wrestling / News

Booker T Reflects On His Legacy In Wrestling, Discusses Upcoming A&E Biography Special

May 7, 2021 | Posted by Blake Lovell

In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports, Booker T discussed his legacy in wrestling, the upcoming A&E Biography special, and much more. Here are some highlights:

Booker T on reflecting on the magnitude of what he accomplished in his wrestling career: “I’m feeling it now. In the moment, if you’re thinking about it, you’re never going to get there. In the moment, I was always thinking about the fans’ memories and what they’d take away from my performances. I tried to never think about a match right after I wrestled it because it was always about what was next and making fans feel a certain way. Even now, I have to pinch myself when the commercial comes on. It’s definitely mind-blowing.”

On his ability to connect with the crowd: “I’ve always been the guy that was all about the script. Give me the script, crappy or not, I’m going to make it good and change a few things. No matter what position I was in, mid-card, main event, whatever, it was all about going out there and getting the work done. That really started in WCW. I was a guy who would go out there and perform and rely on nothing else but my own work. There was no buddy system, no kissing up, it was all about taking whatever role it was and making it something special. That’s what I challenge these young guys to do now. Take whatever character you have and make it what you want it to be.”

On how his legacy paved the way for other Black stars in WWE: “It’s really, really awesome. I always said Bobby Lashley was the heir apparent to Booker T. When I left the company I thought Bobby was going to pick up the baton and run with it. He came back and proved that he was there to do it on another level. I’m loving what him and the Hurt Business are doing right now. Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks, I can’t say anything negative toward those ladies because they have gone out and done it their way. I think about the way I did it and may have paved the way, but then I think about how there were so many guys that paved the way for me.

“Guys like [Junkyard Dog], Ron Simmons, who I had the opportunity to look up to. What I learned from them is that if you are going to do it, do it right. You are a role model. During my career, I remember I was in the park I used to go to as a kid and a child actually saying to me — I wasn’t the biggest star back then — that he wanted to be like me when he grew up. I still to this day think about those kids who are looking up to me. That’s what the biography is going to speak to more than anything. You’re going to see a kid who went down a road, lost a lot, suffered, but was still able to find his way back.”

On his upcoming A&E Biography special and what he wants viewers to take away from it: “The struggle more than anything. It’s about the cards that you are dealt. Sometimes your hand isn’t going to be as good as the hand the next guy has, but you have to play it. Sometimes you have to bluff, you have to do what you have to do to make it through this life. At the end of the day, my story, you’re going to see a kid who went through a lot but didn’t blame anybody for bad breaks. My brother told me that he was going to get me a job and said no matter what that job was — sweeping floors, washing windows — you do it to the best of your ability until something else better came along. I think I used that throughout my life and in my wrestling career. Young kids will be able to see it and tell themselves that if Booker T did it, they can too. That if they go down the road Booker T went down, they’ll have to gain trust all over again.”

article topics :

Booker T, WWE, Blake Lovell