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Mean Gene Okerlund

Earlier this week, the ~~wrestling~~ world was saddened by the loss of Eugene Arthur Okerlund (1942-2019). Better known to wrestling fans worldwide as Mean Gene Okerlund, Mean Gene was one of a kind. He was one of my favorite personalities in the wacky world of professional wrestling. I have so many fond memories of him conducting interviews with guys like Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior and the list goes on and on. Hearing of his passing at age 76 was like losing a small part of my childhood. He meant a lot to me and millions of other fans who grew up on late ’80s and early ’90s WWF. To honor his legacy, I’ve transcribed his WWE Hall of Fame induction speech from 2006. Enjoy.

MEAN GENE OKERLUND
HALL OF FAME SPEECH
APRIL 1, 2006

Please welcome WWE Hall of Famer, Hulk Hogan!

Crowd goes crazy as I'm A Real American blares — Crowd goes crazy as *Real American* blares

When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside…
You gotta take a stand; it don’t help to hide!

IF YOU HURT MY FRIENDS THEN YOU HURT MY PRIDE. I GOTTA BE A MAN, I CAN'T LET IT SLIDE! — ***IF YOU HURT MY FRIENDS THEN YOU HURT MY PRIDE.***
***I GOTTA BE A MAN — I CAN’T LET IT SLIDE!***

I'M A REAL AMERICAN. FIGHT FOR THE RIGHTS OF EVERY MAN! — **I AM A REAL AMERICAN.**
**FIGHT FOR THE RIGHTS OF EVERY MAN!**

I AM A REAL AMERICAN. FIGHT FOR WHAT'S RIGHT... FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE! — ***I AM A REAL AMERICAN.***
***FIGHT FOR WHAT’S RIGHT — FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE!***

*Fans chanting HOGAN HOGAN HOGAN!* — *Fans chanting **HOGAN HOGAN HOGAN!***

Alright! It's good to see you guys again — Alright! It’s good to see you guys again

Um, it was really great to be in the back and come up to Gene Okerlund…

*pauses to look at rowdy fans* You guys OK?

*ONE MORE MATCH! ONE MORE MATCH!* — ***“ONE MORE MATCH! ONE MORE MATCH!”***

Alright you guys. Um, it, it was really great to be in the back and shake Mean Gene’s hand and say hello to him…

*HOGAN AUSTIN! *CLAP CLAP* HOGAN AUSTIN!* — ***“HOGAN AUSTIN! *CLAP CLAP* HOGAN AUSTIN!”***

*[I think they want Hogan and Austin to have a match -Ed.]*

He strokes his beard as the ravenous fans continue on

Crowd starts to jeer in good fun. Classic Hogan!

Aw, aw stop it! I knew I’d get you guys to shut up. No, thank you very much.

You know what, that would be a good match someday

*Crowd massively pops*

You think uh, Austin could handle the power of HULKAMANIA?

*Crowd boos a bit*

I like that. Maybe I'll grow the black beard back in — I like that. Maybe I’ll grow the black beard back in

*Crowd pops*

ANYWAY, tonight guys, it’s a great night because I finally got a chance to shake Mean Gene’s hand and give him a hug in the back. Because usually, we’re on the run. And for 20 years, whenever I see Mean Gene, it was always last minute running.

Trying to put the headband on my bald head, slide in front of the microphone…

***LEMME TELL YOU SOMETHING MEAN GENE!!***

*Crowd goes bonkers*

That’s how we usually hooked up. But tonight I’m here to uh, induct Mean Gene into the Hall of Fame.

And we go way back. Way back — And we go way back. ***Way back***

Ric Flair, the McMahons and Triple H look on

And I’d love to tell you a bunch of stories, but I don’t think uh, it would be really appropriate for today’s day and age.

But anyway, Mean Gene started in this business when he was 16 years old. He started uh, in radio. And soon after he started in radio in the Twin Cities he moved right on to TV. And uh, at that time I was just getting ready to get started in the business. Just thinking about being a wrestler and had no idea that Mean Gene and myself would become very, very close friends.

