On a recent edition of WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T’s Houston Sports Radio 610 show, Heated Conversations, he discussed former WWE Champion CM Punk’s upcoming UFC fight against Mike Jackson.
Punk left WWE back in early 2014 and soon announced he would begin training for a career in mixed martial arts (MMA) after signing a multi-fight deal with the UFC. He lost his debut fight via first round submission back in 2016 to Mickey Gall.
Now he will make his second go of it on the main card of the UFC 225 pay-per-view (PPV) on June 9th. Booker T said that if he loses his second fight in the UFC, he believes Punk will be at the upcoming “All In” event with Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks, beginning his return to pro wrestling:
“I think he’ll be at All In,” said Booker. “I think if he lose this fight, he’ll be at All In, with the Young Bucks [and] Cody Rhodes, making his way back to the pro wrestling world. I really think CM Punk [misses] the wrestling world. I just think he had a bad taste in his mouth, but he can get it back.”
You can listen to Booker T on Heated Conversations by clicking this link here.
WWE Legend Booker T believes that Hulk Hogan deserves a second chance in the WWE and that he would welcome him back despite the N-word fiasco.
“Everybody deserves a second chance,” Booker T told TMZ Sports. “It’s what life is all about.”
Booker T had this very stance on Hogan when talking about him on his Heated Conversations podcast: “The only thing Hogan can do is apologize, atone for it, and we move forward,” Booker said during the episode. “Everyone deserves a second chance that’s just the way I am.”
As noted before, WWE and Hulk Hogan have reportedly been in talks for his return for some time now. Hogan has expressed strong interest in ‘returning home.’
– WWE Hall of Famer Booker T is returning to WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night RAW, soon.
If you recall, the last time that we saw the former World Champion on WWE television was last month when he filled in for Jonathan Coachman.
Now, Booker T will be replacing Coachman once again for next week’s episode of RAW as the sports entertainment company tapes the show in London, England at the O2 Arena. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on why Coachman is off next week.
– As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Uniondale, NY at the Nassau Coliseum on the USA Network, Ember Moon defeated Sasha Banks and Ruby Riott in a Triple Threat qualifying match for the Money in the Bank ladder match that takes place at the upcoming pay-per-view event next month.
RAW Women’s Champion Nia Jax took to Twitter to send a warning to the rest of the competitors that will be in the match:
Each of you have an opportunity to make it to #MITB. but don’t forget I’ll be on the side holding the #Raw Women’s Championship. https://t.co/j0ZtADp9R8
WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T became the latest veteran personality from the WWE Universe to speak publicly about the possibility of Hulk Hogan coming back to the company.
“The only thing Hogan can do is apologize, atone for it, and we move forward,” Booker said during a recent episode of his Heated Conversations podcast. “Everyone deserves a second chance that’s just the way I am.”
As noted, TMZ Sports ran an article where they claimed Hogan returning to WWE is close to a done deal. Booker explains why he would be cool with the decision, noting “The Hulkster” helped him early in his career in WCW.
“I talk about Hulk Hogan being in my corner, back in the day and a lot of the boys they may look at me and say, ‘Why is Booker T talking to [Hogan]?’ Back in the day, if it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, I don’t know if Booker T and Stevie Ray would have got the push that we got,” Booker said. “Back in the day, Sister Sherri was an intricate detail to Harlem Heat, and our success, and it was all because of Hulk Hogan. Saying ‘Hey man, those are the guys you need to put your money behind.’”
Booker T Breaks Down The Hogan Situation
From there, Booker got deep and spoke about Hogan using the “N-word” in the past and claimed that he won’t be part of a group that blacklists a fellow legendary wrestler who has given so much to the business.
“I’m taking that ‘word’ and put it over to the side, and let that man take his rightful place back, which is in this business,” Booker stated. “I’m not going to take that away from him. I’m not going to sit here and say ‘No, he should be blackballed or black listed from the game, forevermore!’ for saying something a lot of us say on a daily basis. I don’t myself, but a lot of us do. Let this man who has done so much for the wrestling business truly take his rightful place back in the WWE.”
What do you think about Hulk Hogan returning to WWE? How about Booker T’s take on the topic? Sound off in the Comments section below.
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T discussed the new generation of wrestlers in the WWE as well as the retirement of Enzo Amore from professional wrestling and how Big Cass is going to do without him on the recent episode of his podcast, Heated Conversations. Booker also gave his thoughts on Jinder Mahal’s transformation and more. Here are a few highlights from the podcast.
