Off to the squared circle in the sky.

If you are a person of  a certain age and demographic then Mean Gene Okerlund was THE voice of the World Wrestling Federation.

It was ringside commentary as the straight man to Bobby “The Brain” Heenan.

If there is an afterlife, then these two are running commentary for the rest of us!

It was announcing wrestlers to the ring.
For me, it was the pre- and post-match interviews that really made Gene Okerlund stand out. Having to deal with the insanity of the Ultimate Warrior, the rants by Macho Man, the bigger than life energy of Hulk Hogan, the machismo of “Ravishing” Rick Rude, being in the shadow of Andre “The Giant”, the arrogance of Stone Cold Steve Austin or Degeneration X, the rants of Rowdy Roddy Piper or the  sheer silliness of tag teams like Big Boss Man and Akeem and gods know how many more wrestlers. Possibly everyone that ever wrestled over the last 3+ decades has been interviewed by “Mean” Gene.

The consummate good guy, sometimes clues and consummate straight man.