Booker T on Withdrawal From Starrcast III, Says Conrad Thompson Never Told Him It Was Starrcast, Claims WWE Had ‘Zero’ to Do With It

– As previously reported, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T withdrew from his scheduled Starrcast III appearance. It was reported by The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer that Booker T withdrew due to the conflict between AEW and WWE, and Booker T did not want to get in the middle of it. Starrcast organizer and promoter Conrad Thompson later denied that report and said it was “inaccurate.” Booker T later addressed the subject on his Hall of Fame podcast this week.

Booker T revealed he didn’t know the booking initially was a Starrcast event when he accepted it from Conrad Thompson and said the situation was a “misunderstanding.” He didn’t plan to appear at another Starrcast after Starrcast II, which was held in Las Vegas during AEW Double or Nothing Weekend.

Booker T had made the decision himself not to attend another Starrcast because he still works with WWE and didn’t feel right appearing at Starrcast and working with WWE. Also, he claims WWE didn’t pull him from the show. Below are some highlights and some audio of the segment. The embedded version also includes images of Booker T’s texts with Thompson.

Booker T on what happened: “I want to set the record straight, man, right here because there have been a lotta falsehoods out there — let’s not say falsehoods. It’s just been some straight-up lies going around out there, and I want to set the record straight, especially with the Starrcast event. The way we should do this, let’s start it in chronological order. You and I, we had a chance to go to the last Starrcast, and we had a great time out in Vegas. Sharmell and I, we got the chance to see some Cirque du Soleil. O was awesome. I had a great time out there there. The fans, man. The fans were really, really awesome as well. It was a great experience for me. But I do remember after Starrcast, you and I talking, and I said I wasn’t gonna do Starrcast next time, just because I just didn’t think it was right for me to be working for WWE and being at Starrcast.”

Booker T on what happened after Starrcast II: “Now, a couple weeks after Starrcast was over, Conrad Thompson, he texted me. And what I’m gonna do here guys, I’m gonna put an overlay of all the texts that came out between Conrad and I as far as him texting me and me texting him back. That way, there’s going to be no discrepancy or anything like that; no misunderstandings as far as what was said. And that’s the way it went.”

Booker T on how he thought it was just a regular autograph signing and not Starrcast: “Conrad, he texted me a date that he wanted me to do an autograph signing. That autograph signing was August 31st. That date was in Chicago. He told me all of that, but what he didn’t tell me that it was Starrcast. I didn’t know it was Starrcast. I didn’t find out it was Starrcast until Brad, you texted me and said, ‘Book, are you doing Starrcast?’ I said, ‘No, I’m not doing Starrcast.’ ‘Well, they’re advertising you.’ Immediately, I put a tweet out and said, ‘I wasn’t gonna be doing Starrcast,’ just because I did not know that the Conrad booking was Starrcast because he did not say that it was Starrcast. He said it ‘an autograph signing.’ Now, me pulling out and my reasonings why was because I said I wasn’t gonna do Starrcast. I thought it should have been over with at that point, but it seemed like the story just kept getting bigger and bigger.”

Booker T on Dave Meltzer’s story and WWE having nothing to do with the change: “Dave Meltzer — The Meltzer Report — which is a bunch of crap. He put out a story, and the story was accurate in some parts as far as me talking to Conrad about that booking on that date. But that date, like I say, was never mentioned one time by text or verbally that it was Starrcast. If he would’ve said, ‘Hey Book, would you like to do Starrcast III,’ I would’ve said, ‘Hey man. I appreciate it, but no.’ But it wasn’t framed that way. So, I just want the people to know that I did not pull out of Starrcast. I pulled out of Starrcast because I was never in Starrcast. I was booked for a date for an autograph signing not knowing that date was Starrcast. Now, as far as all the WWE pulling me from the booking, let’s get it straight right now. WWE had zero — I mean *zero* — to do with me not doing that booking. They did not pull me from it, as well as WWE is not scrambling to find someone else because it was never a WWE booking. I was never supposed to be at Starrcast from the beginning.”

“Now, Dave Meltzer did quote me a lot of times in this article. Now, a lot of the stuff Dave Meltzer said in this article as far as the text messages and what not, some of it was true … Yeah, I said it was a war because it really is. It’s truly a war. The war is real, and I don’t want to be caught in the middle of it. Those are my words. And the only person I talked to about this was Conrad Thompson. I didn’t talk to anybody in the Starrcast or anybody. The only person that I talked to was Conrad Thompson. So as far as how Dave Meltzer got my words, that’s up for you to decide. As far as the backstory of me being at All Out, me pulling out of events, I challenge you guys, the listeners, to get that information from Dave Meltzer. Make him produce that information as far as me being a part of All Out and what not because all of that is just straight up lies. It’s his delusional mind working. My thing is this, if anyone subscribes to the Meltzer Report, you guys got to literally take a look at yourselves because all of this stuff — I’m putting it out there right now, all of it, is false as far me ever being approached to be at Starrcast, and that’s it.”

Booker T on Meltzer’s initial report saying he “pulled out of All Out”: “I challenge Dave Meltzer to find that information as far as me signing an AEW contract to be at All Out because I’m sure those guys work by contract and what not. The only thing you gonna to find is these text messages that I’m putting up myself for the world to see. That’s the only thing as far as me being a part of that event, and it had zero wording as far as Starrcast, All Out, AEW, or anything like that. I thought it was just a regular booking, a regular signing, and that was it. I was gonna go do it, and I was gonna go do it and that was it. It had nothing to do with All Out.”

Booker T on never speaking to Dave Meltzer on the topic: “For Dave Meltzer to be quoting me, it seemed like Dave Meltzer would’ve had to have a conversation with me. I had zero conversations with Dave Meltzer. If Dave Meltzer would like to call me, hey, do so. I’m an easy man to find. Call into the show. But my thing is, I never had one conversation with Dave Meltzer for him to be quoting me.”