On Enzo Amore’s release from the WWE and subsequent retirement:
“If you can’t make it in the locker room, you have no chance to make it in the ring. Those guys are gonna make sure that you don’t make it. You’re not gonna have a good match ever if those guys don’t like you. In this business it takes two to tango…”
“If Enzo Amore is going to retire from the business, I think it’s very, very unfortunate first and foremost. I’ve said it many, many times.” … “If you put yourself in a situation like this, something is bound to happen.”
On what Big Cass should do now that his partner is gone from the WWE:
“I don’t think Big Cass is a main event guy right now. I wouldn’t want to put him in that position right now – I don’t think he’s ready for that role right now. Not just from a physical standpoint, from a mental standpoint. The fans want to see you work at a certain level, and you’ve got to work your butt off to get to that level.”
“The guys that are making the roster strong, these guys are technically sound. They go out there, they know how to create drama as far as the crowd goes. They know how to bring the crowd into the ring, and that’s what I think Big Cass needs to work on a bit more. What we call, Shakespeare.”
“I’m gonna make it my personal mission to get Big Cass to that place where we need him to be as far as being a main event prospect.”
On Jinder Mahal’s transformation:
“When Jinder Mahal came back to WWE he was transformed – he was reincarnated. He was almost a totally different guy than we saw with 3MB. His strength seems to neutralize these guys, to where Jinder has to really go out and do nothing in a match, and people look at him and think ‘wow, this guy has evolved.”
You can listen to Heated Conversations by clicking here. Quotes by ProWrestling.com
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has challenged fellow Hall of Famer Goldberg to a match.
On Twitter, while working out at the gym, Booker T, who is slated to return to WWE television this coming Monday for RAW to fill in for Jonathan Coachman on commentary, decided to challenge the former Universal Champion to a match at either the Greatest Royal Rumble event or WrestleMania 35 next year.
As for the reason? It’s due to Goldberg telling him backstage at WrestleMania 34 that he needs to get back in the gym after the former WCW World Champion was seen riding a hoverboard.
Booker T told him that he was just using the hoverboard for fun and wanted to let Goldberg know he was indeed in good shape.
Obviously, this was just a joke as you can tell with Goldberg’s response to the challenge below:
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T says he’s returning to the commentary booth this coming Monday when RAW emanates from St. Louis, Missouri.
Following the 2018 Superstar Shake-Up, there will be a lot of new faces – including Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Bobby Roode and more.
WWE has yet to announce a shake-up to the broadcast team, so it remains to be seen how the addition of Booker T will relate to Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman and Corey Graves.
Update: WWE RAW broadcaster Jonathan Coachman has since commented on Booker T doing commentary at Monday’s RAW. At first he was caught off guard when asked about the situation by a fan on Twitter, but clarified that he’ll be back on RAW the following week.
Thank you. I will be back in Montreal. No worries. I tell people on my show all the time you have to evolve with the times. This is a small way to do it. More/different eyeballs on both shows. That why I am honored to work for @WWE and @GolfChannel. #forwardthinking. https://t.co/gEYiZGnKfp
It was reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter last October that Konnan, who is now 54 years old, planned on having a retirement tour after surgery.
Konnan previously underwent hip replacement surgery in early 2007, and his appearances in TNA from then on as the mouthpiece of LAX saw him frequently appear in a wheelchair. During an interview with the New York Daily News talking about drug abuse among wrestlers, Konnan believed his hip degenerated after years of steroid abuse and the physical toll of wrestling. He also said painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs ruined his kidney, leading him to undergo kidney transplant surgery in July 2007.
– In the latest edition of “The Question Mark,” Impact Wrestling stars reveal their favorite cereal.
After parting ways with WWE a few weeks earlier, Booker T was revealed as Sting’s mystery partner in a tag team match against Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. His wife Sharmell also debuted, interfering in the match on Booker T and Sting’s behalf when Karen Angle interfered on behalf of Kurt Angle and Nash.
– Over the weekend, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T spoke to Ringside Collectibles at the 2018 Las Vegas Toy Con about what would happen if his Mattel WWE action figure crossed paths with Corey Graves’ Mattel WWE action figure. Booker took shots at the Graves figure and noted that at their age, they would fight, not wrestle.
The two played up their feud backstage at WWE Elimination Chamber on Sunday with this photo.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfo1UbDH-bT/
– Former WWE star Sean “X-Pac” Waltman was backstage at SmackDown LIVE last night at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. Here are photos of him backstage with his dog Lula, Lilly Singh, and Sasha Banks, among others.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfwaEXNnBb-/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfvvCyjHBfJ/
– It was announced on Monday that on Thursday, April 19, NXT makes its debut in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., at The Anthem. According to an email sent out today by WWE, there will be a presale on Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Ticketfly.com with the passcode ‘NXT LIVE’.
We’re approaching WrestleMania and things already seem to be set. Roman Reigns is scheduled to take on Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal championship, while Ronda Rousey will likely team with Kurt Angle to take on Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. Shinsuke Nakamura is set for a WWE title opportunity after winning the Royal Rumble, but some speculate that Cena will challenge him for that right at WWE Fastlane.
One man who won’t make it to the “Showcase of Immortals” is Jason Jordan due to an injury. During a recent appearance on the Sam Roberts Wrestling podcast, Booker T talked about today’s WWE talent and Jordan’s inability to compete at WrestleMania:
“I praise guys like Elias, going out there doing their thing. Jason Jordan, right now man I’m sick about Jason Jordan being on the shelf. I wanted to see him go out and have his WrestleMania moment. Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens rising from the ashes of what he was doing, the independent scene for 15 years. The Finn Balors of the world that I’ve seen do remarkable, spectacular things with Neville many, many years ago.”
Booker T went on to say that he’s very optimistic for the future of the WWE.
While Booker T and Corey Graves may have admitted their recent backstage heat was not legitimate, that didn’t stop an “altercation” occurring backstage last night.
2018’s Elimination Chamber was the first time the two have been on a show together since Booker’s comments on his radio show. Graves posted a photo of the backstage altercation between the two on his Instagram account.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfo1EAHDb6T/
Booker T Vs Corey Graves
Last month, Booker T threatened Corey Graves on his radio show and many fans took his comments seriously. Booker would later admit he was just “working” the fans. He would also say he was relieved to no longer be on the Raw announce team.
Graves would later be a guest on Booker’s radio show. The two joked about the serious reactions on the internet to Booker’s comments.
Corey Graves recently accepted Booker T’s invitation to appear on his “Heated Conversations” podcast. While Booker had seemingly threatened Corey for causing his removal from the Raw broadcast team, it turns out not everything was as it seemed.
According to comments he made on the podcast with Corey, Booker was thankful to be removed from his commentating position on Monday Night Raw. They even joked about how Corey saw Booker backstage that day and he was grinning from ear to ear.
Booker and Corey are now saying the entire saga was a work and never intended to go anywhere. Listen to their conversation below:
Booker T’s On-Air Threat
Following being removed the Raw announce team, Booker made the following comments towards Graves:
“But if I catch Corey Graves on the street, I’m gonna do something to him. Alright? I ain’t gonna do it at the office or anything like that. But if I catch him… not gonna do it in the airport, nah, I’m not gonna do that. But if I catch Corey Graves on the street? You see that little bouffant hairdo he got? I’m gonna rearrange it for him.”
What led some to believe his comments were not serious, however, was that he worked in the radio station’s call signs while he made them.
“So, me and Corey Graves… WrestleMania coming up, right? There’s room for one more match. Right now, on my show, Heated Conversations, Sports Radio 610, I’m calling Corey Graves out to a fight. Not a match. Not a pre-show posedown or anything like that. I’m calling Corey Graves out to a fight.”
Last week WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T went off on Corey Graves during his Houston Sports Radio 610 show, Heated Conversations, blaming the former NXT Superstar for being the reason he was replaced by Jonathan Coachman on the Monday Night RAW commentary team. Booker followed that up by challenging Graves to a legitimate fist fight. Its since been reported that the feud between the pair is a work and Booker was replaced simply because Coachman was re-signed by WWE.
The former WCW World Heavyweight Champion then took to Twitter to offer for Graves to call into his show tonight and clear the air:
I’m going to address all of the news from this past week on my show tomorrow. There’s been a lot of things said and I’d like to publicly invite @WWEGraves to call in and clear the air.
WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T was removed from the RAW commentary team and replaced with the recently re-signed Jonathan Coachman. Some fans believed Booker T’s initial claims on his radio show, Heated Conversations, that it was due to his friction with Corey Graves on-air.
A report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter reveals that the real reason the WWE Hall Of Famer was moved to pre-show panels was strictly because of the signing of Coachman. It had absolutely nothing to do with Corey Graves. The WWE Universe has mixed feelings about Booker T’s ability on commentary, but WWE wanted to bring back “The Coach” because he was always loyal to the company before departing for a job with ESPN.
After his time with the sports news juggernaut came to an end the WWE welcomed back the former Executive Assistant to Vince McMahon back with open arms. Unfortunately that meant that Booker needed to be moved off of weekly WWE commentary.
For those of you who missed it, WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T recently went off on Corey Graves during an episode of his Heated Conversations radio show on Sports Radio 610 in Houston, Texas. The former WCW World Heavyweight Champion blames Graves for not being on the RAW commentary team anymore, stating WWE officials were afraid he’d ‘jump on’ him sooner or later.
Now Booker will likely only be used for pre and post-show panels. He also threatened to attack Graves if he sees him outside the realm of a WWE production before challenging him to a legit fist fight. More on that here. Graves later indirectly responded to Booker’s comments on Twitter with the following:
“Thus the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him.”
Graves took things a step further during last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW. During Bayley’s entrance to face Asuka in singles action, Graves told Booker T’s replacement on the commentary team, Jonathan Coachman, the following:
“You better be careful Coach, watch your tongue or you might be doing afternoon radio locally.”
This of course was a reference to Booker’s Heated Conversations show on Houston Sports Radio 610. If fans are hoping that this is a work and a match between the two is coming, that’s very unlikely. Graves is unable to get cleared by WWE doctors to compete due to his history of concussion-related injuries. It looks like the heat between the two is very real.
WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T was recently replaced on the Monday Night RAW commentary team by the returning Jonathan Coachman. Over the past few months there has been a ton of friction between Booker and now-former fellow commentator Corey Graves at the announce desk.
On a recent episode of his podcast, Heated Conversations, Booker stated that he believes Graves is the reason he’s no longer on Monday Night RAW. He claimed some people believed he would eventually jump Graves for always poking at him on TV, which is why he was removed from commentary:
“People ask me about Corey Graves. Corey Graves is good at what he does, you know? Corey Graves, he’s thrown jabs at me, I’ve thrown jabs back, you know? And you know, the thing is Corey Graves, of course, yeah, he’s a college educated young man. His vernacular is a little different than mine. You see that word I just used? Threw that out there – just want you people to know, I ain’t studied this, it’s just something that we just threw out. But I tell you, if I got Corey Graves into a fisticuffs, I would beat him down like he stole something. I would be whooping his ass all day long.
“Because that’s the thing – my thing is this. I’m a nice guy, until you get on my bad side. Corey Graves, right now, I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s on my bad side, but he’s the reason that I’m not on Monday Night Raw right now. Because, you know what, a lot of people in the company thought I was gonna jump on him, I was gonna do something bad to him, I was gonna drag him, I was gonna take him out to the woodshed, I was gonna beat that man so bad, I was gonna beat him until this man say, ‘Please, please, please, just don’t beat me any more”
Booker then went on to challenge Graves to a match at WrestleMania 34, before changing his mind and challenging him to a legitimate fist fight off TV. He said that if he runs into Graves on the streets, away from any sort of company production, he’s going to jump on him:
“That’s how hot I was getting. That’s how close I was getting. So, they said, ‘Hey, Book. We’re gonna take – step back a second, alright? We’re gonna regroup, alright, we’re gonna press the rewind button. We’re gonna send you back to the Kickoff show of SmackDown, Monday Night Raw pay-per-views and cool you down for a second. Cause we don’t want you to do anything to Corey Graves, because we know what you could do to him. We know Corey Graves could do… he’s sitting there for a reason, man. He’s sitting there for a reason, and Corey Graves knows it. You know what? I’ll tell you this here. I want all you people out there to know, you heard it right here Heated Conversations, Sports Radio 610, it’s probably gonna make all the dirt sheets like Meltzer and all those guys.
“But if I catch Corey Graves on the street, I’m gonna do something to him. Alright? I ain’t gonna do it at the office or anything like that. But if I catch him… not gonna do it in the airport, nah, I’m not gonna do that. But if I catch Corey Graves on the street? You see that little bouffant hairdo he got? I’m gonna rearrange it for him. Alright? I’m just saying. I’m just saying… Let me catch him at Starbucks. I’m a tattoo him… He’s one of those guys gonna have to walk it like he talk it… Me personally, everybody knows my reputation… I get mean, when you mess with my green.
“And right now, my green is being messed with, you know what I mean? So, me and Corey Graves… WrestleMania coming up, right? There’s room for one more match. Right now, on my show, Heated Conversations, Sports Radio 610, I’m calling Corey Graves out to a fight. Not a match. Not a pre-show posedown or anything like that. I’m calling Corey Graves out to a fight.”
You can listen to Booker T’s comments on Heated Conversations by clicking this link here.
Survivor Series is tomorrow night and the WWE has put together quite the card for professional wrestling fans. One of the premiere match-ups on the card is a bout between WWE Champion AJ Styles and Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. WWE Hall Of Famer and Monday Night RAW commentator Booker T recently took to his Houston sports radio show, Heated Conversations, to give his thoughts on the match.
The former WCW World Champion expressed his displeasure for the pairing, and also praised the now-former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal’s run. Here are the highlights:
AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar:
“As far as AJ Styles [vs.] Brock Lesnar; I don’t like that matchup. I don’t like that matchup. You know, Brock Lesnar is a beast. We know AJ Styles, they don’t call him the Phenomenal One for nothing… the guy is actually that good. But to step up to Brock Lesnar’s level, it’s almost like a middleweight going up against a heavyweight. A heavyweight that can move like a middleweight. So, that’s why I don’t like the balance of that one right there.”
Jinder Mahal:
“I think Jinder Mahal has had a great run. I think Jinder Mahal has brought legitimacy to the championship. I think with Jinder Mahal as champion, people look at the WWE Championship now as, you know, we gotta get the title off this guy. It’s almost like that Iron Sheik when he had it back in the day, and Hogan had to get it off of him. Drop the big leg drop, bring America the title back home. I like this dynamic. It’s almost like when Sgt. Slaughter had his heel run. People hated him. I love it. This is professional wrestling, what he’s doing… Jinder Mahal has done a great job, and I think he’s been a great champion.”
You can listen to Booker T on Heated Conversations by clicking here.
Booker T constantly dogs Jason Jordan on Monday Night RAW from the commentary booth, and while some may think that it’s all for kayfabe, it turns out that the former WCW Champion actually isn’t a fan of the storyline son of Kurt Angle. He recently took to his Houston radio show, Heated Conversations, to voice his grievances with the former American Alpha member, who he says hasn’t proven himself yet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRm0C_zQ0vA
“I’m not a huge fan of Jason Jordan or anything like that. I’m not going to hate on him or anything like that, opportunities in this business are few and far between. I’m not heeling on him, if I like you, I like you, if I don’t like you, I don’t like you. It’s that simple. To me, he has not proved himself to be a top guy on Monday Night RAW. I don’t see one sign in the audience that says Jason Jordan is ‘my guy.’ If you ain’t got no signs out there, it tells me one thing; you ain’t that hot or people just don’t care about you. Right now, Jason Jordan is lukewarm.”
You can listen to Booker T on Heated Conversations by clicking this link here.
– WWE has posted a new video of Booker T where he talks about the WarGames match. In the video as seen below, Booker said that it’s a historic match and claimed that he still has bumps & bruises from the WarGames match he and Stevie Ray competed in at WCW Fall Brawl 1993:
It’s worth mentioning here that Booker T will be appearing at the upcoming NXT Takeover: WarGames event in his hometown of Houston. His role on the event is not known but he will likely be a part of the pre-show panel on the show.
– WWE has a new poll on their official website asking fans who they would want Kurt Angle to face if he were to wrestle another match in WWE Following his in-ring return at the recent TLC PPV.
The options include AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, Cesaro, RAW Tag Team Champion Dean Ambrose, Finn Bálor, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon, John Cena, Kevin Owens, WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, RAW Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura and WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz.
As of this writing, AJ Styles is leading the poll with 33% votes. Cesaro has the second spot with 11% votes followed by Brock Lesnar (9%) and Shane McMahon (8%). Interestingly Bray Wyatt has 0% share of votes and is at the bottom.
Former World Championship Wrestling (WCW) star Stevie Ray was recently a guest on The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast to talk about his time alongside his brother as a member of the tag team Harlem Heat.
During the appearance Ray discussed his new podcast “Stand Up For Greatness with Stevie Ray,” his reaction to his brother Booker’s ‘N’ word botch on Hulk Hogan, how viral it has gone on social media, inducting his brother into the Hall Of Fame, and eventually becoming the leader of NWO Black and White. You can check out the highlights here (quotes via WrestleZone):
His new podcast, “Stand Up For Greatness with Stevie Ray”:
“How many wrestling stories can you tell? People out there that are fans and are really wanting to know what you are thinking about and there are people that are not fans that want to know what is really going on in this guy’s mind about certain things. I can do that. I can be truthful if a question comes up or a topic comes up I’m going to give it to you the only way I can give it to you and that is how I feel. That is the only way I know how to be.
“I know that I am just not one to want to hear the same stories over and over again and the same conversations over and over. How many times can you tell a story, a behind the scenes story that is pretty “run of the mill”? I told a story on my podcast how Rick Rude when me and my brother first came into WCW and we were on the road, Rick Rude was on the same towns as us and early in the afternoon he would gather us around and tell us stories and we always remembered that. I always remembered that he always had a punchline at the end of it and it was always funny, so I figured that is how I want to tell stories just like how Rick Rude used to do with us.”
Preparing for professional wrestling broadcasting during his time as a color commentator:
“Tony Schiavone and Mike Tenay kind of gave me and would sit me down and make me more comfortable at what I was doing and so on and so forth. I tell those guys every time I see them that I owe them a lot and a lot of people don’t realize that actually I was going to go to school for that and I wanted to go into radio. As I got older I had lost interest in it because I used to DJ in clubs back in my younger days but I kind of grew out of that and never thought that it would all come back around years later. When WCW came to me and asked me to start broadcasting, I used to do the play by play in the dressing room sometimes with my brother and I. We would do play by play in the dressing room and someone got light of it and next thing you know I am out there doing it in front of the people.”.
His reaction to Booker T’s ‘N’ word botch on Hulk Hogan:
“I really don’t care about that question because that’s got nothing to do with me. That is more of my brother’s thing. That is more of a question he might have gotten tired of. When people ask me about and ask what was I thinking? I wasn’t really thinking about it because I am getting ready to do my lines. It doesn’t really bother me that much and it’s funny (man) but people ask me what was I thinking? I wasn’t even listening. I am waiting to do my lines so in essence I’m not sitting there and listening to him like a fan at home is listening to him, I am listening to him subconsciously because I am waiting to do my lines for when Mean Gene comes to me.
“I am not sitting there listening to him word for word and I didn’t even realize that he had did it for a minute because with the clip on YouTube it cuts off before Mean Gene gets to me but if you watch the show I had a little soliloquy of what I was saying but I know we had to say something about Hulk Hogan and it is right before we had to go out and work so that is probably why it got so messed up because I think my brother was thinking about two different things entirely. But that is more of my brothers shtick, not mine.”
How viral it has gone on social media:
“In all actuality, I had actually forgotten about that until it came out on YouTube several years later. People started telling me about it but it was just a night. I swear to God, I was just doing a story last night on my podcast and somebody sent in a question that made me remember a story that I didn’t remember until I read it. It triggered something in my head. That is just me. I’ve told people a thousand times that I have never taken pro wrestling home with me and it is just the job that I go to and when I am there I am all in and when I am not I am all out.”
Getting to induct his brother into the Hall Of Fame:
“We had a great time. It was just electric. Everyone kept asking me am I nervous? How do I feel? This was all before the show and it is such a big production and I said NO! I’ve been in front of so many big audiences that it doesn’t bother me. I was prepared and I am looking at guys in the back going over their speeches with their reading glasses on and people were asking me where were my notes? I said they are in my head.
“When I came out and everybody gave me the ovation and started rooting “STEVIE RAY” I almost forgot everything that I was prepared for. I wasn’t expecting that and it threw me off. I looked in the audience and I see all these guys that I used to work with staring at me and that moment I was not ready for so I just put my head down (not looking at them) and everything kind of came back to me and I started everything up. I’ll never forget that and it threw me off because I was so ready until I walked out there. It was a very cool night.”
Eventually becoming the leader of NWO Black and White:
“I had a lot of fun. It was really cool and different than what I had been doing. It was cool to me and I really loved being in the nWo. People say to me that I was the leader at one time and I told this one day on my podcast, I felt like Fonzie with Richie and Ralph Malph and all the guys down at Al’s Diner (on Happy Days) with Potsie and Chachi that is what it was kind of like that being in the nWo. Me and Virgil, Scott Norton, Horace Hogan, Bryan Adams that was our gang. We hung together too so it was kind of cool and we had a good time.”
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, WWE Hall Of Famer, and Monday Night RAW commentator recently took to his radio show, Heated Conversations, to talk about his run with Global Force Wrestling (GFW) (also known as TNA or Impact Wrestling) and explained why he left, why he refused to put over Matt Morgan, his tenure with the company being like a ‘vacation,’ and much more. You can check out the highlights here below:
His schedule while working with GFW:
“TNA was like a vacation. You know what I mean? That’s why I don’t give it a whole lot of props, man, because it was like a vacation man. It wasn’t like I was really working for that money, man. You know what I mean? I was only working like 50 days a year. I had a two-year contract, you know what I mean. It was in Disney. You know, we went to do the tapings down there, so, I was on the rides half the time when I was supposed to be working. You know what I’m saying. So, it was a nice, nice vacation… It was cool working for TNA. It was great.”
GFW not being very accommodating:
“I remember doing a pay-per-view right here in my own hometown. I was working Samoa Joe, and they wanted me to do media. Go around to all the television stations. I was like, man, I don’t mind doing that. And I remember one of the reps, I ain’t gonna say his name, he called me and he said, ‘Booker. You ready to do the media?’ And I go, ‘Yeah. I’m ready. I’ll text you my address.’ He goes, ‘No, just meet me at this hotel.’ It was right off the southwest freeway. And I live in Friendswood, so he wanted me to drive out there, about a 45-minute drive.
“He wanted me [to] meet him, and we go on all the media tour. I go ‘What you driving?’ and he goes, ‘I have a rental car.’ And I go, ‘I ain’t going nowhere in no rental car, and I ain’t gonna come out there when it should be a rental car coming to my house and pick me up!’ I say, that’s not gonna happen, so he goes, ‘Let me make a phone call.’
“So he calls the office, the office calls me. They say ‘Book. What’s going on? I heard you don’t want to go do the media.’ [I told them], ‘I don’t mind going to do the media, but I’m not driving.’ I said someone should come pick me up. The guys goes, ‘Well, you got some nice cars, don’t you?’ I go, ‘Yeah I got some nice cars. I got five of them. And a Winnebago. And they all gonna stay at home.’ I say, come on man. Every time I had a talent from TNA come to Reality of Wrestling, the flagship of Texas Wrestling, every time I’ve had one come down, they’ve all got limo treatment.
“Picked up at the airport. Brought to the arena. Took back to the hotel, they got a basket in the room. With all kind of fruits and Red Bulls and all kind of stuff in it. And you guys are a major company and you want me to drive myself around? I’m like, come on. Come on. That’s not the way you do business. And I really think that’s one of the reasons why TNA is in the dire straits that they are [now].”
Why he refused to put over Matt Morgan:
“I remember doing a pay-per-view right here in my own hometown. I was working Samoa Joe, and they wanted me to do media. Go around to all the television stations. I was like, man, I don’t mind doing that. And I remember one of the reps, I ain’t gonna say his name, he called me and he said, ‘Booker. You ready to do the media?’ And I go, ‘Yeah. I’m ready. I’ll text you my address.’ He goes, ‘No, just meet me at this hotel.’ It was right off the southwest freeway.
“And I live in Friendswood, so he wanted me to drive out there, about a 45-minute drive. He wanted me [to] meet him, and we go on all the media tour. I go ‘What you driving?’ and he goes, ‘I have a rental car.’ And I go, ‘I ain’t going nowhere in no rental car, and I ain’t gonna come out there when it should be a rental car coming to my house and pick me up!’ I say, that’s not gonna happen, so he goes, ‘Let me make a phone call.’
“So he calls the office, the office calls me. They say ‘Book. What’s going on? I heard you don’t want to go do the media.’ [I told them], ‘I don’t mind going to do the media, but I’m not driving.’ I said someone should come pick me up. The guys goes, ‘Well, you got some nice cars, don’t you?’ I go, ‘Yeah I got some nice cars. I got five of them. And a Winnebago. And they all gonna stay at home.’ I say, come on man. Every time I had a talent from TNA come to Reality of Wrestling, the flagship of Texas Wrestling, every time I’ve had one come down, they’ve all got limo treatment.
“Picked up at the airport. Brought to the arena. Took back to the hotel, they got a basket in the room. With all kind of fruits and Red Bulls and all kind of stuff in it. And you guys are a major company and you want me to drive myself around? I’m like, come on. Come on. That’s not the way you do business. And I really think that’s one of the reasons why TNA is in the dire straits that they are [now].”
You can check out the full episode of Heated Conversations by clicking this link here.
We all know that LaMelo Ball dropped a few ‘N-bombs’ during his appearance on Monday Night RAW alongside brother Lonzo and father LaVar, however, this is definitely not the first time we’ve heard the word on WWE programing. One of the most famous instances involved WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T, who cut a promo on Hulk Hogan backstage before accidentally saying “Hulk Hogan! We coming for you n****”.
During last week’s episode of SmackDown Live, The New Day decided to parody this with Big E saying “Listen up and put this flava in your ear. We want that gold sucka and at Battleground, we comin’ for you…” – right before getting cut off by Xavier Woods. Booker T took to his podcast, Heated Conversations, and expressed his displeasure for The New Day’s segment:
“I just want to make it publicly known that I don’t condone that at all especially coming off of Monday Night. We as a people, we gotta know when it’s time to speak up and when it’s time to shut up. My mother taught me that a long time ago. If you don’t know, it’ll come back and haunt you. [The WCW promo blooper] has haunted me for this many years. You put yourself in a situation for something to happen, just like Mike Tyson did, something can happen. For these young kids to understand and realize and be able to speak up for themselves…you know…then again, I spoke up because I was talent.
“I spoke up because I knew that I could speak up. I implore these young people out there to know exactly what they’re doing and how they are affecting our young people that are coming up. That’s the most important thing as far as I’m concerned. Me personally, I know I’ve made mistakes. That word that I said on national television in front of the world – I wish I could go back and erase it. I wish that I could take it back. I wish that WWE would never do something like that ever again.”
“Me personally, I don’t appreciate it. I don’t know if [WWE] knew that the parody was gonna go down because I know those guys do a lot of their own stuff. I don’t think that we as a company need to go that route. I think that parody should not have ever been shown on television because it wasn’t a great moment for us as black people. For us as black people, it was one of our worst moments. Just like the [Lamelo] Ball thing. The kid is 15-years old [and] I don’t blame him or anything like that. It was something that slipped out just like myself [in 1997], it was something that slipped out. For me as a person that’s trying to set an example for us as black people and for me to let so many people down – even the ones that thought it was the cool – even the ones that thought it was an anthem…
“…I want them to know that it was my worst day that I could have ever had being a black man and letting so many of our people down by calling us that word or saying that word in any realm [or] any form was definitely not right by any means. I wish I could take it right back. That one blemish is the only thing they have over my head that they could put out there to try to make me look bad in any way shape, form, or fashion. Of course, I could put a spin on it… … but does that make it right? No, it doesn’t make it right. It’s still a stain, a blemish, a mark that no surgical procedure could ever repair. So I just want young people to know exactly what they’re saying and when they’re saying it.”
Booker T recently discussed the alleged situation between JBL and Mauro Ranallo on his Heated Conversations radio show and the “fire JBL” chants on SmackDown. Booker said that a lot of people love and respect Mauro, and the stories have triggered a “flash mob” of backlash against JBL. He added that he still likes Mauro even though Mauro “unfollowed” him on Twitter, but that he took issue with some of fellow ex-WWE announcer Justin Roberts’ stories about JBL. Booker also took issue with the term “bullying” being applied to the locker room in WWE.
“I think [bullying] pretty much goes away when you’re a grown man and you’re able to take up for yourself and throw hands, or go and talk to someone,” Booker said. “Say ‘hey, I don’t feel like I’m being treated right with this commentator, maybe you need to move me somewhere else otherwise there could be problems.’ […] But I don’t think the “bullying” rule should fall under grown men having an issue with each other.”
He mentions that he came up in the business around The Steiner Brothers, The Nasty Boys, and Brian Pillman, and if one of them had messed with him he would have settled it himself.
Former WWE announcer Justin Roberts recently released an autobiography detailing his experiences with JBL. It should be noted that Mauro himself hasn’t publicly made any allegations against JBL.
Daniel Bryan Tweets About Final Match & Tyson Kidd Responds
Yesterday was the two year anniversary of Daniel Bryan’s final WWE match. Bryan teamed up with John Cena to face Tyson Kidd & Cesaro. Bryan has made it known in several interviews that he may look to wrestle elsewhere once his WWE contract expires. For now, he serves as the GM of Smackdown and co-host of Talking Smack. Bryan sent out a tweet acknowledging the two year anniversary of his last match and Tyson Kidd responded to it.
Kurt Angle Is Excited Booker T Is Doing Commentary For RAW
As noted earlier, new RAW announcer David Otunga will miss the next six weeks of WWE RAW to film his new movie “Katrina”. Booker T was announced as his temporary replacement on the RAW commentary team. RAW GM Kurt Angle seems to be a fan of that decision and sent out the following tweet:
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T will be joining Michael Cole and Corey Graves at the broadcast table on Monday nights for the next 6 weeks. Booker T will be filling in for David Otunga, who is out filming a movie until late May.
Otunga was ‘traded’ to RAW this past week during the Superstar Shake-Up in exchange for Byron Saxton, who joins the SmackDown Live team next week.
Booker T had a stint as a WWE RAW announcer back in 2015 before moving to SmackDown for the remainder of the year. Since SmackDown moved to the USA Network last year, Booker T has been a regular on WWE’s kickoff-show panels.
As noted on Thursday, David Otunga will star in the new film “Katrina” and it is set in 2005 New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Otunga will play the role of edgy DEA Agent James “World” Lawson.
