Ole Anderson Passes Away at Age 81

Wrestling legend and former WCW and National Wrestling Alliance wrestler Ole Anderson passed away on Monday at the age of 81.

Anderson’s passing was first announced by Ricky Morton on Instagram.

“Rest in Paradise, Ole Anderson.

You taught me so much in professional wrestling. You were tough as nails.

You will be missed, my friend. ❤️”

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A post shared by Ricky Morton (@thebabyface_ricky_morton)

Ric Flair also reflected on Twitter over Anderson’s passing.

I Am Forever Thankful To Ole And Gene For Bringing Me In To Crockett Promotions As A Cousin. It Launched My Career. I Will Be Grateful Forever For You Giving Me The Opportunity To Become Who I Am Today. We Didn’t Always Agree With Each Other, But The Honest To God Truth Is You &… pic.twitter.com/bYinfeWhKp

— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) February 26, 2024

Details regarding the cause of death of Anderson’s passing are currently not known.

Anderson’s career in wrestling spanned from 1967 to 1990 and was most known for his time in Jim Crockett Promotions and Georgia Championship Wrestling/WCW. Anderson was also most known for being one of the original members of legendary wrestling stable The Four Horsemen, alongside Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and JJ Dillon.

Anderson was also one half of the legendary Minnesota Wrecking Crew with Gene Anderson in JCP during the late 1960s.

Anderson’s first tenure with the Four Horsemen lasted from 1986 until his retirement in 1987 and rejoined the group in 1989 only to leave the group again in 1990 following his second retirement from active wrestling.

Behind-the-scenes, Anderson was most known for being the head booker of Georgia Championship Wrestling during his time in the company. Anderson also had briefly worked as the head booker of JCP during his time in that company. Anderson was also known for being the key person who opposed Jack and Jerry Brisco sale of their majority interest in GCW to WWE owner Vince McMahon in 1984. This lead to Anderson joining forces with NWA promoters Fred Ward and Ralph Freed to launch a new promotion called Championship Wrestling from Georgia in response.

During his time in WCW, Anderson took over as the head booker of WCW following Bill Watts ouster in 1993. Anderson’s time as WCW’s head booker lasted until Eric Bischoff took over in 1994. This would later lead to Anderson’s firing from WCW after Anderson had contacted Smokey Mountain Wrestling to find a job for his son Bryant Anderson who had also been released from WCW as part of the fallout of Bischoff taking over power in the company. Anderson’s contact and deal with Jim Cornette, who Bischoff was on bad terms at the time, led to Anderson’s firing from WCW afterwards.

Following his retirement from the wrestling industry in 1996, Anderson was known for his longtime feud with Ric Flair over his criticisms of Flair for wrestling the same kind of match for years and issues they had together following Flair’s return to WCW in 1993 leading to the end of their friendship. Anderson was also known for his longtime feud with Vince McMahon dating back to McMahon’s purchase of a controlling ownership stake in GCW and later sale of the company to Jim Crockett following the fallout of the controversial Black Saturday incident.