A big part of my childhood and many others. RIP to the greatest interviewer in the history of sports.
Gene was a great interviewer and personality. The guy was surrounded by literal freaks of nature and he always kept a professional demeanor regardless of what was happening around him and you always felt that he was the only guy not crazy in the room..... yet he never seemed judgmental and was always having fun.
I was torn on which Macho Man promo to go with. He was a wrestling staple in the 80's and 90's. Always managed to keep a straight face which astounds me to this day. Be it Macho Man's insanity, or Hogan's i'll tell you what's, or Ultimate Warrior's constipated nonsense.
Guy is a legend, such a memorable voice, a part of memorable WWF/E, WCW moments, good to read/hear all the good stories he was as a person behind the scenes, definitely will be missed
I liken it to Barnum Bailey. You have to give credit to an industry that basically said we've been lying our ass off to you all these years, and well, who cares, you knew it. Let's keep this thing going. They were available at the right time, when television was expanding and they needed stuff, because before that, it seemed like they were basically unknown. Sort of like skateboarding. And then boom, they were everywhere. And we loved it. It was like Jerry Springer before Jerry Springer. I cringe a little when these wrestlers go on to become keynote speakers letting everyone know they couldn't have become champion without putting in all the hard work, lol. Technically, it's kinda true, total showmanship, but really, that's not what you are selling when you say something like that.
Mean Gene was a huge part of the growth and explosion of wrestling imo. Loved his interviews and the way he was able to play off of the wrestler. Hall of Famer RIP
no sure which it was but I always liked it when either Sheik or Volkoff would refer to him as Gene Mean
Always wanted to see a fight between Mean Gene Okerlund and Gordon Solie. lol. You provided many a great moment, Mean Gene, but I think God just needed somebody to translate what the hell Randy "Macho Man" Savage was saying ...