Fan screams "I LOVE YOU HOGAN!" — Fan screams ***“I LOVE YOU HOGAN!”***

Thank you brother. You're not my type but I love you too — *Thank you brother. You’re not my type but I love you too*

Crowd bursts into laughter, if you wheel — Crowd bursts into laughter, *if you wheel*

Anyway, in 1980 I had a little run here in the WWE. I worked for Vince Senior, Vince’s dad, and had a great time here.

And after my little run here, I went to the AWA. Mr. Verne Gagne promoted and ran that company.

The great Mr. Verne Gagne (R.I.P.) looks on

And that’s where Verne and Greg started dialing me in to what Hulkamania was all about. Teaching me how to work like Hulk Hogan and get it together in the ring.

During that time I became very good friends with Mean Gene. I had no idea back then how close we would be today.

We started running around the Twin Cities. I was single at the time. Mean Gene would show me where all the parties were. We would go to all the rock and roll clubs. Stay out til the wee hours in the mornings til the sun came up. And as the days went by, we became closer and closer friends.

The Big Show enjoying the Hulkster's old stories — The Big Show enjoying the Hulkster’s old stories

Then I got a call from Vince McMahon, and I had a chance to come back to the WWE, and I begged Mean Gene Okerlund to come with me. And thank God he came. Because at that time, the WWE was going through a huge transition. It was basically going from a very small territorial wrestling company…

… around New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts… to this huge conglomerate that covered the globe.

And Mean Gene — a lot of you fans don’t understand — was like the FOUNDATION of this company.

He was there for the interviews, he was there for the wrestlers like myself that at certain times wouldn’t know what to say or what direction to go in. And Gene Okerlund basically worked harder than the wrestlers, traveling and sometimes you know, spent a lot more time on the road and in different hotel rooms doing interviews, because we used to do interviews on a daily basis.

I had an opportunity when I was in the Twin Cities actually to get Mean Gene in the ring with me. And I had no idea that as I was trying to get Mean Gene in the ring as my tag team partner, he was more popular than the wrestlers at that time because he had been in the Twin Cities and he basically was the face of professional wrestling.

We had a chance when we came to the WWE to get things up and rolling, and Mean Gene became the VOICE of professional wrestling. Everywhere you turned, there was another wrestler standing there.

And if Mean Gene wasn’t there conducting the interview, it kinda wasn’t the same.

So not only was Gene like a life support for Hulkamania and myself — LEMME TELL YOU SOMETHING MEAN GENE!! — everybody else such as Bret the Hitman Hart *crowd pops massively* and a lot of the guys in this room, they depended on Mean Gene to help them a lot in the interviews.

He was a HUGE part of this transition… from the small wrestling era to the huge arena of sports entertainment. You guys take a look here and I’ll show you what I’m talking about.

It’s my honor to have Mean Gene as a friend, and now it’s a greater honor to induct Mean Gene to the Hall of Fame… Mean Gene!

Jim Ross and friends stand up to applaud Mean Gene

And I do mean LONGTIME friends — And I do mean **LONGTIME** friends

IT'S STILL REAL TO HIM, DAMNIT — **IT’S STILL REAL TO HIM, DAMNIT**

Thank you very much. Wow. I like that a lot

This guy did tell me one fib... — This guy did tell me one fib…

In that tag team match that we had he said... — In that tag team match that we had, he said…

All you’re gonna be is a prop in the corner, and you’re not even gonna have to get in the ring with George the Animal Steele or Mr. Fuji.

Well he got in there, cleaned house, came over, gave me a hi-five.

The ref called it a TAG — The ref called it a ***TAG***

And I ended up in the ring with those two clowns!

And yes we did... we did make the circuit BIG TIME — And yes we did… we did make the circuit ***BIG TIME***

Jesse Ventura gave me the moniker "Mean Gene" — Jesse Ventura gave me the moniker ***“Mean Gene”***

BUT HERE'S THE GUY — ***BUT HERE’S THE GUY***

**THAT ETCHED IT IN GRANITE,** **HULK HOGAN!**

*I want to tell you about the talent in professional wrestling*

Each and every one of these guys, and gals, can stand out there and cut one hell of a promo. I can be there as a prop with a microphone and throw in a question now and then, but they know how to get the job done. And I’ve had some very unique experiences through the years… which I’d like to share with you.

