WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has spoken about WWE’s decision to book Roman Reigns versus Goldberg at WrestleMania 36. The two will compete for Goldberg’s WWE Universal Championship. He defeated ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt for the gold during WWE’s Super ShowDown event in Saudi Arabia.

“[…] Roman Reigns, he’s set up. I see this thing working out perfectly, and we were just talking about this a month ago,” he said on his podcast, The Hall of Fame. “Callers were calling in, all upset, ‘You know man, it doesn’t look like anything’s going to happen. It’s going to be the worst WrestleMania in history.’ There’s still a lot of people upset about The Fiend thing, and there’s going to be.”

Booker T Argues In Favor Of Reigns Vs. Goldberg

Booker T shared how he personally liked the decision to go ahead with this matchup. His co-host Brad Gilmore agreed, highlighting the list of Superstars that Reigns has previously faced at Wrestlemania. Alongside Triple H, Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker, Gilmore argued that facing Goldberg would help solidify his place in wrestling history.

“Nah, man Roman’s done that already,” Booker T stated. “I said he had big shoes to fill coming into this company, and he’s went out there and he’s done that very, very well. At one point, the direction of his character was slipping a little bit. The fans didn’t want to see that Roman Reigns, and I think that’s what started the downward spiral of Roman Reigns—was the fans not wanting to support him. Then, all of the sudden, the ship was righted, and Roman said, ‘Hey man, let me just go out and do what I do, man…And that’s beat guys up, and lock and load, and drop the hammer. We might can make some monies.”

Booker T continued, “And I think that’s what happened. Roman went out and started being himself and the fans still were kind of on the fence. But when Roman went away – and then was gone for a while – with his illness and then he came back [to the ring] again…absence make the heart grow founder! The people love it, and now with this match right here, is a moment. There’s a moment that we can capture right here, that we can never ever get back.”

Roman Reigns faces Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36. The event takes place on April 5 from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has shared who was responsible for him becoming a part of FS1’s WWE Backstage show. Speaking with Lilian Garcia on her podcast, Chasing Glory, Booker T was quick to credit his co-host, Renee Young, as being instrumental in his hiring.

“Big props to Renee, actually, because I wasn’t even on the radar, I think, to come and do this thing,” he said. “Renee was like, ‘Man, you all need to interview Book. You all need to bring him in, look at him,’ because me and Renee, we’ve got chemistry together.”

He continued, “We were doing the WWE Kickoff parties, and we realized we had chemistry, and it was just organic… They brought me in, they auditioned me. Next thing you know, I get the gig.”

Booker T On CM Punk

Despite being a panelist on the show, Booker T shared that he had no clue that CM Punk was going to become a part of WWE Backstage. Punk occasionally joins the team as a contributor and WWE analyst. He admitted that it’s great to have Punk as a part of their team and provide his unfiltered take on WWE. “I didn’t know he was there,” Booker T admitted. “It was definitely authentic. Having him be part of the show is awesome.”

Booker T joins Renee Young every Tuesday night for WWE Backstage on FS1.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription. 

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has praised SmackDown Superstar John Morrison. During an episode of his podcast, Hall of Fame, Booker T shared how he feels Morrison has an undeniable “IT factor.”

Booker T On John Morrison

Booker T revealed his thoughts off the back of a fan question. He was asked whether he would prefer for The Miz and Morrison to defend their newly won SmackDown Tag Team Championships against The New Day or The Usos at WrestleMania 36. For Booker T, he’d prefer the champions to go up against the New Day. He noted how Morrison has been a star since day one.

“[WWE] Made him the tag team champion, put him right back in the mix, and that’s what you need to do with someone like Morrison,” he explained. “Because, honestly, John Morrison, he’s not a sideline player. He’s not a guy you want to bring in off the bench. He’s the guy you want to keep in rotation, keep him in the game, you know. Keep him warm, keep him hot.”

Booker T continued, “This guy, you look at him, you know from from day one. He’s always had that, that one thing man he always had stop star potential. He always had that, what would that ‘je ne sais quoi.’ The ‘IT’ factor you know what I mean? But yeah, man. He always had ‘it.’”

John Morrison teamed with The Miz to win the tag team championships during WWE’s recent Super ShowDown event in Saudi Arabia. 

H/T to WrestlingNews for the transcription. 

