Booker T on Why He Took WCW Contract Buyout from WWF
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- This is a segment from "The Hall of Fame with Booker T and Brad Gilmore" airing Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on ESPN 97.5 in Houston, TX and on halloffamepodca... Follow Team Hall of Fame on Social Media: Booker T: / bookert5x / bookertfivex Brad Gilmore: / bradgilmore / bradgilmore Jerry Bo: / jerryboknowz SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple... Spotify: open.spotify.c... RUclips: / thebookertrow WATCH LIVE: bookertlive.com/
Thank you for taking the buy out and the years you spent with the WWE King Booker 👑
Yes it was a good run booker.
BOOKAH
Jesus loves you
And now almost 2 decades later Booker T's got a pretty successful wrestling company, helping out the next generation paying it forward while taking his promotions to new heights. Everything comes around full circle. Keep on grindin' Booker.
Now Can You Dig THAT??!!! SUCKAH 😎😎 Proud of Him
Except HHH buried him for no good reason
@@joshuel2008 true but what's that got to do with anything I brought up?
full respect.
Jesus loves you
Book bet on himself & it worked out! I'm glad you did too brother!
Chiseled Adonis I agree but I really wish Stevie Ray had joined as well,I always liked Stevie Ray,he was underused and very underrated
@@poopsyko he was near 50 and just got a serious injury during that time according to him.
for sure!
@@poopsyko by the time invasion angle started i think stevie was already on his out but i do wish he would’ve made some guest appearances
Coming over as WCW champion helped him big. Went straight into the main event with the Rock and then a feud with stone cold later. Making big 💰
Booker T was the smartest guy that came over from WCW. His success spells it out compared to the others who failed.
Smartest thing he ever did. Thought LONG term. Plus he showed himself to be a team player. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Javier Aviles booker t was a sell out lol. If fans really knew he got famous because of law suit against wrestling in 90s for being racist. They had to make a black person a star/champ
mack mack shut the hell up
@@mack5565 I'm pretty sure that's the reason they put title on Ron Simmons first
mack mack You’re a fucking idiot. You just made the list.
mack wrong booker t never had anything to do with the lawsuit Vince Russo put the belt on booker t because the lawsuit was reopened but fans were happy because booker t was loyal to wcw and provided time and time over he was a team player and a locker room leader.
Booker vs Steve Austin in grocery store will go down as the greatest outside the ring scene
Booker t and steve austin was one of the best feuds.
It really opened up austin to do less ringwork and be a comedic performer. It also made booker t a major player in the wwe.
Booker T is the GOAT... End of story... The style and charisma. His wrestling style is very unique and no one can come close.
Booker doesn't get the credit he derseves
He should've been the leader of the invasion, but Vince and his ego turned that into McMahon family drama featuring Stone Cold.
No the invasion should've consisted of Sting , Booker , Goldberg , DDP and Hogan with Sting being the captain
In my opinion Book had the most successful run in WWE of all the wrestlers that came from WCW.....
Jericho? Eddie Guerrero?
@@REALINCARNATE I know Guerrero became champion and Jericho was the first unified champion but they came over before WWE bought WCW
Rey Mysterio
@@REALINCARNATE he’s talking about the WCW that came over during the buyout
I’d probably say Rey mysterio cuz he’s the only one still wrestling which is remarkable given his age
Salute Booker T On Your Brand Keep Building
Robert Bailey always investment in yourself :)
I am glad you took the buyout. Even though they were missing key stars, having Booker and DDP made it decent. They ruined DDP though and did not really push him properly so it ruined the angle so much that they had to throw Austin and Kurt Angle into the Alliance. I do think Vince should have atleast got Flair off the bat to be the Owner and top guy with Booker and DDP. Stevie Ray they should have offered a better deal so they could give WCW a legit tag team. Kronik was very underutilised. Flair, Stevie and maybe Sting would have made this progress long enough until the NWO arrived. Invasion was botched but the debut of Booker and his whole run there within the first year or so was actually pretty great.
DJ Skandalous there were many reasons DDP got fucked over,Taker was one,Vince not thinking anything special of him was another oh and Hugging Vince was another,trying to script out his entire matches with Taker which Taker hated more of him for trying to do so,plus he was a WCW guy through and through,he was only made in WCW,he never belonged in WWF/E,Booker had so much more going for him and literally took a chance that paid off really good for him
@@poopsyko Honestly they should have went with DDP's idea of him and Rock doing a People's Champ vs People's Champ feud. He's described it in many different interviews but that would have been excellent. Them two guys on the mic going back and forth? Plus the matches would have been better than what we got with Taker who had no chemistry with. Funny thing is, DDP had a good relationship with certain locker room guys like Rock, HHH, and Foley. Of course he was also 42 by that point I believe.
@@anthonyanderson9303 he was older than that actually.
Harlem Heat, Kronik, Chuck Palumbo/Sean O'Haire & Shawn Stasiak/Mark Jindrak Would've Dominated/Destroyed Edge/Christian, The Hardy Boyz, APA & 2 Cool. A Fan Said Heading Into Wrestlemania 35 & The Hall Of Fame Weekend, That If Harlem Heat Were Both A Part Of The Invasion Sngle, That The WWE Would've Buried Them. What WWE Tag Teams Could've Buried Them. The WWE Didn't Have Any Tag Team Competition For The WCW Tag Teams. That's Why The WWE Had Kronik To Wrestle The Undertaker & Kane. That's The Only Way Harlem Heat Would've Been Buried, By Facing WWE Top Stars, Whether It Was Tbe Undertaker & Kane Or The Rock & Kane. The WWE Tag Teams Were Edge/Christian, The Hardy Boyz, 2 Cool & APA. WCW Had Harlem Heat-Booker T/Stevie Ray & Stevie Ray/Big T A.K.A Ahmed Johnson(Big T Gained Weight In WCW, Weighing 350 Pounds & Was Still Muscular/Built. He Coukd Take Down WWE's Prince Albert-Fat At 260 Pounds), Kronik-Brian Adams/Bryan Clarke, Chuck Palumbo/Sean O'Haire & Shawn Stasiak/Mark Jindrak. The WWE Also Had ECW's Dudley Boyz & WCW Had 2 ECW Wrestlers Who Became A Tag Team, Mike Awesome & Lance Storm. WCW Also Had A Heavyweight Tag Team Of Alex Wright & Disco Inferno(Alex Wright Looked 250 Pounds & Disco Inferno Looked 245 Pounds Or More. WCW Tag Teams Were Bigger/Better & More Powerful/Dominant. WCW Also Had More Built Top Stars Than The WWE & More Top Stars. The 4 Built WWE Top Stars Were Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kane, The Rock & Triple H. Their Nonbuilt Top Stars Were The Undertaker, Mick Foley & The Big Show(If The Top WCW Stars Were There During The Invasion Angle, The WWE/WCW Should've Switched The Big Show With The Warrior: The Big Show Joined WCW & The Warrior Joined The WWE). WCW Also Had Top Stars That Could/Can Rival/Compete With The WWE 4 Built Top Stars. The 4 Built/Muscular Top WCW Stars That Could/Can Rival/Compete With The WWE 4 Built Top Stars Were/Are Hollywood/Hulk Hogan, Sting, Kevin Nash & Scott Hall. The Rest Of The Top WCW Stars Were/Are Lex Luger, Sid Vicious, Goldberg, Randy Savage, Ric Flair, DDP, Roddy Piper & Bret Hart, Plus WCW Still Had The Warrior(They Should've Switched The Big Show With The Warrior). With The WCW Tag Teams Going Undefeated Against The WWE Tag Teams, Imagine Instead Of Kronik vs The Undertaker & Kane, If It Was Kevin Nash & The Giant/Big Show, Kevin Nash & Hollywood Hulk Hogan(Hogan Standing Next To Kevin Nash & The Giant Is 6'9"), Kevin Nash & Scott Hall Or Kevin Nash & Sid Vicious. Yeah! I'll Book Top Stars Matches During The Invasion: Goldberg vs Austin, Hollywood/Hulk Hogan vs The Rock/Triple H, Kevin Nash vs Kane, Sid Vicious vs The Undertaker/Mick Foley/Kane, The Giant vs Mick Foley/The Undertaker, Sting vs Shawn Michaels/Austin/The Undertaker, Sid Vicious vs Austin, Scott Hall vs Triple H/The Rock, Lex Luger vs The Warrior, Hall/Nash vs DX, Lex Luger vs Triple H/The Rock, Hogan vs Austin & Goldberg vs Warrior.
No Eddie... no Big Show....no HHH ... Benoit.....2001 would've been Greatest Wrestling year ever If They had all Of Them including NWO,RVD, GOLDBERG,STING .....Smh
i have watched wrestling for 30 years now.....and i watch the network almost every night when i go to bed...i am at the end of 2003 now...and as i grow older i appreciate booker t more and more....he is a hell of a talent and was a great piece wherever he was..and i think there needs to be great consideration for him being a top 25 wrestler of all time.
Booker was THE BIGGEST star who came from WCW when WWE bought them out to WWE.
I watched his whole career from the time he stepped foot in WCW until he retired. He was simply one of the best in ring, he could do everything.
His best moment to me was when him and Chris Benoit were Feuding they fought like seven times in one yr can't remember if they were trading the television title
@@thebonecollections4478 the best of 7. I saw them wrestle at a house show in N. Charleston, SC and Benoit won the TV title. Then Monday had the belt on Nitro. I can't remember if the said Benoit lost the title the next night or if they just act liked it didn't happen.
@@brandonmckelvey4819 that was a good era
I remember his WCW DEBUT, it was a ppv in sept 93.
@@thebonecollections4478 that was a good collection of talent WCW had in that era.
will never forgive WWE for not making him a main eventer. At his peak, he's equal to The Rock
say it again!
I dont know about the Rock...but he was definitely good....and how could you say not a main eventer they fueded him with Austin in his peak...who can forget the supermarket fight and the bingo hall
Hmm. Maybe i got carried away comparing him to The Rock. Yea, his peak during the invasion angle, he did fued with the greats. After that, it became all downhill. I mean he was top dog at WCW. Sting always stated that Booker was a prime example of why he didnt sign; he didnt like the way WWE shunned the talents that came over from WCW.
Ahhhh I mean he definitely should of been used better in wwe but equal to the Rock???? Sorry very few people were equal to the rock.
Right. They wasted him. He could've had great feuda with The Rock and Stone Cold. They made it up to him on Smackdown a little, but overall squandered him.
Booker's feud with stone cold and those segments between 'em is still one the greatest most entertaining things I've ever seen. I still watch them today for a quick boost in morale. 🚴
Booker is a real one for keeping his dreams alive and being a real people’s champion. Going into a new company with people he didn’t know and a boss he didn’t know vs staying in the comfort of his own home was a huge gamble.
Thanks ✊🏾
Booker was proved right. All the WCW wrestlers who sat out the remainder of their contracts either never ended up in the WWE or didn't last long once they got there(Ric Flair being the exception, but he's Ric Flair) Momentum is important. Go in already hot so you don't have to generate heat
Yet another reason why Booker T was always the REAL peoples' champ!
Booker T was a MAJOR part of that Invasion Angle. Feuding with Austin and The Rock from the jump, that’s huge. No one else would’ve fit that mold
Never understood why he was never WWE champion
He was black and was the man in WCW.I don’t care that was the only answer I can think of.He should of won world title at Mania 19 and should of had at least 2 WWE title reigns
HHH
Vince McMahon and Triple H are pieces of shit..... Book should have been wwe champion at least 5 times...... He earned it!!
@@GamersBlock hhh should have put him over
@@FireAngelChris it wasn't cuz he was black just think of the talent they had back then during that time he wasn't really world title material , he was still great but his run in 2006 as king booker was great
Booker t i’m glad you actually did go to wwe.
Great video. Booker T is the greatest
booker t is 1 of the best of our generation and highly underrated. I can't even remember a bad match he had because he was always so consistent
I was reminded of Booker T when he was at the Israel vs Whitaker 2 press conference. Izzy's apparently a big fan. Booker T has always been underrated. Miss watching him perform.
Booker believed in himself and invested that in his WWE career. 👍🏾💪🏾🏆🎗🏋🏾♀️
Best move EVER.
Hulk Hogan! We commin for you nigga!
Lol
And that's why Booker is a legend
Thank you for a great career Booker T. Your days as tv champ were really under rated.
Him and Crispin Wah (Chris Benoit) had that best of 7, epic feud for the TV title!
@@Excalibur2112 very under rated
Good on you Booker for not taking the easy way. Respect.
🤞🏿🤞🏿🤞🏿🤞🏿🤞🏿 Booker T was one of my favorite's
I truly love Booker man. A real fucking mans man.
Very wise man. He understood that whilst money is important: It's not THE most important thing and that maintaining his value & relevance as a talent as well as proving to his new employers that he's willing to compromise and take a pay cut because he's so eager to work with the company earned him respect from the company and locker room in the long term.
Think about guys like nWo, Steiner & Goldberg etc. Yeah they came in a year later for more money short term, But they wasn't around for more than a year after their arrivals after,
I see it as more personal circumstances - like booker t feeling he had a lot more to give to the business, and not wanting his momentum to stall by sitting on his wcw contract.
Compared that to people like nash (been in quite a while, injuries taking their toll and not sure if they have much left, so the guaranteed financial security was more attractive), or goldberg (not interested in the business at the time). Just different circumstances that determined who would take the wwe offers, and who would sit out their old contracts and wait it out.
Fantastic to watch. Fantastic to listen too. A real class act.
Booker knew that taking the pay cut initially would pay off later as an investment in the company. Smart man.
They did you dirty at wrestlemania booker
If he wouldn’t have came in then we wouldn’t had seen his rivalry with Austin, maybe Rock, his Ravioli commercial, and other classic moments.
All about timing and taking chances
Long Lib King 👑 Booker..
Smart move Book🙌🏻is all about momentum💯💪🏻
I absolutely hated how they handled the invasion period. There was so much more they could've done with former WCW talent.
Could have been epic
I'm glad Booker T did in the long run because WWE absolutely humiliated and disrespected him for years to make WWE "superstars" look better than "WCW guys." The Invasion angle would have been way worse without him because he was their champion.
Señor Santiago right!
Wise man! Kudos to him for thinking and looking at the bigger picture
Booker T is the man💯... much respect champ💯
If he would of came in later who knows if he'd of ever got to where he did. He didn't reach the top of WWF because he was not a Vince creation. His time should of been that HHH match at WrestleMania, but nope. He's one of the few to have wrestled for all the major feds though.
Double champ debuts in a belt unification bout did hell of a starting point
Well Said Booker!!🙌🐐🐐
Very smart of the Bookerman
I honestly believe he would've made a bigger impact had he sat out, Booker would've been better had he joined the WWE before WCW's collapse and after the invasion...he joined and still had a great career so it speaks volumes to what I think could've happened
GREAT JOB AND GREAT RISK FOR DOING IT. Mark Calaway was ready to help you out when you arrived. Like I said before, the only thing I'm pissed off about you NOT facing The Undertaker at Wrestle mania. Both times in Houston!!!