I think, uh, Bobby the Brain Heenan, we’ve gone through it all.

AWA... yes... WWE, WCW... — AWA… yes… WWE, WCW…

*What's the Weasel up to?* — The Weasel’s up to something as Sherri cracks up

... and plants a big wet one. Awww — … and plants a big wet one as the crowd laughs

Classic Bobby the Brain Heenan. Rest in Peace

Taking a look at that hair… on that package we just saw, I’m glad I went bald! *Crowd laughs*

Verne Gagne… Verne Gagne started me out in April of 1971.

Verne, I learned a whole lot from you. Greg Gagne and the class of ’72, with Jim Brunzell and Brockwinkel and all of the great stars of the AWA.

Verne Gagne, Tony Atlas and SD Jones look on

You deserve recognition — finally getting it — welcome to the Hall of Fame.

Interviews back in the old days... — Interviews back in the old days…

... were kind of the LIFEBLOOD of the WWE — … were kind of the **LIFEBLOOD** of the WWE

And there was a gentleman by the name of the Iron Sheik... — *And there was a gentleman by the name of the Iron Sheik…*

Randy Orton and the crowd chuckle knowingly... — Randy Orton and the crowd chuckle knowingly…

The Iron Sheik… who uh… you go to work and you’re entertained *crowd laughs*

There was a promotion — I don’t know who came up with it — it’s called The Great Turkey Tournament. And it happened around Thanksgiving time, as usual. And all of a sudden, Howard Finkel got this turkey up in Groton, Connecticut. We were doing interviews in New Haven. He brought the turkey back in a cage. I did interviews with Paul Orndorff, Dusty Rhodes and everybody else.

But here all of a sudden comes the Iron Sheik... — But here all of a sudden comes the Iron Sheik…

And slams it back down while he's cutting a promo — And ***slams it back down*** while he’s cutting a promo

Of course we couldn't use it on the air — Of course we couldn’t use it on the air

Kurt Angle and the capacity crowd erupts in laughter

Howard had to send uh, one of the boys back up to Groton, Connecticut to the turkey farm to get another bird.

Howard Finkel twinkles at the (mis)adventures

AND SPEAKING OF BIRDS… what about that COCKAMAMIE… Gobbledy Gooker?!

No that uh, that was quite an evening. All of a sudden we touted this big, huge EGG up to Hartford, Connecticut for the Survivor Series.

And when it finally cracked open, here comes a knockoff of the San Diego Chicken… the Gobbledy Gooker.

*The fans revolted and booed it out of the building*

And, of course, my friend Roddy Piper says go to it... — And, of course, my friend Roddy Piper says go to it…

... put this guy over — … put this guy over

But ALL is forgotten *crowd chuckles* — But **ALL** is forgotten *crowd chuckles*

Héctor Guerrero was the man in the chicken suit — Héctor Guerrero (middle) was the Gobbledy Gooker

Trying to make chicken salad out of chicken shit... — Trying to make chicken salad out of chicken…

Couple of guys by the name of Hillbilly Jim, Cousin Junior… OH, Uncle Elmer!

Great, great interview here. I start the interview out with Hillbilly Jim. He gives us a little bit of his own music. And finally he turns it over to Uncle Elmer.

And he proceeds to hit me over the head with a COWBELL — And he proceeds to hit me over the head with a **COWBELL**

The good Sarge chuckles along with the crowd

Now I’m down on my knees. And he’s got a handkerchief on the back of his overalls which he’s had for two months.

Takes it out and wipes it all over my face *crowd groans* — Takes it out and ***wipes it all over my face***

Trish Stratus laughs as the crowd groans a bit

Ric Flair…

*Crowd goes WOOOO!*

Ric… everybody’s talked about Ric Flair.