Goldberg defeated Bray Wyatt’s “Fiend” at Super ShowDown yesterday to win the WWE Universal Championship. The match result has garnered strong reactions from fans and those in the wrestling industry. Booker T took to his radio show recently to give his thoughts on the matter.

“Always expect the unexpected,” Booker said in a Macho Man voice. “Anything can happen in WWE. My thing is, I didn’t think this was going to happen either, I didn’t see this happening.”

Booker continued to say that he felt there was an opportunity for a big “moment” to occur in Saudi Arabia but he wasn’t sure exactly what that would be.

Booker then talked about a potential Roman Reigns vs Goldberg match at WrestleMania. He joked that it would be “old spear” versus “new spear” and that they should work in a little “Shakespeare.”

“I like it because my thing is right here, how else were we going to get the belt off the Fiend?” Booker said about Wyatt losing.

“Who else taking the title off the Fiend would have been better than Goldberg?” Booker asked. His co-host, Brad Gilmore, suggested Roman Reigns may have been better.

“What is better, Roman conquering the Fiend? Or Roman conquering Goldberg?” Booker questioned.

“One thing about Goldberg is, the guy still has his fans,” Booker concluded about Goldberg.

“People know every time they see Goldberg, it could be the last time, so just savor the flavor,” he continued.

Booker’s comments can be heard in the below YouTube video:

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T joined Lilian Garcia on her podcast, Chasing Glory. During their conversation, Booker T shared his thoughts on WWE’s heavily scripted promos.

He compared these scripts to how things were when he was an active in-ring competitor. Booker noted how scripts can “take away a lot of the originality.” Despite this, however, Booker T also addressed the positives scripts can provide. He pointed to his experiences as King Booker as an example.

“I remember back in the day, John Laurinaitis, he used to write a lot of my matches for me. Just the finish, he would write the finish for me,” Booker T explained. “In the beginning I told him, I go, “Man, I don’t work like this. I’m an artist.” He’d go, “Just look it over and just try it.” I went out and I was like, “All right, I’ll try it.” I went out and I did, and I was like, “Wow, man, I look like a million bucks.””

He continued, “If I got someone working with me and I know they can make me look better and then they give me the liberty to say, “Hey, use it if you like it. If you don’t, throw it out,” that’s going to make me a whole lot better, opposed to someone just telling me, “Hey, this is what you got tonight.” For me, I had Brian Gewirtz, back when I was doing the King Booker.”

Booker T has previously praised Gewirtz for helping him with the King Booker character. With his notes, Booker T was able to embrace the gimmick and deliver his promos with a little ad-libbing thrown in.

H/T to WrestleZone for the transcription. 

John Cena will be returning to WWE this Friday Night on SmackDown and there are speculations that he will kick off his WrestleMania feud during his comeback.

WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T talked about Cena’s return on the latest episode of his podcast and revealed his choice of WrestleMania opponent for the 16-time world champion.

Booker interestingly suggested that the Cenation Leader should face the current face of WWE, Roman Reigns, at this year’s edition of the Show Of Shows:

“Roman Reigns, Roman Reigns being the guy now, John Cena being the guy who has put in so much time, one of the greatest WWE Champions in history.

I know John Cena could pull it off, I know Roman Reigns could pull it off.  Both of those guys know the art of going out there and doing Romeo and Juliet.”

Booker T later acknowledged that a lot of people would not want to see the match between the two on paper but he claimed they will be impressed when the bout takes place.

John Cena has locked up with Roman Reigns before. The two faced each other in a one on one match at No Mercy 2017, and the Big Dog came out victorious in the bout.

Cena was originally expected to face Elias at WrestleMania 36 but recent reports indicate that WWE has shaken up the card for the event recently. You can check out a detailed report on the matter here.

Quotes via WrestlingInc

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T recently commented on the now infamous match between him and Buff Bagwell back in 2001. The match has been described on WWE.com as “the most awkward ever.”

The former King of The Ring winner seems to agree.

Booker T vs Buff Bagwell

The match was seemingly the true death knell for the WCW brand. Whilst Vince McMahon had already bought his competition; there was a belief that WCW could still function as a separate entity. With the rumors at the time indicating that Nitro would become the Monday show and SmackDown would be the WWF show later in the week. Due to the massively negative reaction that the match got in the main event of the July 2, 2001 edition of RAW the idea was seemingly scrapped. Although it seemed as though Bagwell and Booker undelivered; it’s arguable that they were never put in a position to succeed in the first place.

