Gene Okerlund
| Gene Okerlund | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Birth name | Eugene Arthur Okerlund |
| Born |
December 19, 1942 Robbinsdale, Minnesota, United States |
| Residence | Sarasota, Florida, United States |
| Spouse(s) | Jeanne Okerlund (m. 1964) |
| Children | 2; including Todd |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Gene Okerlund |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Billed weight | 212 lb (96 kg) |
| Debut | 1974 |
Eugene Arthur "Mean Gene" Okerlund (born December 19, 1942) is a semi-retired American professional wrestling interviewer, announcer and wrestler. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by Hulk Hogan. He is currently signed to lifetime employment with WWE and works for promotional programs mostly for WWE Network programming and occasionally makes special appearances on TV shows. He is also the co-host of Vintage Collection.
He left the radio industry for a position at the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the early 1970s, where he occasionally filled in for ailing ring announcer and interviewer Marty O'Neill, eventually becoming O'Neill's permanent replacement by the end of the decade.
He would stay with the AWA until the end of 1983, when he was one of many AWA personnel to join the expanding World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He would stay with the WWF for nine years as their top interviewer, and was host of such WWF shows as All-American Wrestling and Tuesday Night Titans.
In 1984, Okerlund and Hulk Hogan faced Mr. Fuji and George Steele in Minneapolis. He was supposed to stay on the apron and let Hogan fight, but when Hogan gave him a high five, the referee mistook it for a tag. Okerlund had to go in, but before his opponent touched him, he quickly got out of the way and tagged Hogan back in. The result: Okerlund pinned Mr. Fuji for the victory.
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