Booker T Talks Backstage Joining TNA, Vince v. Dixie and More

[It's Damn Real!]

http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2013/0501/562421/booker-t-talks-backstage-fight-with-batista/

On his run with TNA:

Eh, it was like a vacation, like a paid vacation. I didn't do much there and I wasn't in a lot of angles or anything there and they didn't know what to do with me. I really wanted to help the AJ's and the Bobby Roode's and guys like that but they didn't have any direction.

So, for me, I just came to work, did my antics -- I had an African accent there. [Laughs.] So, I'd come to work, do my deal and go home for two weeks. So, it was easy and I needed the detox, I needed a breather.

And still be on television. I didn't want to not be on television because, like I said, out of sight is out of mind. So, I just wanted to take a break but still be on television to keep people thinking about me. Even though the television exposure was not that relevant, I was still doing my thing. I was still in the mix and wrestling on a fairly regular basis. So, I was still in the game, I didn't let the machine get all rusty.

But, like I said, taking a break was something that I needed. I had been going strong for about 17 years straight without a break. Thank little bit of a break was something that I needed just to re-energize myself.

On comparing Dixie Carter/Eric Bischoff and Vince McMahon:

Man, like night and day really. Dixie Carter, she's a nice lady, a really nice lady. She's got a good heart and she really wants to do the right thing for the guys. Does she have the right guys doing things? That might be another story. Is Eric Bischoff the right guy for the job? I don't know, you've got to weigh your options as far as that right there. Look at the track record. [Laughs.]

As far as working for Vince McMahon, it's always been a business. It's always been a working relationship, I tried not to become friends or anything like that with anybody that I'm working under. I always know that it's about business, it's not about friendship. That's Vince, he's always about business. It's all about getting the job done, it's all about going out and being number one every week no matter what.

I adapted that concept myself into pretty much everything that I do. I just go out and work the hardest and be the best.

On TNA attempting to reform the Main Event Mafia:

Yeah, they asked me to come back and put me in the Mafia thing. But they wanted to pay me a cheaper fee to come back. I just didn't think it was the right thing to do for my family to go back there. And I thought about my career and how I wanted to end my career. And how I wanted to make sure that at the end, when it's all over, I'm happy with what's going on.

There's obviously much more to this interview than just this, but these three questions were TNA-specific. Please don't derail this thread by bringing up his WWE-related responses. You can open a thread on that in the WWE section if you wish to discuss it.

Thoughts on his responses?

 

[asiatic7]

Hey, a fellow Brooklynite....

I think Booker was genuine and honest in all of his answers. He was careful not to bury anybody, but that's his approach all the time when being interviewed. He always comes across as a very grateful man and appreciates all opportunities that come his way. He doesn't sound bitter and bitchy like most wrestlers come across...good for him.

I always liked Booker T since the Harlem Heat days (I really thought he was from Harlem back in the days). The guy is a real class act and in my opinion, one of the most underrated wrestlers and entertainers (even though on his web site, he refers to himself as "The Most Electrifying Man In Sports Entertainment".... Take that Rock!) in the history of Pro Wrestling.

#IT'S DUG....SUCKA!!!

 

[MrPlatano1989]

I actually got the chance to see him at a couple TNA house shows and I always enjoyed his time with the company, he def put Bobby Roode over with their feud and he had a really good I quit match with AJ at one point that I saw again recently! I loved the idea of Booker and Scott winning tag titles since they each had great runs with their brothers as tag teams, they are vets at tag team wrestling. I also feel Booker will feel differently about Dixie and TNA if he worked there today! Also MEM is still the only faction to have had all former world champs, over 75 years of experience between the men!

 

[rondiesel2005]

I don't watch TNA that much, but I remember watching when Booker T made the appearance in TNA. I have to say that they really didn't know how to use him well. I know he wanted to work with everybody in the company, but they didn't give him a decent feud with anyone in the company. I remember he was the one that introduce the TNA Legend championship belt and they still didn't know how to use him then.

