RIP to the late great Mean Gene Okerlund & Ultimate Warrior Stream the Full Shoot Interview (2006) ➡titlematchnetwork.com/wrestling-shoot-interviews-results/
That's not true, Warrior got the money I believe a physical check and then they had him sign a release and told him "you know your fired right?" then he was told to get out.
I met Mean Gene in Nokomis, Florida (Gulf Coast) at a restaurant I worked at as a server/bartender. Gene loved Kettle One Martini’s straight up, dry with olives. This was back in 2000/2001. I was a huge WWF fan back in the early 80’s till about 1992 when I turned 14 and only cared about playing football and baseball. Gene Okurland came into my restaurant at least twice a week. Gene was one of the coolest, nicest most generous guests I’ve ever taken care of. He and I would talk about wrestling, and I asked him about Wrestlemania III and the Hogan vs Andre match. Mean Gene told me about how Hogan and Vince were worried about Andre not doing business and how there would be nothing Hogan could do if Andre didn’t want him to win. Hogan was supposed to go over, but Andre wanted to test the Hulkster and “Rib” him because Hogan was trying for days to talk to Andre about the match. Andre would run Hogan out of the locker room every time Hogan wanted to go over the match with him. This was a serious concern. Andre controlled his matches and he legitimately shooted on Iron Sheik, Bam Bam Bigelow, Big John Studd, Black Jack Mulligan, etc. Hogan was terrified. Andre called the match and allowed Hogan to get over after the Hulkster showed utmost respect before they wrestled. The rest is history. Imagine if Andre decided to shoot against Hogan…. Andre could’ve been the world champ…
Mean Gene was the absolute best at what he did. Nobody even comes close. I especially loved when he would announce the upcoming card coming to my area (Oakland, CA). That would always excite me when I was a kid. Also, one of my best friends bought me a Mean Gene LJN figure for Christmas '87. 🙂 Thank you and fly easy, Mr. Okerlund. 🙏
Met Mean Gene at a wrestling match in Sarasota. He was walking by and my brother called out, "hey, Mean Gene". He came over shook our hands and said, "see what happens when you vote republican".
You want to see a sad thing about him its after he past away watch the video of ddp crying well he explained that when he went to his funeral not a damn person from all his year in the business cared enough to go other then ddp when he said was heart breaking
4:30 Reene Goulet I'll remember Bruce Prichard telling about him on the walkie talkie (French accent) "The clown is down!" [Doink/Matt Borne] fell down the stairs in the crowd whenever he appear in the audience on TV he'd be in the background during a match. 😂
I remember seeing one of the "officials" that ran out everytime a wrestler disobeyed the referee and kept beating in someone while the bell was ringing over & over. This one with blonde hair & glasses and seeing him with a big walkie talkie and thinking who the helld this guy lol 😂and I only found out recently that is Rene Goulet
What warrior did was wrong but to be fair to him he sent a letter to Vince months before the match not the day of and held him up so Vince lied to the boys about that. It could have been handled way before the event happened
I think the problem was warrior want to be paid and treated like hogan. Hogan didnt have to "hold" Vince up for money. He said it was light vince gave him another check. Warrior saw that. Vince want another hogan he just didnt want to pay for it. Vince and Hogan learned the "new pay" scale for a national wrestling business together. He never made that mistake again. Warrior/lex lugar/hitman/nash/hall....stone cold came close but he even humbled him at the end. Hogan the only man that vince never humble with money or his image.
I really loved the Ultimate Warrior back as a kid. I got absolutely psyched when I saw him run into the ring and you better believe I was going for him to win Wrestlemania VI. But now as an adult I can definitely see what happened. The Ultimate Warrior was too one dimensional. I'm sure the guy behind the face paint had a lot of interesting things in his head, but the Warrior character was just a high adrenaline man of mystery. In Randy Savage or Hulk Hogan interviews, you got all sorts of insight into the match ahead. Warrior just grunted the same old inaudible stuff - It got old. Then when The Ultimate Warrior tried to add a bit of extra dimension to the character, e.g. wearing that cap in the ring, it just didn't look right. It was no one's fault. So yeah... The Ultimate Warrior couldn't carry the torch of Hulk Hogan - It just wasn't possible. Wrestlemania VI was unreal, but after that, I'd say people were burnt out.