Ric Flair I saw as a BOUNCER in a bar… not that I went to many bars…

But he was there with Kenny Patera… in the Twin Cities. Then of course uh, he went to Verne Gagne’s camp, and cranking it up. And that was the beginning of the Nature Boy.

Finally ended up with a career in dancing… the robe, the bar.

I’ve seen it coast to coast, and border to border and EVEN INTERNATIONALLY!

Jake Roberts. Jake Roberts — Jake Roberts. ***Jake Roberts***

*Crowd pops* Thank you. By God, he was a great one — *Crowd pops* Thank you. ***By God, he was a great one***

John Cena, Mark Henry and the crowd claps approvingly — John Cena, Mark Henry and the fans clap approvingly

*[One of the best on the mic of all time, bar none -Ed.]*

We were doing a market specific, which was an interview that would only air in Cleveland, Ohio.

I can’t think of a better town. The great fans here. The Browns, the Cavaliers, at that time the Cleveland Barons. I mean THEY HAD IT ALL. And I said the people in Cleveland are fantastic.

He said, STOP RIGHT THERE — He said, **STOP RIGHT THERE**

Those teams are all losers. The people here don’t have any personality. They’re all ugly. And uh, he says quite candidly, I CAN’T STAND THEM.

Jerry the King Lawler laughs along with the crowd

I said, you know, my mother-in-law is from Cleveland. — I said, ***you know, my mother-in-law is from Cleveland***

He says, I didn't like her mustache either — He says, ***I didn’t like her mustache either***

Crowd laughs and applauds. Dusty is tickled

I take a look back at the years that we’ve been active with this Hall of Fame.

And I gotta tell ya, I’ve played golf with a guy by the name of Carlton Fisk of the baseball Hall of Fame, and this…*crowd pops*… and this… this honor here tonight ABSOLUTELY THRILLS ME.

This month I’ll be 35 years… in announcing professional wrestling… in one fashion or another.

Last Monday I celebrated my 42nd... FORTY SECOND... — Last Monday I celebrated my 42nd… ***FORTY SECOND***…

… wedding anniversary with my lovely wife, Jeanne… *crowd pops* down there somewhere.

And this is a very, VERY elite fraternity that we have — And this is a very, **VERY** elite fraternity that we have

A great group of people, both the guys and the gals — A great group of people, *both the guys and the gals*

The behind-the-scenes people. They are the LIFEBLOOD of this great entertainment mecca.

And I will say this… I’ve been PROUD to be a part of the WWE and professional wrestling for 35 years. And I’m gonna do it for another 35 — if at all possible.

Superstar Billy Graham, I encourage signing up for ORGAN DONATION.

*Crowd cheers* Thank you. I got a couple of them here. That whiskey’s a little tough on them but…

… you gotta get the right one from a trainer. You know what I’m saying?

And in closing, finally I'd like to say this... — And in closing, ***finally I’d like to say this***…

If one day I'm called... UP TO THE BIG HOUSE... — If one day I’m called… **UP TO THE BIG HOUSE**…

If I'm called, they'll have a funeral — If I’m called, they’ll have a funeral

I want you to bury me face down — I want you to **BURY ME FACE DOWN**

.... ALL OF MY CRITICS CAN KISS MY ASS!! — **…. ALL OF MY CRITICS CAN KISS MY ASS!!**

Laughter erupts as Gene receives a standing ovation

Batista, AKA Drax the Destroyer, loves it

Hogan and Mean Gene embrace again — Hulk Hogan and Mean Gene embrace once again

What a night, what a career, what a legacy — What a night, what a career and what a legacy

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Mean Gene Okerlund will be missed but never forgotten. He left a lasting imprint on not just my childhood but countless others who grew up watching WWF in the late ’80s and early ’90s. A true legend in every sense of the word, they broke the mold when they made Gene Okerlund. There’ll never be another one, that’s for damn sure. A tip of the cap to you, Gene. Rest in Power and thanks for all the fun memories.

