Mean Gene Interview

[Guest BobBacklundRules]

The following are highlights from WrestleZone Radio's interview with "Mean" Gene Okerlund of WWE Confidential. The interview was conducted by Matt Boone and Ryan Clark on December 17th. You can listen to the streaming audio or downloadable version of the 50+ minute interview over at http://www.wrestlezoneradio.com.

On His Role In WWE..

 

>> Mean Gene said he enjoys being the host of WWE Confidential, but wouldn't mind doing some interview work for the company. He said he was assigned work on the January 13th RAW, and was asked to be at the RAW 10th Anniversary special on January 14th.

 

On RAW 10th Anniversary..

 

>> Said he will be at hand for the RAW 10th Anniversary which he mentioned is going to take place at The World in Times Square, New York on Tuesday, January 14th. Said some "old-timers" should be there, he knows Bobby "The Brain" Heenan was asked to appear and expects some other good surprises at the 10th Anniversary special.

 

On His Memorable Interviews..

 

>> Mean Gene liked the interviews he has done with Hulk Hogan, and absolutely loved the Ric Flair "Mean...BYGOD Gene" catchphrase. He also mentioned that to this day, Ric Flair says that on the phone to him during conversations.

 

On Changes In WWE From Past To Present..

 

>> When he left in the fall of '93, they didn't have writers. Vince McMahon did most of the writing, and Pat Patterson had a lot of input as well. He mentioned that now the booking committee and the writers are pretty much the same, and he doesn't know if that's a good thing.

 

On The Current State Of WWE..

 

>> He feels WWE is currently in a down cycle, but has seen McMahon struggle before and overcome it time and time again. He feels one day McMahon will wake up and turn it around yet again. He compared today's product to being the "calm before the storm." He said some of the necrophelia stuff may turn off the family viewers, and that's never a good thing.

 

On Wrestlers Playing Ribs On Him..

 

>> When asked how hard it is to keep a straight face during funny interviews, Okerlund said that some of the boys tend to try and break him during interviews as it makes them feel they've won him over. He mentioned that Bobby Heenan, Steven Regal, Alford Hates, Mad Dog Vachon, Ric Flair, and Baron Von Rasche has done it to him on several occassions. About 11 years ago, Randy Savage told him right in the middle of an interview: "Okerlund...stop rigt there."

 

On Future Stars Of The Business..

 

>> Okerlund said that there are plenty of the guys on the uprise who will be stars 10 years from now. Brock Lesnar was the first that came to mind to him, and also feels Kurt Angle is going to be a main-eventer for a long time to come.

 

On WCW Backstage Atmosphere..

 

>> He compared the WCW locker room to a "deer caught in the headlights." He said nobody knew what was going on half the time. Mentioned Eric Bischoff didn't have a clue and too many wrestlers were given free reign of the company. Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan, and Scott Hall were names that came to mind.

 

On How His WWE Return Came About..

 

>> He said he had every intention of returning to the company, and his WCW contract didn't run out until about a month ago, so he has been "double-dipping" for a couple years. He had conversations with WWE executive producer Kevin Dunn during the final days of WCW and knew it was a matter of time before the ironed out the details for him to make his comeback.

 

On Differences In Interviews Over The Years..

 

>> Mean Gene feels there should be a third party in the ring with the microphone to regulate the interviews and build the heat for the heel, and put over the babyface. He said in the past wrestlers built their matches well while now it's more of a comedy segment more so than a promo to build toward the match. He also isn't a big fan of how promos take place backstage and in the parking lot.

 

On WWE Confidential Timeslot Changes..

 

>> Mean Gene said they attempted to move the show to a new timeslot on a better day and time, and actually had a plan set to move it, but it never came to fruition. He also feels the show does a good job of making stars by making people care about them from a behind-the-scenes look on how the person is in real life.

 

On Steve Austin/WWE Situation..

 

>> Gene Okerlund loved the segment on Confidential with Steve Austin. Felt it was a good time to do it as they covered it the Saturday immediately after he walked out on the company, and was able to have Vince McMahon and "Jimmy" Ross comment on it personally. He made a prediction on the show and said that "in the not to distant future, we will see "Stone Cold" Steve Austin once again. That's confidential, because I'm gonna spring that story."

 

On Vince Russo..

 

>> Mean Gene asked what kind of language could be used on our air, and followed it up by calling Vince Russo a "piece of sh*t". He said he's aware of what he's doing in NWA-TNA, and sees him burning a third company to the ground. He told Russo if he wants to write Science Fiction, go work for the Sci-Fi channel and leave wrestling alone.

 

On Bill Goldberg..

 

>> Okerlund feels Bill Goldberg is the most successful Jewish athelete in history, with the possible exception being Moncia Lewinsky. He said Goldberg climbed the ladder to success quickly, and heard he was guaranteed $3 million over 4 years back in WCW - and you can't argue with success.

 

On The Rock...

 

>> He met The Rock when he was only 4 years old, and thinks the world of his father, Rocky Johnson, and grandfather, Peter Maivia. He feels The Rock is an incredibly charistmatic performer who rose to levels that many haven't. He also feels Rock should be brought back as a heel, as his Hollywood schedule pretty much cuts his work out for him as far as playing off of it to be a heel character.

[Guest dreamer420]

Mean Gene rules. I'm glad he has a place in WWE right now.

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

So his contract is just something they imported from WCW?

 

How'd he end up doing Classic AWA shows that I see advertised on PPV, all the time?