Club Shay Shay - Club 520 - Booker T on WILD Hulk Hogan moment, Steve Austin supermarket brawl, WrestleMania

Episode Date: April 21, 2025

On the Season 3, Episode 52 of Club 520, six-time world champion and legendary WWE wrestler, Booker T, joins Jeff Teague and the squad LIVE FROM THE MAIN STAGE at WWE World in Las Vegas for WrestleMania 41. Booker T talks about his viral moment calling out Hulk Hogan and his take on the beef between the two of them. B Hen asks Booker T about him recently being in a clip with Sexyy Red, and how he’s been changing with the times. And years after the epic supermarket fight with Steve Austin, Booker T admits he watched it for the FIRST TIME just six months ago. Plus, don’t miss Booker talk about his time in the WWE’s LFG show, losing to Triple H, his wrestling origin story, and so much more! #Volume #ClubSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 40s and free agents podcast with Daniel Jeremiah and Greg Rosenthal has prepared you for the 2025 NFL draft. We've told you what last year's playoff teams need to return to the postseason and how teams with new coaches should approach the draft. So as draft season comes to a close, we've got you covered before your favorite team goes on the clock. We'll break it all down once all 257 picks have been made. Listen to the forties and free agents podcast on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is season two of the world on drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war this year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We met them at their homes, we met them at their recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs Podcast, season two, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm ready to fight. Oh, this is fighting words. Okay, I'll put the hammer back.

Hi, I'm George M. Johnson, a bestselling author with the second most banned book in America. Now more than ever, we need to use our voices to fight back. Part of the power of Black queer creativity is the fact that we got us, you know? We are the greatest culture makers in world history. Listen to Fighting Words on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Israel Gutierrez, and I'm hosting a new podcast, Dub Dynasty, the story of how the Golden State Warriors have dominated the NBA for over a decade. The Golden State Warriors once again are NBA champions. Today, the Warriors dynasty remains alive, in large part because of a scrawny six-foot-two hooper who everyone seems to love. For what Steph has done for the game, he's certainly on that Mount Westhorn.

Come revisit this magical Warriors ride. Listen to Dub Dynasty on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The volume. WWE World, please welcome to the stage your hosts, Jeff Teague, DJ Wells and Brandon Hendricks. Hey. Hey. Hey.

Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Yo, yo, yo, what's going on? How y'all doing? We go by the name of Club 520.

We come from Indianapolis, Indiana. We out here in Vegas with it. WWE World, WrestleMania, man. It's a blessing to be out here, man. I got my same co-host with me to my far left. I got my dog, Bishop B. Hitting out the Prillies. How you what, nasty?

What's up baby? What's up WrestleMania Las Vegas? Yes sir, we in Vegas. See my guys out there, what's up boy? For sure, we locked in to my far right. We got my dog, young Nacho, young Tig. How you what brother? I'm cooling bro, happy to be here man.

I'm excited. We got a great show for you guys. Everything should be lit. Man, we are excited, man. Shout out to Chime for providing us this wonderful opportunity, man. But listen, man, it ain't just us. We got a wonderful guest for y'all, man. It's the time. One of the best to ever do it.

Hall of Fame, one of the best. Booker T, man. Bring him on out. Can you dig it, dig it, sucker? Sucker! Sucker! Yeah! Sucker! Sucker!

Sucker! Can you dig it, sucker? Come on, man, you hear the chants five times, five times, five times. Feels good. Feels damn good. Yes, sir. Man, first and foremost, we wanted to say thank you, man. We are honored to have a legend in our presence, man, on our platform.

We talk about you so much, especially Young Nacho over here, man. So for you to be up here with us is a blessing, man. We appreciate you sliding on us, man. Already, dog, already. It's WrestleMania 6. Happy May-nia, everybody. Yes, sir. Oh, yes, man. A consummate professional, man. But listen, man, we're Yes, sir. Oh, yes, man.

A consummate professional, man. But listen, man, we gonna start the episode off right, man. Shout out to Tom. It's called, Making It Milestones. Now listen, we know you're very successful, man. You've done a lot of things in your career. But I wanna ask you, what's that first time where you were just like, all right, I made it? Maybe nothing crazy, maybe not the home or the house,

but it's just like, all right, I'm established now. I never really thought about it like that. But I remember, I think, you know, it was actually like in 1991, actually. It was when I first got started. And I started in this company called the Global Wrestling Federation. And I was on ESPN, you know, every week on television,

but I was only making like a hundred bucks, you know, to do the show. And I remember going to the Virgin Islands and everybody, all the brothers on the island knew me. I was like, oh shit, I'm here, you know what I mean? What's up, Quinn? Exactly, you know what I mean? I was like, Quinn? Exactly. You know what I mean? I was like, I think maybe I need to quit my job.

