10 Staples From Wrestling's Past WWE Must Bring Back
3. Gene Okerlund Interviews
The Gene Okerlund interview, which he would conduct before a Pay Per View match, is a far cry from the way matches are progressed outside of the ring in 2016.
Almost every episode of RAW begins with a fifteen minute promo which drags on, seemingly, forever. Despite their relative brevity, the backstage interviews with Renee Young and her ilk are somehow even worse. The person with whom the interview subject is feuding is invariably standing nearby, ready for a confrontation, rendering it impossible to shake the impression that they simply follow one another around at all times.
Even the worst Okerlund interviews were, at the very least, brief and to the point. The way in which they were framed - almost like the press interviews associated with legitimate sports - added an air of realism to the cartoonish Rock n' Wrestling era. Sometimes, he even turned the airwaves blue.
The very best demonstrated that a wrestler, if they were sufficiently talented, needed barely more than a minute to summarise the grievance with their opponent in a way which also heightened their own sense of character.
The most seminal example remains Jake Roberts' pre-match WrestleMania VI promo, in which he reminds the audience at home just how despicable Ted DiBiase is before acting as their heroic proxy.