Warrior deserved the money period. He was the the talent. His fame grew during the pucket change that he had agreed too and he wanted more and he deserved. Wwf had the money to pay him off and continue to make millions if him .if a the promotor makes 10 million of a wrestler per year he can afford to pay that wrestler 1 million pet year or maybe 2 million but just collect and collect and when the wrestler starts to complain than oay him or looose everything that you have earned with wrestler and thats what happened. The warrior was over with lthe little ones with kids he became bigger than hogan his merchandise would sell fast and it was the warriors imige pay him and by not paying him wwf let a fans disappointed because fans wanted to se the warrior.
I mean to be fair, Vince fucked up a bunch of people's money over the years. I would have done the same regardless. In the end, it worked for Warrior. He got a huge contract from WCW a year and change later.
@prestonpfeiffer then, it worked regardless. Vince had called him back. He knew he was worth and truth be told, Vince supposedly stiffed him 250k . Vince has a history of stuffing talent. This is widely known. I repeat people who know their worth and value themselves. Don't you?
I would not call Ultimate Warrior holding up Vince McMahon, the WWF/WWE got caught red handed later on selling Ultimate Warrior merchandise without royalties to Ultimate Warrior. Further look at the majority of wrestlers once they are at the end of their careers and they are broke while the WWF/WWE is a billion dollar company. I have no issue with the Ultimate Warrior getting more money. Gene Okerlund was another one who was not well off in the end.
The two aren't mutually exclusive. Warrior could be 100% correct about Vince. Doesn't change who Jim Helwig was, what he did, what he said. Both can easily be a**holes
I always thought of gene as a funny announcer interviewer. It’s funny how so many seem to worship warrior in the ring but all the stories you hear in real life he comes off as an arrogant a hole. Even Bret hart wrote in his book that he didn’t like warrior especially when a handicapped kid asked warrior for his autograph and he declined. That for me makes him a total dick in my book
It was business. Warrior was drawing money and he wanted a good pay. Vince didn't want to pay a lot of money to a lot of guys. Vince tricked warrior by telling things that I'll do it later or I'll increase your pay etc. Warrior had an idea for his gimmick and wanted it that way. He was drawing well and thought those ideas would help his character draw more money. Vince was notorious for manipulating talent and giving them false hopes so that they show up on events. Disagreements would lead to wrestlers not showing up at the event screwing the fans and Vince. Warrior may have been reasonable or maybe he expected more. Vince should have Negotiated well. But Vince knew how to lie. I don't blame warrior, it's difficult to be kind when you are fooled. Bret would have also done the same after the Montreal screwjob.
Man made or not? People think that we take steroids and we wake up the next day with muscles. No matter what steroids or peds anyone takes, they still have to be in the gym daily and put in ALOT of hard work. There are no exceptions to this.
I preferred Warrior over Hogan but overall he wasnt nearly the draw Hogan was and for how long Hogan was. Everytime he left,the show carried on…he greatly overvalued himself.
Warrior gets a lot of flats because he wore the hustle on his sleeve. A lot of the guys in the locker room were after the same thing they just tried to disguise it. He was certainly a complicated and problematic individual, but when he hit those ropes the roof came off the building.
It's gene's opinion personally I liked the ultimate warriors attitude he spoke his mind he knew that the only real thing in professional wrestling is the money and the miles it was a job to him nothing more
Probably because unlike you he actually knew him personally and found him to be a complete unprofessional asshole in the workplace to those who had to deal with him on a daily basis.
He did business like a true Republican. That is why his wife and kids left him in the end. He also died dead broke. Probably had to get Tren on loan towards the end.
RIP to the late great Mean Gene Okerlund & Ultimate Warrior
Stream the Full Shoot Interview (2006)
➡titlematchnetwork.com/wrestling-shoot-interviews-results/
That's not true, Warrior got the money I believe a physical check and then they had him sign a release and told him "you know your fired right?" then he was told to get out.
**you’re
Man I dont care what this guy talks about. When he starts talking my childhood comes back to me. I loved watching him when I was a kid.
You and me both
Voice of a generation. R.i.p gene
I could listen to Gene read the dictionary. Very well spoken and what a voice.
What a great voice!!!
Thank you
Hell yeah, he has a man voice. Unlike the clowns now.
Literally
If someone said, " What does a wrestling announcer/ interviewer look like"? I think of Mean Gene Okerlund!
When I think of my childhood days watching wrestling I think of mean gene on the mic! He is definitely the voice of WWF back then! RIP mean gene!
If I ever had to do a public speech, I would study this man something fierce. Gene Okerlund was a LEGEND
Something about Mean Gene asking "Does that jive with you?" Cures my soul ......RIP you legend
Best interviewer hands down! What an incredible voice Gene had as well!
