Booker T spent some time working with talent at the WWE Performance Center.
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T joined the NXT commentary team in October 2022, and he has continued to call the action alongside Vic Joseph ever since. Outside of WWE, Booker also runs the Reality of Wrestling school/promotion with Sharmell Huffman, so he has plenty of experience coaching talent. The legend recently noted that he did some private sessions with talent at the Performance Center.
Speaking on The Hall of Fame with Booker T and Brad Gilmore, the WWE Hall of Famer stated that he was in Orlando, as he worked with some of the talent at the WWE Performance Center. He emphasized that he enjoys being able to work with the young talent, and he also noted that he is living his best life.
“I’m in Orlando right now. I stuck around here for a minute and got a little extra work in with some of the guys here down at the Performance Center. It’s cool. This is my passion, being able to be a part of this business this many years later, and then to work with the young guys that’s gonna be the next generation, for me is so freaking awesome. I’m living my best life right now, I really am. Never in a million years did I think I would still be in this business, but now being a part of NXT and now being a part of the next generation [of] superstars’ lives… I don’t like patting myself on the back or anything like that, but it’s cool to have these young guys who have looked at me and looked up to me for so many years, and now they get a chance to work with me, and they see I’m kind of a really cool dude. It’s really, really awesome. I’m down here, I’m spent yesterday and today working with a few of the guys here at NXT," Booker T said.
When asked if that meant that he is guest coaching at the PC, Booker replied, "Yeah. I mean, I call it private sessions."
Booker was also asked to describe what he looks at when he evaluates talent. He stated that he has been focused on the coaching side, as he is trying to teach the wrestlers psychology and give them his knowledge. Booker noted that he wants the talent to ask questions so they can dive into the details of wrestling and what makes it work.
“Really at this stage, I don’t look for stuff like that. I’m more so in my coaching mode to where I’m trying to teach these guys psychology and trying to give them knowledge. More so, what I need is these guys to ask questions. I need them to want to know what makes this work or why that doesn’t work today, opposed to it working back then, that kind of stuff, so we can really dive into the nuts and bolts of the artistry of what this thing is really, really all about, because that’s what I always loved about the wrestling business, is the artistry of it, the Shakespearean nature of it, the Romeo and Juliet side of it where it’s gonna be an encore, it’s gonna be a ‘bravo,’ it’s gonna be a curtain call at the end of the night. For me, that’s what I’m thinking about as far as trying to bring my actors up to speed. Denzel Washington didn’t start by being the guy that you saw in Training Day. He was just a guy that was just standing there, doing nothing, saying nothing, but he was studying, waiting and preparing. Preparation is the only luck, so that’s what we’re thinking about right now, prep. Prep work," Booker T said.
Check out Booker T's comments about Carmelo Hayes staying in NXT here.
Click here to see the card for the June 27 episode of WWE NXT. Fightful will have coverage of the show as it airs.
Booker T recently stated that he is ashamed of some of the stuff he did in TNA. Click here to see what he had to say.
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