Wrestling legend Arn Anderson feels today’s wrestling is too dangerous. Anderson was one of the prominent stars of the 80s, having numerous championship reigns in NWA and WCW.
Anderson recently talked about the state of wrestling today, and said he’s “terrified” by the things he sees wrestlers do. Here’s what he said.
Arn Anderson Feels Today’s Wrestling Is Too Dangerous
Speaking with Denise Salcedo, Arn Anderson says today’s wrestlers feel pressured to exceed fans’ expectations and continuously do high-risk moves. He’s worried that in the next few years, this might lead to a “casualty list,” while comparing his own career, saying he’s feeling the physical effects on his body despite never working like this in his career.
Lastly, he urged wrestlers to wrestle more safely and avoid doing those maneuvers that frequently injure wrestlers.
“I’m terrified. I respect the girls and guys of today’s wrestling industry, but scared to death, too, because I see things in the ring that you can’t protect yourself on. Anything going backwards, German Suplex, you can’t protect yourself because you can’t see where you’re going. Stuff off the top, going through tables, things that are dangerous. You look at me, I’m beat up, and I didn’t do any of that stuff, so I’m just worried that in five years we’re gonna have a casualty list, and I hate it for the young guys and girls, because they feel like they need to go to that level to get the audience’s approval. Do you need them to do that to enjoy their matches? If they dialed it down would you not follow them? I’m not saying take everything away from them, take all the excitement away, but take some of the stuff that talent are time after time getting hurt on and just dial it down, that’s all I’m asking.” (H/T F4W Online)
Kevin Nash also agreed with Arn Anderson, saying the German Suplex has shortened the careers of many wrestlers. Even with a lighter schedule today, wrestlers aren’t safe from suffering career-threatening injuries. He said:
“100% Arn. Once the German suplex hit the mat careers were drastically shortened. We’re destroyed by the volume of bumps taken 300 days a year. Now the schedule is lighter but the bar so high it only takes one misstep and their lives are changed. I was taught it was a work…”
Main image credit: AEW
Ishaan Sharma has been following wrestling ever since he was 8. That was over a decade ago. He loves to write about this pretend sport and has worked with online publications such as Sportskeeda and TheSportster, where he shared his insights about the wrestling business.