Booker T Responds To Matt Riddle's Latest Video Directed At Chris Jericho, Goldberg And Himself

By Robert Gunier

WWE's Booker T took to his The Hall Of Fame Podcast this week to respond to the comments Matt Riddle recently made about Chris Jericho, Lance Storm, Goldberg, and himself.

Riddle kept his words on the tame side when directing the message toward Booker. However, when referring to Jericho, Riddle went as far as to say, 'I'll beat the s–t out of you.' Booker thinks this was an unwise move from "The Original Bro".

"My thing is is that it's kind of hard as far as, how should I take it? Me personally, I know that if I was a young guy in the business and someone like Chris Jericho gave me a little bit of advice – be it as it may where the guy is working at [AEW] right now – but if Chris Jericho was to give me some words of advice, he might be one of the guys I would listen to just because of the career that he has had," Booker explained. "Chris Jericho has been one of those guys that hasn't been one of the biggest guys in the locker room but when Chris Jericho had to go out there and perform, he worked 6'4 inches tall; he was 250 lbs. That's just the way he worked and that is why Chris Jericho rose to the levels of success that he did. When WWE brought Chris Jericho in at 2000 it was Y2J. It was that big, it was the countdown, it was like a New Years going off, that is how big it was when Chris Jericho made his arrival with the company.

"It didn't stop there. He went on and had great matches against Triple H, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, The Rock, and when a guy like that is giving you some words of wisdom – I don't think Chris was shooting at him or coming at him," Booker continued. "It was very simple. It was almost like, 'listen and learn' because this is what this business is really about: listening and learning. When The Rock said know your role and shut your mouth, and that's true. Know your role and shut your mouth. When guys back in the days didn't know their role they didn't last long in the business. My thing is this – hopefully Matt Riddle will go on and have a great career."

Booker pointed out the differences between the cultures of mixed martial arts and pro wrestling, noting how calling out a fight in MMA may be celebrated, but not behind the scenes in the latter. He's interested to see where these strong words leave Riddle after another decade in the business.

"In the Octagon, calling guys out to a fight might be wise, but in real life, calling out a real man to a fight is just not wise," Booker said. "Fighting these days is not something men do outside of the Octagon. People get hurt really bad. The guy could have a great career, hopefully he will. We will see; we will find out in the long run. The same road you go up, you go down that same road. That road is all going to be about how much you put into making sure that it is passable on the way back because some of those bridges, they may have been knocked down. There might be a whole lot of pot holes on the way down that you didn't have on the way up, and one thing about guys like Matt Riddle is in 10 years – I don't know how old he is now – he is going to be 10 years older, and some young guy is going to be saying the same thing about him if he happens to make it that far."

Booker tries to teach his own personal students at the Reality of Wrestling school to respect their peers and those that performed before them in the squared circle. He believes that it is a slippery slope to the unemployment line if you make it a habit to disrespect the people you're working with.

"I always teach my students on the 'what not to do'. I teach my student as well that you have to be able to make it in the locker room in order to make it in the ring, to make it to that next level," Booker explained. "To make it to that next level in MMA, people don't have to really like you in order to get to that next level. In professional wrestling, if people don't like you, you can find yourself in the unemployment line because that's just the way it is. Is it wrong or is it wrong? I can't say, but that's just the way it is.

"Unlike MMA, we are brotherhood and we do know that one guy only looks as good as the other guy makes him look in professional wrestling, and that is where a guy like Matt Riddle may be rubbing some people the wrong way," Booker went on. "I look at a guy like Chris Jericho: Jericho has had a hall of fame career. Literally a hall of fame career, and if you want to model yourself after a guy that made it to the top level of this business, you go to those guys for advice. You lean on those type of guys where you ask them what they did in order to get to that next level. You don't say, 'I'm going to beat the crap out of them', or anything like that. I just don't think that is what we do in professional wrestling. I can't remember the last time a wrestler, a professional wrestler, called another wrestler out on Twitter other than Enzo or Joey Janella."

Booker left listeners with a motto that resonates with what is occurring between Riddle and the WCW legends he's been targeting.

"I've got a saying and you can take this to the bank: 'you can be extraordinary at what you do. You can be great at what you do. If people don't like you, you won't stick around very long. Now on the other hand, you can be good at what you do and if people like you, you may stick around forever.' Why do I say that? I look at myself as an example. I know I am good at what I do, but people like me which is why I am still thriving in life. At the end of the day, I think that is what it is about. My mother taught me that it doesn't cost you anything to be nice to people and it's going to take you a long way in life."

As noted, Jericho first got Riddle's attention this past weekend when he wrote out, "Listen and learn kid," while retweeting a couple of paragraph's that originally came from his own book. The passage looked back on a moment in Jericho's career when he realized that burying other performers for being "old" or "slow" ultimately devalues the feud altogether.

After that, Riddle responded with a video of himself with a big grin and with the caption, "What's wrong with these WCW guys? First Goldberg then Booker T, and now a really boring wrestler who hates barefoot Bros (Lance Storm) and last but not least Y2J. It's almost like you all wanna get beat up before you retire... 'Listen and learn Bros'". His next response, paired with the caption, "My POV, Watch, Listen, Enjoy, Bro," is the video Booker addressed throughout this article, available below via Twitter.

Jericho kept his response to the video short but effective, writing, "Minor League Wannabe Bros are funny.... #SuperKingOfShmoes @ Riddle, North Carolina" and also posting a video of himself making a big, goofy grin at the camera.

Riddle made headlines earlier this summer when he made several insults directed at WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg on Twitter, calling him the worst pro wrestler in the business at one point. Goldberg has even had Riddle blocked on Twitter for some time due to comments Riddle has made over the years.

You can see the exchange of Tweets below:

If you use any quotes in this article, please credit The Hall of Fame Podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Peter Bahi contributed to this article.

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