“In his early days, ‘Mean Gene,’ as he was named by fellow Minnesotan, Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura first came to prominence by interviewing the greatest stars of the AWA, including ...

Nicknamed "Mean Gene" by longtime colleague and fellow Minnesotan Jesse Ventura, Okerlund began as a backstage interviewer in the Minneapolis-based AWA in the early 1970s. In his early days ...