10 Funniest Mean Gene Okerlund Moments Ever

With a career spanning five decades and multiple major promotions like AWA, WWE, and WCW, among others, Mean Gene Okerlund proved to be one of pro wrestling’s greatest backstage interviewers ever -- one whose work has been the yardstick for every single one of his successors. With an adorably ironic moniker, an iconic “broadcaster voice,” and a dignified, straight-faced approach to talking to wrestlers backstage, Okerlund was the kind of on-screen personality one could imagine interviewing athletes of any sport, which ultimately added to the credibility of whatever show he was on.

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Conversely, all those things that made Mean Gene a boon to pro wrestling production also meant that he was hilarious anytime he said something off-color or broke character. As a result, there are a number of laugh-out-loud moments from the career of Mean Gene Okerlund.

10 The SummerSlam Set Falls Apart

WWE’s got a few great bloopers in its history, but the Mean Gene blooper from 1989’s SummerSlam is easily one of the funniest. Just as Okerlund was beginning his backstage interview of Rick Rude and Bobby Heenan, the SummerSlam sign suddenly fell off the wall, startling the legendary interviewer, who cursed on camera and joked about how much WWE was paying to build the set. To add to the chaos of the moment, there was a mix-up in production and WWE aired the outtake on the SummerSlam broadcast instead of the actual interview.

9 Mean Gene In The Club

While Mean Gene’s whole thing involved being the most professional broadcaster talking to the least professional athletes possible, his late-period WCW iteration involved subverting a lot of that, so fans saw a more raunchy “dirty old man” version of Okerlund. One of the more wholesome (yet still funny) moments had the underrated Mamalukes -- WCW’s version of the Full Blooded Italians -- taking Mean Gene to the club, where he does the whole drunk party animal gimmick, complete with wearing a necktie as a bandanna.

8 Dr. D Was Looking For a Wo-Man

“Dr. D” David Schultz’s biggest claim to fame was slapping the soul out of John Stossel on 20/20 before getting ousted from WWE, but this American Wrestling Association interview with Mean Gene Okerlund is just as memorable.

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As Schultz cuts an unhinged promo on rival Hulk Hogan that is, at best, homophobic, Mean Gene begins cracking up at this crazed man’s rant almost as soon as it begins -- so much that the camera zooms in on Dr. D to keep Okerlund out of frame.

7 Mean Gene Does Not Like The Natural Born Thrillers

There doesn’t appear to be a lot of nostalgia for Mean Gene’s WCW run -- especially the later years -- but Okerlund still had his moments during such trying times. At the Fall Brawl 2000 pay-per-view, Okerlund was conducting an interview with the entire Natural Born Thrillers stable, and was none too impressed, reacting to their antagonism by saying some choice words that he could only get away with on pay-per-view. Because Mean Gene is rarely the focus of segments, it’s incredibly funny to see him get spicy with Mike Awesome and Sean O’Haire.

6 Ivan Putski Is A Turtle

This moment offers the best of both worlds -- Mean Gene showing his professionality as an interviewer and also unexpectedly cracking up. In talking to “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, Okerlund plays the perfect straight man reacting to Orndorff’s claims that he’s the most famous and important person everywhere he goes. But when Mr. Wonderful turns his attention to rival Ivan Putski, comparing him to a turtle, suddenly Mean Gene loses it at the comparison. Unlike many of the Mean Gene crack-ups, this one doesn’t derail the interview.

5 Getting Words Out of Kamala

Given the nature of kayfabe in wrestling, it’s always a special joy to see how personalities behave out of character while the cameras are rolling. The character Kamala infamously never spoke English on-screen, but in this outtake Mean Gene was able to get “The Ugandan Giant” to open up -- kind of. Standing next to Kamala’s manager Kim Chee, Okerlund confronts the big man about missing scheduled interviews in St. Louis, to which Kamala hilariously replies “I don’t speak English and I can’t read English, so I missed the interview.”

4 Mean Gene’s Innuendo Radar Works Too Well

While some fans may balk at Mean Gene’s late period turn as a dirty old man, there’s some clear evidence that it wasn’t just a Vince Russo gimmick. On a May 1985 episode of Tuesday Night Titans, Okerlund conducted a brief interview with WWE Women’s Champion Wendi Richter, who talked about how there were various challengers waiting in the wings to take her title.

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Essentially declaring herself a fighting champ, Richter said the phrase “I’m not about to lay down on my back and let someone cover me,” prompting Mean Gene to crack up at what was mild innuendo at best.

3 Training With Hogan

Mean Gene and Hulk Hogan were among the many wrestlers who jumped ship from the American Wrestling Association to WWE in the mid-1980s, and in 1984 the duo found themselves in a little feud against George “The Animal” Steele and Mr. Fuji. In anticipation of a tag team match, Okerlund agreed to train with The Hulkster, leading to fun skits where Mean Gene was forced to gulp down raw eggs for breakfast and struggle through basic workouts.

2 Playing Straight Man To Bret

While it turns out that Mean Gene Okerlund is actually pretty funny himself, it should never be forgotten what a consummate straight man he was to his interview subjects. One of the best examples of this, is, of course, the infamous Bret Hart promo where he decided to big-up El Dandy, perpetuate the phrase “jam-up guy,” and exaggerate his pulled groin. It’s all ridiculously funny, but Mean Gene’s contributions as the level-headed straight man pointing out that Hart got Psychosis’ name wrong are crucial to the hilarity of the segment.

1 Burying Ken Patera

While Mean Gene always came off as a professional, even he had trouble enduring an interview with one-time Intercontinental Champion Ken Patera. As Patera stumbles through a low-energy, rambling promo about his feud with the Heenan Family stable, Okerlund is entirely unable to contain himself, uncontrollably giggling and trying to hide his face. Mean Gene’s inability to maintain a straight face turns a less-than-stellar promo into a cringeworthy -- and hilarious -- disaster, one that’s remained in the consciousness of wrestling fans over the years.

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