Booker T discussed the bout during the most recent episode of Lillian Garcia’s Chasing Glory podcast. “It was a real war back then between WCW and WWF, you know,” Booker began. “And it didn’t help putting Bagwell and I in that spot, I think we were Tacoma, Washington.”

Booker T elaborated further, mentioning how they were never going to succeed in that position. “It was one of those things where, we were in a position. You know. Fail or succeed. [Except] it wasn’t designed for us to succeed, I understood that. I think Bagwell may have understood that, as well. And and what happened happened I go back and I look at the match, and it wasn’t the crappiest match in the world but it was no way that we’re gonna succeed.”

You can listen to Lillian Garcia’s Chasing Glory every week via iTunes, Stitcher or your favourite podcast host

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T recently commented on tonight’s huge boxing heavyweight contest between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury. There has been speculation since Fury’s WWE appearance in Saudi Arabia as to whether he would be returning to the squared circle. Tonight’s bout will most likely be a huge determining factor as to whether or not the ‘Gypsy King’ returns to WWE soon.

Booker is currently on location at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Booker will covering the fight, and he revealed his pick for the mega showdown on the Hall of Fame podcast.

Can Deontay Wilder Adjust His ‘Game?’

Booker T first talked about how Wilder is being expected to ‘adapt’ to Fury, according to a number of leading pundits. “Deontay Wilder, can he go out and adjust his game?” Booker began. “That’s the question I think more than anything. What I don’t know if that’s fair or not? Putting the onus on the champion to go out there and change his game.”

Booker also referenced the fact that in the pair’s first first Wilder scored two knockdowns on the ‘Gypsy King’ Tyson Fury. “He’s [Wilder] the only one that, was in that [first] fight that got two big knockdowns on his opponent. You know Fury didn’t knock him down. Wilder vs Anthony Joshua, that’s what everybody wants to see. I do feel like in this fight that Deontay Wilder will stake his claim to be the Heavyweight Champion of the world. Nobody wants to see boring Tyson Fury go out there and fight Joshua.”

The former King of The Ring confirmed that he believed Wilder would win in around 7-8 rounds. Fury himself has said that he intends on knocking out Wilder within two rounds, and Booker T responded to this by saying “for him to go and knock out Wilder in two rounds? He would probably of had to be doing something that is probably not legal; as far as the USADA side and whatnot.”

Booker T thinks that Carmella is the “female Miz” of the women’s division.

On last night’s episode of WWE Backstage, the WWE Hall of Famer praised Carmella while discussing the upcoming SmackDown Live Women’s title match between her and Bayley.

Booker T first talked about Bayley and said that while she’s great she is still trying to find herself and going through a transformation.

Coming to Carmella, Booker T said, “…I look at Carmella and what I see is consistency. What I see in Carmella is– she’s the “female Miz” of the women’s division. She’s like a timeless watch man, she takes a lickin’, she keeps on ticking.”

A fan posted a clip of the above segment from the show and tagged Carmella. Carmella seems really happy with Booker’s comments and retweeted the video, saying that Booker T is stating facts.

You can check out the tweet by Carmella below:

Carmella joined WWE in 2013 when she signed a contract with the company and was assigned to NXT in Orlando, Florida. In October of 2014, she began a stint on the brand with Enzo Amore and Big Cass.

In July 2016, she made her main roster debut on SmackDown. A year later, she went on to become the winner of the first-ever women’s Money in the Bank ladder match and subsequently became the first woman to cash in her MITB briefcase in April of 2018. She cashed it against Charlotte Flair and won the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship.

She is also the winner of WrestleMania 35’s Women’s Battle Royal and has most recently won the WWE 24/7 Championship twice.

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has shared his two cents on John Cena’s comments regarding Brock Lesnar. Cena recently shared his opinion that Lesnar is the “best in-ring performer of all time” in an interview with Sports Illustrated. Speaking on his podcast, The Hall of Fame, Booker T addressed Cena’s words.