I was working at this warehouse, and I was like, maybe I need to quit my job and really, really pursue professional wrestling. And I think that's when the light bulb really went off. Man, that is dope, man. And listen, man, we know everything is expensive nowadays, prices are going up for everything. But listen, some of the things that Chime can benefit from you

to help you with a credit card, secure credit card for sure. Listen, all you got to do is tap in with this because you can help you plan for some of those vacations like Booker's talking about. Hey, even if it's just saving on your house or your car payment, Chime Secure Credit Card can help you with that. It is a credit builder.

Listen, Visa credit card, no annual fees, no interest. Just check to apply. You can use it anywhere. Did you use a credit card? Man, build that credit up and get right so you can go on a trip like Booker T. You feel me? Use it for all your everyday purchases.

Start towards your financial success, financial goals with Chime Secure Credit Card. Man, tap in. Make some noise for Chime one time. We're bringing this out here. So, and y'all know we gotta read these acclaimers and make sure y'all don't get no troubles with them. Listen, the Chime credit card builder is Visa credit card

is issued by the bank corp and a or a Shroud bank in a spot be eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Chime credit account required to apply out of the network, ATM withdrawal. Y'all know them ATM fees get crazy. Yeah, check on those as well. Time it depends on submission of payment file.

Late payment may negatively impact your credit score. Results may vary. Go to chime.com slash disclosures for a full detailed one more time for Chime, man. Go pay the bills, man. Yeah, on the box, baby. Look, I got a question. What's the question, Doug?

Man, where'd your first name come from? Black Snow, bro. Oh, man, Black Snow. Where Black Snow come from? Black Snow, man, actually, I went to this hotel downtown, the W Hotel, I think it was downtown Houston. And I went to go see the spoken word. And it was this brother and his name was Black Snow.

And he did this awesome, awesome poem. And it was about Miss Jackson and her three boys. And I was so enthralled with this dude, man, because he totally captured me. And I said, man, one day I gotta bring Black Snow to the big stage, you know what I mean? So that's all it was. I was just paying homage to a brother who inspired me, man.

Oh, okay, love, bro. Hey, man, that's fire, Booker T. Orders. You was woke early on, big dog. Yeah. I also heard you was a drum major, too, man, in high school, bro. Yeah, man, I was a dancer. Big stepper.

I was a dancer, man. I never played sports or anything like that. And, uh, but I used to be, you know, part of a crew. We used to be called the Remote Controls. We was bad, bad. We was bad. That's crazy. Excuse me?

That's a hell of a name, too. Yeah, right. A hell of a name. That's when the remote control first came out. What year was it? Hold on, Book, what year was it? We ain't gonna even talk about that. What year was it?

Black Snow remote control crew, y'all got some names on y'all on this one. No, man, you know, but yeah, I was a Trump major in school, man. I was kind of like a nerd. I used to make my own clothes and stuff like that, you know, but kind of like scoped to be into the person I am today though. Oh, okay.

That's where the Spinneroonie come from. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was break dancing on my auntie's front porch, man. We had to cardboard box, man. It used to be cold out there. I remember, that's what I remember most about, you know, the Spinneroni, those cold, cold nights, you know, working, trying to figure it out on the patio

because we couldn't do it in the house, you know, on the patio, man. But, no, man, great memories. What music was y'all dancing to? Craftwork, man. Craftwork, Numbers. Okay. That's this song called Numbers

was one of the hottest songs back in the day. This group called Craftwork, I think they was from Japan, and Bad, Bad, man. So if y'all ever get a chance, check out some Craftwork. You millennials. You millennials. All right. Listen, we got a lot of questions about your origins.

But I think for B-Hand, Myself and T, and probably the fans as well, we have one question that we got to start off with. Come on, man. Hulk Hogan. We coming for you. Man, what happened right there? Iconic moment in wrestling history.

What happened right there, man? Hey, man. I'm from the neighborhood. I'm from the neighborhood. And that's a word that, you know, just to educate, just to educate everybody, that's a word in my neighborhood that was used on a regular basis. But I can tell you, other than that one moment, that's the only time that any of my peers has ever

heard me say that word. And the reason why I feel like that was perhaps the most memorable moment in my career from a negative standpoint, because I got so many young black kids looking up to me. And if they see Booker T, they say if Booker T can say that word, it's cool for them to say it. And my thing is with young black kids,

I always try to teach them that you gotta know how to change your levels. You know what I mean? When you go in for a job interview, you got to know how to conduct yourself. When you're on television in front of millions of people, you got to know how to conduct yourself. And for me, that word, I feel like should be eradicated from all of our

our vocabularies as black folk, because we are the only ones that look at ourselves and look down on ourselves. That's why I feel like that moment for me was one of the worst moments in my career, because so many young black kids, as well as white kids, Mexican kids, bad bunny, bad bunny. Uh, you know, as a kid, looked up to Booker T.

