Booker T Weighs In On WWE Releases, Gives Advice To Developmental Talent

On the latest episode of the Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T talked about the recent surprising release of Wes Lee from WWE and the other talent cuts. As previously reported, Lee was one of a number of NXT, WWE LFG, Evolve and WWE ID talent who were let go. Booker talked about how other talent should seek to make sure they get to the next level. You can check out some highlights below:

On the releases:

“Releases just happened here in the WWE. And I want to try to wise some of these young guys up as far as — you really got to understand how serious the thing is, and how the sand in the hourglass is running out. The clock is ticking, seriously, every second. So I literally advise you young guys, you young talent that’s trying to do this thing, and you’re trying to make that transition from whatever lives you had before [to] this professional wrestling thing.

“It’s about trying to pick it up, and it’s about being smart. And it’s about doing it very quickly. And the thing is, you can have all the talent in the world sometimes, it’s not what it is that’s not what’s going to get you to the next level. It’s almost one of these things to where being in the right place at the right time, a lot of times as well.”

On Lee:

“Wes Lee’s a guy that’s highly, highly talented. And Wes Lee is a guy that I would have thought would have been safe, okay? But then I think also about what this thing is all about. NXT being a developmental system, okay? Wes Lee’s been there for what, five years? When you’ve been in the developmental system five years and you’re not looked upon as being someone that’s going to make it on the main roster, you could be one of the guys that’s going to get cut.”

On Lee’s talent:

“that’s what I think about when I look at a lot of this young talent out there. If they’re just happy being a part of it. And I don’t think that about Wes Lee at all. Like I said, I really feel like this guy, his talent was extraordinary. As far as him being North American Champion, one of the best North American Champions in NXT if not the best. A guy who could go out there and fight, and then he could fly and do all of that stuff to it. So I don’t know, of course there’s a place for someone like Wes Lee. Of course you can go to TNA just like that. AEW will pick a guy up just like that, just because he’s very highly talented.”

On how some talent have the wrong mentality:

“As far as this developmental system, I would implore guys to think that they got perhaps two, two and a half years at that. So you’d better be motivated to try to figure out what this thing is all about. And you may not want to ask the elder statesman like myself. But you’d better if you want to know what it takes to make it to that next level. You’d better be asking everybody you possibly can, who’s been there and done that, ‘What is it going to take for me?’ Don’t put it in cruise control, because you can find yourself being one of these guys getting released.

“And I’m not saying either of these guys that got released was on cruise control or anything like that. I don’t want that to be written that way up, put out there on social media like that. But I want to let these guys know that the clock is ticking. And they’re watching to see if you are one of the guys perhaps that could make it on the main roster. Make it to SummerSlam and WrestleMania and all the big events. That’s what this developmental program is. And I think that’s what the developmental program actually should be.”

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.