R.I.P. Mean Gene
He deserves a hall of fame spot
I met Mean Gene in Nokomis, Florida (Gulf Coast) at a restaurant I worked at as a server/bartender. Gene loved Kettle One Martini’s straight up, dry with olives. This was back in 2000/2001. I was a huge WWF fan back in the early 80’s till about 1992 when I turned 14 and only cared about playing football and baseball. Gene Okurland came into my restaurant at least twice a week. Gene was one of the coolest, nicest most generous guests I’ve ever taken care of. He and I would talk about wrestling, and I asked him about Wrestlemania III and the Hogan vs Andre match. Mean Gene told me about how Hogan and Vince were worried about Andre not doing business and how there would be nothing Hogan could do if Andre didn’t want him to win. Hogan was supposed to go over, but Andre wanted to test the Hulkster and “Rib” him because Hogan was trying for days to talk to Andre about the match. Andre would run Hogan out of the locker room every time Hogan wanted to go over the match with him. This was a serious concern. Andre controlled his matches and he legitimately shooted on Iron Sheik, Bam Bam Bigelow, Big John Studd, Black Jack Mulligan, etc. Hogan was terrified. Andre called the match and allowed Hogan to get over after the Hulkster showed utmost respect before they wrestled. The rest is history. Imagine if Andre decided to shoot against Hogan…. Andre could’ve been the world champ…
Sounds like you’re repeating the story hulk tells about that.
🤔
That's sick! Cherish that
Who would kick andres ass during that time other than haku. No one.
@@DemonDriver31 🤣 true but the junk yard dog was about to shoot him
He was unbelievable, greatest 💪 interviewer ever. What a blast.
Incredible voice. Didn’t realise how important it was to my childhood.
Mean Gene was the absolute best at what he did. Nobody even comes close. I especially loved when he would announce the upcoming card coming to my area (Oakland, CA). That would always excite me when I was a kid. Also, one of my best friends bought me a Mean Gene LJN figure for Christmas '87. 🙂 Thank you and fly easy, Mr. Okerlund. 🙏
Met Mean Gene at a wrestling match in Sarasota. He was walking by and my brother called out, "hey, Mean Gene". He came over shook our hands and said, "see what happens when you vote republican".
Mean Gene was the best interviewer in the wwf in the 80's.
He was?
Mean gene was always more entertaining in the interviews then the guys he was interviewing
Gene is the best interviewer they had ever..the ones they have now are the drizzling 💩
Mean Gene was the standard and there will never be another
Big ups to Geno for mentioning Gordon Solie, if you grew up in Fla/Ga you know.
Mene gene is a legend big part of my childhood
MEAN WOOOOOOO GENE!!!!!
R.I.P. Mean Gene Okerlund
Mean Gene Okerlund. One of the greatest interviewers and interviewees of all time.
You want to see a sad thing about him its after he past away watch the video of ddp crying well he explained that when he went to his funeral not a damn person from all his year in the business cared enough to go other then ddp when he said was heart breaking
Sherri Martel either,besides Booker and Stevie Ray
Mean Gene had a voice that would make you stop and listen. RIP MEAN GENE
As far as interviewers go, Mean Gene was the GOAT. Seeing him holding the mic for Hulk Hogan was legendary, RIP Gene
Him holding the mic for Macho Man, Paul Orndorf, and Ric Flair was great.
@@MickiesheltonDave Shultz too
His promos with macho man were classics!
No one was better than Mean Gene. He lended much needed gravitas that is sorely lacking toodsy
There won’t ever be a another Mean Gene
God, please give us back Mean Gene. We really miss him.
Mean Jean Noland mean Jean Oak Oakland I was at an AWA in Winnipeg 1982 at the Winnipeg Arena
Mean Jean was the man.... I truly miss him......
#RIPMeanGene
#RIPWarrior
4:30 Reene Goulet I'll remember Bruce Prichard telling about him on the walkie talkie (French accent) "The clown is down!" [Doink/Matt Borne] fell down the stairs in the crowd whenever he appear in the audience on TV he'd be in the background during a match. 😂
I remember seeing one of the "officials" that ran out everytime a wrestler disobeyed the referee and kept beating in someone while the bell was ringing over & over. This one with blonde hair & glasses and seeing him with a big walkie talkie and thinking who the helld this guy lol 😂and I only found out recently that is Rene Goulet
we need more interviews with mean gene
Kind of like the old-heads loyalty to the business about wrestlers using ROIDS. They don't admit it or deny it, props.