So I just want to make sure I represent properly. Most definitely. Now it's interesting that you say that because, you know what I'm saying, a lot of us love that moment. Obviously just because we've all been there from a mental standpoint, just seeing it happen is like that. But then we look at other situations like with Kirk Angle

and saying his preferred choice of a name, saying, I know you guys revere that, but that's something that hurts me. So for here, you said it was like, you know, yeah, you guys love that, but that's like not one of my So for here, you said it was like, you know, yeah, you guys love that, but that's like not one of my proudest moments. That's just an interesting perspective from that situation for sure.

I mean, like I say, I'm from the neighborhood. Yes, sir. But like I say, I wouldn't have made it this far in this business. 35 years, guys. Make some noise for that, 35. I know I still look like I'm in my 30s. I get it.

He only 35. It's the hair color. I'm 35. You've been in the business since I was a kid. Exactly my point. But you don't make it that far by osmosis. You don't make it that far by slipping on a banana peel. I mean, preparation is the only luck

you're going to have in life, let alone this business. No, for sure. But we gotta take it back. So I'm a fan fan. I've always watched wrestling since I was a little kid, and I remember you back in the WCW days. And I fell in love with you with Harlem Heat and Stevie Ray. You and your brother, y'all came out with that theme song and that music,

and like you said, as a young black kid, I seen y'all on TV and I'm like, oh shit, like, they wrestle? Like, that moment right there made me fall in love with wrestling, so when they said we had Booker T on the show, I'm like, nah, I was fanned out. And they make fun of me because I lift weights and he called me Booker T.

Here and there. That's why. Nah, man, representation, man, is very, very important. You know, when I was coming up, I got a chance to watch J.Y.D., the junkyard dog. He was my guy that I looked at and say, man, I want to be like that dude, man. I want to represent like that dude. And for me and my brother, we got that chance. You know, we say, let's just get our foot in the door.

That's the only thing we need. Just let us get our foot in the door. That's the only thing we need. Just let us get our foot in the door and we'll do the rest. And man, we had a hell of a run. 10 time WCW Tag Team Champions, along with our sister, Sherri Martell. Man, we beat the hell out of Buff Bagwell and the Patriots. The nasty boys, the Steiner's. We beat the hell out of all those guys, man.

And it felt damn good being able to go out there and put ourselves in position where young people like yourself was watching us, but so many others around the world to inspire, to be able to inspire, to be able to be the best that you possibly could be in this world, man. But nah, I appreciate that. Did you introduce your brother to wrestling or?

No, no, my brother introduced me to wrestling, actually. I had came home, everybody know my story. I came home from prison, but my brother, he always wanted to be a wrestler. And he knew this guy opening a wrestling school, a guy by the name of Ivan Pusky, who was a WWE Hall of Famer as well. And he was like, hey man,

you wanna go to this wrestling school? And I was like, man, I love to, but it was $3,000 and I didn't have the money to go to the school and my boss that I was working for sponsored me to go to the school. And my brother and I, we went at the same time, but I always say that I'm living my brother's dream. This is something my brother wanted to do.

And then my brother had a tryout and I just followed my brother to the tryout. And one of the guys by the name of Hot Stuff, Eddie Gilbert was there and he said, who's this guy? And he goes, that's my brother. Is he a worker? He goes, yes, but we're looking for a tag team. Boom, there it is.

The beginning of the Ebony experience, which came out later on to become the Harlem Heat. Yeah, man, great time, yeah. From the play of games all the way to the finals, now is the time to back your favorite players and teams as they chase score. Ready to play your first bet? Download DraftKings Sportsbook app now. Locking your bets, let's make this playoff run the best one yet.

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For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng.co.slash audio. The 40s and Free Agents podcast with Daniel Jeremiah and Greg Rosenthal has prepared you for the 2025 NFL draft. We've told you what last year's playoff teams need to return to the postseason and how teams with new coaches should approach the draft. So as draft season comes to a close, we've got you covered before your favorite team

goes on the clock. We'll break it all down once all 257 picks have been made. Listen to the 40s and free agents podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is season two of the World on Drugs podcast.

Yes sir, we are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette, MMA fighter Liz Karamouche.

