29 Wrestlers Who Died In 2019
28. Gene Okerlund (2 January)
'Mean' Gene Okerlund passed away on 2 January following a fall at home. He was 76.
In a career spanning over five decades, Okerlund established himself perhaps the wrestling industry's finest ever presenters. At the time of his death, the tenured legend was signed to a lifetime contract with WWE, recognised as one of the company's most cherished personalities, and a reassuringly familiar figure across several generations of their product.
Born Eugene Arthur Okerlund on 19 December 1942 in Sisseton, South Dakota, the budding broadcast journalist swapped a career in radio for an interviewer's gig in Verne Gagne's AWA. When Vince McMahon began hoovering up the territories in the mid-'80s, he caught Okerlund in his dragnet. The announcer would turn out to be one of McMahon's most valuable captures.
Okerlund's assurance and professional composure in front of the camera provided the perfect counterpoint for the then-WWF's hyper-exaggerated superstars, and he quickly became a staple across all the brand's output. Completely comfortable in any role, Okerlund was omnipresent at WWF shows, including Prime Time Wrestling, Tuesday Night Titans, and every major PPV. Ever dependable, he even sang the national anthem at the first WrestleMania.
Nine years into his WWF stint, Okerlund was swept up by WCW in 1993, after his current employers failed to offer him a new contract. When he was joined by regular on-screen pal Hulk Hogan the following year, the pair provided fresh mainstream legitimacy to a company with realistic aspirations of expansion.
Okerlund's excellence continued throughout his spell in Atlanta, but his return to WWE at WrestleMania X-Seven's 'Gimmick Battle Royal' following the company's purchase of WCW felt like a homecoming. He was retained ever since, hosting countless WWE programmes, and most recently appearing at Raw 25 to interview then-WWE champion AJ Styles.
In 2006, he was inducted into WWE's Hall of Fame by his close friend Hogan.