Gordon was great as well
I remember one of Gene's last appearances was at a horror con based in Chicago. 😢
Days of the Dead? I saw him at the one in Atlanta.
R.I.P Mean Gene💯🙏🏾
Love Mean Gene, but I get so sick of hearing people 💩 all over Warrior all the time.
MEEEEEEEEAAAAANNNNN GEEEEEEEENNNNEEEE.....WOOOOO!!!
R.I.P
Really sad almost no wrestlers came to his funeral other than DDP & a couple others,sad.
What warrior did was wrong but to be fair to him he sent a letter to Vince months before the match not the day of and held him up so Vince lied to the boys about that. It could have been handled way before the event happened
Is that what Warrior claimed? If so, I wouldn’t trust what he said.
This interview with Gene is like having a chat in the bar with your friends slightly roguish grandpa
You know something mean gene!!!
I think the problem was warrior want to be paid and treated like hogan. Hogan didnt have to "hold" Vince up for money. He said it was light vince gave him another check. Warrior saw that. Vince want another hogan he just didnt want to pay for it. Vince and Hogan learned the "new pay" scale for a national wrestling business together. He never made that mistake again. Warrior/lex lugar/hitman/nash/hall....stone cold came close but he even humbled him at the end. Hogan the only man that vince never humble with money or his image.
I really loved the Ultimate Warrior back as a kid. I got absolutely psyched when I saw him run into the ring and you better believe I was going for him to win Wrestlemania VI. But now as an adult I can definitely see what happened. The Ultimate Warrior was too one dimensional. I'm sure the guy behind the face paint had a lot of interesting things in his head, but the Warrior character was just a high adrenaline man of mystery. In Randy Savage or Hulk Hogan interviews, you got all sorts of insight into the match ahead. Warrior just grunted the same old inaudible stuff - It got old. Then when The Ultimate Warrior tried to add a bit of extra dimension to the character, e.g. wearing that cap in the ring, it just didn't look right. It was no one's fault. So yeah... The Ultimate Warrior couldn't carry the torch of Hulk Hogan - It just wasn't possible. Wrestlemania VI was unreal, but after that, I'd say people were burnt out.
Didn’t Vince not pay Stu Hart after he “bought” Stampede Wrestling?
That’s right, he welshed. Idk why Gene is acting like Vince’s promises meant anything
Never overestimate your own value
i HAVE the self dectruction dvd
Warrior deserved the money period. He was the the talent. His fame grew during the pucket change that he had agreed too and he wanted more and he deserved. Wwf had the money to pay him off and continue to make millions if him .if a the promotor makes 10 million of a wrestler per year he can afford to pay that wrestler 1 million pet year or maybe 2 million but just collect and collect and when the wrestler starts to complain than oay him or looose everything that you have earned with wrestler and thats what happened. The warrior was over with lthe little ones with kids he became bigger than hogan his merchandise would sell fast and it was the warriors imige pay him and by not paying him wwf let a fans disappointed because fans wanted to se the warrior.
anyone who gives Mcmhaon the predator a hard time is ok in my book
I mean to be fair, Vince fucked up a bunch of people's money over the years. I would have done the same regardless.
In the end, it worked for Warrior. He got a huge contract from WCW a year and change later.
He didnt go to WCW until 98,this is referencing Summerslam 91 not the 1996 return where he beat HHH in seconds
@prestonpfeiffer then, it worked regardless. Vince had called him back. He knew he was worth and truth be told, Vince supposedly stiffed him 250k .
Vince has a history of stuffing talent. This is widely known. I repeat people who know their worth and value themselves.
Don't you?
I would not call Ultimate Warrior holding up Vince McMahon, the WWF/WWE got caught red handed later on selling Ultimate Warrior merchandise without royalties to Ultimate Warrior. Further look at the majority of wrestlers once they are at the end of their careers and they are broke while the WWF/WWE is a billion dollar company. I have no issue with the Ultimate Warrior getting more money.
Gene Okerlund was another one who was not well off in the end.
Ok right off the bat. What does marble mouth interview guy ask Gene, word for word at 0:03?
Summerslam promo, the infamous promo where you cursed by accident with Rick Rude. Did you get heat for that at all or nah?
@@TitleMatchWrestling Thank you. I'd have never gotten the last 4 words LOL
And to think….nobody from WWE corporate showed up to his funeral…
Everyone hated the Warrior
RIP ultimate warrior
Vince can get f*****. Warrior was right about him all along.
