Wednesday, January 02, 2019

Mean Gene Okerlund Passed Away!


World Wrestling Federation (WWF) was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment after it lost its naming rights to the World Wildlife Foundation.

The wrestling world is mourning the death of a legendary announcer. I am truly thankful for "Mean Gene" holding it down for World Wrestling Entertainment. He was an American treasure.

Gene Okerlund passed away. He is a legend among the wrestling fans. Bleacher Reports say that Mean Gene passed away from unknown causes. He leaves behind a wife Jeanne and two children.

His son Todd and

Not to mention he just celebrated his birthday only a few weeks ago.

Vince McMahon, his son Shane, his daughter Stephanie, her husband Triple H and many in the WWE pour their tributes to Mean Gene.

Okerlund joined WWE in 1984 after spending nearly 15 years in the AWA. He remained with WWE from 1984-1993 and then worked for WCW from 1993-2001 and became the most notable interviewer in professional wrestling history in the process.

His contributions were celebrated in 2006 when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

After WWE bought WCW in 2001, Okerlund returned to the company as a jack of all trades and announced the gimmick battle royal at WrestleMania X-Seven alongside fellow Hall of Famer Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.
Mean Gene with the Hulkster.
While he didn't appear regularly on weekly programming, Okerlund showed up sporadically and acted as a host and narrator for many WWE side projects, including DVDs and WWE Network content.

More recently, Okerlund was among the stars on the WWE Network reality series Legends' House, which aired in 2014 and featured other WWE Hall of Famers, including "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan.

The South Dakota native will be remembered for several unique traits, including his signature mustache, horseshoe-pattern hair and velvety voice.

Mean Gene was present throughout the rise of Hulkamania in WWE, and he was an underrated aspect of Hogan's enormous success.

Few non-wrestlers have made an impact on the business as big and long-lasting as Okerlund's, and there will likely never be another backstage interviewer as beloved and appreciated as him.

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