The year 2019 did not get off to a great start for wrestling fans, as we had to say goodbye to the greatest professional wrestling interviewer of all time, 'Mean' Gene Okerlund.
'Mean' Gene Okerlund passed away on the morning of January 2, 2019, at the age of 76 in a Florida hospital, with his family by his side. The WWE Hall of Famer had received three kidney transplants and had suffered a fall which caused his health to deteriorate in the weeks leading up to his death.
Over the course of his near 50-year long career, 'Mean' Gene Okerlund was an interviewer for the AWA, WCW and of course, WWE. He was famous among fans for his friendship with Hulk Hogan, where Hogan would give the most famous wrestling interview quote of all time, ''Well let tell you something Mean Gene! ''. Okerlund made his last appearance on WWE TV, appearing on the 25th-anniversary episode of RAW, interviewing then WWE Champion AJ Styles.