History Wrestling / MeanGeneOkerlund

-->-- '''Wrestling/HulkHogan on Mean Gene following his death'''

Eugene Arthur "Mean Gene" Okerlund (December 19, 1942–January 2, 2019) was a ProfessionalWrestling announcer, backstage interviewer, commentator and former wrestler. He got his start in pro wrestling working for the Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation from 1970 until 1984, when he was picked up by the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} World Wrestling Federation]], becoming the most recognizable voice of WWF's Rock 'n' Wrestling connection. He left WWF in late 1993 and was subsequently hired by [[Wrestling/{{WCW}} World Championship Wrestling]] where he would remain until WCW was purchased by the WWF in 2001. Okerlund returned to WWF/WWE following WCW's demise and made occasional TV appearances and often appeared in documentaries. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006, making sporadic appearances on WWE programming until his death in 2019.

-> ''"The best partner I ever had. We never rehearsed or did anything scripted from a writer. Gene would ask me 'Hey big man, what do you want to do?' I would always answer 'Just follow you, brother' and it worked from 1980 - 2017"''

* DirtyOldMan: During WCW's Final Years.

* BaldOfAwesome: Had male-pattern baldness and was the top announcer for both WWF and WCW for many years, being able to keep up with the aggressive, over-the-top characters he had to interview.

* BadassMustache: Always sported one.

* DeadpanSnarker: Always, in and out of character. The guy was able to keep a straight face while "Macho Man" Randy Savage delivered a bonkers promo right next to him and when Wrestling/BookerT slipped up and called Wrestling/HulkHogan the [[NWordPrivileges N-word]].

* SeenItAll: In an interview with Harlem Heat, Wrestling/BookerT, calls out Hulk Hogan and accidentally makes use of his NWordPrivileges. While Booker was embarrassed and manager, Wrestling/{{Sherri|Martel}} couldn't help but laugh, Gene just turned around and interviewed Stevie Ray without missing a beat like nothing happened, especially considering that [[PrecisionFStrike he's said worse on Live TV]].

* TakeThat: A fairly impressive one to Wrestling/EricBischoff on the tenth anniversary show of ''Raw'': "Eric, maybe if you'd have shut up and learned how to run your company, we'd be celebrating the tenth anniversary of ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro''."

* Thanks to Wrestling/RicFlair ChewingTheScenery firing interviews he was conducting, he became "MEEEEEEAN--WOOOOO!--BY GOD, GENE!

-> ''"The best partner I ever had. We never rehearsed or did anything scripted from a writer. Gene would ask me 'Hey big man, what do you want to do?' I would always answer 'Just follow you, brother' and it worked worked from 1980 - 2017"''

* TakeThat: A fairly impressive one to Wrestling/EricBischoff on the tenth anniversary show of ''Raw'': "Eric, maybe if you'd have shut up and learned how to run your company, we'd be celebrating the tenth anniversary of ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro''."

[[caption-width-right:350: ''[[{{Music/Needtobreathe}} I'm forever on your side.]]'']]

Eugene Arthur "Mean Gene" Okerlund (December 19, 1942–January 2, 2019) was a ProfessionalWrestling announcer, backstage interviewer, commentator and former wrestler. He got his start in pro wrestling working for the [[Wrestling/{{AWA}} American Wrestling Association]] from 1970 until 1984, when he was picked up by the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} World Wrestling Federation]], becoming the most recognizable voice of WWF's Rock 'n' Wrestling connection. He left WWF in late 1993 and was subsequently hired by [[Wrestling/{{WCW}} World Championship Wrestling]] where he would remain until WCW was purchased by the WWF in 2001. Okerlund returned to WWF/WWE following WCW's demise and made occasional TV appearances and often appeared in documentaries. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006, making sporadic appearances on WWE programming until his death in 2019.

-> ''''"The best partner I ever had. We never rehearsed or did anything scripted from a writer. Gene would ask me 'Hey big man, what do you want to do?' I would always answer 'Just follow you, brother' and it worked worked from 1980 - 2017"'''

-> "The best partner I ever had. We never rehearsed or did anything scripted from a writer. Gene would ask me 'Hey big man, what do you want to do?' I would always answer 'Just follow you, brother' and it worked worked from 1980 - 2017"

Eugene Arthur "Mean Gene" Okerlund (November 29, 1938-January 2, 2019) was a ProfessionalWrestling announcer, backstage interviewer, commentator and former wrestler. He got his start in pro wrestling working for the [[Wrestling/{{AWA}} American Wrestling Association]] from 1970 until 1984, when he was picked up by the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} World Wrestling Federation]], becoming the most recognizable voice of WWF's Rock 'n' Wrestling connection. He left WWF in late 1993 and was subsequently hired by [[Wrestling/{{WCW}} World Championship Wrestling]] where he would remain until WCW was purchased by the WWF in 2001. Okerlund returned to WWF/WWE following WCW's demise and made occasional TV appearances and often appeared in documentaries. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006, making sporadic appearances on WWE programming until his death in 2019.

Eugene Arthur "Mean Gene" Okerlund (November 29, 1938-January 2, 2019) was a ProfessionalWrestling announcer, backstage interviewer, commentator and former wrestler. He got his start in pro wrestling working for the [[Wrestling/{{AWA}} American Wrestling Association]] from 1970 until 1984, when he was picked up by the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} World Wrestling Federation]], becoming the most recognizable voice of WWF's Rock 'n' Wrestling connection. He left WWF in late 1993 and was subsequently hired by [[Wrestling/{{WCW}} World Championship Wrestling]] where he would remain until WCW was purchased by the WWF in 2001. Since then, Okerlund has a lifetime legends contract with the now-named WWE, where he makes occasional TV appearances and often appears in documentaries. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006, making sporadic appearances on WWE programming until his death in 2019.

* BaldOfAwesome: Has male-pattern baldness and was the top announcer for both WWF and WCW for many years, being able to keep up with the aggressive, over-the-top characters he had to interview.
* DeadpanSnarker: Always, in and out of character. The guy was able to keep a straight face while Macho Man Randy Savage delivered a bonkers promo right next to him.

* IronicNickname: Gene is anything but Mean.

Eugene Arthur "Mean Gene" Okerlund (born November 29, 1938) is a semi-retired ProfessionalWrestling announcer, backstage interviewer, commentator and former wrestler. He got his start in pro wrestling working for the [[Wrestling/{{AWA}} American Wrestling Association]] from 1970 until 1984, when he was picked up by the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} World Wrestling Federation]], becoming the most recognizable voice of WWF's Rock 'n' Wrestling connection. He left WWF in late 1993 and was subsequently hired by [[Wrestling/{{WCW}} World Championship Wrestling]] where he would remain until WCW was purchased by the WWF in 2001. Since then, Okerlund has a lifetime legends contract with the now-named WWE, where he makes occasional TV appearances and often appears in documentaries. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.

* TakeThat: A fairly impressive one to Eric Bischoff on the tenth anniversary show of ''Raw'': "Eric, maybe if you'd have shut up and learned how to run your company, we'd be celebrating the tenth anniversary of ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro''."