The Great One
Swag Surfin
WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T recently appeared as a guest on The Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast to promote his Heated Conversations podcast, next month's WrestleMania 34 pay-per-view and more. Featured below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On his belief that the nWo nearly ruined the pro wrestling business by wanting to be cheered as heels: "I had a match with a good friend of mine, we're really close, a partner of mine in the Main Event Mafia, big Kevin Nash. I had a match with Kevin Nash and it was my first match in Canada, in Toronto, Canada. He had been there many, many times before and people loved him as Diesel. And now, he's coming back in WCW and he's still Diesel to those fans over there in Canada. He went out there with nWo and he gave everyone the nWo kiss, the little kiss sign that they would do. 'nWo in the house!' Everybody in the crowd erupted. And I'm back in the back listening to all of this like, 'he's the bad guy!' I walked out of the curtain and they played my music, and I walked out of the curtain, and they booed the crap out of me. That's when I knew the nWo, the bad guys, [were] killing the business because they didn't want the heat. They wanted the adulation. The nWo almost singlehandedly ruined the business as far as good guys, bad guys, cowboys, and Indians. You don't want to mess that up.
"The thing was with WCW, the big thing was turning Hulk Hogan heel. Hulk Hogan being a bad guy. We shouldn't do this. People don't want to see Hulk Hogan as the bad guy. Hulk Hogan is the ultimate good guy. So we say, 'okay, we're going to turn him into the bad guy.' We turned Hulk Hogan into the bad guy with the nWo and Hulk Hogan, but is still the good guy! That made no sense to me! And I was right in the middle of it, watching it, and I was like, 'wait a minute! He's still going out there and doing the same thing! People love him! He's not a bad guy! What's going on here?'"
On turning down an offer from Kevin Nash to join the nWo while they were in WCW: "Kevin Nash came to me, he goes, 'Book, hey, Book, man, you know this nWo thing is getting real hot, bro. And, man, we need some color, man.' I swear to God, that's how he said it! 'We need some color, bro.' He goes, 'we want to bring you in.' I go, 'man, thanks, but no thanks. No way.' I said, 'I'm a solo act, man.'"
On his belief that the nWo nearly ruined the pro wrestling business by wanting to be cheered as heels: "I had a match with a good friend of mine, we're really close, a partner of mine in the Main Event Mafia, big Kevin Nash. I had a match with Kevin Nash and it was my first match in Canada, in Toronto, Canada. He had been there many, many times before and people loved him as Diesel. And now, he's coming back in WCW and he's still Diesel to those fans over there in Canada. He went out there with nWo and he gave everyone the nWo kiss, the little kiss sign that they would do. 'nWo in the house!' Everybody in the crowd erupted. And I'm back in the back listening to all of this like, 'he's the bad guy!' I walked out of the curtain and they played my music, and I walked out of the curtain, and they booed the crap out of me. That's when I knew the nWo, the bad guys, [were] killing the business because they didn't want the heat. They wanted the adulation. The nWo almost singlehandedly ruined the business as far as good guys, bad guys, cowboys, and Indians. You don't want to mess that up.
"The thing was with WCW, the big thing was turning Hulk Hogan heel. Hulk Hogan being a bad guy. We shouldn't do this. People don't want to see Hulk Hogan as the bad guy. Hulk Hogan is the ultimate good guy. So we say, 'okay, we're going to turn him into the bad guy.' We turned Hulk Hogan into the bad guy with the nWo and Hulk Hogan, but is still the good guy! That made no sense to me! And I was right in the middle of it, watching it, and I was like, 'wait a minute! He's still going out there and doing the same thing! People love him! He's not a bad guy! What's going on here?'"
On turning down an offer from Kevin Nash to join the nWo while they were in WCW: "Kevin Nash came to me, he goes, 'Book, hey, Book, man, you know this nWo thing is getting real hot, bro. And, man, we need some color, man.' I swear to God, that's how he said it! 'We need some color, bro.' He goes, 'we want to bring you in.' I go, 'man, thanks, but no thanks. No way.' I said, 'I'm a solo act, man.'"
