Success, Bust or In-Between: Booker T

[It's Damn Real!]

This is a new poll series I'm hoping to run here in the TNA section where (recently) departed former talents of the company will be critiqued regarding their work with the company. You can vote them either a success, a bust or in-between if you don't feel they deserve either extreme.

In addition to your vote, I'd like to know why you feel the way you do. Why was this particular charater a succes, a bust or in-between?

That said, I think the rest is pretty self explanatory, so I'd like to start the series with the recently departed Booker T.

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Booker T
Years with TNA: 2 (2007–2009)
Number of titles runs: Legends Championship (x1), TNA World Tag Team Championships (x1)

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Notable Feuds:
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• Robert Roode (2007)
• Christian Cage (2007)
• Rhino (2008)
• Samoa Joe (2008)
• TNA Frontline (2008)
• AJ Styles (2008)
• Team 3D (2009)

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Other Accomplishments:
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• Debuted in TNA at Genesis 2007 as Sting's mystery partner in a tag match against Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
• Debuted the TNA Legends Championship on the first-ever live edition of iMPACT! in Las Vegas on October 23rd, 2008.
• Was an original member of the Main Event Mafia, formed on the first-ever live edition of iMPACT! in Las Vegas on October 23rd, 2008.

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Previous Polls:
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• N/A

 

[NSL]

I think Booker T was a huge bust in TNA. He came in riding high off a push in WWE, and went nowhere fast. He went right back to the stupid accents, Sharmell tagged along everywhere, stinking up promos, and his matches just seem recycled.

He could have came in, taken the company by storm (a la Kurt Angle), and sat atop the main event with the gold. Instead, he got a half-assed tag title reign, and brought in the most meaningless belt since the Light Heavyweight Championship.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

While he was close to a major bust for me, IMO he gets in-between because 2007 wasn't really that poor of a year for him. His debut got one of the loudest pops for a debuting star in the company, probably third behind Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle.

His feud with Robert Roode (when Roode punched Sharmell) was one of the highlights of the end of 2007, and he was a powerful element despite not being an integral aspects in the Main Event Mafia.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I think that Booker T was neither a success or a bust in TNA. I voted "in between" because although he never won the TNA Championship, he was still involved with some memorable feuds and was a part of the Main Event Mafia. I think that to consider him a "bust" then he would have to have done nothing relevant his whole time there. I really enjoyed his feud with Samoa Joe over the world title in 2008 and the Main Event Mafia was just awesome. So.... he was "in between" because although he did not get as big a push as he should have, he still had a memorable run in TNA.

 

[xterritory]

Booker Ts run in TNA was somewhere in between i would say. He received a huge pop for his debut at Genesis 2007 and then went onto a feud with Robert Roode which pushed Roode into the title picture for the only time ever as Booker T got him over in a long saga.

He turned heel at the right time and went onto feud with Samoa Joe for the World Title which was a brief feud producing two very good matches and made Joes title 1st title run look more legitimate.

Booker T also introduced the Legends Title into TNA and served as a member of the Main Event Mafia throughout it's entirety and possessed the tag team titles with Scott Steiner so he had a decent run in TNA but we didn't get to see him win the TNA Championship or feud with the likes of Angle, Sting, and some of the younger wrestlers. I feel he lost enthusiasm towards the end of his run and this could have been behind his departure.

 

[Mr_billy]

I voted in between. I enjoyed him in HArlem Heat, His singles competition in WCW,and Early WWE. I just turned off the TV when he started coming out with Sharmell. She just grated on me like tranny nails on a chalkboard, He was always a Believable heel of face. His TNA work was so so. I was a mark when he came out, but I couldn't get into Millionaires Club II.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

I was 1st going to say he was a success, being a 5 time WCW World Champion and headling (yet losing) a WrestleMania is nothing to sneeze at. Also, being one of the best (and possibly one of the last great tag teams of the 90s in Harlem Heat) also makes the success debate relevant. However, when looking at his overall body of work in TNA, one would have to argue that Booker T. went down the ladder in his career instead of enhancing it. Sure, he had a great debut with the company, but most of the time, every wrestler does nowadays no matter where they wrestle. But then it started to happen:

