Arn Anderson has spoken about the wrestler that inspired him to start working out and pursue a career in the wrestling business but Anderson says it had nothing to do with what this star could do in the ring.
Anderson was answering fan questions on his ARN podcast with co-host Conrad Thompson. The question asked to the Four Horseman was who was the most impressive wrestler he ever saw live.
Without hesitation, one Soulman came to mind:
“Rocky Johnson [was the first wrestler I saw live that blew me away] – and it wasn’t even about the match. I was in Rome [Georgia], I was a teenager, probably 17, 18 – I’m not sure how old I was – 15, I could have been younger than that. He walked in the gym in Rome, Thursday night, had on a tank-top, pair of sweats, carrying his bag. I’d never seen a physique like that in person, it blew me away – nobody looked like that in Rome, that I’d ever seen.”
“It was when he was in the best shape of his career. He just looked incredible, I wanna say I was younger, I wanna say maybe 14. It’s what inspired me to start working out. ‘I wanna look like him’, obviously I never got there – but it was a goal. He looked just that impressive to me. It floored me that a human being could look like that.”
Rocky Johnson is best known these days as the father of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Johnson Sr. began his wrestling career in the sixties, not joining the World Wrestling Federation until 1982. It was in the WWF that Johnson won the WWF Tag Team Titles with partner ‘Mr. USA’ Tony Atlas.
Johnson left the WWF in 1985, wrestling on the independent scene until his retirement in 1991. He was inducted by his son into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2008, the same year as his former father-in-law ‘High Chief’ Peter Maivia.
Arn Anderson has also recently given his opinions on how WWE failed to capitalise on Baron Corbin’s WrestleMania success after he won the André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal in 2016.