I am not sure if if he had stayed when Hogan and Eric Bischoff came into TNA they would use him properly. Mickie James did an interview recently where she explains her frustration with the company because she didn't like to be home waiting for the call from TNA to come in and work a story-line. It seems like what she had said about the company is what others have said. We probably not going to hear anything negative from Kurt Angle or Sting because they are paying them a tone of money so they are happy with what they got.

 

[Judah's Lion]

Booker T seems like a genuinely nice guy. not always easy to find in the professional wrestling world. most interviews he does and that others do about him paint him as extremely humble and grateful, and on a personal level, i've always appreciated that about him.

concerning his time in TNA: his time in TNA is interesting to me. i honestly can't remember anything he did that was terrible or made me scratch my head. so i don't think he was used poorly in that sense. but i also can't think of a whole lot of things he did that were very memorable. actually, i can't even remember how long he was with the company. at the time, TNA was doing a ton of tapings in the span of a few days, so guys could come in for a few days, get a month of tv recorded and then go home and rest. Booker is a multi-year vet and definitely earned his chance to rest. and he never seemed like a guy that came in just to get a quick paycheck and leave. he worked hard. i'm just not sure TNA made the best use of his talent. i do agree that his tag team with Scott Steiner made sense and i enjoyed seeing them with the titles together.

comparing Vince and Dixie: Booker made similar comments while comparing Dixie to Vince that i've read from several others that i trust and respect greatly. Vince is business; Dixie is family. i'm not qualified to say that one approach is better than the other. but the difference between the two seems to be obvious enough that several others have said the same thing. the only bad word i've ever heard about Dixie is that maybe she's not got the best mind in the world for the business of professional wrestling and therefore spends her money unwisely. but Booker T saying that she's a super nice lady just adds to her image of being a class act in an environment that doesn't have many. in my opinion.

reforming the Main Event Mafia: i'm not sure when Booker was contacted and asked to be brought back to TNA to reform this stable. i'm so unsure that i'm assuming he was asked to "come back" when it's possible he was really asked to "stay" and renew his existing contract. i just can't remember all the details surrounding his time with Impact. i guess it's just a technicality and it's not a slam on TNA in any way, but i am glad he returned to the WWE. his in-ring career has definitely winded down, possibly ended, and i'm glad he was able to go to WWE and receive the honor of going into the HOF. yes, many would argue that there is no honor in the WWE HOF and i won't argue that here or now. but, again my opinion, Booker T deserved to be recognized for his many contributions and accomplishments in professional wrestling and i'm very happy for him that he received that honor at MSG this year.

whether he's considered under-rated or over-rated by the majority, i've always enjoyed Booker T as a character and talent, he seems to be a legit good guy in real life, he's one of the most decorated performers in the history of any company and he always made me react to what he was doing. great guy with a great career and i'm glad that it's not over yet.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Booker T was a total flop in TNA, and that's as much the fault of TNA as Booker himself.
If he wanted to go there and have a "paid vacation" then he was never going to produce his best work, and was going to do the bare minimum.

However, he was one of the biggest stars in the business at that time, and TNA did barely anything with him. Did he even have a main event run or title shot while he was in the company? It baffled me how little they focused on Booker, when he was still in great shape, a big name and was a fresh face for the company who hadn't faced alot of their roster before.

Very strange

 

[ABMorales787]

Booker T was a total flop in TNA, and that's as much the fault of TNA as Booker himself.
If he wanted to go there and have a "paid vacation" then he was never going to produce his best work, and was going to do the bare minimum.

However, he was one of the biggest stars in the business at that time, and TNA did barely anything with him. Did he even have a main event run or title shot while he was in the company? It baffled me how little they focused on Booker, when he was still in great shape, a big name and was a fresh face for the company who hadn't faced alot of their roster before.

Very strange

Booker had an extended feud with Samoa Joe where he stole Joe's World title belt and it eventually blew off in a Weapons-filled Cage match when the MEM angle started. Since that time, he introduced the Legends (now TV) title. But character-wise, that's when he took a nose dive. If anyone thought King Booker was dumb and annoying, MEM Booker was worse. He was downright incoherent and acting like some sort of Texas-british hybrid while wearing that kings robe and sticking out his pinky like a goof. He seemed deluded and it never came off well on TV.