Booker T Hopes #SpeakingOut Will ‘Rid The Bulk Of The Scum’ In Wrestling
Photo: ROW
We’ve said it before on WrestleZone, Booker T is all about delivering a teaching moment and certainly did that on this week’s episode of The Hall Of Fame. Booker operates his own wrestling school, Reality of Wrestling, down in the Houston area of Texas and the five time WCW World Heavyweight Champion gave his thoughts on the #SpeakingOut movement and making sure to have that valuable conversation with his female trainees.
“I have a wrestling school and I produce a lot of young girls that’s trying to get into this business and I always talk to them about situations like this. Normally, you know, my girls that’s been around me long enough and they get a chance to always make it to the next level, I always try to have that talk with them.”
Booker cites big names coming from ROW’s female alum to graduate his school as being some of the victims who shared their story of alleged abuse during the recent social media movement.
“To give these young ladies the speech and now to hear about all the turmoil that they’ve been having to go through, just trying to be a part of this business of professional wrestling. I never really thought or wondered how deep it was until now when you hear it,” Booker said.
“For me, I remember talking to one of my students and I said, ‘You gotta understand, when you go up there, you’re a good looking girl. And one of those guys, they’re gonna want to get with you,’ and I said, ‘That’s not what you really want to be focusing at right now because boom, it could happen just like that. I say, If you go there, and the promoter, the booker, if they’re not treating you the way I treat you, you need to go and talk to someone or tell somebody something. I said ‘Because you know how you get treated around me. It’s a hug, you know, when you leave, come in, a hug when you leave and boom, that’s it, but it ain’t going to be no shenanigans as far as me as your mentor goes. Me as your trainer, your sensei, a person that you look up to.'”
Booker shared in his disgust for some of these’ trainers’ and alleged abusers actions.
“To hear some of their stories with some of these scum buckets out there, it really disturbs me and hopefully by them coming out will rid the bulk of the scum a lot of them that they’ve been talking about.”
He does, however, remain optimistic due to some of the leaders of men he’s seen in today’s locker rooms.
“It’s a lot of Roman Reigns in those locker rooms. Guys who got some integrity, guys that got some morals about themselves. Guys that oversee the rest of the guys when they can’t oversee themselves.”
To give a little context to the history of sexual abuse in wrestling, Booker cites the stories told of “H-bombs” that some of the wrestlers would give to women.
“They were talking about women back in the day used to get H-bombed. It was a pill it was called Halcion (used to treat insomnia). They used to slip it to the women and next thing you know, they go to sleep and men had their way with – and I’ve heard those stories. I’ve heard those stories. But now in 2020, those stories are gonna come to light and people are gonna be exposed and hopefully they will lose their job and more than anything their integrity, their name, their fame. Everything that goes along with it…”
You can watch the full clip with Booker below:
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