Booker T Shares the Secret Behind Harlem Heat’s WCW Run

On the latest episode of the Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T talked about the secret of the success of Harlem Heat as a tag team in WCW, Ron Simmons setting the stage for his WCW World Title win, and more. You can check out some highlights below:

Booker T on Harlem Heat having a prominent role on TV throughout their time in WCW: “We took that, man. They didn’t give it to us, we took it. That’s why we were so unique. That’s why my brother and I was so unique. We didn’t sit back and wait on somebody to call our name. We just went out and just did it. And we recognized that even before Sherri was with us, because we first got WCW going on those overseas tours man, working with everybody and getting our butts kicked every night. But we didn’t care, we didn’t care. We still would act like we would won. We let the baby faces leave, and then we would still get up and raise our hands like we still won imagine the crowd would go crazy. And so it was nothing. We knew what we were doing. And then, when they put Sherry Martel with us and our legitimizer, everything was like, you know, peaches and cream. It was roses from that point on.”

On Ron Simmons setting the stage for his World Title win in WCW: “If I wouldn’t have won, he would have been the only black champion in WCW. There was nobody else after Ron Simmons.”

On Simmons’ win changing the locker room dynamic: “I wouldn’t necessarily think so. You know, Ron was treated a certain way because he was a man, alright? Ron won the World Heavyweight Championship because he was a man. He wasn’t somebody that was very shy or someone who didn’t tell you what he was really thinking about, which was on his mind. He wasn’t shy at all. That wasn’t Ron Simmons. Same with me. I represented in the ring as well as out of the ring, every time. I always say, my worst moment on television was saying the N-word because I thought I let so many of my people down. Because I know you gotta be able to change your levels in this lifetime if you want to make it to the next level. And I didn’t want my young people thinking, ‘Hey, that’s what Booker T did to get yourself noticed.’ No, no, no.

“So, for me, it was all about respecting myself more than anything. And if you didn’t respect me, I was going to make you respect me. And there again, always said in this business, the only thing that they could do to you is fire you. That’s it. That’s the only thing they could do. And normally, they don’t fire the talented one. They fire the other guy. The guy that’s making you money, you’re going to keep. That’s just business. It’s just business.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit the Hall of Fame with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.