Booker T Agrees With Chris Jericho On AEW Working With IMPACT Wrestling
On the latest episode of The Hall of Fame Podcast, Booker T spoke about criticism he received for comments he made on a previous episode regarding Kenny Omega becoming IMPACT World Champion. Booker stated that IMPACT gained nothing by having Omega win their world title and said he doesn't know "what the company is thinking right now." While Rebellion was reportedly the most successful IMPACT pay-per-view in years, television ratings since the event have been some of the lowest of 2021.
After receiving criticism from people on the internet, Booker admitted that it had been tough to deal with the negativity, but he still doesn't refute what he said. The two-time WWE Hall of Famer continued to disagree with IMPACT's decision to let Omega hold their championship, and noted that it looks bad for Rich Swann too.
"I haven't been able to sleep properly these last few days man," Booker said. "All this stuff on the internet, I try to stay off the internet, but sometimes it breaks my heart. I got feelings too, people always got comments and what not, I was just making an opinion about Impact and AEW. AEW World Champion going over to Impact, winning the Impact World Championship, I just did not think it was a good idea beating Rich Swann, I just did not think it was a good idea from a company perspective."
AEW superstar Chris Jericho also made comments recently regarding the AEW / IMPACT relationship, saying AEW is on completely different level than IMPACT. Booker said that he agrees with Jericho and doesn't believe he signed up to wrestle in AEW to also wrestle for another company like IMPACT.
"And now not only do I think that wasn't a good idea, Chris Jericho was talking, and the question was asked about an invasion angle between Impact and AEW and he said he didn't think that would be a good idea at all," Booker said. "I just did not think it was a good idea. Now, am I wrong or is Chris Jericho wrong? Chris Jericho could have been in character, playing a role but his comments were he was never going to be seen inside an Impact ring in front of an empty arena, it's never going to happen.
"For me personally, I don't think Chris Jericho bought into AEW to go work for Impact. That's a totally different contract. I have no time to even entertain something like that unless I was one of the executive producers, getting one of those kinds of checks. Am I wrong or is Chris Jericho wrong?"
Booker also spoke about why he doesn't think the relationship between the two companies will last much longer. Being the host of a podcast, Booker continued to say he can be critical given his platform and has the right to say what he wants about the wrestling relationship.
"It just muddies the water more than anything," Booker said. "I need you focused on my show, my stars, all the time, nobody else ever. That's just my opinion.
"When people talk and say I don't know what I'm talking about, or maybe I should not speak on it, this is called a show. This is what we do. We speak on stuff alright, if its newsworthy. The thing is, you should want us to talk about it because we actually know what we're talking about opposed to someone who doesn't know what they're talking about."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Hall of Fame Podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.