Booker T is a legend in the wrestling business with success at just about every level possible. WCW, WWE, and TNA were the main homes of Booker as a relevant performer. Booker bounced from tag team success with his brother Stevie Ray to mid-card momentum and an eventual main event run that defined his career.
Many fascinating stories have come out about Booker behind the scenes. Various WWE specials, other wrestlers sharing details about working with him, and Booker’s own radio show episodes have given us a glimpse into his life behind the scenes. Find out what happened to the legend off-camera throughout the years. The following backstage stories will teach fans more about Booker behind the scenes.
10 Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit tragedies convinced him to leave WWE
Booker T recently revealed the details behind his decision to leave WWE for TNA on his radio show. The wrestling tragedies of Eddie Guerrero’s passing, and the Chris Benoit murder/suicide played a role in him needing a change.
Everyone to work with the two deceased wrestlers had an emotional struggle dealing with the aftermath. Booker decided it was time to take a reduced schedule and spent more time with his family moving forward.
9 Quit WWE on behalf of Sharmell without telling her
Another fascinating part of Booker T’s departure from WWE was making the decision on Sharmell’s behalf. The real-life couple was a paired act on WWE television as King Booker and Queen Sharmell as top heels.
Booker didn’t inform Sharmell until he already asked for both of their releases. Sharmell wasn’t upset since she trusted his judgment with wrestling decisions. The duo joined TNA together with Sharmell’s wrestling career continuing.
8 Comedy segments with Goldust saved his career
Booker T’s momentum in WWE completely disappeared after the Invasion storyline. The feud with Steve Austin was noteworthy, but he lost all the big matches. Edge then got the better of Booker in their rivalry to send him lower down the card.
The regression saw Booker in the hardcore division for a few weeks exchanging the Hardcore Championship with lower card acts Crash Holly and Stevie Richards. WWE didn’t intend for Booker’s comedy segments with Goldust to lead to a long-term role, but it essentially saved Booker’s career with memorable moments every week giving him relevance again.
7 Sid Vicious convinced WWE to hire Booker and Stevie Ray
The early careers of Booker T and Stevie Ray saw the real-life brothers gaining momentum in smaller territories. Sid Vicious of all people discovered Harlem Heat and pitched the idea of WCW hiring them for the tag division.
Booker and Stevie instantly showed their greatness and got over as great heels. WCW made Harlem Heat a fixture in the tag division with 10 Tag Team Championship reigns other. Sid was responsible for a Hall of Fame act getting signed.
6 Didn't know he was winning WCW Championship until night of show
The memorable moment of Booker T’s first WCW Championship victory was something he wasn’t even prepared for. Vince Russo’s wild night featured the infamous shoot promo on Hulk Hogan at Bash at the Beach 2000 PPV.
Jeff Jarrett dropped the title to Hogan, but a new champion was going to be crowned when Jarrett faced Booker. A recent spotlight of this match on WWE Backstage saw Booker revealing he didn’t know he was winning the belt until hours before it happened.
5 Had heat in first WWE appearance for almost injuring Steve Austin
Booker T was the one established WCW main eventer coming to WWE for the Invasion angle with a huge push in place. WWE intentionally made the call for Booker to defeat Scott Steiner for the WCW Championship on the last Nitro so he could be the champ when making the move.
The debut of Booker in WWE saw him instantly getting heat backstage. Booker attacked Steve Austin and put him through the commentary table. The problem was that Booker didn’t clear the table and landed Austin’s head on a TV monitor. Booker was able to overcome the heat to have a great WWE career in the long run.
4 King Booker wasn't meant to be a main eventer until it won over Vince
King Booker was a game-changer of a gimmick for Booker T to return to the main event scene. WWE selected Booker to win the King of the Ring tournament with the character revamp along with Sharmell playing his Queen.
The run wasn’t expected to win him the World Title, but Booker revealed that Vince McMahon loved his commitment to the character. Booker benefited from the perfect timing of Vince loving his new gimmick and giving up on Rey Mysterio as World Champion.
3 Complained about wrestling cruiserweights in WCW
Chris Jericho named Booker T as one of the WCW wrestlers who disliked wrestling with the cruiserweights. WCW’s booking was to blame since the cruiserweights rarely were presented as threats to wrestlers outside of the division.
Booker would vocally complain when WCW booked him against cruiserweights during his singles push. The radio show of Booker saw him recently admitting it and sharing a story about Dean Malenko being upset about Booker trying to get out of a match with him.
2 Refused to put over Matt Morgan in TNA
The TNA run of Booker T was controversial since rumors indicated he didn’t care much about the company. Booker even admitted he viewed TNA as a vacation after years of the intense grind in WCW and WWE.
The end of his stint featured him holding none of his feelings back. Booker revealed he refused to put over Matt Morgan when TNA wanted the younger star to score a bigger victory over a veteran. The viewpoint of Booker was that Morgan wasn’t on his level in ruthless honesty.
1 Beat up Batista on behalf of locker room
The infamous fight between Booker T and Batista took place on the set of a SummerSlam 2006 commercial. Batista reportedly had huge heat on Smackdown for the arrogance that made him feel above the rest of the roster.
Booker apparently took offense to a comment from Batista in between filming and challenged him to a fight. All accounts of the story claimed Booker destroyed Batista and the locker room loved seeing the bigger name humbled. Batista became friendlier as time went on to completely change his reputation for the better.