Would have been amazing
@@RealityOfWrestling By the way, a friend of mine, Hector Serrano aka Hex, talked very very highly of you and Taker. Kinda like you guys have been buddy buddies for years. He has a Co. called Hexstar Productions www.hexstar.com. In fact, on one of my old cell phones, I need to get that video I took of him playing his guitar at the now defunct Shacks in La Porte. Stephanie Mcmahon Helmsley and Triple HHH would love to see that. (Hector showed a pic of him standing next to Stephanie, she was wearing a red dress)
Smart man Book... Clearly the right biz decision
I lover wrestling when they had legends like you booker! They aren’t many G’s anymore like you, rock, stone cold, triple H etc. miss the old days!
THANK YOU BOOKER! one of my favorite wrestlers of all time was legit butthurt as a kid when you turned on Benoit and became King Booker -
He had a great career in WWE too. You’re one the greats Book!
Thanks!!
Booker T is the shit.
Love and respect.
Loved that burial of Booker to Trips. Racist undertones and everything. His rivalry with Stone Cold was pure gold
One of my all time…all time…all time…all time…all time!!’ Favorite wrestlers even before the invasion angle at WCW! I was hype AF when he debuted and sidewalk slammed Austin! It just sucks Austin broke his back 😭 IDC what people say, invasion angle was one of my favorite moments in Wrestling history…I loved the WWF and WCW/ECW finally meeting in the ring and battling it out!
That tag team duo tho they have to be in the top 3 best ever tag teams
one of the very few wcw wrestlers who stood out at wwe. he didnt back down from the challenge
Im glad Booker decided to come to Wwe. He made the right choice.
I'm not to sure how these contracts worked, but I'm sure Marcus Bagwell lost some money from accepting a buyout.
J Altamira I still wish Bagwell got a decent run in WWE. Even if he got only a couple years, he could have made a little bit of money and had a better career for it
yeah probably, he was a regular but not really big enough to command top whack. people like to rip on Marc but he had his thing and he did it well, there were a lot of guys he was better than. i think in retrospect he could've had a good run in the WWE, but it sounds like he had some backstage heat and it didn't help in their decision not to keep using him
So glad Booker T made the move to come into WWE as the WCW World champion!
Had to bet on myself that I would make it
Great Move BT!!!
Keep in mind that booker did have leverage since they booked him as the WCW champ on the final show. It wasn't a ton of leverage, but it was a bit.
You can tell how much vince respected him for doing that By how hard he pushed Booker. It's clear Vince wanted Booker to be a star.No he didn't win all of his matches but that isn't what it's all about all the time Vince wanted to know if he was a team player. And Book is that for sure.
Vince should have made Booker T a 6X WCW World Heavyweight Champ during Invasion angle and he should have given him Undisputed title opportunity and also he would have won the World Heavyweight title in 2003 but instead got buried. Took Vince 5 years after Invasion to finally put a world title on Booker in 2006. Booker T was underrated and clearly deserved more world title opportunities.
Too bad you end up losing that momentum anyway they misused you so much in WWE you deserve so much better I get why you did it though also if he hadn't done that things will probably be a lot worse because remember he was the double champion
Should have been a 5 or 6 time WWE champion. He had so much charisma. Loved his feud with Stone Cold when he first came in.
Booker is one of the smartest dudes
Forever ❤ One of My Favorite Wrestlers of All-Time 🏆. Wanted to add that I wished he would've gotten the Big Movie 🎥 push.
Beast mode!! Book I was wondering are you named after Booker T Washington by chance?
Smart man to take buy out that played out well
Good idea
I think he was right. He was one of the first guy I remember coming in from wcw when he attacked Austin and put him through that table
Yes!
Smart man
Always bet on yourself
2001 Booker was getting beat by Rock Austin Angle and many others the company didn't really start respecting him til mid 2000's
seem like hes the one guy from down south tht Vince had some respect for he was pretty strong his whole first run till Rock came back
Why is he wearing blue contact lenses?
That what Sting did, he stayed home and collected his money.
Sting said he didn’t like the way Booker T & DDP were being used by WWE. Especially with the former he said they had the Rock degrade him with his “who the hell are you comment”... he saw it as disrespectful to his character/legacy and he didn’t want to have to experience the same treatment.
Hulk Hogan we coming for you nigga 😂😂😂😂. You can tell he is running for mayor the way he speaks
Who’s the guy in the bathroom interviewing him?
It wasn't exactly a difficult decision to make. He's just become a main eventer in WCW and was entering his prime. His stock was high and was well worth taking the buyout. The other guys like Sting, Hogan, etc were jaded from being at the top for years and probably needed the break. The only guy who could have made absolute mega money by taking the buyout would have been Goldberg because even the petty WWF would not have dared tried to mess him up in 2001.
Smartest thing he did bc he was in his prime and like he said he was hot and he was the one guy to show Vince not all these wcw guys are over the hill money hungry egomaniacs.
Booker T believe he still can Succeed after wcw died
If only all the big wcw players took a buyout. I remember when the invasion started, you have small time wcw guys like Lance Storm, Hugh Morris, and O Haire and Chuck Polumbo debuting. Then bigger guys like DDP and Booker T. Now i was 13 at the time and wasnt reading the dirt sheets or online reading the rumors. No idea those existed at that the time lol So once DDP and then Booker T debuted, i was so excited for guys like Sting, Goldberg and all them to debut but it never happened lol
Now Book you created a legacy that is unmatched , 2 × hall of famer
Hulk Hogan we comin for you.....
Booker was always a great wrestler in WCW ,but WWE really brought his character out in all those great funny storylines… Mann booker with Goldust was “gold”…lol
You’re 💯 right
Can you dig it, suckaa? Books the man. 5 time 5 time 5 time wcw champion 💪😎🤘
Man should of been World champion at mania 19 and should of had at least 2 wwe title reigns.Booker T was so over in the 2000s like he was big time.Man had hall of fame career before he even step foot in the WWE
5 time !!! 👋 5 time !!!
Booker the "Mark"
O hail king booooka
The king of the worlddddd
It worked great for Booker T but not for DDP or Buff Bagwell 😕
Scott Steiner, Sting, Malenko, Saturn!
Skinny Pippen They were all free agents when they signed...
@@SRPC21 Yeah but had awful careers in WWE!
Skinny Pippen Disagree with Malenko and Saturn.
@@SRPC21 Proof is in the pudding! Only two members of the radicals achieved more success than they had in WCW! Benoit and Guerro!
Booker T, DDP and Buff Bagwell...
And now he's set and still getting paid. Now he has his own wrestling organization. People don't see the big picture. I understand not wanting to do degrading storylines but other than that do your job. Set yourself and your family up.
What does he mean buyout taking a pay cut?
He could either wait a year to get the full money from his WCW contract or he could let WWE buy it out for 50% of the contracts value to sign with WWE. He made the right move.
In a alternative universe if Sting took the buyout early 🤔
What could have been!?
It was business and a new adventure in his career. It would have been stupid if he stayed home like Sting... 😂
Sting was a multi millionaire, much older, and a devout Christian. He didn't need Vince's bullshit.
Let’s face it. Sting would have been buried by Rock or Austin if he joined during the Invasion storyline. Booker T had success, but man those title runs were short in the early days of his career in WWE. And losing to Triple H at Mania 19 didn’t help either.
@@nathanielbaxter533 the fuck does him being a Christian have anything to do with it??? 😂 Triple H is worth about 4 times what Sting is so No I do not think Sting made a good decision.
@@Mikeh2077 IMO Triple H was used to bury WCW talent and it was all left up to him lol Taker barely wrestled Austin retired and Rock went to Hollywood. They only had Triple H left over from the Attitude Era to work with lol and I'm telling you it was going to happen Regardless. WCW was always meant to rest under Vince's boot and so did all the talent who chose to represent them. The real Franchise of Pro Wrestling is Triple H.
What you you people do? Best honest. Give up $500,000 to $750,000 to work or collect $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 to do nothing but sit at home and play video games?