The accents. Of course, some found it funny, I found it rediculous. Then some of the feuds he was in made absolutely no sense. Neither did turning him heel. I've always liked the fighting spirit of Booker T. Kinda being that guy on the brink of making it big, whether it was in WCW, WWE or TNA. Having him as just yet another WCW/WWE reject trying to hold onto what little bit of relevance was beyond me. He should have stayed on his own, did his thing like say Christian and seen where it got him. Instead, he was just an extention of King Book-ah in WWE. So, to me, Booker T. is a push (in between). He COULD have been a WWE Hall of Famer. The only African American to win five WCW titles, few U.S. Titles, Tag and TV gold. Again, nothing to sneeze at. He possibly could still be a HOF'er, but not any time soon. Push for Booker.

 

[XgringolocoX]

It was a complete bust. Booker really didn't reestablish himself in TNA. The accents are King Bookahh left overs as mentioned before and he didn't do anything much worthy of remembering.
Also, Booker was reported to be VERY unhappy with his booking in TNA so he decided to leave the company. To me, that says even Booker thinks his time there was a bust.
If he does make a return to WWE I really hope he drops the stupid accents and gets back to being a bad ass gangsta.

 

[wrestling fan 666]

Booker T was a bust. First of all, I agree that he had the talent to come in and reign over tna for a while; but he had no drive.
The problems were:

the accent; King Bookah was long gone from WWE, he came into TNA without an accent, then brought it back, then lost it, then brought it back...he looked stupid.

Sharmell; I don't know why wrestlers need their wives in wrestling, but it's a career ender. They're a distraction, have no skills (listening Lashley), have no talent, and they make their guy look as though he can't handle wrestling alone.

Laziness; It was obvious soon as he came in that he was there for the paycheck, nothing else. He even did segments on his business' outside of wrestling. He didn't have, or care enough to put the effort in to vie for the world title-would rather settle for the Legend's belt which he didn't even beat anyone for.

Does he have talent, yes...but if he comes into the WWE with the lackluster attitude he had in TNA, he'll be a mid-card stooge. The Booker of WCW is long gone, and in his place is the empty shell of a competitor.

 

[Lethalfan]

I think it was a bust as well. While Booker T was entertaining the 1st year he was in the company and had won some titles. I think the whole main event mafia thing and the backstage altercations almost killed his Tna career. He just got really stale and boring for me and the mafia really didn't do anything for him or his career other then give him a tag title run and legend run.

I though when he first debut with the company he would at least become a Tna world champion cause he has the in ring ability and charsma to be a world champion. But I guess it didn't work out for him. That's why I say it was a bust his final year with the company.

Great Series man.

 

[donnelllangs]

everybody keep saying that booker t was a five time wcw champion. He won the world title six times. The last time when he was king booker. In tna I would say that booker t was a bust. I say tna didn't know what to do with him. He had an idea and the creative writers didn't know how to run with it. WWE did. If he goes back to wwe and get's back on top then tna really dropped the ball. As far as ratings in tna, when booker t was over there ratings was at 1.2 solid and 1.3 once and a while. Soon as he left the ratings went to a solid 1.0. Booker t has burnt his bridges though with the wwe and tna. If they give him another chance he can't leave on a bad note just because he is upset especially if he's going to be wrestling. Some people say that he can't really wrestle anymore. He seems more agile than sting but people don't seems to think so. With stings name alone he was able to collect a paycheck. What you think he's doing now? Sting is just collecting a paycheck and licking his wounds. Booker t was never injured. Tna's creative team didn't really have nothing for him. Tna better have something good ready for hulk hogan and flair when they come to tna and have better writing stories because names alone is not going to keep the ship afloat. No more just giving out paychecks please.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm gonna go with bust. Nothing that Booker T did while he was in TNA interested me in the least little bit. I do think it's possible that TNA could have brought Booker into the company and he could have really been a boon to it, could have really made an impact on a level similar to Kurt Angle.