What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs Podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcast. I'm Israel Gutierrez and I'm hosting a new podcast, Dub Dynasty, the story of how the Golden State Warriors have dominated the NBA for over a decade. The Golden State Warriors once again are NBA champions. From the building of the core that included Klay Thompson and Draymond Green to one of the boldest coaching decisions in the history of the core that included Clay Thompson and Draymond Green, to one of the boldest coaching decisions in the history of the sport. I just felt like the biggest thing was to earn the trust of the players and let the players know that we were here to try to help them take the next step, not tear anything

down. Today, the Warriors dynasty remains alive, in large part because of a scrawny 6'2 Hooper who everyone seems to love. For what Steph has done for the game, he's certainly on that Mount Russmore for guys that have changed it. Come revisit this magical Warriors ride. This is Dubb Dynasty.

The Dubb's Dynasty is still very much alive. Listen to Dubb Dynasty on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. My name is Brendan Patrick Hughes, host of Divine Intervention. This is a story about radical nuns in combat boots and wild haired priests trading blows with J. Edgar Hoover in a hell bent effort to sabotage a war. J. Edgarj was furious somebody violated the FBI and he wanted to bring the Catholic left to its knees.

The FBI went around to all their neighbors and said to them, do you think these people are good Americans? It's got heists, tragedy, a trial of the century, and the god-damnedest love story you've ever heard. I picked up the phone and my thought was this is the most important phone call I'll ever make in my life. I couldn't believe it.

I mean, Brendan, it was divine intervention. Listen to Divine Intervention on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, man? You gotta know their first name though. What? Ebony. Ebony Experience, man. The what?

The Ebony Experience. Bad, man. Booker T and Stevie Ray. The Ebony Experience. That's just like the remote controls, man. That's elevated. Now, you know why we would say the Ebony Experience? It was this black wrestler back in the day.

He used to wear a mask and his name was Mr. Ebony. And he used to get his ass whooped every time. We say, we gonna represent for Mr. Amity properly. And that became the Amity experience. All right, that's hard. Cause I got some kind of Hendrix experience back home so we wanted the same. All right, most definitely.

It might be two different programs though. Definitely two different. Word. Most definitely. Listen man, so many questions about historic career. I know we talked about this. When you kind of had first transition over from WCW to WWE now you were part of one of the most historic matches.

And we see a lot of these people on Instagram now, they doing like the independent wrestling type situation where they out in the airport with it, they out in the streets with it, but y'all was one of the first to go to the supermarket with it. Please talk to about that historic bad situation, man. Nah, man, the grocery store fight with Steve Austin,

you know, it was an iconic moment. I never imagined it, you know, weathering the storm and, you know, lasting more than 20 years. I never imagined that or anything. Steve and I, we were just going out and creating work, creating some magic and doing what we do best. And that's entertain the fans. At that point in time, that was called the payoff,

which it was time for me to put Steve Austin in the proper position. And for me to do it to the best of my ability. I watched that video literally six months ago for the first time. All right? Six months ago, the first time I watched it, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Booker T.

in the grocery store. And I swear to God, I cried real tears from the beginning of it to the end because it was that damn funny. I did some of my best work because I was crying, I was begging, I was bargaining, I was pleading. I was doing everything to get out of that ass whooping. But at the end of it, man,

it was some really, really beautiful work and one of WWE's most iconic moments to where they play it every year around this time. Right. I know we skipped over to WWE, but I like to take it back to WCW when you actually won the championship. And I know it was in a controversial way with Vince Russo and Hulk Hogan when they did what they did, but Jeff Jarrett came out and laid down, but then you fought later that night and won a championship.

Like, what was that moment for you? You know, that night when I won the championship, you know, the stuff went down with Hulk Hogan and Vince Russo, I really feel like if that wouldn't have happened, my championship win wouldn't have been as big. I think I've really needed all of that chaos in order for people to really understand

what was really, really going on when I finally won the championship. But it was a great moment. It was a great moment. I had about literally five to 10 minutes to prepare for winning the World Heavyweight Championship my first time. And, but I think Jeff Jarrett, more than anything, I think Jeff Jarrett because man, he was such a professional and he went out there and made me feel so comfortable.

