Booker keeping it classy.
This past Sunday the Pro Wrestling Hall Of Fame held its annual ceremony at the Dan Gable Museum. Former two-time WWF Intercontinental Champion Owen Hart was inducted into the Hall Of Fame and names such as: Dan Severn, Booker T, Bruiser Brody, Ben Askren and Koji Miyamoto were honored as well.
WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T spoke with Hannibal TV after accepting the Lou Thesz World Heavyweight Championship award which is awarded to individuals who take the lessons that they have learned in the wrestling world and they pass on those lessons to others. To close out the interview, Booker was asked about his highly-talked about fight with former 4-time World Heavyweight Champion Dave Bautista. Although Booker T has spoken on this incident before and so has Dave, both men keep it classy when discussing their altercation and Booker continued that trend in this interview.
“You know, in professional wrestling, I’m sure… in combat sports, it's always gonna be testosterone. You know, men, a lot of times don’t don’t agree with each other, and that’s all it was. It was a disagreement. Him and I, we settled our disagreement but if I saw him today, he’d get a big hug and I’d say, ‘Hey man, what’s going on?’ you know because he’s a man just like I am.” Booker said.
In an article published by WWE.com about real-life fights and altercations between WWE superstars, the following excerpt was shared about the 2006 altercation between Dave Bautista and Booker T:
Booker T vs. Batista
"While at a SummerSlam commercial shoot in May 2006, former World Champions Booker T and Batista got into a widely reported fistfight. It was a “brutal, bloody, vicious affair” that lasted at least five minutes, according to a day-of WWE.com report quoting WWE’s then-director of TV promotions. Even though the question of who got the upper hand appears to be open for debate, the prevailing belief is that Booker got the better of the exchange.
What can be said with more certainty is that the impetus for the fight had to do with a certain “r” word — respect. In his 2007 autobiography, “Batista Unleashed,” The Animal admitted the commercial-shoot fight involved a breached etiquette on his part: He hadn’t greeted Booker.“… no matter how I felt, I should have at least been respectful and said ‘hello,’ not acted as if he didn’t exist,” he wrote. “He’s earned respect in this business. I didn’t show it, and I was wrong.”
An interview published by WWE.com days after the fight quoted Booker as saying he harbored no ill will toward Batista, but that he believed the hulking Superstar lacked an appreciation for wrestling’s past.
“There's a lot of us who paved the way in this business for men like Batista,” Booker said, adding later in the interview, “Respect isn’t a right. It’s a privilege.”
Speaking of Booker T helping out others, the WWE Hall Of Famer's 'Reality Of Wrestling' promotion will be presenting 'Ladies Night Out 3' on August 18th. To take a look at the match card for the show, head over to 'RealityOfWrestling.com'.
If you are going to use the quote from the interview with Hannibal TV, please credit Hannibal with an H/T To Fightful for the transcription.
