WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T Credits Vince Russo But Says He 'Broke The Cardinal Rule'

A controversial night at WCW's Bash at the Beach pay-per-view in 2000 saw Booker T win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship from Jeff Jarrett after then-WCW head writer Vince Russo reversed Hulk Hogan's earlier title victory which occurred that night. While appearing on his "Hall of Fame" podcast, Booker T gave Russo credit for making him on that evening, but he also highlighted an issue he had with the former head of WWE's creative.

"When he came to WCW, he did something that's — he broke the cardinal rule," Booker T said. "And that is, [he] came in as a writer, and the next thing you know, he put himself on the show as a talent. Not just put himself on the show as a talent, but he wins the [WCW] World Heavyweight Championship ... Everything that Vince Russo talks about, it's kind of hypocritical. It's kind of hypocritical ... He's gotten so much from this business as far as him still being able to make money off it, and then when he was in it, he implemented himself right into the main stories of the business. I just don't get someone like that."

Russo, who recently said that booking Booker T's world title victory was his proudest moment in the business, joined the now-defunct WCW in 1999 after a successful run leading WWE's creative through the Attitude Era. After writing himself into key storylines, Russo defeated Booker T in a steel cage match to capture the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on the September 25, 2000, episode of "WCW Nitro." It was determined that Russo had exited the steel structure first after being speared through the cage by Goldberg; Russo suffered a concussion during the spot. Days later, however, Russo relinquished the belt. His tenure with WCW came to an end shortly after.

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