“I know where John is coming from,” Booker T said. “[…] I can say I had a small piece in teaching John Cena the art in Shakespeare. People think I am throwing shade on him when I say John Cena is very limited as far as move set. He’s a guy who parlayed his skills all the way to the main event, the most decorated champion in WWE history. For John to make that statement about Brock Lesnar, I can’t say he’s wrong.”

He continued, “I wouldn’t necessarily say the best, he’s not number one on my list but as far a performer goes, right now, today, on the roster, in my opinion, Brock Lesnar is the most believable guy on our roster today in 2020, bar none. If anybody wants to challenge me on that, do so. The most believable athlete walking out of that curtain. He makes you believe it, you want more of it even if you don’t want more.”

Booker T On Lesnar’s Rumble Performance

Booker T looked at Lesnar’s performance in the Royal Rumble matchup as an example of this, calling it “awesome.” He believes people will remember January’s Rumble match for a long time because of Lesnar’s involvement and that, no matter who Lesnar’s opponent is, “if and when that guy beats Brock Lesnar, the fans go crazy. That’s a moment.” 

Brock Lesnar defends his WWE Championship against Ricochet at WWE Super ShowDown on Thursday, February 27th. The event takes place from King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

According to various reports, Brock Lesnar and Matt Riddle got into some kind of altercation backstage at the Royal Rumble. Lesnar is reported to have told Riddle he will not work with him. Booker T talked about the issues regarding Riddle and Lesnar on his “The Hall of Fame with Booker T” on ESPN 97.5 recently.

• Brock Lesnar & Matt Riddle Have Verbal Altercation Before Royal Rumble

“These sites will pick something up in a heartbeat and they will run with it,” Booker T pointed out about wrestling sites.

“I was looking on social media, actually on some of the sites, and they were talking about Matt Riddle saying ‘Man, forget that, I want the title shot, I’m taking his career, I’m going to finish Brock Lesnar.'”

Booker was referencing a video posted by the official WWE PC YouTube channel. In the video, Riddle continued to say he plans on retiring Brock Lesnar. The video was posted after reports of Riddle and Lesnar’s confrontation at the Rumble went public. It is not clear, however, if Riddle’s comments in the video were made before his meeting with Lesnar or after. Some of Riddle’s comments seem to indicate the video was filmed after Lesnar reportedly said he wouldn’t work with him, however.

“I don’t care if he wants the match or not. I’m going to get it. I don’t care, it’s not up to him,” Riddle said in the video. “I don’t like being told no, especially when I work as hard as I do.”

• Matt Riddle Says He’ll Get His Match With Brock Lesnar

Booker T Continues To Talk About Matt Riddle

“This ain’t the UFC and that’s what I want to relay also,” Booker said.

“If someone don’t want to work with you, if someone don’t like you, it definitely can be a problem for you,” Booker continued.

Booker would then say he feels the media turned in-character comments of Riddle’s into a shoot story.

“So, that’s why I feel like, this deal right here he was in character one moment and then the media took the character and made it a shoot because of what happened on Sunday.”

“On one of the sites, it actually gives you everything verbatim as far as what he said but you got to click on the video to see what it really is.”

Do you think Riddle’s comments in the WWE PC Video were in-character or “shoot”? Let us know in the comments section below.

Booker’s comments can be heard in the player below:

While WWE tries not to mention Chris Benoit’s name, fans have not forgotten his excellence in the ring and every once in a while, a wrestling star also reminds people of his legacy in the squared circle.

Booker T who attended Chris Jericho’s Rock N’ Wrestling Rager took part in a Q&A session at the boat and talked about his early days in wrestling business.

During the session, The WWE Hall Of Famer also talked about Chris Benoit’s influence on his career, saying that his matches with the former WWE star were what put him on the map:

“It’s not talked about a lot, but the matches that put me on the map was with Chris Benoit in the best of seven series, god rest him and his family’s soul. Chris Benoit was literally, the greatest wrestler that I ever had the pleasure of being inside the ring with.

“He was one of the best wrestlers, if not, the best to put on a pair of boots. He brought out the best of every guy that got in the ring with him. Anyone who got in the ring with Benoit was a better person when they walked out of the ring, trust me.”

• Also Read: Killer Kross Discusses His Free Agency

Booker T then revealed that he never had to practice his matches with Benoit in advance and most of the things they did in the ring was worked on the fly.

