the belly-to-belly suplex. It's frustrating because people saw what he was becoming. Fate dealt a very cruel hand.
Wow, I grew up in Matthews NC in the 80s which is just south and east of Charlotte for those who don't know the area. I became a big wrestling fan in the early 80s. Two of the most memorable events in all my years of watching wrestling were the Magnum car crash and the IV Horsemen ambush of Dusty Rhodes in the parking lot of JCP in Charlotte off South Blvd. I know that area well which made that ambush even more surreal to me, it looked like a hit from a Mob movie! But I didn't recall those two events occurring so close together. I imagine they could have done so much more with that angle had it not been for Magnums crash as Magnum was Dusty's "second in command" in his war with the Horsemen and personally I never got much out of turn in Nikita baby face to replace Magnum as Dusty's main back up. I get it: everything changed in the blink of an eye with Magnum's crash, plans had to change on the fly and they had to try something but that just didn't work and I don't know how they expected to make it work.
As for Magnum's crash, I remember that like it happened just yesterday. Cold and rainy kind of ugly night and cold and rainy kind of ugly day the next day too. I woke up, got ready for school and heard about it on the radio and it was such a shock. I remember the doctor doing a press conference saying that the only thing that saved Magnum was being in peak physical shape and having such a muscular neck and that always stuck, with me years later when I got into weight training. My sister attended a school off Sardis Rd. in Charlotte which is almost across the street from where the wreck happened. My mom drove me and my sister to school that morning and we drove right past the crash site. The car was gone, Magnum was gone, all that was over by then but the skid marks on the grass turned to mud and a lot of the crash debris was still there and you could easily see the impact spot on the telephone pole. Such a tragedy.
Wow thanks for this. I moved to Charlotte 3 years ago and know exactly where Sardis is over in Matthews. I cut through there all the time when I’m trying to escape traffic away from Independence Blvd. I never knew that was the site of his accident. I always thought it was some rural Highway between towns in the Carolinas. I grew up an NWA fan as a kid in the 80s and remember Magnum TA very well.
And again, I didn’t know that Dusty was attacked over on South Blvd. I’m guessing they JC Penney was moved after Carolina Place Mall was built. But this makes me love Charlotte even more knowing that this area and Greensboro, and other surrounding areas was the hotbed for NWA and Crockett Promotions back in the golden days of ‘wraslin
This is one of the worst tragedies of the 80's in wrestling and Magnum would have been one of the greatest champions
I was helping set up the ring at the Lansing Civic Center when the head of ring crew got the phone call at the box office. When he came back into the arena he was white as a ghost and told us that Terry was hurt bad and might not make it. It was the first time that he "openly" broke kayfabe in front of me. He KNEW that I was a LOT smarter than I let on but you protected the business at that time. When he found out that I hadn't even told my parents about it until AFTER the announcement was made, he really started to respect me. I knew that everything was going to change and not for the better.
I used to go to the Lansing civic center back in the 80's for alot of great NWA matches. Was a fun place.
Did you really have to be that smart to know it wasn't real? I was 5 years old and my grandfather was a boxer! He said jed guys these size punching each other in the face and never a black eye or busted nose.... Come on now! He kinda ruined it for me cause I never looked at it the same again.
@@jedsteelwell2354, totally missing the point. This was still when they tried to protect the business. They weren't going to give anything away to a teenager helping set up the ring.
How was him sharing that Magnum TA had been in a car accident, "breaking kayfabe" in front of you? That makes no sense.
Also, what time of day were you guys setting up the ring, when this happened?
@@jedsteelwell2354 Yeah well unless Grandpa been in that ring he doesn't know what's is real and what's not .I mean do you and Grandpa think cause it's not real that the moves don't hurt . Try getting in that ring you and your Grandpa and see if these moves don't hurt your bodies
That attack on Dusty in the Crockett parking lot imho was the most realistic vignette I've ever seen. Perfectly done!
I was 13 or 14 when the car wreck happened and I'm from the Tidewater area of Virginia where Terry/Magnum was from. Everyone was shell-shocked after it happened.
The radio tower he owned is still in Great Bridge. They've removed his name. 😔
@@phils45s Magnum Tower Associates.
This is one of the things that changed Pro Wrestling forever. When I heard about this I was a teen and I was so shocked Magnum had it all looks, a great look, had mic skills and he was a hell of a wrestler and would have been a great World Champion.
Arn Anderson is a true legend, a real wrestler he has entertained people for many years . I would like to thank him for all those years of entertainment.