Super Fire Pro Wrestling X Premium (SFC)

Arguably the greatest 16-bit wrestling game ever

Fire Pro Wrestling. It’s a cult classic franchise that has picked up steam over the years. Even back in the day of the late ’90s, when the internet was still relatively new, I remember hearing the rumblings online of Fire Pro. People were talking about Super Fire Pro Wrestling X Premium for the Super Famicom and Fire Pro S: Six Man Scramble for the Sega Saturn. My brother bought Fire Pro G on the Sony PlayStation and we played it to death. A little later on I bought Six Man Scramble.

It's an all out WAR! — It’s an all out WAR!

Somewhere Samurai Shodown is smiling — Somewhere *Samurai Shodown* is smiling

Fire Pro games are well known for being very realistic and in-depth. There were several entries on the Super Famicom but the last one, Super Fire Pro Wrestling X Premium, was the best of the 16-bit lot. Four could wrestle at once, and there was an extensive create a wrestler mode where you could create and save up to 80 wrestlers. It blew away any other “CAW” at that time (1996). It was revolutionary in many ways. The grappling is based on a timing and strength system. No button mashing here! I never was a huge fan of wrestling games where you had to mash away in order to win a grapple. Here you win based on timing, which is far more enjoyable. There are weak, medium and strong buttons. If you start out a match trying to use medium or strong moves, your opponent will counter because they’re still too fresh. No energy bars are shown — you’ll just instinctively know how strong or weak someone is.

REVOLUTIONARY FOR ITS TIME

There are a crap load of wrestlers to choose from. It spans many different federations and even include a few familiar American faces, like Hawk here of Road Warriors/Legion of Doom fame (R.I.P.)

SUPLEX CITY! Somewhere Brock Lesnar is pacing as Paul Heyman preps his vocal cords. “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MY NAME IS PAUL HEYMAN…”

There are several modes to select from. The game is mostly in Japanese but of course there is a fan English translation floating out there. I always switch the ref to this old guy here — he counts the slowest of all the refs and so the matches are extended a little bit beyond the norm.

HULK HOGAN and UNDERTAKER?! Yup, they’re available from the start.

Tonight’s main event is a FATAL FOUR WAY featuring the Undertaker, Hulk Hogan, Hayabusa and ECW’s homicidal, suicidal, genocidal death-defying maniac, SABU! It’s gonna be a barnburner, folks! That shot of all four men knocked out on the mat is a sign of the chaos and sheer insanity to come…

Hulkster does his classic pose. Sabu then points to the sky to honor his uncle, The Sheik. Just like their real life counterparts back in their hey day. Great attention to detail! Coming from HUMAN and Fire Pro you wouldn’t expect anything less.

Tonight’s main event will continue until there is one man (or dead man) left standing. Every man for himself, elimination style. Let’s check out the action!

Undertaker delivers a high impact side suplex while Hogan tries to shut up the marks with a well executed Boston Crab.

Hogan with the Big Leg Drop of Doom! Hayabusa tried to intercept it but his timing was a bit off there. In reality we all know nothing stops Hulkamania.

Hayabusa shows off his strength by slamming the dead man, followed by a nice senton flip. Meanwhile, the Hulkster delivers a sweet vertical suplex to the mad man, Sabu.

“STUNNER! STUNNER!! STUNNER!!!” -Jim Ross, probably

Taker with his patented beautiful running flying clothesline. Meanwhile, Hulk hits Sabu with a nasty pinning power bomb.

Hayabusa shows off his classic 450 Splash.

German suplex well executed. That’s gonna leave a mark.

Nobody ever said Sabu was smart now. He lives up to the “suicidal” part of his nickname, for sure. Meanwhile, notice that gorgeous DDT on the Hulkster there. Hayabusa spiked him good! Somewhere Jake “The Snake” Roberts is grinning.

FLYING SPINNING CARTWHEEL KICK AND A BEAUTY! Taker displays his power with a standing delayed vertical suplex. The mat crashes with the bodies of these fierce, insane gladiators.