Apart from this, Booker also explained that The Nasty Boys were his favorite tag team to face and claimed that he is lobbying for them to be inducted into Hall Of Fame this year.

Quotes via WrestlingInc

WWE has filed to trademark the name “Harlem Heat” for wrestling purposes recently. According to documents publicly available through the US Patents and Trademark Office, WWE filed to trademark the term on January 13th, 2020.

The popular WCW tag team was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last year. They are former 10x WCW tag team champions. Harlem Heat was named the Tag Team Of The Year in 1995 and 1996 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. They were also honored with the Tag Team Award by the Cauliflower Ear Club in 2018.

Booker T On Harlem Heat

“My brother and I, we paved the way for so many other young African-American wrestlers that watched us and said ‘man if Booker T and Stevie Ray can do it, we can do it too’,” Booker said on ESPN radio after Harlem Heat’s WWE Hall of Fame induction was announced.

• Booker T On Facing The Revival, Wanting To Manage The Street Profits

“We talk about how there’s not that many black wrestlers in this business, it’s because they didn’t get a chance to see a whole lot of them in there actually doing it. That’s why my brother and I — us getting that nod — of course, yeah, we deserve it because we paved the way, not just for so many black wrestlers like Street Profits, but so many young white kids as well. We represented for everyone!”

The purposes listed for the trademark include: “Clothing, namely, tops, shirts, jackets, sweatshirts, hoodies; outerwear, namely, coats; bottoms, pants, shorts, underwear, dresses, pajamas, lingerie, clothing ties, scarves, gloves, swimwear; Halloween and masquerade costumes; footwear, namely, shoes, sneakers, slippers, flip flops, boots; headwear, namely, hats, caps; wrist bands; bandanas.”

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T thinks it was a terrible idea for Impact Wrestling to make controversial figure Tessa Blanchard become their World Champion.

The former WCW World Champion commented on the situation on the latest installment of his Hall of Fame podcast.

Booker T first praised Tessa Blanchard for her work, but he went on to claim that making her the world champion is ‘the worst idea’ in Impact’s history.

“I’m not holding my judgement on it. Big ups to Tessa Blanchard because she’s good. She’s really good at what she does, but this is the worst idea for Impact Wrestling in the history of the company, it really is that bad. It’s worse than paying me 10 grand for six-hour power commercial that never aired.”

Explaining the reasoning behind his comments, The WWE Hall Of Famer said that now if she goes against the men in the promotion and beats them, then it will diminish every guy in the company.

He later compared it to WWE and Booker said that he can’t imagine Becky Lynch going up against Samoa Joe or Brock Lesnar. The former Champion claimed that intergender wrestling is for independent companies.

You can listen to Booker T’s comments about Tessa Blanchard winning the Impact Wrestling World Championship below:

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has laid out two goals he would like to keep in 2020. During 2019’s final episode of WWE Backstage, Booker T shared how he would love to team up with his brother, Stevie Ray, to take on The Revival. He also reiterated his interest in managing RAW tag team The Street Profits.

“You know, since I am a tag team extraordinaire, tag team specialist, fourteen Tag Team Championships throughout my reign in this business, I’m looking forward to the tag team division getting crunk in 2020,” Booker T said. He then added, “And I might even manage The Street Profits somewhere along the year.”

Renee Young then asked Booker T about his interest in facing off against The Revival. A match between the two teams was initially teased during the WWE TLC Kickoff show last year after The Revival disrespected Booker T. The Revival challenged Harlem Heat to come out of retirement and face them in a one-time matchup. Reflecting on this challenge, Booker T confessed that he and Stevie Ray have spoken about accepting the match. He noted how he has “one left in me” before warning Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson to not “get jacked up, sucka!”

Booker T On How He’d Manage The Street Profits

Booker T has previously stated his interest in managing The Street Profits. During an interview with ESPN 97.5 in Houston, he shared how he would help them evolve as a team, stating he would “Just put a little bit more street on em, that’s all. It’d be no playing, no jiving, just business.”

He explained how, sometimes, a wrestler has to be viewed as more than just an entertainer. When you can make that switch, he noted that you “[…] feel it in the soul, deep down in one’s bones. That’s what I loved about the business and that’s what I think I can bring to the Street Profits.”

H/T to Wrestlezone for the transcription.

