Booker T Talks Which Stars Could Be Successful If Pushed, His Dream Angle For Final Match, More
Former six-time World Champion and the current WWE SmackDown General Manager, Booker T, was the featured guest on this week's edition of Monday Night Mayhem. Here are interview highlights courtesy of Kahlil Thomas, MNM's associate producer and official correspondent:
Why he felt that now was the right time to release his first book ("From Prison to Promise"): "I just think it was time, and timing is everything. I think I'm at a stage in my career where my in-ring career is pretty much behind me, and now it's time to help some kids along the way. A lot of kids look up to me, and they have been watching me on television almost 22 years. I got into a lot of trouble when I was a kid, and I always looked up to Muhammad Ali. No one could tell me anything, but I always said if Muhammad Ali had said the same thing that everybody was telling, I would have listened, just because it was Muhammad Ali. The business has given me a tool to help and give back, and hopefully set some kid who's in a dark place on track. Hopefully, he could live his life out and be productive, and hopefully be a good dad, if nothing else."
The message that he wants both wrestling fans and readers alike to take from the book: "You are not going to pick it and see any wrestling stories or anything like that. You are going to be shocked from a perspective, but it's supposed to be like that. The way the book starts off, it's supposed to shock you. It's supposed to grab your attention, and hopefully it's going to take you into a story where hopefully you get something out of it. I just want to try and help kids not find themselves in a place looking at 5 years to 99 years of their lives to be virtually over with in a blink of an eye."
Which WWE Superstars he feels could be successful right now in the company, if given the right opportunity: "I say guys like Drew McIntyre. He's a guy who got a big push, and then it kind of dwindled out a little bit. Another guy is Jack Swagger. It's all about the knowledge, and it's all about the training. It's about guys getting to that curve, and then turning that curve. A lot of times, we put our guys out there a little too quick, and put them on that big stage a little too quick. As for me and guys of my era, we had so much time to prepare ourselves for that big break and being on that big stage being in front of 50,000 people. A lot of times it can hurt you a whole lot more than it could help you."
Why he wants to have "one more match" before officially retiring, what his "dream sequence" would be like if chosen to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and who he would select to give his induction speech: "In a perfect sequence, I want to go out the way I came in, and that's with my brother (Stevie Ray). My brother has had my back in this business since day one. He has watched my back. He has always put me on a pedestal. If and when I ever get to that point, it's going to be a great night, but I don't look to go into the (WWE) Hall (of Fame) this early. I'm only 47, and I'm not fully retired yet. I still got that one more match in me. I want to have that one more match, and I want to thank the fans for this long journey I have been on that I wouldn't change for anything."
Much more is contained in Booker T's Monday Night Mayhem return, including his candid thoughts on how returning to the WWE last year lived up to his full expectations, becoming the General Manager of WWE SmackDown, the keys to his long-lasting success in the WWE and more. You can download and listen to the interview by clicking here.
Source: Wrestle View