On the latest episode of The ARN Show, Arn Anderson talked about his backstage cameo at WWE SummerSlam, where he gave a pep talk to Cody Rhodes before he defended the Undisputed WWE Championship against Solo Sikoa, and more. You can check out some highlights below:
On how his SummerSlam cameo happened: “Well coincidence wise, I was going to be in Cleveland anyway. And I was doing the signing for the two days for WrestleCon obviously. And Cody, bless his heart, I will get a random text from him months after I haven’t talked to him, and it’ll be at three o’clock in the morning. And it’s almost like it’s in code. But it was like, ‘We were having a conversation, Triple H and myself, and just wonder what we could do. Maybe have you come to one of the shows or something.’ And I think according to his text, Triple H said, ‘You know, I think maybe some of the young guys we have here and young ladies haven’t met him. So maybe it would be a nice treat.’ Because there were a lot of other legends going to be there. [Kevin] Nash and Sarge [Slaughter], Miss Texas, the Steiner Brothers. It wasn’t like I was the only legend quote there was going to be there.
“And he said, ‘What do you think?’ And I said, ‘Well you know, I’d always be interested in saying hello to you in some type of cameo.’ So he put me in touch with Benjamin Brown. Nice man, he’s the one that takes care of some of these lost treasures on that show and everything. And he got a hold on me. And they just, ‘Hey yes, would love to have you. We’ll fly in, you can bring a guest. Put you up at the Weston, and love to have you come over after you finish your obligations,’ signing. And thanks to the people of WrestleCon, from the fine folks that put that together. Much appreciative. They used us, Brock and I. So they said, ‘We will have travel get a hold of you.'”
On the appearance being kept under wraps: “It was one of those things, I don’t know what kind of press. I didn’t see anything anywhere about me possibly coming. So I’m thinking, ‘Well, maybe they’re going to make this a surprise. That’s kind of cool.’ And from the reaction of the crowd, I think it was a surprise. I don’t think anybody expected me to be there, even though there were some crossover fans that were — you know, and it’s funny. I must have had five or six people when I was doing the two-day signing, ‘Gonna do a run in on Cody’s match?’ ‘No chance. I could be a wobble in or a hobble in, or maybe I get a golf cart to run me down there or something, but they’re ain’t no run-ins out of this old boy.’ So you know, it turned out that it was Pharaoh, and having his final walk with Cody. What a sweet dog, and what a beautiful dog it is. It turned into something else entirely.”
On when he first arrived: “When I first got there, in the back if you’re a VIP, you get to pull underneath and the car service they provide for you. So I got out and I mean, it’s a pay-per-view, this is SummerSlam. This is the second biggest pay-per-view of the year for that company, and for any company, for that matter, you got 56, 57000 people there, whatever it was. I was so glad to see this, because it was really so nuts. I’m starting to see as soon as I get out of the car, and I start walking looking around like, ‘Okay, who do I see? Who good do I let know I’m here?’ And I see all these familiar faces, from five years ago when I worked there. But they’re all, here they come and, ‘God, I didn’t know you were going to be here. So good to see you.’ Hugging my neck, shaking my hand and it was just — people that were so happy to be on their job that particular day. It was just such a what a warm feeling. The whole atmosphere everywhere I walked backstage.
“So I said, ‘Somebody get a hold of Cody and get him out here, if you don’t mind.’ And they said, ‘Okay, let’s just go to his bus. He’s the first one in line right there.’ So I knocked on the door, went in, we talked. Had a nice talk, got to visit with him. Saw Randy Orton right away, got to visit with him. Saw The Undertaker pulling in, got to visit with him a little bit. I was just kind of floating along. I mean, it was a lot of familiar — and I don’t know what I was thinking, but the entire camera crew from when I worked there for 19 years now: still there, still intact. Those guys, great guys. The travel girls, Holly and Kathy, still intact. All these different jobs that people do backstage, that I know their face and I know they work in production, but I have no idea what their name is, and never did for the 19 years I was there, was just, ‘Hey, man, how you doing?’ So it was just an overall, really — heartwarming I guess is the best word for it. It was a heartwarming event for me personally. And I’m glad it was received the way it was by everybody, and just thankful for the opportunity to say hello to everybody.”
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The ARN Show with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.
