Booker T Explains Why Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar Should Close Out WrestleMania

Booker T spoke with Sports Illustrated for a new interview discussing Drew McIntyre’s match with Brock Lesnar for WrestleMania 36 and more. Highlights are below:

On his Reality of Wrestling promotion: “Reality of Wrestling is my baby, it’s my passion. I have one of the youngest rosters in the wrestling business—they start at 15, 16 years old in our fantasy camp, then join our Reality of Wrestling school. The youngest kid in the Renegades is 17 years old. This is all about showing guys the right way to do things, and I hope that I can pass on even more knowledge to my students in the ring on Saturday night. Ryan Davidson is one of my teachers, and he’s teaching all those guys what I taught him. I want him to be the best, so I’ve been very hard on him. I remember once he asked me, ‘Book, why do you hate me so much?’ And I said, ‘Man, I love you. I want you to be the best.’ Now he’s leading the Renegades, and it’s so awesome to see him begin to reach his potential. This is just what Chris Jericho and I always spoke about—it’s Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet or Phantom of the Opera up close and personal.”

On why Lesnar vs. McIntyre should main event WrestleMania 36: “McIntyre-Lesnar is a built-in story. Drew paid his dues. He’s a guy that got fired, had to go out there and find himself, then work his way back up. Drew is a guy that was once labeled ‘The Chosen One,’ and then all of that fell through. To see him back, it’s only fitting to close WrestleMania with that match.”

On McIntyre finally rising to the top of the company: “I was that guy once upon a time, so I know exactly how Drew feels right now. It will be one of those stories where the guy who worked his ass off gets rewarded, and it will be awesome.”

On not wanting to return to the ring for WWE: “I don’t wish to ever wrestle a WWE schedule again. Those days are far past me. My body feels good, but I don’t have anything to prove in the wrestling ring, unlike Edge, who just came back. Edge didn’t leave on his own terms. He left because of a neck injury, which wasn’t the way he wanted to go out. We want to go out the way we want to go out. I pretty much did everything I possibly could for the WWE and every other organization I could possibly be a part of. I’m still having so much fun in this current wave, working for Fox, working for ESPN, working for WWE, and having my own wrestling company. Life is great, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”