Larry Zbyszko On Arn Anderson Being The ‘Perfect Guy’ To Team With, What Today’s Pro Wrestling Is Missing
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Larry Zbyszko spent much of his career as a singles competitor but he still knows quite a bit about what it means to be part of a good team.
Zbyszko was a recent guest on Arm Drag Takedown with Pollo Del Mar and looked back on some key moments in his career. “The Living Legend” was a star in the ’80s after claiming he “retired” mentor Bruno Sammartino, admitting he enjoyed selling out stadiums and earning more recognition and money on his own.
As Zbyszko’s prime years in wrestling winded down, he ended up teaming with Arn Anderson in WCW. Anderson was already part of the legendary Four Horsemen stable and enjoyed success with Tully Blanchard in WWF, and Zbyszko says partnering up at that point helped extend his career.
“Arn was great,” Zbyszko said. “Especially at my age, and doing what I did, I didn’t mind tag-teaming because it wasn’t quite as brutal. Even though it was brutal, it wasn’t quite as brutal.”
“Arn was the perfect guy. I loved being teamed with Arn,” Zbyszko added. “Arn had the look and knowledge, especially with the way people thought of me. People really thought I was an asshole! When we would walk out in an arena, the place would go nuts just like it was back in the ’70s and ’80s! The people bought it, and it was great to team with him.”
During the interview, “The Living Legend” also discusses his issues with the new Retribution stable, thoughts on WWE Raw, the Women’s Evolution and much more, including what today’s wrestling is missing.
“[Years ago] people could get emotionally involved in the suspense, and when something happened, they blew the roof off the place. In my case, I was followed down the highway…I got stabbed in the ass in a riot…. My car was smashed. I had to hide on other guys’ trunks. The difference today, today’s humanity doesn’t believe anything they see on TV any more. One thing professional wrestling has lost hold of is that emotional connection [with audiences].”
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