The Minnesota Wrecking Crew was originally a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

tag team that was formed by

Gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

and Lars Anderson but since then has featured a number of wrestlers who wrestled under the

Anderson family The Anderson family is a group of professional wrestlers, a part fictional, part real, extended family largely consisting of brothers, cousins and children. Gene Anderson NWA Hall of Famer Gene Anderson (the only actual 'Anderson' of the origi ...

name despite not being blood related.

History

Gene Anderson Gene Anderson may refer to: * Gene Anderson (actress) (1931–1965), British actress * Gene Anderson (basketball) (1917–1999), American professional basketball player * Gene Anderson (wrestler) Eugene Avon Anderson (October 4, 1939 � ...

formed the original ''Minnesota Wrecking Crew'' with Lars Anderson in 1966. They wrestled throughout the country in the late 60s until Lars left to live in Hawaii. In 1969 Gene then brought in Alan Rogowski, and renamed him

Ole Anderson Alan Robert Rogowski (born September 22, 1942), better known by the ring name Ole Anderson (), is an American retired professional wrestler, referee, manager, and promoter. Part of the Anderson family, Anderson was a founding member of the influen ...

. They dominated tag team wrestling in the 1970s, winning the

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgen ...

World Tag Team Titles 8 times. Over those years, Lars Anderson was on occasion brought back in as part of this team. When Gene stopped wrestling in 1981 to manage, the team was disbanded. In 1985, Ole reformed the Crew with

Arn Anderson Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by the ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a ...

(his

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...

nephew) as his partner. They won the NWA National Tag Team Titles and were members of the original

Four Horsemen The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand th ...

as the Wrecking Crew. They disbanded in 1987 when Ole was kicked out of the Horsemen. Arn and Ole revived the Wrecking Crew in 1990 but it lasted for only a few months before Ole retired. Also in 1990, Ole managed the '' Minnesota Wrecking Crew 2'' in NWA while Arn was out injured. This team consisted of Mike Enos and

Wayne Bloom Wayne Bloom (born March 22, 1958) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his birth name and with the World Wres ...

. Both members were from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

and wore masks. The two men had previously been

AWA World Tag Team Champions The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapolis ...

, but were beaten by NWA World Tag Team Champions Rick and

Scott Steiner Scott Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962), better known by the ring name Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Steiner is perhaps best known for his time in World Championshi ...

in the NWA.

Legacy

In 2001 in

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg. ...

Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, former mixed martial artist (MMA), amateur wrestler, and professional American football player who holds both American and Canadian citizenship. He i ...

and

Shelton Benjamin Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under his real name. He is also known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wr ...

(once teammates on the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

wrestling team) formed the ''Minnesota Stretching Crew'' in honor of the Wrecking Crew. More recently, independent women wrestlers

Lacey Lacey may refer to: People Surname A–L * Andrew Lacey (1887–1946), Australian politician * Bill Lacey (American football) (born 1971), American football player and coach * Bill Lacey (footballer) (1889–1969), Irish footballer * Bob Lacey ( ...

and

Rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...

have used the name Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew in homage to the Andersons' classic tag team. The Canadian

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and ...

troupe The Minnesota Wrecking Crew are also named in honor of the original MWC tag team.

Championships and accomplishments

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

NWA Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Hall of Fame is an American professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the National Wrestling Alliance, NWA. It was established in 2005 to honor select wrestling personalities, mostly alumni of the NWA. ...

( class of 2010)

Lars and Gene

* Mid-South Sports :*

NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship The NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1968 to 1980, when it was replaced with the NWA National Tag Team Championship. The title was revived in 1998 by Music City Wrestling ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outsid ...

) :* NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Georgia version)'' ( 1 time)

Gene and Ole

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National ...

:* NWA Columbus Tag Team Championship ( 11 times) :*

( 7 times) :*

NWA Macon Tag Team Championship The NWA Macon Tag Team Championship was a tag team professional wrestling championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling, defended exclusively on events held at the Macon City Auditorium and Macon Coliseum in Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), offici ...

( 1 time) :* NWA World Tag Team Championship (Georgia version) ( 1 times) *

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promo ...

:* NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) :* NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (

) :* NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' ( 7 times) *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

'' :* Tag Team of the Year (1975, 1977)

Ole and Arn

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promo ...

:* NWA National Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) *''

'' :*Ranked Ole and Arn Anderson No. 79 of the best 100 tag teams during the ''PWI Years'' in 2003

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minnesota Wrecking Crew Anderson family Independent promotions teams and stables Jim Crockett Promotions teams and stables National Wrestling Alliance teams and stables