Damn facts your spitting. Brother, I always thought double a was hard as nails as a kid lol, it helped he kinda looked like my old man lol
I was 15 when Magnum TA had his accident. I had his poster on my wall that I got out of a wrestling magazine. I idolized him when I was a kid. And had seen him live in Greensboro wrestle. It hit me like a ton of bricks. It wouldn't take us long to go to Greensboro to see the matches because I was born and raised in Colfax- Kernersville area which are towns between Winston Salem and Greensboro. I still now live in Kernersville.
Arn is such a class act!
Thank you for sharing 🙏👊
I'm 48 yrs old. I remember The master of the belly-to- belly suplex. He would have HUGE. Glad he's still alive and well. I enjoyed his career while it lasted. But, even though Ric Flair is my all-time favorite wrestler, I really liked Magnum.🏆
I have to be honest, I'm still in denial that he's out forever. I remember feeling like he was going to heal up and make a huge comeback. I never lost that hope, really. Even 30 years later.
I remember like it was yesterday my grandfather had a triple by pass the day before the accident. I was in icu with pawpaw behind the scenes also seeing you guys together heartbroken and humbled. I saw the real act. Ily all of you.
I will never forget hearing the news of this as a young teen, it brook my heart I really liked Terry Allen in the ring. I new he was going to be the champ. God speed Magnum TA .true legend
As a ten year old mark, I thought the Horsemen made Magnum have that crash.
They should have played up that angle. Even when Magnum didn't come back it would have been something to build on. A wrestling whodoneit with Dusty conducting an investigation into who cut Magnum's brakes. Vince McMahon would have been all over that storyline.
U can here the hurt in Arn Anderson voice that's was devastating 😓
A true man of the 80’s he had it all, so sad his career was cut short but thank the lord above he’s still here to tell his story🙏🏻
When the feature of Starcade 85 and the 86 GAB is Magnum for the US TITLE clearly outshining Ric Flair's NWA Title defenses you know this guy is so over. So sad. 😢
Everyone thought he wasn't going to make it. It didn't look good. He was going to be so big in wrestling. It is so sad to think about what could of been for him.
When you think about it, if The Horsemen went thru the front door of the hospital to see Magnum, it might have sparked a riot. People might have thought, They're here to finish the job, like they did to Dusty.
Lol it's funny people thought shit was real to that degree
@@jedsteelwell2354 Back then it was. Especially the southern fans. Arn had said one of the times he was worried was getting out of the Omni after they broke Dusty's leg.
When Wahoo McDaniel went to see Flair after the plane crash in 1975, the hospital staff thought that he was coming in to finish Flair off.
First time I actually read in the papers of the accident, I thought it was the Horsemen. Legit.
It’s kinda crazy how none of the mentality back then was to compete with WWF the way it was during the Monday Night wars. It was just about putting on a great show for their fans
I started watching NWA’s World Championship Wrestling on the network, Magnum TA was immediately my favorite. When I got to 1986 and the accident happened I was stunned. It happened decades ago and I never knew, I was just getting to know the guy. I felt it, it hurt, he could’ve been one of the best champs ever 😢
BIG GOLD would of looked awesome around Terry's waist. So sad 😔
It's always great to hear these stories from the wrestlers and guys actually on the inside of the business they have a way of telling these stories people outside the business just can't.
The Greatest What if??? Ever in Wrestling. NWA/WCW as Magnum as Top Guy Champion. Tragic. At least he still here.
Magnum was my favorite wrestler when that happened
Arn cutting a promo in the hospital telling Magnum you better not quit fighting and it's not a request 😅😅😅. Well it must have worked cuz Magnum didn't quit. Awesome podcast
I remember that time as well
AA thank you for all that you did, have done, and still do!
I was in college then and was devastated when Magnum was injured. He had Kerry Von Erich charisma and would have changed the scope of wrestling.
Definitely changed the face of wrestling for the next 10-15yrs. I was 16 when it happened and I was a wrestling freak to say the least. Hate it happened. It was awesome anyway but boy would it have been fun.
47 years old here, Magnum was ALMOST the man in JCP. Remember it like it was yesterday. Covered on my local news in Columbus, Ohio.
I lived in Va. Beach, as a kid Magnums hometown. I remember seeing him on his motorcycle on Va. Beach Blvd
I remember that as well
I was a kid when this happened
Big fan of his
Just to add. When they put the address of Charlotte Memorial Hospital on TV. I joted it down and sent him a get well recovery letter. I remember asking my Mama for a stick of gum she kept in her purse she would carry to church on Sunday's to send with the get well letter for Magnum TA. I wonder to this day if he ever chewed that stick of gum I sent him.
