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Ole Anderson was best known for his role as one of the founding members of the Four Horsemen, and sadly the veteran passed away this week at age 81. On his "Hall of Fame" podcast, Booker T recalled some of his memories with Anderson, and how he helped with the formation of the Harlem Heat tag team.
Booker recalled his original gimmick with his brother Stevie Ray in WCW, where the two played convict characters. The act got a lot of backlash, which resulted in a call to Anderson's office. "He goes 'Well, I should send you're a**es back to Texas, but you can work. But can you draw money?' And that's when Harlem Heat was created." Following this, he praised Anderson for giving them a chance, and explained how he was always going the extra mile to give Black men opportunities in the wrestling industry at the time. "Ole Anderson was always — even with the characters that we came into WCW with, but I can tell you this, Ole Anderson was always about bringing a Black man up in this business and giving a Black man the spot."
Lastly, Booker also praised Anderson's work as a tag team wrestler, notably as part of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew alongside Arn Anderson. "Those guys in the NWA, for me as a young person watching professional wrestling, nobody made it more real than Ole and Arn Anderson every Saturday night, nobody! Nobody made it as real to me as Ole and Arn Anderson."
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