How so?
The two aren't mutually exclusive. Warrior could be 100% correct about Vince. Doesn't change who Jim Helwig was, what he did, what he said. Both can easily be a**holes
the interviews are taped so it wouldnt be the fault of gene or the wrestler if a cuss word or bad take made it on air
6:45 How ironic he mentions Fox News in that context given what happened with Roger Ailes
I always thought of gene as a funny announcer interviewer. It’s funny how so many seem to worship warrior in the ring but all the stories you hear in real life he comes off as an arrogant a hole. Even Bret hart wrote in his book that he didn’t like warrior especially when a handicapped kid asked warrior for his autograph and he declined. That for me makes him a total dick in my book
It was business. Warrior was drawing money and he wanted a good pay. Vince didn't want to pay a lot of money to a lot of guys.
Vince tricked warrior by telling things that I'll do it later or I'll increase your pay etc.
Warrior had an idea for his gimmick and wanted it that way. He was drawing well and thought those ideas would help his character draw more money.
Vince was notorious for manipulating talent and giving them false hopes so that they show up on events.
Disagreements would lead to wrestlers not showing up at the event screwing the fans and Vince.
Warrior may have been reasonable or maybe he expected more. Vince should have Negotiated well. But Vince knew how to lie. I don't blame warrior, it's difficult to be kind when you are fooled.
Bret would have also done the same after the Montreal screwjob.
MEAN -WOOOOO-BYE-GOD-GENE
Man made or not? People think that we take steroids and we wake up the next day with muscles. No matter what steroids or peds anyone takes, they still have to be in the gym daily and put in ALOT of hard work. There are no exceptions to this.
I preferred Warrior over Hogan but overall he wasnt nearly the draw Hogan was and for how long Hogan was. Everytime he left,the show carried on…he greatly overvalued himself.
Warrior gets a lot of flats because he wore the hustle on his sleeve. A lot of the guys in the locker room were after the same thing they just tried to disguise it. He was certainly a complicated and problematic individual, but when he hit those ropes the roof came off the building.
Warrior was a ego maniac but had the appeal & charisma. His ego was his downfall in the wrestling biz.
Warrior got him paid. Nobody paid to see Gene. But anyway Rip Gene.
Warrior was liked by some children and no one else.
Vince really really really liked the Ultimate warrior 😂
That was their main target group though
Hulk said warrior grew to 8 feet tall and 975 pounds at one point.
Yep that night he slammed him and tore his acl & mcl doin it😂
@@bmorris8276 😀
The whole warrior gimmick sucked and the guy couldn’t do anything in the ring.
What an original opinion! Says the guy who never worked a match in his life.
Neither could you
@@ziggypop79let's all laugh at you because you think you needed to be a wrestler to criticize wrestlers.
@@YurRedRooster lets laugh at you because you’re a mark who thinks rest holds and wrist locks draw money.
@ziggypop79 you're mad the ultimate warrior was criticized, you're the only mark here
Gene Okerlund loves burying and criticizing Ultimate Warrior on this interview as much as he did on the Self-Destruction of Warrior documentary.
Gene cared about the wrestling business and had class. The Warrior didn’t and only cared about himself
@@Ryenobal you aren't wrong, my friend.
A lot of his peers say that from Dibiase to Heenan.
@@Ryenobal So much class that he had a liver transplant, thus depriving someone else of it, then carried on drinking anyway.
It's gene's opinion personally I liked the ultimate warriors attitude he spoke his mind he knew that the only real thing in professional wrestling is the money and the miles it was a job to him nothing more
Probably because unlike you he actually knew him personally and found him to be a complete unprofessional asshole in the workplace to those who had to deal with him on a daily basis.
He did business like a true Republican. That is why his wife and kids left him in the end. He also died dead broke. Probably had to get Tren on loan towards the end.
Interesting. More info?
Like a true Republican? Spoken like a leftist with no brains.
Who Warrior ?
Never liked The Ultimate Warrior or his theme music. He was a troublemaker too.
Yet U Like Sting ! (tag team partners) ~ 🤔
Watch when Howard finkle comes out to it 2-3 weeks into Chris Jericho’s first run in wwf. He did the rope shake and everything
Gene has the greatest broadcaster voice wrestling has ever known.
This was debunked so long ago. Warrior asked for more money months ago but Vince lied about it claiming he was being held up.