I thought for awhile they might bring in big scott hall how he looked in AWA to rake Magnum'TA spot
I heard about on a local radio station in Norfolk VA
❤❤ Got me emotional after listening. I was only 14 then.
Thanks Arn ..good show.
In 85 I was 14. I had watched rock and roll express, jyd, magnum and Ted DiBiase in mis south. I moved to Virginia Beach and was actually on the plane with jyd. Of course jyd and Ted went to wwf but I was watching the greatest run in wrestling ever in the nwa. It was so sad what happened to Terry. He was a great baby face
Starrcade '86 was headlined by Ric Flair vs. Magnum T.A., you have to think that if it wasn't for the car accident that it would've been Ric Flair vs. Magnum T.A. instead.
MAGNUM TA was supposed to be the next NWA champion,I loved his character he was a badass his feud with Wahoo McDaniel,Tully Blanchard,Nikita Koloff, The Midnight Express, and Ric Flair was the best ever
Magnum had family in Craddock. I remember the Magnum T. A. Radio tower in great bridge Virginia. The tower is still there but they removed his name.
Magnum's accident was pretty much the end of wrestling for me. I was a 14-15-year old rabid fan of JCP wrestling, got ringside seats in Rock Hill regularly and often went to Charlotte to see the shows. Magnum vs. Tully Blanchard was a far more interesting (and more believable) rivalry than Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair. Magnum was the perfect face, Blanchard the perfect heel. You could never see them turn the other way. The "I Quit" match was an all-time classic.
When the accident happened, it just took the wind out of the sails. They tried to spin it by making Nikita a face, started putting more matches with Sting and Lex Lugar, and so on, but none of them were Magnum. I probably watched wrestling for about the next six months on TV, never saw another match live.
It's interesting that Magnum ended up marrying Tully's ex-wife and raising his kids. Dusty Rhodes couldn't have booked a better storyline.
Magnum "Terry Allen'' started in Mid South also. Great kid.
I remember Magnum versus Nikita at The Omni in Atlanta, fun times
About a week ago, I watched Magnum vs Nikita in the US title match, the one Nikita one. A midcard title feud had SO MUCH FUCKING HEAT. GO out of your way to see this.
Did you have a stroke while typing that?
Magnum TA was STING before Sting. He was completely over.
Big up to The Nature Boy for taking the belt to the hospital
Said it for years, the two biggest tragedies that changed wrestling happened in the 80"s. Magnum's crash and David Von Erich's death. If neither happens McMahon never takes over, the NWA remains the dominant promotion and the WWF(E) remains a northeastern fiefdom with owner who never gets the domination of the sport he wanted. If he got ran out of the business it would have been a huge win for everyone else.
@ Tommy S. Agreed
It's not a What if moment, he was gonna be NWA World Champion.
Thank god he survived and made a successful life for himself and family.
But, it was the slow downfall of JCP.
Magnum would've carried them into the 90's and beyond.
Cody getting the belt his daddy never got might be the narrative call me crazy but I think the story that he's trying to finish is the Magnum TA story
Wasn't Magnum TA' s Matches always quick he would do the Belly to Belly suplex and he would win seemed like his Matches were only lasted a minute.
I always wonder if he never had that accident if Sting woulda became da icon he is???
I remember that day seeing it I believe on the superstation wtbs I live in Michigan and it was on channel 32 I could not believe it, do you have any idea what they could have did with Magnum because he was such a big star !!! You could have had him win the world title to have a series of matches with Ric Flair and then have it settled in a cage !! Magnum winning then down the road have him turn on Dusty Rhodes be almost like Hulk Hogan going to the NWO !! Omg that would have been something !! the reason being he could pull off a bad guy Jim cornette said one time the way is mustache and stuff are like he's got that badass look o yeah !! Thank god he made it through all that !! Crockett probably would have still been in business !!
Magnum would have blowed hogan away
One of the true tragedies in the world of professional wrestling. But it begs the question…Why? Not only in wrestling, but in life. Why are the best people taken, or very nearly taken from us, but the true scum of the earth are allowed to stay? Unfortunately, that’s a question that may never be answered to everyone’s satisfaction.
Why Not Magnum T.A.
4 WWE Hall Of Fame ?
I heard that after magnum had his feud with flair. that magnum pitched the idea of turning heel. the biggest babyface in the business besides Hogan but biggest babyface in the nwa was going to turn heel. he wanted to team with dusty Rhodes against the horsemen and turn on dusty and join the horseman which would have been the biggest babyface heel turn in history. even bigger when Hogan joined the nwo. no one would have ever expected that to happen. magnum would have been the 4th member which Windham would have never gotten and the run would have been epic beyond especially the battles with dusty sting and others. sadly magnum got hurt. could have wondered how huge this all would have been if it happened and how the business would have changed.
