The Story Behind WWE's Supermarket Brawl Between Stone Cold Steve Austin & Booker T

From the moment Booker T made his 2001 WWE debut, he was at odds with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Though their feud never resulted in the pay-per-view blow-off that it deserved, it did lead to one of the promotion's most off-the-wall segments: the "Supermarket Brawl."

Taking place months into their rivalry, after Booker had not only interfered in several of Austin's matches but also stole his truck, Austin decided he would attack Booker on sight wherever he could find him. As it turned out, that included the grocery store.

The segment began with WWE cameras capturing Booker's trip to a genuine supermarket in California. As Booker shops, a voice comes over the store intercom that sounds suspiciously like Austin, and Booker takes notice. After attacking a random bald man that he mistakes for Austin, Booker is ambushed from behind by Austin, alerted just seconds before by the sound of his rival cracking open a can of beer.

What ensues is roughly six minutes of absolute chaos inside the grocery store. Highlights include Austin tossing Booker into a display of oranges as Jerry Lawler cries out in dismay on commentary, and Booker getting doused with mustard before Austin pours various baskets and bowls of nuts on top of him.

The one-sided action continues into the storage area, as Austin pelts Booker with eggs. Finally, Booker is able to counter Austin with a kick and he takes control, successfully tossing Austin into the milk cooler. Unfortunately for Booker, Austin climbs out through the milk cartons, treats himself to a half-gallon, and continues the beatdown. The segment ends with Austin leaving Booker in a heap at the cash register as police sirens signal that it's time for him to leave.

More than 20 years later, the segment is still fondly-remembered. Booker has spoken at length about the brawl, including in a 2024 interview with former WWE star Maven Huffman. Logically, Booker and Austin only had one shot at filming, and they were largely allowed to do whatever they wanted in the store. The two knew how things were going to go until Austin attacked Booker, and nearly everything from that point on was improvised.

"I give Steve Austin a lot of credit, just because he was able to go out there ... and have that innate ability to be able to work on the fly," Booker said. "All that stuff was ad-libbed. We had no script at all, you know what I mean? The pizzeria song he was singing – I was like, 'Where do you get this stuff from?'"

The wrestler confirmed that some of the grocery store shoppers who watched the brawl were locals that were allowed to watch the filming, while others were "plants" who were meant to fulfill a certain role. As for the fact that Austin got nearly all of the offense in the segment, Booker doesn't have a problem with it, noting that the brawl was meant to be the moment that Austin finally got his revenge after many weeks of torment.

"One thing about this business, man – I look at myself right there and I say, 'This is the position in professional wrestling that, if you don't find yourself in one time, you haven't been in professional wrestling,'" Booker stated. "This is the embodiment, for me, as far as professional wrestling goes, because it is to be embellished to whatever we want it to be for our fans."

To this day, Booker said fans come up to him to share that this is their favorite match of his, only for the WWE star to remind them that it wasn't a match at all.