The recent release of Luke Harper and other WWE stars is still a hot topic of discussion among wrestling fans and people have been talking about what the future might hold for these talents after their release from the promotion.

Former World Champion Booker T joined this conversation recently when he talked about the news on the latest episode of his Hall Of Famer podcast.

The former WCW star first talked about Harper being underutilized in the company and he then went on to claim that he sees Japan written all over him:

“I see Japan written all over this kid. I see New Japan. I see this guy working over there for many, many years getting paid some long, long, long green duckets because they love big Americans like Luke Harper in Japan, so I see Luke Harper having a great career even after WWE, making perhaps more money than he ever made in his life.”

Booker T later explained that if Luke can turn out to be like Stan Hansen, then he would be able to make a whole lot of money while working in Japan.

Apart from this, Booker T also talked about the Ascension and discussed how it’s very hard to duplicate The Road Warriors because they were the first ones to come to the ring with the face paint and shoulder gears.

Quotes via WrestlingInc

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has named Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the “best promo guy that ever did it.” He made the declaration during a recent episode of his podcast, The Hall of Fame. 

“There have been so many great promos,” Booker explained. “The Rock was the best promo guy that ever did it because he really knew how to capture the moment and when I say to capture the moment I mean he talked about the local area where we were, the stadium, where he went to eat, he took you on a story. When you do it like that you’re just standing in awe, man.”

He claimed that there will never be another Superstar on the same level as Johnson, pointing at his ability to improvise on the fly based on the audience reaction. Booker T also credited WWE writer Brian Gewirtz for helping Rock and himself in bringing their characters to life. He stressed that without Gewirtz, King Booker would never have worked.

Booker T explained how he often wasn’t comfortable with what he was expected to deliver, believing it would sound “stupid.” With Gewirtz coaching and help, however, he was able to embrace his character and deliver his lines with a little ad-libbing added in. He believes this guidance helped Johnson elevate his promo work as well.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription. 

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has shared his thoughts on the recent situation following Corey Graves comments aimed at Mauro Ranallo during NXT TakeOver: WarGames.

Speaking on his show, Reality of Wrestling, Booker T explained how people can’t just share unfiltered opinions and expect them to be immediately forgiven or forgotten.

“You can’t be just saying anything in 2019 and expect for it to be swept under the rug,” he said. “I really don’t know what happened. I know Corey Graves put out an apology to Mauro. I don’t know what really sparked it or what is really going on behind the scenes.”

Booker T then paid respect to Ranallo. He noted how hard he works to do the best he can as an NXT commentator and WWE employee. He shared how he always hatted getting ribbed in the past, often calling people out for fights if he found out he was responsible.

“Big ups to everything you do because I know how hard you work. The angle thing, back in the day, I hated getting ribbed. If they ribbed me, no one would tell me whoever did it. I would always say, ‘You can rib me if you want, but if I find out who did it, you’re gonna be in a fight. Just letting you know.’ Don’t play with me like that, because I’m not to be played with. Shoutout to Mauro, get yourself together, get back on the horse. Get your ass back to work, bro.”

In case you missed it, Graves made some disparaging comments about Ranallo’s vocal contribution to TakeOver. He suggested that Ranallo was talking all over his teammates Beth Phoenix and Nigel McGuiness. Ranallo would delete his Twitter following Graves’ remarks.

H/T to Wrestlezone for the transcription.

Booker T has addressed the video that NXT Superstar Jordan Myles uploaded to his social media. That video featured Myles deliver an impassioned, expletive riddled speech, ending with his declaration that he is quitting WWE. 

Speaking on his podcast, The Hall of Fame, Booker T talked about the controversial shirt design that initially sparked Myles’ ire. He also commented on Myles’ reaction and his own experiences within the wrestling industry.

“I don’t know if Jordan Myles has quit the company, but on social media, he’s saying he quit the company,” Booker T said. “I’m not going to sit here and judge or anything like that. I’m not going to sit here and say ‘Guy should have did this, guy should have done that.’ I’m going to lay out on that because I don’t need or want any backlash before someone said ‘Well, Booker said this’ or ‘Booker said that.’ I’m just going to say this, man: the situation…it all started with the t-shirt and now it has gotten to this.”

