By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Insight With Chris Van Vliet with guest Booker T
Host: Chris Van Vliet
Podcast available via Podcasts.Apple.com
On if there will ever be one more match: “Well, I’m never gonna retire. I’m definitely gonna get back in the ring at some point in time to do something. But it’s gonna be here, in Reality of Wrestling, or in Saudi [laughs].”
On the return being another Royal Rumble spot: “You know, I think that spot was a great swan song for me doing it at that time, it was one of those unexpected entries. It was a moment, it’s kind of hard to really create those moments, duplicate those kind of moments, replicate that. So I think Rumble for me, I’m not looking to do any more [of those].”
On the partnership between WWE and TNA: “Well, back then in 2008 I couldn’t see that. Just because 2008 TNA, they were rumbling, they had a lot of steam behind them. Like they would make a big play to perhaps be that next competition. AJ Styles, [Samoa] Joe, [Bobby] Roode, all those guys, Awesome Kong, Sting Steiner, it was nuts as far as the talent roster went back there. But now I can see it just because TNA is not a threat. I think being able to cross-promote and work with someone, a company like TNA I think benefits the talent more than anything.
“I think it helps the company stay alive in their markets, they’re not gonna go anywhere now just because they see the collaboration. So I think is a good thing for everybody, just because everybody is not going to be able to work in WWE at one time and be able to get shine and it’s just not going to happen. But look at Jordynne Grace, as far as what she’s doing. At the Rumble, it was a huge moment for her as well as coming to WWE is not going to be for everyone. It’s just the way it is. Jordynne Grace, she’s the standout. She doesn’t look out of place at all. She’s a star by any means, no matter how you look at it. She’s a bonafide star. And when you got guys like that, that need to be looked at like Moose, I say you give them a shot, because it’s only going to be good for business.”
On the supermarket brawl with Steve Austin: “I got a chance to watch that a few months ago for the first time, in all these years I’ve never watched it. I’ve seen clips of it but I have never sat down and watched the whole thing. I watched it and I laughed from the beginning to the end because it was so funny. I cried with laughter, literally, because it was so funny. Now I see why so many fans come up to me when I am at a convention and they go ‘Your best match was you and Stone Cold.’ I’m like match? What are you talking about? But that’s the beauty of wrestling, being able to make fans feel a certain way and we did it at a grocery store. We just ad-libbed the whole thing and whatever Steve wanted to do I was gonna be there to make sure we got it done. It was a match where I knew I was gonna get about 10%, that’s the way we thought about it.
“All I know is my job is to put that guy over, it’s his time to shine, time to go out and see what kind of acting chops you got. [We had] maybe 30 minutes to an hour [before]. We went in and we walked through a couple of areas, the one scene in the back with the cooler area, I think that was the only one we set up. We didn’t have any lines or script, everything Steve said was ad-libbed, everything I did was ad-libbed. They let them know there was gonna be some damage. They were all for it. I just went back to the area and walked through, it’s a Dollar Store now, but in the same neighborhood, but it was so cool. It was so happy to have us there. You know, we did about $15,000 worth of damage.”
On what caused the most damage: “I think the produce section, the vegetables and stuff. They would have to get rid of everything, all the fruit, all that stuff, they would have had to get rid of all that stuff. So I think that was the biggest area because that whole section we wiped out. But it was so much fun. I just grew out my dreads and I had eggs, milk, and flour in my hair. But you know, that’s show business, ‘Lights Camera Action.’ That’s the beauty of the business. That’s the part that I miss. I don’t miss the wrestling, other than the moments, but the show side of it, making the fans feel a certain way, man it is so great.”
On the WrestleMania 18 match: “It was one of those things where we had to do something because the match actually was supposed to be a hair match. It was supposed to be I cut my hair or Edge was gonna cut his hair. That was what they approached us with at first. At least they approached me with that. I don’t know if they approached Edge with that, but they approached me with it. The first thing I said was ‘Is Edge cutting his hair? Because I’m not cutting mine.’ I just grew out my dreads and I really had become attached to them. I think they could have fired me before I cut my hair. I wouldn’t want to cut my hair at that time for anything.
“They couldn’t give me a big enough payoff to cut my hair at that time. They couldn’t have just told me to do it, so they squashed it and then they came up with this idea of a shampoo commercial because Edge wasn’t cutting his hair. It still was a moment, I look back on it and it was cool working Edge more than anything. Edge wanted to do the Spinaroonie in that match so bad. He didn’t do it because he just could not figure it out. But he worked on it all day in the arena. He had strawberries on his elbows and on his knees but he still could not get it, but he tried so hard. But for me just working in his hometown. Like you say, that’s what I get out of it, that’s what I remember. It wasn’t one of my greatest highlight moments at WrestleMania but it was still a great moment.”
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