Nov 5 2001 Booker T talks about going from WCW to "WWF" and how he got started in wrestling. I recorded this interview myself for the RU-vid audience it is no rip off
Booker T is arguably the most successful African-American wrestler in the history of the business. He has accomplished more in the wrestling business in terms of tag-team and singles titles between WCW and the WWE than any other black wrestler. This brother's legacy is etched in stone. A future Hall of Famer for sure.
One of my best. Really. He inspired me and my brother so much. As two black mixed boys who watched wrestling religiously every Saturday evening, every Monday night, and even Thursday when Smackdown came on, watched both leagues, we liked all wrestlers but we felt it was a white league. We felt like for colored wrestlers, especially black the most there was a glass ceiling and these guys could never make it to the top. In spite of that we always loved watching Harlem Heat, and The Rock with Nation of Domination. Even if these guys were heels they were still our heroes. We knew they were great and if they could go as far their real potential would allow them with no limitations, we knew they could make it to the top. To see black people strive in white leagues they inspired us. Rock became the biggest star ever in wrestling, he made it to the top, and left and made movies that grossed probably over $6 billion in revenue. No other wrestler can do that. Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold can't even crack into acting like that.
Of all the guys HHH buried, the way he buried Booker T at WM XIX was disgusting. After kicking HHH's ass almost the entire match, HHH lands one pedigree and then takes almost a full minute to crawl over and cover him and then STILL gets the 1,2,3. Ridiculous.
@@kamfisher1714 The fact that you wrote that shows you know nothing about the wrestling business. That match is almost universally recognized as one of the worst burials of all time. I watched that event live and remember thinking at the end of that match “Are you kidding”. And to make matters worse they were no rematches on pay-per-view after that. It’s the worst one I’ve ever seen and nothing really comes that close to it.
@@tonyc7301 You’re a smark with a warped internet mentality, if you actually watched the match it was physical. Booker t didn’t dominate the whole match and if you actually knew what you were talking about, booker t won more times in the feud. Triple h was more over and the best heel in the business and had a bigger reaction than booker at wrestlemania and he was a babyface, look at the tape and educate yourself.
@@kamfisher1714 I guess you missed the part when I wrote "I watched the event live", so I have watched the match and replayed it several times. Booker landed every move he had, even the Harlem Hangover, which he didn't use often at that point. Then HHH lands one pedigree, takes a very long time to cover Booker and still got the pin. Total burial. At WM guys kick out of each others finishers at least once. And given the racist promos leading up to the match (which Booker just stood there and took without attacking HHH) and then to still lose the match in a way that made him look totally weak is a huge burial. To say it isn't is just you saying the sky is purple. It isn't and everyone knows it, except you I guess.
Sadly there are people that still won't push an African American professional wrestler. If I had it my way...the top superstars would be great workers, great in ring performers, and great on the mic. Booker T. is flawless when it comes to being a professional wrestler. Another flawless superstar..was Eddie guerrero.
he grew into being an all-arounder, for the better part of the 90s he was just an amazing worker without a real way of drawing well until the early 2000s
Jeremey Potter Old school Wrestling used to be of who you know more than you being perfect. WCW was very like that with Hogan and Flair friends running the place. Some real talent was destroyed along the way for sure.
I, as a black man, feel leery of using the race card and I try not to, but if you looked at Booker T's career from his athleticism to awesome control of the mic and his awesome uses of catchphrases, I seriously can't hold myself to believe that race wasn't a factor in Booker not climbing higher. Had he had been a fair skinned blond haired blue eyed man, he would have been bigger than Triple H.
Could have been racial, could have been anti-WCW sentiment. Either way he still managed to turn in a damn fine career. His two HoF inductions went some way to cementing his legacy as an all-time guy.
This guy - how'd he land this job? Always cutting people off from their answers. I can't stand this dude. Booker, man, ya should've given him the bookend right through that glass table.
+almightycinder Time slot is not an excuse to interrupt your guests. One shouldnt ask questions if one doesnt want the answer. He doesnt cut them off because of time he cuts them off because of another point they bring up but that point was not a focus of the original question. If he was indeed worried about time, that is why a host picks specific tooics to talk about and allow for something more organic than what by all accounts is more akin to an interrogation. But Booker T took it well. Blah blah blah. Yeah yeah yeah.
Booker T my mom made me always say Please and Thank you, No Sir and No Mama.. My mother was a single parent and died at 46. She made me sit down and write thank you cards if I received a gift from family. Man I miss my mama. RIP to both of ours.
True dat! Booker T came up from nothing! I love his story, and the fact that, despite his rough beginnings, he MADE something of himself. I got tons of respect for him.