There was zero talk at the time of that
remeber clearly
It would be like Hogan getting in a wreck after WM1 the WWF wouldnt be where it is today look what it did to WCW
I wonder if these guys can get affordable life insurance?
Understand. There would not be 16 World Titles. Hulk Hogan would have been "another guy." He was movie star looking. Could work like 3 Dusty Rhodes'. Could talk every bit as good as Flair. And he LOVED the business.
TA was not on the same level of Flair when it came to the mic.
@@johnphillips8006 Neither was Ronnie Garvin, Sting, Ricky Steamboat, or Hulk Hogan. Dusty Rhodes was better on the mic than Flair, could work his ass off, & he "chased" for 10 years. Magnum WAS the future. Even Arn and Tully have said he was going to be the champion and Flair would chase. Jim Cornette has said it. Tony Schiavone has said it.
@@michaelking2582 @michael king negative Ghostrider. All you mentioned were better on the mic than TA at that time. I know because I'm 52 and saw all of this. Garvin was good for his style. Sting in 88 when he came to JCP/Turner was at TA's level. Hogan was over so you saying he wasn't is a joke and discredits you in any way. He cut promos that were WAY F'N OVER LOL. Steamboat was good on mic but sold well and didn't have to 'tell' his 'story' in a promo like Flair.
@@johnphillips8006 Well John I am 57, grew up in Atlanta, and went to the Omni when Freddie Miller told me to "Beeee There !!" Watched Gordon Solie in Atlanta and Florida on WTCG 17 before it was TBS. Listened Bob Caudle & Johnny Weaver in Mid Atlantic. Saw the 1st Starcade from the Savannah Civic Center on "Closed Circuit". Don't listen to me. Listen to Tully. Steamboat. Bill Watts. Tony Schiavone. Jim Ross. Dutch Mantell. They have ALL SAID Magnum was the future. Hell, even David freakin' Crockett said it was going to be Magnum with Flair chasing, and he was part owner IN THE FREAKIN' PROMOTION !!!! You are a Flair fan. Terrific. But that's emotion. This is fact. Hell even Black Bart & Sam Houston said it was gonna be Magnum. Even Flair himself said in the book "To be the Man" he was 'grooming' Magnum for the belt. Other than give you Egyptian hieroglyphics, I am lost on how to explain it.....
@@michaelking2582 Sorry bud TA on mic wasn't as good as you want to remember. He got better while at JCP but please don't try to say Hogan was behind him. You sound stupid. Or Southern. Either way, TA was average, getting better. He was over due to his looks and in-ring work. He told a story that way. Not via mic work.
He is my favorite wrestler still he would have been a world champion even flair said that!!!!
I was 12 years old when this happened
Rehash issues
I never got the appeal of Magnum TA. I thought he was boring.
savewithCONrad
Good to see Arn Anderson though
Love magnum ts
So Magnum was at a bar and not drinking. Sure pal.
I always go to the bar when I'm not drinking.
@@thomasrobertson4244 Yeah well unlike you two drunks not all of have to drink everytime we go out . And maybe you two haven't heard but some bars have this new thing called Food perhaps you've heard of it . I mean for all you know he could have been there with a couple of Buddies that were drinking
Hey fool if he was drinking the Police who were there at the Crash Site would have written that he was Drinking as would the hospital they took him to .
@@thomasrobertson4244 I supposed if your out there driving at 3 in the morning we should assume your looking for some Street Walker to keep you company right . Because why would you be out there that late at night unless your looking for some Action right
Robert Rodriguez you're cracking me up. You do realize that was a tongue in cheek comment, right? If you need me to explain what tongue in cheek means, just let me know.
I never saw anything special about Magnum TA nor Dr Death Steve Williams.
And you post how much of an idiot you are
@@chrischar9428 Awwww now you went and hurt my feelings.
You must be the Vince Russo of TH-cam commentators.
To say the least he was truly the real deal
Hi ARN
!m from Charlotte and ppl that actually saw him in public said he was the biggest jerk ever.. he would punk smaller men in fro t if women for fun and this was his karma what I heard.
used God's name in vain, then prayed!
I believe that Sting got Magnums spot
Druggies/alchies get what druggies/alchies get. You can't feel bad about it really.
I remember that time as well
I remember that time as well