Break up pin falls if you wish to have all the glory for yourself.

Hayabusa and Sabu form a temporary alliance to take down the Immortal One, but the Undertaker has other plans.

The X sign! He's injured! — The infamous X — he’s injured!

So much for that alliance, eh? Sabu turns on the masked warrior right after and gets him to submit. Not only that but judging by the referee’s X signal, that means we have a legitimate injury… after all, referees show the X sign in real life for real injuries. They’ve never used it as part of a storyline…

Or maybe they did (WrestleMania 22) — Or maybe they have… see WrestleMania 22 and Ric Flair. WOO!

Speaking of the legendary Nature Boy, Ric Flair, look at Hogan taking a page out of Flair’s playbook!

Ric, it worked once in 63 years! — Ric, it worked like once in 49 bloody years!

Choke Slam and a beauty! That HAS to be it!

WHAT THE FU — !

hbk-vs-undertaker-wm-25-highli-o — WrestleMania 25

Hogan tried to mock D-Generation X by doing their signature crotch chop, but the Dead Man wasn’t having any of that.

Guess Taker really took great offense to Hogan trying to rip off DX…

“WOULD SOMEBODY STOP THE DAMN MATCH!” Look at the way Sabu’s head bounced violently off the mat. “GOOD GAWD ALMIGHTY!” is right, Jim Ross.

“AS GOD IS MY WITNESS HE IS BROKEN IN HALF!” The winner of the match, via DEATH, THE UNDERTAKER!

NOT QUITE PERFECT, THOUGH

Super Fire Pro Wrestling X Premium does a lot of things right, especially for 1996 standards. However, it’s not quite perfect. For starters, when you’re near the apron of the ring it’s far too easy to fall outside. It’s awkward and kind of kills the flow of a match. This of course was fixed in later Fire Pro games. Another disappointment is that submission moves are way overpowered. I hate seeing an opponent tap out in a simple head lock hold five minutes into the match. It’s just not realistic. Later Fire Pro games gave you the option to turn submissions off, which negates this flaw. Unfortunately there’s no such option here. Another thing that this game is missing are steel cage matches, tables, fluorescent light bulbs, barb wire and all the crazy gimmicks and weapons that the later Fire Pro games would introduce. Think of this as a very PG and promising start to the series, but it’s far from being the “perfect” Fire Pro game. It’s like an early proto of what would become the successful backbone of the series. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an excellent game but whenever I play it it’s hard not to think about the improvements the series would later introduce, and you kind of wish at least a few of those made their debut here. Hell, just give me the no submissions and I’d be happy. Nevertheless, even as is, this is easily one of the greatest wrestling games of the 16-bit era. Possibly even the greatest…

CAW CAW CAW!

The Create A Wrestler (CAW) mode was revolutionary for its time. You could create and save up to 80 wrestlers. There were tons of moves and body models to pick from that you could closely replicate your favorite titans of the squared circle. Here we see Macho Man Randy Savage, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Sgt. Slaughter and the Ultimate Warrior. They all resemble their real life counterpart pretty damn well! So if you take the time you can easily recreate the magic of late ’80s/early ’90s WWF!

Going super old school with Bobo! — Go super old school with Bobo!

CLOSING THOUGHTS

It’s easy to see why Super Fire Pro Wrestling X Premium is so beloved. Released in March of 1996, it’s been over 20 years now and the game remarkably still holds up well. As I stated a bit earlier, there are definitely better more recent Fire Pro games available, but considering this now 20 plus year old game can still stand toe to toe with most wrestling games from ANY era is no doubt impressive indeed. It speaks to how innovative and fresh this game was back in ’96. You want to recreate the Attitude WWF era? Or the Ruthless Aggression era? Or WCW? ECW? Perhaps relive the Monday Night War? With a little time and devotion to the CAW mode, you can! The game certainly isn’t without its flaws but you simply have to appreciate how deep this game was and still is. Human did a great job and should be highly commended. The series definitely didn’t peak here, but it no doubt laid its grass roots with Super Fire Pro Wrestling X Premium.