Gene Okerlund

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Gene Okerlund at WrestleMania 25 in 2009

Eugene "Mean Gene" Okerlund (born December 19, 1942 in Brookings , South Dakota , USA ; † January 2, 2019 in Sarasota , Florida , USA) was an American sports journalist who worked as a commentator, ring announcer, interviewer and presenter and at the largest wrestling organizations was busy.

Career

The beginnings

Eugene Arthur Okerlund studied journalism at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and started working as a disc jockey with KOIL in Omaha , Nebraska. He then moved to WDGY in Minnesota , where he worked under the pseudonym Gene Leader .

Through his work at a local television station, Okerlund was able to make contacts in the wrestling business. Al DeRusha , a referee in the American Wrestling Association , put me in touch with Verne Gagne , the league's owner at the time.

From 1974 he worked for the American Wrestling Association as a substitute for their ring announcer and interviewer Marty O'Neill, whom he completely replaced in the late 1970s after he died of a heart attack. Okerlund was rhetorically superior to the usual ring announcers and interviewers due to his previous activity . During this time he was nicknamed "Mean" by wrestler Jesse "The Body" Ventura . An ironic addition, as Okerlund was very popular behind the scenes with everyone in the league. During an interview, Ventura talked about Tom Petty and said he bet Okerlund wouldn't know who he was. Gene said sarcastically that it would be a race car driver and Ventura replied "That's mean, Gene." ( "But in common genes.") In the AWA, he got to Hulk Hogan and Bobby Heenan know and became friends with the both of them.

World Wrestling Federation (1984-1993)

Hulk Hogan recommended Okerlund and brought him from the American Wrestling Association to what was then the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE ), which was on the upswing at the time. Okerlund was active there for nine years and was practically omnipresent. A few weeks before the first Wrestlemania took place, Okerlund acted as usual behind the scenes in the "War to Settle the Score" event, interviewing celebrities who were among the guests, such as Andy Warhol , Danny DeVito and Cyndi Lauper . At the first Wrestlemania event, Okerlund was the one who was allowed to sing the United States' national anthem . He is also featured on The Wrestling Album (1985) with a cover version of Tutti Frutti . Okerlund had sung in the rock and roll band Gene Carroll & The Shades during high school , which was relatively successful in his hometown.

He worked primarily as a ring announcer , interviewer, commentator and presenter on wrestling programs for the then American cable television , such as Tuesday Night Titans , Wrestling Challenge , Prime Time Wrestling and All-American Wrestling . However, he was even used together with Hulk Hogan for a match against Mr. Fuji and George Steele . On November 12, 1985, Okerlund had a guest appearance with other wrestlers on the TV series The A-Team .

Gene Okerlund's interview segments in the backstage area were very entertaining. He called many of his interview guests, including alleged villains, "Close, personal, long-time friend" (German: close, familiar and long-term friend), which has become a trademark of his appearances. Another trademark that Hulk Hogan bestowed on him was Hogan's beginning answer to the opening question of an Okerlund interview with "Let me tell you something, Mean Gene".

In the cartoon series Hulk Hogan's Rock N'Wrestling , Okerlund was also represented as a character who asked the wrestling heroes a question in strange places.

At the SummerSlam 1989 he made a now legendary mistake. When the backdrop with the SummerSlam logo fell down during an interview with Rick Rude and his manager Bobby Heenan, who was preparing for the upcoming fight against the Ultimate Warrior , Okerlund turned around and cursed "Fuck it!". The wrong videotape was played during the broadcast so that the Blooper was broadcast. Another fun moment was at the Royal Rumble in 1992 when, during a segment interviewing Ric Flair , Bobby Heenan and Curt Hennig, he warned an employee to please turn off the cigarette.

Okerlund's last major event for the WWF was the 1993 Summer Slam .

World Championship Wrestling (1993-2001)

In September 1993 he left WWF and was hired as an interviewer for World Championship Wrestling . Here, too, he was active in the above positions. Okerlund was active there until the WWF took over WCW on March 26, 2001. Gene Okerlund stepped into the ring twice while at WCW to fight a feud against colleague Mark Madden . A high point of his moderation for the league was the moment when Hulk Hogan, with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, proclaimed the grouping of the New World Order . Here, according to the storyline, Hogan should become the villain, which the on-site viewers also received, which u. a. threw beer cans at Hogan. One of them hit Okerlund on the nose.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2001-2018)

After the WCW was bought up, Okerlund was taken over by the WWF and has worked for them again since then. However, according to his age, he stepped a little shorter. His first major appearance took place at the side of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , with whom he commented on the Gimmick Battle Royal at Wrestlemania X-Seven (2001). Until 2002 he was the presenter of the show WWE Confidential.

In 2004 and 2005, he hosted the first two WWE Hall of Fame events after an eight-year hiatus. On April 1, 2006, Okerlund was finally inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. The laudator was Hulk Hogan .

The 2008 WWE Hall of Fame event was hosted by Okerlund again, this time with Todd Grisham . In 2009 Okerlund himself acted as the laudator for the long-time ring announcer of the WWF / E and close friend Howard Finkel . Okerlund appeared for the last time in 2014 as the laudatory speaker , as Mr.T. as such was desired.

