Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
Back in the 80’s and 90’s, it was very common to see some no name wrestler go up against a proven star of a promotion. Whether that be from the WWF, NWA/WCW, AWA or elsewhere, these nomads of professional wrestling were there to make the stars look great. They were known as enhancement talent, preliminary wrestlers or as many fans have come to know them…”jobbers.” While fans were clamoring to see big time match ups, these “squash matches” served a very important purpose. While perhaps not appreciated at the time, they were just as important as the stars themselves.
In the early 1980’s, Arn Anderson competed as enhancement talent for both Georgia Championship Wrestling and Mid South Wrestling. He first used the name ‘Jim Vertaroso’ where he lost TV matches to the likes of Paul Jones and Ron Bass. He would later simply use his real name of Marty Lunde and continue to “job” to the likes of Kamala, Tim Horner, Jim Duggan and Tony Atlas.
After over a year of losing matches to all of the territories top stars, Marty Lunde caught a break when Ole Anderson took a liking to Lunde’s style of wrestling. Ole made him a member of the fictitious Anderson family and dubbed him Arn Anderson.
As Arn Anderson, Lunde made himself into a hall of fame wrestler winning various regional titles across the country. His most memorable time was as a key member of the Four Horsemen faction where Arn served as the group’s “enforcer.” Not only was Arn a gifted in ring competitor, but also one of the very best on the microphone. He currently works with AEW as a manager and road agent.