Mean Gene Okerlund Discusses His Announcing Career, Egos In The Business And More
MEAN GENE OKERLUND DISCUSSES HIS ANNOUNCING CAREER, COMPARES ERIC BISCHOFF IN THE AWA TO THE BISCHOFF THAT RAN WCW, EGOS IN THE BUSINESS AND MORE
Barbaric Wrestling Radio head booker Mike Mazzarone booked Gene Okerlund for a pre taped afternoon interview, and because of this mistake the three hosts of the show were unavailable for this interview due to scheduling conflicts, so Mike Mazzarone himself was forced to interview Gene. If you want to hear Brett and Sanman conduct interviews listen to the full episode at BWRonline..net because there are also interviews with DDP and Steve Corino on this episode..
Mike welcomed Gene to the BWR airwaves after some heartfelt comments in which Gene said “Well the deck is really in your favor now.” The interview started with Mike asking on how Gene got his now famous moniker, “Mean Gene.” Okerlund said that the nickname was started by one of his personal friends and one of the greatest politicians in the world: Jesse Ventura. Gene said that Jesse gave it to him during an interview conducted in 1978 and after “a few rounds” it stuck. In fact, Gene pointed out that the nickname was so successful that at one point it was buried into the ground when WCW was near its end Ric Flair called him “Mean BY GOD Gene.”
The interviewed then moved onto the topic of Mean Gene’s Burgers, Mazzarone asked Gene how it came about and Okerlund said since he was on the road a lot he didn’t like going to five star restaurants or McDonalds and all he wanted to do was enjoy “a nice adult beverage and grill out some nice burgers.” He decided to start a regional chain after the burgers become such a hit around his neighborhood. Okerlund went on record to say that not only is it “one hell of a burger;” it is also made from the freshest ingredients and NOT sold online so anyone can by them.
Fan questions were then pulled up, and when Gene when asked, “How did Eric Bischoff during his AWA tenure differ from his WCW tenure?” Gene responded that he was a different man back then and a “start up guy.” Gene also said that he while working in WCW he saw Eric’s ego grow bigger and bigger. He also mentions later on in the interview that Bischoff had no idea what he was doing as an Owner/President, where as Vince McMahon, even though he can be strict at times, has always been fit for his position. Okerlund spoke highly of McMahon saying that he was the “easiest person to deal with and also the hardest.” Gene made a point to say that Vince is the one guy whose bad side you do not want to get on.
Speaking of egos, along with Bischoff, Gene said that even though he thinks he’s a good guy, Bill Goldberg had one of the biggest egos during his four year stint in WCW. However, Okerlund said that Goldberg had the right to have an ego due to the fact that he won 154 matches.
Mike then asked Gene to compare TNA to WCW. Gene said while TNA has deep pockets like WCW did he wouldn’t compare the two just yet. He also said that WWE is more like WCW. This led into to Mazzarone asking Gene if “TNA are making the same mistake that WCW did by not pushing homegrown talent and hiring talent.” Gene said that he prefers the farm system and that while you can buy an “A-Rod” and “Bobby Bonds” (He said Bobby, not Barry) but sometimes they are just in it for the money. He also said that he likes the wrestlers that are in the business because they have a passion for it.
The interview took a serious turn when Mazzarone asked Gene about Vince Russo and about him “seeing the light.” Mike questioned Okerlund as to if he thought that Russo is being truthful in claiming that he has been saved. Gene sarcastically responded “Well good for him. Michael Vick was “saved” all of a sudden after he was going to lose 24 million dollars and being sent to poky for a year and a half.” When asked if Russo says he “saw the light” to help his financial gain, Okerlund got “choked up” (not sure if it was sarcastic or sincere) and didn’t want go on talking about the controversial topic at hand.
Mike then brought up who he would like to see hold the WWE/World Championship on the current WWE roster and why? Okerlund said that he could speculate as much as anyone and that he thinks the WWE has a lot of deserving challengers. However, he said that one of them truly needs to step up to the plate and be exceptional. Gene mentions some of the bigger names who started small and became big like Hulk Hogan and Mick Foley.
Mazzarone also asked Mean Gene about the death of WCW, and he thought caused it. He said that “when the inmates run the asylum, it’s not going to be long until something happens.” He made points that what really killed WCW were the “AOL clowns and Ted Turner leaving.” Okerlund also said that WCW could still be around today if Jamie Kellner had never come into the mix.
Gene’s also talks about saying the F word at Summerslam 89, his thoughts on The Rock’s Hall of Fame Speech and if it truly was “disrespectful” like those jealous of The Rock have said, and Ric Flair’s retirement. He also answers Brett’s hilarious text questions regarding the “Do people think I’m sexy?” line in Ready To Rumble and so much More.
Go to bwronline.net now and listen to the BWR 4-Year Anniversary Show with GENE OKERLUND, DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE, and STEVE CORINO. Gene comes on at around the 2 and a half hour mark, so go listen to it now!
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