Ric Flair is to return to ‘WWE Raw’ to celebrate the life of ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund.
The 69-year-old former wrestler is set to come face to face with his former rival Hulk Hogan when he returns to the show to honour Okerlund, who passed away on Wednesday (02.01.19).
Flair and Okerlund were famous amongst fans of WCW for their weekly "Mean…Wooo! By God… Gene" moments whilst Okerlund conducted one of Flair’s most famous interviews after he won the Royal Rumble and WWE Championships in 1992.
It comes after it was revealed Hulk Hogan will return to Raw to celebrate the life of Okerlund. It will be the 65-year-old star’s appearance on ‘Raw’ since he was suspended by WWE in 2015 after using a series of racial slurs in a recorded conversation.
The iconic duo were close friends for decades and Okerlund’s backstage interviews and on-screen chemistry with Hogan helped to establish him as a global wrestling star.
Okerlund – who died aged 76 – passed away one year after he was last seen on TV.
In a statement, WWE said: "WWE is saddened to learn that WWE Hall of Famer Gene Okerlund, the most recognisable interviewer in sports-entertainment history, has passed away at age 76."
He first joined WWE in 1984 and became a staple of its TV programming through his entertaining skits with the likes of Hogan, ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior.
Okerlund played a huge part in the company’s expansion around the world when Vince McMahon signed him up after his time in the American Wrestling Alliance, and he went on to host shows like ‘Tuesday Night Titans’, ‘Wrestling Challenge’ and ‘Prime Time Wrestling’.
Ric Flair to return to RAW to honour ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund
