"Mean" Gene Okerlund

Real Name - Eugene Arthur Okerlund

Lifespan - 12/19/1942 - 1/2/2019

Robbinsdale, MN

Occupational Background - Radio, Sales & Marketing

Promotional Background - AWA(`74-`84), WWF(`84-`93), WCW(`93-`01), WWE(`02-)

Peak Years - `78-`87

Place in History - When “Mean” Gene Okerlund jumped from the AWA to the nationally expanding WWF in 1984, it is difficult to understate just how impactful it was.  How could a balding, middle-aged announcer make such a significant difference?  Okerlund, not unlike Lance Russell in Tennessee or Gordon Solie in Florida and Georgia, was perfect in his role and was just as popular as many of the wrestlers.  He could call matches, he could make public appearances and he could even play a host or ring announcer, but it was doing interviews with talent that Mean Gene was better at than anyone.  Okerlund’s ability to set up, direct and even save (when need be) an interview segment was crucial in getting over talent, matches and storylines.  He followed Marty O’Neill, whose legitimate sports broadcasting made him an institution in the AWA, but Okerlund had a different skill set.  Although younger and more animated than O’Neill, Gene Okerlund was already balding and looked much older than he was.  His voice, his quick wit and his likability allowed him to transform the role.  Times were changing and a barker like Mean Gene fit perfectly for the AWA.  The company was full of incredible talkers like Nick Bockwinkel, Bobby Heenan and Jesse Ventura as well as over-the-top characters like Mad Dog Vachon, The Crusher and Hulk Hogan and Okerlund worked with them all.  When he jumped to the WWF along with many of key AWA stars, Okerlund was able to infuse even more comedy in with the WWF’s cartoonish product.  He was the perfect straight man for that outrageous world.  Vince McMahon, Gorilla Monsoon and Howard Finkel had similar on-screen contributions, but Okerlund was a star beyond all of them in a way that is difficult to explain.  The WWF even put him in the ring as Hulk Hogan’s partner.  It was novel and got over, but he needed to be neutral character.  Mean Gene was often in the middle of angles, asking babyfaces the tough questions, expressing outrage when confronting the heels and trying to make sense of the senseless.  When the WWF was trying to refresh itself in the early 1990s, Okerlund was one of the many talents who left for WCW.  The WWF tried to replace him with people like Todd Pettengill, Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman and Kevin Kelly over the years, but none had the combination of credibility, charisma or comedic timing of Gene Okerlund.  Only Jim Ross or Vince McMahon himself could ever do a comparable job.  He was definitely part of the WWF nostalgia paint that Eric Bischoff brushed on the beleaguered WCW product.  Okerlund became a more of a carnival barker with his infamous hotline teases and he took on more of a “dirty old man” character as WCW grew more risque.  The WWF even lampooned him with a “Scheme Gene” character in a series of skits.  However, when WCW came to an end, Okerlund was one of the surprising faces to show back up on WWF television.  He became a regular host of shows like Confidential, and anything with “vintage,” “classics” or “hall of fame” in the title.  In recent times, announcers are often portrayed as unimportant and faceless.  They shout, they shill, they ask obvious questions and they spit out company jargon to such an extent that it is hard to believe how vital that role once was.  Even the worst announcers were loved by the fans.  “Mean” Gene Okerlund wore many hats in pro-wrestling, but he mastered the art of interviewing talent and it changed the game.  His role was unique and yet it was essential to getting over stars and storylines for many years in several big companies.