When taking a look at the years that saw WWF burst forth into a national entity, crushing their opponents with reckless abandon, a lot of the focus naturally goes to Hulk Hogan’s arrival and the rise of Hulkamania. Digging a little beneath the surface, two other acquisitions helped to cement the promotion’s position at the top of the proverbial tree. One was Bobby Heenan, the motor mouth manager whose ‘Family’ saw him pitched opposite Hogan throughout the majority of the decade in some of the Federation’s most memorable programmes.
The second was ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund, sadly departed at the age of 76 mere days into 2019.
At a time when more eyes were going to be on the WWF product than ever before, Okerlund’s experience in the AWA – alongside time spent as a DJ – gave him a touch of believability and gravitas that echoed that of luminaries such as Gordon Solie and Lance Russell. Though not always required to hold the show together in that same fashion as the aforementioned duo, Okerlund was crucial to helping develop both storylines and characters through his deft skills behind the microphone. At a time where promos and interview segments were the driving force behind pretty much every promotions’ offerings in terms of television, Okerlund helped to create an eminently engaging product as he debated with and argued against some of the biggest names in the business.
Okerlund’s ability to laugh at himself allowed him to easily bridge between the more serious and the increasingly over the top offerings of the WWF; always happy enough to be presented as the butt of the joke, but equally as effective when reporting on the latest assault to put Hogan’s WWF Title reign in jeopardy. Indeed, it was his relationship with Hogan, just as Heenan’s did in time, which helped to support an initial run with the belt that lasted four years. It is debatable how much of this would have been possible had Hogan not had someone like Okerlund to play off of for so many years. Similarly, Okerlund’s work with Randy Savage and Ric Flair often showcased the man at his very best.
It is hard to talk about Okerlund without considering some of the more humorous moments within his body of work, from chewing out someone for smoking a cigarette at Royal Rumble 1992 to telling Sean O’Haire to ‘blow it out your ass’ in a memorable moment of late-era WCW. Neither can you truly avoid mentioning the hotline that Gene shilled so voraciously in his time in the latter promotion. At times it skirted close to some moral and ethical boundaries, but it became somewhat of a calling card for Gene in the dying years of WCW.
For many today, the passing of Okerlund represents somewhat the death of a part of their collective childhood. ‘Mean’ Gene was synonymous to a significant selection of wrestling fans with quality work on the microphone and a touch of class in all that he did. Coupled with the stories that suggest he was one of friendliest men to ever involve themselves in the wrestling business, it isn’t difficult to see why Gene Okerlund’s death has been met with such a genuine outpouring of emotion and celebration of his life’s work.
RIP Gene Okerlund – a true legend in the world of wrestling.
