Arn Anderson Discusses Bill Watts’ WCW Exit In 1993, More
In the latest installment of his “The ARN Show“, Arn Anderson delved into the subject of Bill Watts’ departure as WCW’s booker in 1993, with Ole Anderson taking his place. Notably, Watts’ tenure as a booker faced its decisive setback due to previous racially insensitive remarks he made during an interview. Noteworthy excerpts are presented below:
Reflecting on Bill Watts’ removal as WCW booker: “Well, when you work for a huge corporation like we did and you live under corporate rules, there’s a whole lot of things that are inappropriate. You know, it’s not like when Bill owned his own company, 100% of his company, and he could run it how he saw fit. This is a different deal. You have to be aware of everyone’s feelings. You gotta to be aware of how you speak about people and the way you treat people. And in the corporate world, there are a lot of things you can’t do. And he found out the hard way.”
Discussing Watts’ dismissal following racial comments made in an interview: “Well, I wouldn’t suggest anybody go back and look at it unless you plan on being nauseous. And that’s okay, because it’s the only way you’ll feel once you hear about it. And it’s just one of those — again, it was one of those things that it’s a what if? You know, he committed suicide, career suicide as far absolutely as that company is concerned. And so things got better.”
Addressing the possibility of discord between him and Watts leading to his TV hiatus in 1992: “Well, you have to go back and relive the 7-11 fight, okay? The idea was that I had a bad knee due to it, and I was out selling that knee during this period. I wasn’t mentioned, you know, and that’s the way it was. In those days, if someone got hurt and disappeared off the TV, you might have one week of the company letting you know what happened, and then that was it. They move on. That’s where I was; I was home. I was still under my contract until the end of the year.”
Commenting on his association with Bill Watts; being a company man: “I would challenge anybody that I’ve ever worked for — Any company, doesn’t matter — to say that I have not always been a complete and total company man, businessman. Whatever you want. Like I’ve always said, I never knew you could say no. I had no idea. I never said no except one time. And that, as we know, resulted in me leaving the company, Jim Crockett Promotions. But yeah, it — business all the way all the time. Whatever you need. I gave you the best I had that day.”
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