Legend says WWE changed his name after Gene Okerlund's apparent botch (Exclusive)

Gene Okerlund is widely viewed as one of the best wrestling announcers ever. In an exclusive interview, legendary manager Harvey Wippleman recalled how the late WWE Hall of Famer accidentally created his name.

Wippleman, real name Bruno Lauer, made his name as Downtown Bruno while managing in Memphis in the 1980s. In 1991, he received a new name after being recommended to WWE by two-time WrestleMania main-eventer Sid Vicious.

Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter, Wippleman revealed his surname was supposed to be Wipple until Okerlund said it incorrectly:

"They said, 'We're gonna call him Henry Harvey.' They said, 'Nah, that sounds ridiculous. Sounds like two first names.' Then [commentator] Gorilla Monsoon goes, 'What about Harvey Wipple?' And Vince [former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon] goes, 'Okay, let's go with it.' Harvey Wipple. So we get out there for the interview and Gene Okerlund mistakenly called me Harvey Wippleman and I just went with it and then it just stuck." [4:46 – 5:10]

Watch the video above to hear Wippleman reflect on a conversation he had with long-time friend The Rock after he became The Final Boss.

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Harvey Wippleman is unsure why Gene Okerlund altered his name

Bill Apter pointed out that a fictional character named Mr. Whipple was well-known in the 1980s for appearing in Charmin toilet paper adverts.

To this day, Harvey Wippleman still does not know whether Gene Okerlund made a mistake or if Vince McMahon changed his name for copyright reasons:

"I think that's [Mr. Whipple adverts] where they came up with that name, yeah, I do, because they said Wippleman. I don't know if Vince or somebody told Okerlund to do that because of what you just said, maybe copyright infringement or something or if he inadvertently said it, I don't know. Unfortunately, we'll never know." [5:16 – 5:32]

Okerlund, who also worked for WCW, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006. He passed away on January 2, 2019, at the age of 76.

Do you have any favorite Harvey Wippleman memories? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

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