In the WWE, I admit that I think the King Booker angle was a little stupid, but it was also interesting and by far the most interesting he'd been in years for me. He got pretty good heat as a heel and had a run with the world title. When he came to TNA, he just flopped. For some odd reason, he started doing the goofy accents again and here was Sharmell doing her thing and contributing nothing whatsoever and just getting in the way. He brings in the Legends title, which was little more than a meaningless prop and is nothing more than that right now. If anything, all the title really did was add an essentially useless title to the roster while taking time, energy and effort away from the X-Division, which has suffered noticably over the past year or so. As part of the MEM, they slap him and Steiner together and give them a run with the tag titles that was about as interesting as watching a car rust. Most of their reign, they spent sitting on the titles. If they wrestled a match as a team, which was fairly rare in and of itself, the titles were never on the line.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Folks, I hope this doesnt' get flagged as SPAM, but this is a thread on Booker T's TNA career. All I am asking you to vote on here is his time in TNA. His historical successes in the WWE or the WCW are absolutely 100% beyond any shadow of doubt irrelevant to the purpose of this thread.

Think of him like a "free agent", and TNA as the team who "signed" said free agent. We're voting on his success with this team. Not his success as a player, or his time in "the game".

 

[posterboyforperfection]

I went with bust. the only real memorable thing he did was his debut teaming with Sting and indtroducing the legends title, which is barely memorable but will have an effect on the company for a long time

 

[Thriller Ant]

I think based on the potential he was a bust. He was a bonafide main eventer in both WCW and WWE and a major force in both companies. When he went to TNA, the expectation was for him to do the same. Instead, he went to TNA and pretty obviously didn't give 100% in the ring or in his promos. Rather than being remembered for title wins or great feuds like he will be remembered for in WCW and WWE, he will be remembered for introducing another midcard belt that has already been renamed, the Main Event Mafia, and needed subtitles to understand a damn thing he said.

 

[HitmanAndRKO4Life]

I voted for "Bust" because of how he started off so "hot" and then slowly and painfully he started to cool off. When they got him back to that "King Booker" act, it just killed any chance of him getting any respect back from the fans.

However, I liked how they figured out he was better suited as a tag team wrestler, albeit didn't happen until his last few months with the company.

I'd like to see him in WWE soon and teaming up with MVP.

 

[VKO]

I voted in-between because he was a huge focal point in every meaningful feud throughout his two years in TNA. Whether it was with Joe over the TNA title or in the Main Event Mafia. But he didn't do anything meaningful. He had two crappy title reigns and neither were a world championship. Thats why I voted him in between. Just because he didn't achieve the success Cage or Angle did doesn't mean he wasn't a major focal point in TNA's success over the last two years.

 

[gd]

I'll go with the in-between option. When he first came in, he was really good. If Booker didn't sign with TNA, we wouldn't have had Sharmell being punched in the face by Roode, which was just a great moment. I also really like the Joe feud. Booker actually had the title for a month, but it was becausehe stole it, not because he won it. That was one of the last interesting main event feuds before Sting came in and fucked everything up with his extreme boringness. The accents are also a huge plus. Booker's backstage promos were always a highlight of iMPACT for me. He's always entertaining on the mic. Remember when he was Black Snow and did commentary while he was beating the shit out of Rudy Charles? That was epic.

However, there was also the general apathy and random bitching that Booker brought with him into the company. And the fact that during the end of his time with the company he really did nothing of note. I'm sure most people didn't even notice when he left, he was that insignificant by that point.

 

[King Douche]

I say Booker T was inbetween, cause he did put on some good matches, but most of the stuff he was in was not entertaining. plus he was not all that effective in TNA. He could of not came in the first place and TNA be were they are right now still.

