On a recent edition of his “Hall of Fame” podcast, Booker T discussed turning down the Buff Bagwell episode of Dark Side Of The Ring, Mercedes Mone’s AEW debut at Dynamite: Big Business, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On turning down Dark Side of the Ring episode about Buff Bagwell: “We’ve heard about the WWE run, as far as Buff Bagwell’s standpoint. It just didn’t work out. The match that him and I had in Tacoma, Washington, that has come up a lot of times. Dark Side of the Ring, they reached out to me to be a part of some of these series and episodes. But I turned it down, just because — me personally, anything that happened with Buff Bagwell and I? Anything that I gotta say about Buff Bagwell, it’s private. It’s something that’s internal, and it’s something that him and I know, and I’m not going to expose it or put it out there or anything like that. Just because I don’t think the world really needs to know what happened with Bagwell and I that night, or anything like that. So, the way it’s written is the way it’s going to be told from here on out. I won’t have anything to say about it…”
On his match with Bagwell on RAW: “Let me speak on one thing, just to clarify. Just to back up Bagwell on a couple of things. That night, Bagwell and I, we had to go out and work. It was literally the first time two WCW guys were in the main event, of course. And I do remember agents talking to me, and telling me exactly what they didn’t want me to do. They told me to look straight at the camera, go out and work. Don’t shake anybody’s hands. And that was my thing: going out happy, shaking hands, high-fiving. They told Bagwell the exact same thing. ‘Go straight out, just go to work, and don’t even think about the fans.’ And that was something that I found very, very odd, kind of suspicious. We weren’t put in a position to succeed back then in WWE. None of the WCW guys were. We were put out there to fail. We were put out there to get our a**es beat, and for WWE to plant that flag and say, ‘Man, we won this war. We got the best wrestlers in the world, and we just proved it with these two guys in the ring right here.’
“So that part of Marcus Bagwell’s story is 100% true. Was it the greatest match that I’ve ever had? No. Was it the worst match I ever had? I don’t even think it was the worst match I’ve ever had. But I do know, no matter what we did that night, those fans in Tacoma, Washington, didn’t give a damn about Booker T or Marcus Buff Bagwell. It was a rough night.”
On Mercedes Mone’s AEW debut: “Well, I honestly felt like Mercedes Mone would — when she first left the company, I thought she would overshadow anything. That’s what I said, I thought she would overshadow anything in AEW when she first left. Of course since she’s left WWE, she’s kind of cooled a lot. And then going on to New Japan and then getting injured, that was kind of like a setback as well. So now this almost — I don’t know if it feel like a restart, to me. This seems like a restart for Mone. And going to AEW, I can’t see it being a bad thing. Because you know, I was reading a thing where Will Osprey said that the offer from AEW was way better than the offer that he got from WWE.
“So my thing is, she’s gonna be able to go over there and make some money. She’s gonna be able to get a get a check. But I think — is it a good thing for her, is it a good thing for AEW? Yes. I’m gonna just say that. I’m gonna say that, I’m gonna leave it at that and I don’t really want to take it any further because people will take it and try to run with it and turn it into something else. So I do think it’s gonna be a good thing for Mone to get back in the action. Because one thing about this business: out of sight, out of mind. It’s just the way it is. Time off is your worst enemy. That’s just my opinion on that. So yeah, it’s gonna be a good thing for her.”
In a recent episode of his “Hall of Fame” podcast, Booker T opened up about various topics, including his decision to turn down the Buff Bagwell episode of “Dark Side of the Ring” and Mercedes Mone’s AEW debut at Dynamite: Big Business.
Regarding the “Dark Side of the Ring” episode about Buff Bagwell, Booker T explained that he declined to participate because he believes that anything that happened between him and Bagwell is private and should remain that way. He stated that he doesn’t feel the need to expose or share their personal experiences with the world. Booker T emphasized that the way their story is currently written is how it will be told from now on, and he has no intention of discussing it further.
Booker T also addressed his match with Bagwell on RAW, highlighting that it was the first time two WCW guys were in the main event. He recalled agents instructing him and Bagwell not to interact with the fans and to focus solely on their performance. Booker T found this directive odd and suspicious, as he believed the WCW wrestlers were set up to fail in WWE. Despite the circumstances, he acknowledged that the match wasn’t the best he has ever had but also not the worst. However, he noted that the fans in Tacoma, Washington, didn’t seem to care about either him or Bagwell, making it a challenging night.
Shifting gears, Booker T shared his thoughts on Mercedes Mone’s AEW debut. Initially, he believed that Mone would overshadow anything in AEW after leaving WWE. However, since her departure, she has cooled off and faced setbacks due to injuries and her time in New Japan. Booker T sees her debut in AEW as a fresh start and believes it will be a positive move for her. He mentioned that AEW offered her a better deal than WWE did for Will Osprey, indicating that she will have the opportunity to make money and get back into the action. Booker T emphasized that time off can be detrimental in the wrestling business, so returning to the ring will be beneficial for Mone.
Overall, Booker T’s podcast episode provided insights into his decision to decline the Buff Bagwell episode of “Dark Side of the Ring” and his perspective on Mercedes Mone’s AEW debut. His comments shed light on the behind-the-scenes aspects of wrestling and the challenges faced by wrestlers in their careers.