“He’s Doing Himself An Injustice”

One of the statements Myles made during his video claimed that the entire company was racist. Booker T highlighted how a comment like this could ultimately damage his Myles’ own message.

“I don’t know where it’s going to go from here. I have been on this earth for 54 years and if you think one person is something, call them that, or if you think that person is something, call them that, but I cannot judge a group and say everybody is that,” Booker T explained.

“When you make a blanket statement like that you do no justice for yourself or the culture. I say this because I have had a lot of years and a lot of experience. I do know that I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for a white guy named Bruce Gasarch, who made this all happen for me as far as changing my life, which is another story.”

Booker T then shared how, if he had judged everyone in the same manner after his personal experience of going to prison, blaming the system and hating “everybody of that color,” he would have done himself a disservice. 

“[…] being a kid who had never been in trouble before and for the first time being locked up in the back of a police car saying that, ‘the system did me wrong. I hate everybody of that color’, you know what I mean? If I did that, I would have done myself an injustice more than anything and I think that is the situation that I want to make clear here. The way he’s going by this, he’s doing himself an injustice.”

Myles won the NXT Breakout Tournament earlier this year. In the wake of his video, the Superstar has changed his Twitter handle back to Super ACH. He also stripped all references to WWE from his social media accounts. 

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription. 

Booker T spoke about Sammy Guevara on his podcast recently and offered a large amount of praise for the 26-year-old. Guevara is from the Houston area and trained at Booker’s Reality of Wrestling school before making his pro-debut in 2013.

During the show, Booker compares Sammy Guevara with a young Eddie Guerrero and says the comparison is a good fit.

“When you look at Sammy, he’s a good looking kid, he really is. And he can really perform at such a young age. And that’s what I look at most about this young kid. That was his debut match going out there in front of the world and doing such an awesome job and letting the world see, ‘hey, man. This kid is pretty good. We got our eyes on him.’ So no, I don’t think it’s too early to be saying something like that about Sammy.”

Booker then asked his co-host Brad about what he thinks about the comparison.

“It’s a big comparison to make about anybody but the comparison isn’t he reminds me of Eddie Guerrero it’s that he reminds me of a young Eddie Guerrero.”

Booker continued to say he thinks Sammy Guevara and a young Eddie Guerrero is a good comparison.

“As well as good as Eddie was when he was that young,” Booker continued. “Because that tells a story as far as how good one is gonna be when you see him when they first get in the ring.”

“So, yeah. Sammy and the comparison, I think it’s actually a pretty good comparison.”

Booker’s comments can be viewed in the player below:

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has addressed “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt’s recent Universal Championship victory. Wyatt defeated former champion Seth Rollins in the main event of WWE’s recent event Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.

Speaking on the Reality of Wrestling podcast, Booker T spoke about what comes next for “The Fiend.”

“I said it on the kickoff show as we’re getting ready to go into a new era. Bray Wyatt is going to be not only the conqueror of the WWE, going from The Undertaker and then moving onto John Cena, and now The Fiend has arrived,” Booker said.

He continued, “Where does The Fiend go? He can’t just keep popping up and cutting the lights on and off. We need to put the rocket on him and send him straight to the moon and let everyone else chase. We need to find someone who can beat The Fiend.”

“You’re The Guy”

Booker T shared how anybody in the locker room could become “the guy” to step up next now that “The Fiend” has become established at the top of SmackDown’s roster. For him, however, he believes the next logical choice is Daniel Bryan.

“Everybody in the locker room is now in a position to put themselves in a place where anything can happen for them,” he stated. “They can get a phone call that says, ‘You’re the guy.’ Humberto Carrillo, he might be the guy. Somebody right now is in prime position to step up and have the fans look at them in a totally different way.”

“[Bryan] would have been the guy to actually been a fiend right now just because the fans would believe in him so much. We need somebody that the fans are gonna believe in 100 percent to get behind. There’s not a whole lot of guys I can think of that I could go to right now to put against The Fiend. I might have to bring The Undertaker back to make this thing work. You never know.”

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription. 

NXT Superstar Jordan Myles has returned to Twitter, sharing his thoughts on the controversy surrounding a t-shirt design WWE created for him. Myles reacted to the idea of apologizing to former Ring of Honor World Champion Jay Lethal. He also addressed Booker T’s recent thoughts on how he dealt with the situation. 