 

[Chauncy Talon]

I think Booker T was a huge bust in TNA. He came in riding high off a push in WWE, and went nowhere fast. He went right back to the stupid accents, Sharmell tagged along everywhere, stinking up promos, and his matches just seem recycled.

He could have came in, taken the company by storm (a la Kurt Angle), and sat atop the main event with the gold. Instead, he got a half-assed tag title reign, and brought in the most meaningless belt since the Light Heavyweight Championship.

Ouch!!!

I felt that Booker T was a huge bust. The only thing that I have to say that he really contribute in TNA was the feud with Samoa Joe. That was one of the best feuds at the time.

The finish to their first World Title was nice. I did not see that coming, I wish that they would of made it a whole lot better. Also, he did help Creed look like a "Underdogg" story, but they did not follow up on that either.

TNA management have a problem on booking wrestlers, due to have such a huge roster with little film time. They only broadcast 8 hours of new material for the month. Then they have a 3 hour PPV. That is not a enough time to build story up. If they would of had more time, they could of modded Booker T into their image, but they did not.


That is why I vote......... BUST!!!

 

[Hacksaw Highway]

Bust. What did he do that was memorable or important? I forgot about almost every feud he had except for the one against Rhoode and the one against Joe, after his debut he seemed to fade pretty quickly from doing anything important. He put on some good matches, but nothing outstanding, and overall he never contributed much overall to iMPACT or to TNA in general.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

This pains me to say this because I've been a fan of Booker's since I was a kid, but I'm going to have to go with bust. He came to TNA with so much promise, and I really enjoyed the feud he had with Robert Roode. Then after that, his heel turn was sooooo horrible. I'm saying I didn't like the fact he turned heel, but how his character was during that time was just terrible. First, you had that extremely stupid ending to the match between him and Joe for the title at Victory Road '07. After that Booker starts carrying around the belt, even though he WASN'T the champion.

Further down the line, TNA does this storyline about him being pissed about the locker room!?! Who cares? Then he starts talking with this gangster accent out of no where, with no real explanation. Yeah, he and Steiner held on to the tag team belts for a while towards the end, but still they never really seemed like dominate champions. I'm guessing because he started openly complaining about how he was being used towards his final days in TNA, they decided to write him off out of thin air. All I remember is after BFG, Lauren was interviewing Steiner, and she said, "Booker T is gone", and that was the last time I heard him mentioned on TNA.

 

[LegendKiller716]

i voted for bust. You can argue the fact that he was inbetween because of his "memerable" feuds, but honestly the only thing about his TNA run was his MEM run and his red locker room. I had to realy think hard to remember the other feuds mentioned in this thread. Honestly in 1 year from today, if TNA is still around, will you remember booker's time in TNA. probably not.

 

[Miko]

I find his time with TNA to be quite underrated, people complain constantly about the old wrestlers coming into TNA and stealing the spotlight from the young guns, Booker did the total opposite, he made everyone he wrestle look good, he was the only interesting thing about Samoa Joe's title reign and he bought in the second top belt in TNA right now.

Booker put over guys like James Storm and Samoa Joe, he helped Joe look like a fucking monster, just because Joe's too shit to keep up the momentum. People shit on the legends title, I cant see why, it's far more interesting than the X-Division Title's been in ages. His tag team with Scott Steiner was the funniest thing in wrestling at that point by far, and their tag title reign did an awful lot to take away from the monotomy of Team 3D and Beer Money.

While compared with his time in other companies his time in TNA was very restrained, he still did some interesting things and always entertained, I am quite inclined to call it a success.

 

[Freddy4190]

No question for me, total bust. He sucked so hard in TNA. Yeah, Robert Roode blahblahblah. Who cares? Most of his time in TNA was spent with the god awful Main Event Mafia and his stupid accent, ugly wife, and boring matches against even more boring people just completely trashed any chance he had of becoming interesting again.