That is why people should appreciate a guy like Landsberg who can actually do a legit interview with professional wrestlers other guys don't know anything about the business or don't care at all because its not a real sport whereas Landsberg knows quite a bit about the wrestling business.
the best black wwe wcw superstar ever ,the reason he never became wwe champ is because his character never really changed from wcw over the years his catch phrase was 5 time wcw champion I think that hurt him progressing in the wwe when he finally changed his character and became king booker he was at the end of his career ,if he made the changes earlier in his career he would of been wwe champion for sure .vince likes to make his own superstars and booker should of realised that and not even mentioned wcw in his character and started fresh ,never mind he still made it into the hall of fame and thats what really counts
No, Booker was great! Booker get what he deserved because of a combination of three things 1. He skin is too dark. (As silly as that sounds it's true) 2. He was a WCW guy. 3. And most importantly HHH didn't want him too.
Nikyle McIntosh I am sick and tired of playing the black race card , he was the world heavyweight champion multi tag intercontinental us champ king of the ring he had done it all , if wwe was racist he wouldn't have had any tittle reigns or even booked on raw at all . he WAS PLACED IN THE HALL OF FAME FOR FUCK SAKE
***** The WHC was already elevated at that time. HHH had it for a long time at the beginning. Then Benoit, Goldberg, Batista, Booker, Taker, Edge, it was a be deal back then.
JOHN Race is still a issue with certain stereotypes,and as far as the things that are mentioned regarding his skin colour,coming from WCW and Triple H probably not feeling him at first is true.WCW guys were treated like the enemy untill some of the guys turned around,Triple H was known to be favouring some guys over other and most likey didn't see Booker as champion or want to put him over.And being a Black man in a so called white business isn't easy.As heard in this interview the stereotypes given to Black wrestlers among the other politics that go down is something they have to overcome.So it's not playing a so called race card,it's just veing real about the situation.The problem lies with whites not listening when Blacks speak on issues that are real to them and try to act like these problems don't exist.If one doesn't acknowledge the problem you can't solve it.
Booker T great wrestler as well a great Tag Team with his brother Stevey Ray he seems like a cool down to earth kinda guy not a bad commentator as well 💪💪🖒🖒
God bless you! That is the best damn comment I've seen on this entire comment page directed towards Booker T.! You couldn't have spoken the God honest truth better than what you've already said! That was a 5-star comment with 2 thumb's up!!!!
OK I remember Triple Has saying that the WWE Championship is for people who has the look hence besides the Rock there has never been an black WWE champion. However he also stated that the World Heavyweight Championship is for people with technical ability. I was flattered but offended by that comment. Flattered that there had been numerous black word champions. But offended because he basically said black men don't have the look to be the face of the WWE. However they have also merged the two championships so we most likely will never see a blackface for the WWE. Sorry to say but unfortunately some people still live in the past.
The rock was wwe champion and dont give me that Samoan crap because I'm a black man he is to but I do agree that was not a lot of black WWE title holders besides rock
This show was dope!Lansberg interviewed some of the biggest stars.I think along with this one his interview with Bret Hart was one of his best ones with Pro Wrestlers on TSN
Booker T is a legit tough guy, and a real guy. There's no pretense about him. He was always 5 times the wrestler his brother was, and deserves every bit of fame hes gotten..Im glad he went to WCW first..it being Atlanta and having already had Ron Simmons (deservedly) as champion. Idk who was the first African American WWWF/WWF/E champion..? I know Rocky Johnson/Tony Atlas were the first black tag team champs..whose been the WWE champ? I know the Rock..was Booker T ever champ?
For me I saw the rise of Booker in WCW and he will always be one of my favorite wrestlers. He carried the WCW to its end and that is hard to do. And he is arguably one of the best heels ever. ND he said NIGGA in a promo. RESPECT!
Definitely, only person that could come close would be The Rock. However, The Rock has the benefit of being not only half Samoan, but also being a member of one of the biggest wrestling families in the entire industry. Booker became what he is today with no legacy and the help of his brother, Stevie Ray(Lash). Some of my best memories of WCW were watching this man. I hope WWE publicly recognizes his worth and inducts him into the HOF.
True dat, but Ron Simmons definitely paved the way as the first African-American world champion. I was glad to see Simmons get inducted in the Hall of Fame last year. Definitely deserving.
I bought the shoot interview 2 years ago from a website called Highspots and yes it's still available for purchase. I even wrote comment's on how good his shoot interview DVD was. So check out the website as soon as you get the chance!
No doubt. When Ron Simmons won the WCW world title in 1992, he opened the door for other great black wrestlers like Booker T, the Rock and others to follow in his footsteps. Junkyard Dog (R.I.P.), definitely one of the greatest of all time, a trailblazer no doubt.
Booker T is so meek and humble...I like his outlook...watching this Hogan being unprofessional set Booker up for life so for Hogan never thought I would say this but THANK YOU unfortunately Bookers 1st title run was the victim of circumstance as far as WCW
