Booker T Addresses AQA Stepping Away From Pro Wrestling
Earlier this week, AEW star AQA announced she would be stepping back from the professional wrestling world, and her former Reality Of Wrestling trainer Booker T has weighed in on the situation during his latest "Hall Of Fame" podcast.
AQA had opportunities with WWE and then ended up signing with AEW back in February, but she admitted that she hasn't been in the best place mentally, which is why she is taking a step away. For Booker T, that is something he understands and worries about when it comes to some of the people he trains that get into the business "really young" such as Kylie Rae and Rok-C (who now works as Roxanne Perez).
"I was so worried about Rok-C getting into this industry at 20 years old just because I know how much of a whirlwind it really, really is and how much that whirlwind can take you by storm. I am serious," he said. "I have been through all that. By the time I got to WCW, I was a grown-ass man that was ready to fight and rip somebody to shreds and get fired at the same time. When I got into it, I wasn't young and impressionable or anything like that. When you get into it, it can be something totally the opposite of what you thought it was. "
Booker T explained how being young in the wrestling world "can be a whole lot to handle", as the different politics both inside and outside the ring are something that has to be considered for wrestlers.
"I can understand AQA stepping back and saying, 'Man, let me reanalyze this and let me refocus, and more than anything, try to figure this thing out.'"
Booker went on to use Drew McIntyre as an example of someone who had "success at such a young age [that] was just overwhelming for him," and he doesn't believe the former WWE Champion is the only person to fall into that trap.
"I have seen so many young guys come through this business — We heard the stories about Rene Dupree being a young kid on the roster," he said. "So understand, it's nothing more than just being young and trying to figure this thing out, and hopefully, that's what she'll do and regroup, and we will find her back in the ring sometime."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Hall Of Fame" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.