WWE Network

Since 2008, Okerlund has worked in the WWE historical archive, hosting the WWE Vintage Collection and the 24/7 WWE Hall of Fame section. In recent years, he has commented on a total of 3 seasons of the cartoon series Story Time on the WWE Network , in which past and current greats in wrestling tell humorous stories from their times at the company.

From April 17, 2014, Okerlund could be seen for several weeks as a participant in the show "WWE Legends' House" on the WWE Network. In one of these episodes, he tearfully revealed that his wife had donated a kidney to him that he urgently needed because of his illness.

His last public appearance for WWE was an interview segment on the 25th birthday of Monday Night Raw , with the then reigning WWE Champion AJ Styles in January 2018, who impersonated Hulk Hogan.

On January 14, 2019, in honor of Okerlund, the WWE Network broadcast a special program in the form of a short documentary entitled "Let me tell you something Mean Gene" , in which he personally, but also former companions such as Hulk Hogan, John Cena , Bob Costas, Al DeRusha, Seth Rollins, and others. a. talk about his career.

Hulk Hogan said goodbye to Gene Okerlund with an emotional appearance on RAW , in which he let the audience know that he missed and loved him. Hogan asked the rhetorical question one last time: "Whatcha gonna do when Mean-Gene-o-Mania runs wild on you?" (Eng .: What do you want to do when Mean-Gene-o-Mania goes nuts?).

Private

After graduating from university in West Virginia , Okerlund first worked as a disc jockey for a local radio station in Omaha , Nebraska . Okerlund maintained friendly contacts with Bobby Heenan , Hulk Hogan and The Iron Sheik . At the Iron Sheik's wedding, Okerlund was also the best man. Gene Okerlund was a keen golfer and was a member of the Minnesota National Golf Course with his wife.

His last public appearance was at the WrestleCade weekend in November 2018. There he signed autographs and met colleagues and friends from the wrestling business.

Gene Okerlund had been married to his wife Jeanne since 1964, with whom he had two sons. His son Todd Okerlund played ice hockey for the University of Minnesota and later for the New York Islanders . He also took part in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary .

On January 2, 2019, Okerlund died as a result of trauma or complications resulting from his three kidney transplants.

Gene Okerlund at the 2006 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony.

Awards (selection)

Film / television

Web links

Commons : Gene Okerlund  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jason Powell: Gene Okerlund dead at age 76. January 2, 2019, accessed January 2, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Ben Sumner: Gene Okerlund, gentlemanly announcer of pro wrestling, dies at 76. The Washington Post , January 2, 2019, accessed January 3, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e Good Gene: The Career of Mean Gene Okerlund. Ringthedamnbell, February 14, 2018, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Mean Gene - A Tribute to a Very Dear, Close, Personal Long-Time Friend. ProWrestlingStories.com, accessed on August 23, 2019 .
  5. ^ Andy Warhol's Brief Moment of Professional Wrestling Fame. October 1, 2013, accessed on January 23, 2019 .
  6. ^ Greg Evans: Gene Okerlund Dies: WWE Interviewer Dubbed "Mean Gene" By Jesse Ventura Was 76; Hulk Hogan, Others Tweet Tributes. January 2, 2019, accessed January 23, 2019 .
  7. ↑ The A-Team. Season 4, episode 7.TVserien.de , accessed on August 23, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Hulk Hogan returns to Raw to honor the life of longtime friend "Mean" Gene Okerlund. WWE.com , April 1, 2019, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Rock 'n' Wrestling (TV Series 1985-1986). Retrieved January 23, 2019 .
  10. ^ TJR WWE SummerSlam Reviews: 1993 (Yokozuna vs. Lex Luger). TJRWrestling.net, August 6, 2017, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Gene Okerlund. Retrieved January 23, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Tom Fordy: PART OF THE SHOW Mean Gene Okerlund was more than a man with a mic ... he is irreplaceable. The Sun , January 3, 2019, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Gene Okerlund. Genickbruch.com, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Wrestling: Cult presenter died at the age of 76. T-online.de, January 3, 2019, accessed on August 23, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Mr. T is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame: photos. WWE.com, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  16. ↑ David Bixenspan: "Mean" Gene Okerlund Was TV Wrestling Distilled Into A Single Human Being. Deadspin, May 1, 2019, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  17. ↑ "Mean" Gene Okerlund Died: Wrestling World Mourns WWE Hall of Famer. Clothesline.eu, January 2, 2019, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  18. ↑ James Martinez: WWE Legends' House Review: Episode 9, "Farewell, My Friends". Adventuresinpoortaste.com, June 13, 2014, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Sean Rueter: Mean Gene was not a fan of AJ Styles' Hulk Hogan impression. Cagesideseats.com, January 23, 2018, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  20. ↑ 411's "Let Me Tell You Something Mean Gene" Report. 411Mania, January 15, 2019, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  21. ↑ a b Martin Hoffmann: Hogan pays tribute to dead "Mean Gene". January 8, 2019, accessed January 24, 2019 .
  22. ^ Paul Farrell: Jeanne Okerlund, 'Mean Gene's' Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. Heavy.com, January 2, 2019, accessed August 23, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Okerlund, Gene
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Okerlund, Eugene; Okerlund, Mean Gene (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American wrestling commentator
DATE OF BIRTH December 19, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Brookings (South Dakota) , South Dakota , USA
DATE OF DEATH 2nd January 2019
Place of death Sarasota , Florida , USA