R.I.P. MEAN GENE OKERLUND

"Mean" Gene Okerlund

Gene Okerlund, the prolific announcer who worked for the WWE in the 1980's died on January 2nd. He was 76 years old. Mr. Okerlund's career spanned three decades where he worked for three major wrestling promotions including the American Wrestling Association (AWA), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He interviewed all the major stars of wrestling of the past 40 years including Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Jesse Ventura, Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior, The Big Show, Sting, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Goldberg.

Okerlund started his broadcasting career in radio for station  KOIL in Omaha and then he moved to Minneapolis where he worked for a local TV station according to The Hollywood Reporter. In 1970, the American Wrestling Association recruited Okerlund as a fill in announcer for longtime broadcaster Marty O'Neill. Okerlund would replace O'Neill as the AWA's lead announcer and become one of the stars of the promotion. For over a decade, Mean Gene as he was called by Jesse Ventura was the voice of the AWA interviewing the promotions top stars including Verne Gagne, Nick Bockwinkel, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, and Hulk Hogan. 


"Mean" Gene Okerlund and Hulk Hogan

In 1981, Hulk Hogan entered the AWA and became the biggest star in the company. When Vince McMahon began his national expansion of the WWE in 1983, Hulk Hogan and Mean Gene Okerlund were two of the stars he recruited to become bigger stars in the WWE. Hogan and Okerlund had a chemistry on screen like Howard Cosell and Muhammad Ali. Okerlund would interview all of the major stars that came through the WWE from 1984 to 1993. 

In 1993 and 1994, Gene Okerlund and Hulk Hogan moved onto World Championship Wrestling where they use their star power to build that company and put a spotlight on new stars including The Big Show, Goldberg, Booker T, and Diamond Dallas Page. In 2001, WCW closed down and was bought by Vince McMahon and the WWE. 

After the end of WCW, Okerlund returned to WWE and he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006. Throughout the years he appeared at many wrestling conventions thrilling fans of all ages with his presence. Most recently, Mean Gene Okerlund appeared in a Mountain Dew Kickstart commercial with Kevin Hart. 

The WWE has been honoring Okerlund with a 10-bell salute at different events. TMZ reports that Hulk Hogan will appear on RAW this Monday to honor his friend. 

Thank you Mean Gene. You gave millions of people great memories and your legacy will never be forgotten. 

Class Dismissed, 
THE PROFESSOR