He questioned why he should apologize for being honest, asking why he shouldn’t voice his opinions about pro wrestling. Myles stressed he is proud to be a professional wrestler and even prouder to be African American. He added that people can “Stand with me and stand behind me.#ForTheCulture.”

When told be a fan that he needed to publicly apologize to Jay Lethal, Myles uploaded a video of him breaking into laughter, accompanied by a caption that read: 

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I’ll apologize for not being sorry.”

Respect

Myles confessed that he was emotional in his initial approach, adding he had nothing but respect for Booker T. He made a public request to be on Booker T’s podcast, stating that they could “discuss this situation as a whole.”

The WWE Superstar recently released a statement to his Instagram account. In that statement, Myles admitted his initial, emotional response was unprofessional and disrespectful. He has since launched a new shirt of his own, with all proceeds going towards the ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America) foundation. 

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has addressed Randy Orton’s recent teasing over his interest in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Speaking on his podcast, The Hall of Fame, Booker T addressed the photo Orton uploaded of himself next to a sign that read “Elite Level.”

“Look at the talent they [AEW] has,” Booker said. “Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and Randy Orton is an elite level player. I always said Randy Orton is an elite wrestler, an elite superstar.”

He continued, “He’s my guy, I always said that and one thing about Randy is he’s always been a rebel, he’s always been a guy that walks to the beat of his own drum. If anybody was to do something crazy it would be Randy.”

Booker T explained how AEW is “on the edge,” pointing to Jon Moxley as a prime example of somebody pushing the envelope, rebelling, and finding a platform that supports him.

Ultimately, however, he believes that Orton will end up staying with WWE. He explained how “Randy Orton is safe and he’s taken care of very well in the WWE.”

Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder of The Revival recently added to Orton’s Elite tease. They had been briefly associated with Randy Orton on WWE television prior to the WWE Draft separating them. 

This isn’t the first time that Orton has addressed AEW. He was recently heard praising All Elite Wrestling’s premiere episode of Dynamite whilst streaming a video game.

It’s worth noting that Orton is coming to the end of a 10-year contract with WWE. Unless a new deal has been negotiated in that time, Orton will become a free agent in early 2020.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

New Day member Kofi Kingston recently lost his WWE Championship to a returning Brock Lesnar. He lost a short match during SmackDown’s premiere on FOX. Taking to his podcast, The Hall of Fame, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T argued that he would like to see Big E to step up and feud with ‘The Beast Incarnate.’

“I can see him competing with Brock Lesnar on a one-on-one scale. Just because, the guy is low center of gravity, but, he’s just as wide, and probably weighs more than Brock Lesnar. And a guy like that, literally, from a fighting standpoint, it would really be hard for a guy like Brock Lesnar, fighting a guy like that, just because, the strength. Who are you going to give it to?”

He continued, “In a strength matchup, I’m going to give the strength matchup to Big E 100 percent of the time. Seriously, every time. Just say, for instance, being that size, and the quickness that Big E has, from a realistic wrestling match, he could get under Brock Lesnar a whole lot quicker than Brock Lesnar can get under him. I look at it from that perspective right there.”

Booker argued that Big E isn’t featured as much as he should be, adding that not only does he deserve more air time, but that “the guy definitely can become a star” if given the right opportunity at the right time. 

H/T to Wrestlezone for the transcription.

Booker T was recently asked who he felt the funniest person backstage in WWE was. After taking some time to think about it, Booker wasn’t sure but noted the funniest wrestler in the ring was Christian. Booker would continue to call Christian WWE’s most underrated Superstar.

“It’s hard to say who was the funniest backstage but in the ring it was Christian,” Booker said. “Christian was always the guy who had me laughing all the time. We’d be wrestling, we’d be in the ring, we’d be on the road, it would always be house shows, it would never be TV, it would always be house shows, it was his time to go out there and have fun and play around and just act stupid. He would be doing stuff in the match to make me laugh.”

“I had so much fun, so much fun working with Christian,” Booker continued.

Booker would then continue to talk about Christian’s in-ring work.

“He was one of the best guys that ever put on a pair of boots,” Booker said about Christian. “I always say Christian is the most underrated professional wrestler that ever worked in WWE because the guy was just that good.”

The full interview with Booker can be viewed in the player below: