Booker T has previously supported Hulk Hogan’s reinstatement into the WWE Hall Of Fame and the former WCW Star believes that it’s time to move on from this controversy.
T was recently interviewed by Sports Illustrated and during the talk; he discussed matters such as WWE Hall Of Fame not having a building and more.
While talking about Hogan, the former World Champion said that if people still judged him for his past mistakes, he wouldn’t be where he is right now and it’s time to move on:
“If people still judged me from what I did 30 years ago, I would not be where I am now. Now I still have my broom, and I carry it around to sweep up all the dirt and trash I’ve left behind in my past. Hulk is also going to have to carry that broom in his back pocket and atone for his mistakes. But I think it’s time to move on.”
For those who don’t know, Booker T served 19 months in prison for two counts of aggravated robbery. He committed the crime in 1987 when he was 22 years old.
Apart from this Booker also continued talking about a possible in-ring return after he discussed it in an interview earlier this month and more. You can check out his full interview here.
After his recent appearance on SmackDown Live a few weeks ago, Booker T had discussed possibly teaming up with New Day for one more match, and he has once again talked about possibly returning to ring for one more bout.
Booker was recently a guest on Stone Cold Steve Austin’s podcast and during the episode, the two wrestling legends talked about a number of wrestling related topics.
While talking about possibly having one more bout, Booker T joked that if WWE calls him for one more match against Stone Cold, he will do it in a heartbeat.
The Hall Of Famer then expressed the desire to wrestle one more match for his own wrestling promotion Reality Of Wrestling, to show students of his wrestling school that he can still go out there and do it.
Continuing on the topic, T also revealed how his son recently asked him questions about the time he was still an active competitor, and this is another reason why he wants to have one more match, so his son can see that he can still go out there and hold on his own.
Apart from this, Booker T also talked about how he enjoys his current role in WWE and how he loves interacting with younger talents like Bray Wyatt who he spoke to recently.
Do you think Booker T should return to the ring for one more match? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Daniel Bryan has doubled-down on his comments about being able to defeat Mike Jackson in an MMA fight. Jackson defeated CM Punk at a UFC event in Chicago held earlier this summer.
UFC 225 was CM Punk’s second bout in the Octagon. Unfortunately, the home field advantage wasn’t enough for the Second City Saint to take his first MMA win. The result wasn’t good for Mike Jackson either. His performance received mixed reviews and would be his one and only fight in the UFC according to Dana White. Shortly after the bout, Daniel Bryan made a comment on how he could beat Jackson in an MMA fight, which sparked an online mini-feud.
Bryan was a guest on Heated Conversations with Booker T recently and again stated he feels he could beat Jackson in an MMA fight.
It Started With Instagram Live
“What was happening was, my wife (Brie) was on Instagram, and she was doing a live thing, to promote Total Bellas“, Bryan explained. “And it was like, ‘Oh, Bryan is here with me. Does anybody want to ask him a question?’ And somebody popped up and said, ‘Do you think you could beat Mike Jackson?’ And it wasn’t like I’ve been sitting around thinking, ‘I guess this is my shot. I’m going to call him out on Brie’s Instagram story.”
“And this is what I said, I said, ‘Yeah, I think so. If it went to the ground, I think I could’.”
Booker T then asked the former World Heavyweight Champion if he could submit Jackson in an MMA fight, to which Bryan admitted that he might be overly-confident.
Daniel Bryan Jiu-Jitsu Training
“Yes (I could submit him), but that could be false confidence. I’m very open to that (idea). I think most people who know me know this. If I were to say like, ‘Yeah, I think I could beat Mike Jackson’, it’s that. It’s not me being like, ‘Oh, I would kill that man! I would go out there and destroy that man!’ It’s no disrespect to him, it’s no disrespect to CM Punk. It was the first time I ever actually watched a UFC show where somebody won a fight, and I thought, ‘You know what? I think I could beat that guy’. And just say that ‘Oh, I’ve toyed around with jiu-jitsu’ or whatever it is, and I’ve been training grappling and stuff for a lot of years. I’ve been training kickboxing and stuff for a lot of years.”
“That said, that doesn’t make me an MMA fighter, and I’m well aware of it. I’m also well aware of the fact that, okay, I’ve been training this month in takedowns, right? And I’m doing double legs, and guess what? I’m kind of old! And so, here I am, shooting double legs and when you’re shooting double legs, you’re tilting your neck to finish this double leg takedown, and me with my neck problems, I probably shot 15 double legs, and they were still doing double legs. And my neck all of a sudden, my thoracic spine was like, ‘What am I doing? We don’t do this!'”
While an MMA career doesn’t seem to be in the works for Bryan, one has to remember that it was only earlier this year that Bryan got cleared to compete in a WWE ring. Also, it seems that Bryan will continue to stay in the WWE until he feels that he has accomplished all that he wanted in the company.
You Can Listen To The Interview in its entirety below:
2018 was an eventful year for the men formerly known as Big Cass and Enzo Amore. Once rising stars in WWE, both were released from the company in recent months. With his legal issues behind him, Enzo Amore has stated he will never wrestle again and is pursuing a music career as Real 1. Meanwhile, Big Cass has been taking booking on the independent scene and is waiting for his 90-days no-compete clause to expire.
Big Cass appeared on Booker T’s Heated Conversations podcast over the weekend. Cass spoke about his future in the wrestling business and commented on his current relationship (or lack thereof) with Enzo.
No Contact With Enzo
Cass revealed that he has not contacted Enzo in a long time and they’re not even friends. He would even go as far to say that he had no idea that Enzo was even rapping. While Cass has no intention of reuniting the team, he wouldn’t rule it out if the money was right.
“We’re not friends, so I just don’t think that’ll be a possibility. I mean—let me tell you something, Booker, if the money is right, yeah, I’ll definitely do it.”
You can listen to the entire conversation below on Booker T’s Heated Conversations podcast with Brad Gilmore:
In a recent interview on Booker T’s podcast, Heated Conversations, William Morrissey, or better known as Big Cass, finally broke his silence on why he was released from the WWE.
Life After WWE
“I’m doing good, just living my life right now,” Cass said. “Hitting the gym, waiting for my 90-day [no compete clause] to end. Anticipating what’s next on my schedule, trying to get myself in the best shape possible. Just living life, I don’t know how else to say it.”
Cass On Being Released
“If I’m going to be honest with you, I made a lot of mistakes. I made a lot of mistakes in a very short period of time,” Cass admitted. “I did some things that I shouldn’t have done. I guess the company couldn’t rely on me and couldn’t trust me. Look, I’ll just be honest with you, in my opinion, they made the right decision for them.”
“It was the right decision to get rid of me at that point in time – not to say I won’t be back – but at that point in time, they definitely made the right decision for them. To be honest with you, looking at it they made the right decision for me. Everyone makes mistakes, but when you make that many mistakes in that short of a period of time then you lose people’s trust and you’re not reliable anymore.”
“Yeah, I would have, [fired myself]. I definitely would have fired myself. If I was in Vince McMahon’s position, I would have fired myself for sure, one-hundred percent.”
Back From Injury
A little after Wrestlemania 34 Big Cass made his return back from injury now on the Smackdown brand. He was immediately placed into a feud with Daniel Bryan in where Bryan would be victorious through the feud. It wouldn’t be until June of this year that Cass would get released. Numerous sources are stating that Cass’s backstage attitude and not following orders from WWE personnel was the reason for his release. More on Big Cass release can be read here.
While Sanity was not part of this week’s episode of SmackDown Live, the trio competed in a dark match before the show started, against what appears to be a newly formed tag team.
Before SmackDown went on air, R-Truth and Tye Dillinger came out as a tag team. They faced the former NXT Stars in a match and for the surprise of many, defeated Sanity into the bout.
As noted before, General Manager Paige announced on SmackDown Live that Sanity will be going against the Usos and Rusev Day on next week’s episode of the show, as part of the ongoing tournament to determine the New Day’s next challenger.
Booker T On Possibly Teaming Up With New Day In Future
The opening segment on this week’s SmackDown saw Booker T returning to WWE Television and welcoming the New Day into the 5 times Champion club after they won the SDLive tag team titles last week.
The segment not only featured a promo but Booker also did his famous spinaroonie and all the members of the New Day followed the former WCW Star.
After the show, WWE posted the following video where the Hall Of Famer talks about the New Day trying the spineroonie and if we can expect him to team up with The Tag Champs sometime in future:
The shoot fight between Batista and Booker T from 2006 is one of the most famous backstage incidents from WWE of the ruthless aggression era.
Hannibal TV recently caught up with the former WCW Star and during the interview, he recalled that incident with the Animal among some other things.
T said that in combat sports, there is always going to be disagreement between the people working together and that’s what he and the Guardians Of The Galaxy Star had.
However, continuing on the topic, the former World Champion said that he has settled his disagreement with Batista and if he saw him today, he’d give the Hollywood Star a big hug and ask him what’s going on.
For those who don’t know, Batista and Booker T had a real-life backstage fight back in 2006 and T reportedly got the upper hand in their brawl due to his street fighting experience.
Batista had developed an attitude after moving to Raw from SmackDown and winning the World Championship. He was rubbing people the wrong way.
Booker T got into an argument with him after Dave made some bad comments and it developed into a 30 seconds shoot fight between the two before being broken by other stars. You can check out the full interview of Booker in the video below:
Booker T is the latest star to give his take on WWE’s decision to reinstate Hulk Hogan into the WWE Hall of Fame after the news was broken over the weekend before the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view event where Hogan held a meeting with the WWE superstars.
The former WCW World Heavyweight Champion was the latest guest on XPac 1 2 360 with Sean Waltman where he talked about various topics including Hogan where he stated that when people say stuff behind closed doors, sometimes they say stuff they would never say in public and that if someone is taping a conversation they’re obviously looking to get something out of it and you have to look at it like that. “You don’t know if someone was drinking or not. There are so many variables that go into that one little episode. And I just don’t think that in the wrestling business coincide with each other. Do we got to set this thing down, reprimand, suspend him? Of course. But for him to be banned from professional wrestling for that one incident? I mean c’mon. That I don’t agree with. Let’s put in the past and move forward.”
The WWE Hall of Famer also gave his take on Bobby Lashley possibly facing Brock Lesnar in the near future. Booker T noted that Lesnar has a lot on his plate right now as he is preparing for his UFC return, being tested by USADA and gearing up for his next match in the WWE at the upcoming SummerSlam event.
He believes that it will be a good thing for Lashley to get in there and mix it up with Lesnar but it might be a rough night for him as well. He brought up the fact that fans have been wanting to see them wrestle each other for years. “Both of them have the amateur background… Bobby is definitely ready to step into the fire… as well as we wonder what Bobby’s still got left in the tank after ten years of being away from the company. We’re fired up, we’ll find out very soon.”
Two days after losing to Daniel Bryan cleanly at the Money In The Bank (MITB) pay-per-view (PPV), Big Cass was released from the WWE citing behavioral issues. It was initially reported last year by Dave Meltzer that Cass was getting heat backstage for vocalizing his support of President Donald Trump.
In a recent episode of WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T’s podcast, Heated Conversations, the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion talked about the rumors:
“There are so many rumors flying around as far as his release,” Booker T said. “The story is bigger than Big Cass. For instance, back in the day, you didn’t tell anyone who you voted for, you know what I mean? It was a secret. You don’t bring that stuff up together because we have to be friends. That is something that you have to deal with inside yourself.
“I’m not homophobic or anything like that, but when gay people come out it’s like, you didn’t have to tell me that because I’m still going to still give you a hug. It’s not my business so when people do certain things they literally become vulnerable and not keep their eyes on the prize as far as what is really at stake here… my livelihood.”
Booker then dove into the dangers of social media, specifically Twitter, and discussed how Twitter can ruin someone’s life:
“At the end of the day, it is about taking care of your family. Going out and doing the job like Stevie Ray would say, to the best of your ability until something better comes along. I say that because it’s very simple; we are all in the entertainment business. If you want to be running a publication get another job, but Twitter can ruin one’s life. Going on Twitter and saying something.
“I personally liked the guy. I didn’t know about his personal beliefs about voting for Donald Trump. Maybe that was part of it, but my thing is this; I’ve been one of the boys, I had to work in that locker room, I may have had heat with some of the boys in certain times throughout my career but if I went out and performed in the ring all of that overshadowed and trumped everything, which is with your performance.
“If you are on time; if you are ready to go as far as people needing you for a promo set and not looking all throughout the building for you. Everything comes into play as far as being around or not. Being a General or being a Private. I want to be a General so I am always going to be on time and had my shoes spit shined. All of my medals are going to be straight. The bed, everything is tucked. If you don’t take care of your business this is what is going to happen to you.”
Booker T says the lesson is the same thing he tries to teach his students over at Reality Of Wrestling – If everyone does what they’re supposed to do then we can all put on a great show:
“The thing is, it can be a bunch of things. My point is this; when it gets to that point, it isn’t something that everybody else is doing, it is something that you are doing. I have been in the business for many years, I knew as long as I went out and performed and thought about that — look here, being married to Sharmell was in the twilight of my career.
“I was around 40. Sharmell was the first woman that I thought about talking to, and if you listen to Sharmell she thought I hated her the first time we met because I was always all business. When I was in my twenties and in my thirties I was thinking about making my mark and I have to do it now. I couldn’t think about getting married to slow me down, especially with the women I work with.
“I knew where it was going to lead. I was always thinking about going out there and performing and that only. I think these young guys it is easy to get caught up. It is easy access. When you lose focus and your train of thought.
“When you take those blinders off anything can happen. When you start thinking it is a party instead of putting your suit and tie on and getting your job done and handling your business, you are thinking about the wrong thing. Big ups to Big Cass. Hopefully he finds something. There is a lot of work out there on the independent scene and in Japan. Whatever he did he definitely lost out on this deal because I thought he was going to be one of the next greatest big men in the sport.”
You can listen to Booker T on Heated Conversations by clicking this link here.
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T is keeping the door open for another match. On a recent episode of his Heated Conversations podcast, the 5-time WCW Champion stated that he never officially retired from wrestling and wants to get back in the ring again at some point.
At 53 years old, Booker T wrestling would be more of a special attraction than anything. He says his body still feels good and it wouldn’t take an opportunity to compete at WrestleMania again to lure him back. Of course, he’d welcome the chance to appear at a WrestleMania, but said his retirement match would probably be best suited for his Houston-based Reality of Wrestling promotion.
Booker would go on to say part of him feels the need to prove to himself and his students that he can still go. Additionally, he’d like to wrestle in front of his kids one last time.
Below, you can listen to Booker T’s comments about not being retired:
Reason Why The Rock Is Not Likely To Compete At WrestleMania 35
While not a big surprise, Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that The Rock is not very likely to compete at WrestleMania 35 due to his upcoming film Red Notice.
The action comedy film co-starring Gal Gadot will start filming in April next year and the risk of injury and the usual insurance concerns will prohibit the former World Champion from wrestling at the Show of Shows.
The Rock did not appear at this year’s WrestleMania and he last wrestled a full-length match for the company during WrestleMania 29 against John Cena.
He suffered an injury during his match with the Cenation Leader causing several of his projects to be delayed, and the Hollywood star has not wrestled any real match since then.
Booker T On Fan Criticism
Booker T recently had an interview with Pancakes and Powerslams podcast where he talked about James Harden’s Raw appearance, Ember Moon being part of Money In The Bank Ladder match and more.
Discussing the fan criticism on his commentary, the former WCW Star said that he could talk on Television how he is talking to the host of the show but that’s not the role he chooses to play:
“I can talk just like I’m talking to you right now on television if I wanted to, but that’s not the role I choose to play on television, because that’s not the real Booker T that the people know on television. The intelligent speaking, the guy who is trying to use the right pronunciations for every word that he says.
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.
