Booker T On Whether Velveteen Dream Deserves a Second Chance In Wrestling

On the latest episode of the Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T talked about whether The Velveteen Dream, real name Patrick Clark, should get a second shot in wrestling following his WWE release, allegations made against him, and criminal encounters. He recently published an video apologized for his past behavior, specifically naming Triple H and Shawn Michaels as people he apologizes to alongside WWE, his family and more. You can check out some highlights below:

On whether Velveteen Dream deserves a second chance in wrestling: “I talked to Patrick Clark about three months ago. He reached out to me, and he wanted to get — he was trying to figure out, maybe a way back into the business. And I told him to give me a call and, I don’t know, something happened, and we — I don’t know what happened, but I hadn’t talked to him. But I was wondering that myself. I was like, ‘I wonder if this kid could get back in the business’ myself. You know what I mean? Because I knew Patrick Clark before he was on Tough Enough, alright? I knew him when he was working at Maryland Championship Wrestling, as a kid. And then when he got on Tough Enough I was like, Man, this kid has so much talent.’ And then when he got an NXT and created that Velveteen Dream character and gimmick, I was like, ‘Man, this is money. This is gold. This thing can go a long time, for years.’ It was like a throwback, like Macho Man Savage or something like that. It was kind of like a throwback gimmick that he made work. But I don’t know, man. I wonder if there’s a way back in the business for him but I tell you, it’s going to be hard. And he’s going to have to put in a whole lot of work.”

On Dream needing to earn trust back in wrestling: “One thing I said when I came home from prison. I said I didn’t expect people to trust me. I said, ‘I gotta earn people’s trust.’ I say, ‘People are going to look at me like I’m a criminal, and that’s the way they should look at me. It’s going to be up to me to prove myself.’ And so if I could tell Patrick Clark anything [it would be] don’t quit. Get out there and just, just earn it… Let me tell you this: he lost his damn mind. No, that’s why I say: something like that, you gotta earn it, man. It’s not something, you know, a spot is not something that, ‘Well, everybody should get one.’ I really feel like in certain situations, especially in a situation like he’s in right now, he’s going to have to earn his way back. And it’s going to take a lot of hard work. It’s going to take getting someone to trust you. And the thing is, I’m not even talking about all the way back to the wrestling business. I’m just talking about just in general. Seriously because, brother was definitely going through some troubled times, seriously. So to find his way back, it would really be a remarkable thing.”

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.