Editing Arn Anderson (section)

=== Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling (1984–1988) ===
==== Minnesota Wrecking Crew (1984–1985) ====
{{see also|Minnesota Wrecking Crew (professional wrestling)|l1=Minnesota Wrecking Crew}}
Lunde made his way to [[Jim Crockett, Jr.]]'s [[Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling]], based in [[the Virginias]] and [[the Carolinas]]. By this time, the company extended its range into [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] after rival promoter [[Vince McMahon]] [[Black Saturday (professional wrestling)|purchased]] [[Georgia Championship Wrestling]]. There was a strong physical resemblance between Lunde and [[Ole Anderson]], who had achieved legendary status in the Georgia and Mid-Atlantic territories as a tag team wrestler. Ole noticed that Lunde's style was a no nonsense approach in the ring and specialized in working over a part of an opponent's body throughout the match, much like Ole himself. Anderson agreed to work with Lunde, helping to hone his capabilities, and re-formed the [[Minnesota Wrecking Crew]] with Lunde replacing [[Gene Anderson (wrestler)|Gene Anderson]] and taking on the name of "Arn Anderson", Ole's kayfabe brother. The team quickly became a force in the territory by capturing the [[NWA National Tag Team Championship]] in March 1985.<ref name=AlumArch/> Arn and Ole defended the titles throughout the year, with their highest profile match being part of the card for [[Starrcade (1985)|Starrcade 1985]] on [[Thanksgiving]] night. The Crew successfully defended the titles against [[Wahoo McDaniel]] and [[Billy Jack Haynes]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=11285| title = Reference at www.cagematch.net}}</ref>

==== The Four Horsemen (1985–1988) ====
{{see also|Four Horsemen (professional wrestling)|l1=The Four Horsemen}}
{{Blockquote|quote="Not since the [[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]] have so few wreaked so much havoc on so many." - Arn Anderson, 1985<ref name="BourneB"/>}}
[[Image:Arn Anderson, circa Spring 1987 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Anderson in 1987]]

In the latter half of 1985, the Andersons formed a loose knit alliance with fellow heels [[Tully Blanchard]] and [[Ric Flair]], as they began to have common enemies. The foursome frequently teamed together in six-man, and sometimes, eight-man tag matches or interfered in each other's matches to help score a victory or, at least, to prevent each other from losing their titles. The alliance quickly became a force within the territory, working in feuds against some of the biggest stars in the company like [[Dusty Rhodes]], [[Magnum T. A.]], the [[Road Warriors]] and the [[Rock 'n' Roll Express]]. Anderson also saw success as a singles wrestler on January 4, 1986, by winning the vacant [[WCW World Television Championship|NWA Television Championship]].<ref name=AlumArch/> Simultaneously, Anderson was still one half of the NWA National Tag Team Champions and, even though Crockett promotions abandoned the National Tag titles in March, Anderson's success as a dual champion elevated his status within the territory. It was also during this time (in 1986) that the Andersons, Blanchard, and Flair began calling themselves [[Four Horsemen (professional wrestling)|The Four Horsemen]] with [[J. J. Dillon]] serving as the group's manager.<ref name=AlumArch/> Anderson also had a tremendous ability to do interviews to further the storylines he participated in. His ability to improvise in interviews allowed him to coin the "Four Horsemen" moniker for the stable, as he likened their coming to wrestle at an event and the aftermath of their wrath as being akin to the [[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]], and the name stuck. Anderson continued his reign as NWA Television Champion for most of the year, holding the championship for just over 9 months before losing it to Dusty Rhodes on September 9, 1986.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=260414| title = Reference at www.cagematch.net}}</ref>

The first real setback with the Horsemen occurred at [[Starrcade (1986)|Starrcade 1986]] after Anderson and Ole lost a [[Professional wrestling match types#Cages|Steel Cage match]] to the Rock 'n' Roll Express, with Ole getting pinned. The subsequent storyline positioned Ole as the weak link within the team, possibly attributed to his age. Ole's position with the group was only further weakened after he decided to take two months off after Starrcade. After Ole's return in February 1987, the other Horsemen turned on him and threw him out of the group, resulting in Ole incurring numerous attacks over the next several months. Afterwards, Ole was replaced with [[Lex Luger]] and the Horsemen resumed their dominance of the company.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profile/lex-luger/|title = Lex Luger - OWW| date=May 22, 2023 }}</ref>

As a member of the Horsemen, Anderson continued to be involved in high-profile angles within the company. By mid-1987, Anderson and fellow Horsemen Tully Blanchard began regularly competing as a tag team and rose quickly through the tag team ranks.<ref name=AlumArch/> The duo faced the Rock 'n' Roll Express for the [[WCW World Tag Team Championship|NWA World Tag Team Championship]] on September 29, 1987, and were victorious.<ref name=AlumArch/> This win further solidified the group's dominance in the company as Lex Luger was the reigning [[WWE United States Championship|NWA United States Heavyweight Champion]] and Ric Flair spent most of 1987 as the [[NWA World Heavyweight Championship|NWA World Heavyweight Champion]], losing it to Ron Garvin in September, only to regain it at [[Starrcade (1987)|Starrcade 1987]] on Thanksgiving night. Anderson and Tully continued to feud throughout the rest of the year and first few months of 1988 with the Road Warriors, the Rock 'n' Roll Express and the [[The Midnight Express (professional wrestling)|Midnight Express]] being their most frequent rivals.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=479&page=4&s=1400| title = Reference at www.cagematch.net}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=479&page=4&s=1300| title = Reference at www.cagematch.net}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=479&page=4&s=1200| title = Reference at www.cagematch.net}}</ref>

By December 1987, Luger had defected from the Horsemen and began a heated feud with the group, with Ric Flair especially. In early 1988, Luger formed a tag team with [[Barry Windham]] and began challenging Anderson and Blanchard for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. The bigger, stronger team of Windham and Luger were eventually successful, winning the titles on March 27, 1988. The reign would be short lived, however, as Anderson and Blanchard regained the titles less than a month later after Barry Windham turned on Luger during their match and joined the Horsemen. Though Anderson and Blanchard were two of the biggest stars in Crockett's company, they were frequently in dispute with Crockett over their pay. Despite the fact that the two, along with the Horsemen, were helping to generate millions of dollars in revenue for the company, they considered themselves to be underpaid. Their last contracted match with the company took place on September 10, 1988, when they dropped the NWA World Tag Team Championship to the Midnight Express before leaving for the WWF.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=32986| title = Reference at www.cagematch.net}}</ref>