It put me in the perfect position to go out there and become the World Heavyweight Champion for the first time. If it wasn't for Jeff Jarrett, I don't know if it would have ever happened. So I really thank that dude, man. But what was going through my mind was, I tell you, it was a surreal moment. Because winning the World Heavyweight Championship was a moment that I never thought about. I never put myself in that position. I always just want to be the best damn wrestler in that locker room. I always used to tell the guys go follow that. You know what I mean? I'm top five in the world. That's

what I used to say. And then when it came time for me to actually win it, I questioned myself because I wondered if the fans would actually take you know, take me being in that position as world heavyweight champion. And I remember winning that night and I went to my hotel room and I sat on the edge of my bed for, I don't know, maybe an hour. And I didn't even go out and I didn't party or anything. I didn't have one drink that night. And I went to sleep and I woke up the next morning. I had TV drink that night and I went to sleep and I woke up the next morning and I had TV for Nitro.

And man, I realized everybody had partied for me that night. Everybody was so freaking glad I won the World Everyway Championship. And man, that really put a stamp of approval on that moment for me. It really did. For sure. You talk about it being one of the most celebrated wrestlers

around, not even from the fans who obviously love you, but from your peers. Because what people don't know is that's a grind. If you could, could you tell us what a day in the life as a professional wrestler is like? You know, well, actually it's a grind. A day is really hard to explain. Maybe say years.

I never like throughout my whole wrestling career, every time I was watching football on Sunday, it was in an arena. It was never at home. All right. So I was on the road constantly. football on Sunday, it was in an arena. It was never at home. All right, so I was on the road constantly. I remember when I joined and signed with WWE, I used to have a boat in WCW and I used to go on my boat every weekend, I'd be out fishing, hanging out,

drinking a beer, having fun. Then I signed with WWE and I worked, grind, grind. And one day I went to go fishing on my boat, all right? So I had to go get a new sticker put on my boat. And I realized it was 2005, four years later. That's how much I had been working. I hadn't been out on my boat in four years. So it's a grind, it's a constant grind.

You gotta have blinders on. It's one of those, when you hear no days off, that's a true statement. I remember watching the documentary with Jake The Snake Roberts, Beyond The Mat. And he said, you know, when you signed that WWE contract, with Jake the Snake Roberts, Beyond the Mat. And he said, you know, when you signed that WWE contract, he was talking to his daughter,

he said, when you signed that WWE contract, baby, you are obligated to work every day. That's the grind. So for me, I never took any vacations or anything like that throughout my career. My wife and I, we got married. I didn't take a honeymoon. All of that stuff came later. It was all about getting through this thing, finishing it properly, and getting to the other side, and then enjoying the fruits of

the labor like I'm doing right now. I'm living my best life. Just turned 60. Happy birthday. And I feel good. Happy belated turned 60 and I feel good. Happy birthday, bro. Happy birthday, looking good, brother, looking good. That's something you can relate to, Jeff. Obviously, with being a professional athlete, you know what I'm saying? Y'all schedules are so crazy.

People don't understand the sacrifice that goes into that for your craft. Yeah, you definitely sacrifice a lot, especially your family time, but it's nowhere near being a wrestler. I mean, like you said, it's every single day. We get almost five to six months off in the summer to have that time to spend with your family

and stuff like that. But for him to do it all year around, and for the fans, we are really appreciated because we're fans, we love it. But man, that's unbelievable. No way in hell I could do it. Well, it's about bandaging down that time too, because it's not a matter of if you're

going to get hurt. It's just a matter of when. So for me, I always thought about working a certain way on the house show, working a certain way on TV overseas, you know what I mean? Pay-per-view. Everything was different. Structuring, the workouts, like on the road I would just do pushups and the rubber bed, a lot of baby oil.

No diddy. No diddy, no diddy, man. Go on now. Go on, Booker T. No diddy. Hey, why y'all climbing for baby oil? Y'all out of pockets. My fault, my fault. No, no.

My fault, too. No doubt. What hobbies you got now that you're in the business? I'm a big fan of the hip hop scene. I'm a big fan of the hip hop scene. I'm a big fan of the hip hop scene. I'm a big fan of the hip hop scene. I'm a big fan of the hip hop scene. I'm a big fan of the hip hop scene. I'm a big fan of the hip hop scene. I'm a big fan of the hip hop scene. I'm a big fan of the hip hop scene. No doubt. What hobbies you got now though post retirement, man? What you pick up, what you doing like to, you know,

entertain yourself now? Like what you got? Retirement. Retirement? He talking about retirement. He talking about retirement. I'm talking about from the ring though. I'm sure you got a little bit more down.

I just had a match like two months ago. I just beat the hell out of Zillefar too. I'm talking about the way I got into the ring. I'm talking about the way I got into the ring. I'm talking about the way I got into the retiring? I'm talking about from the ring though. I'm sure you got a little bit more down. I just had a match like two months ago. I just beat the hell out of Zell-A-Far II, the next big star coming up in this business. So are you wrestling for?

Nah, I'm busy with my wrestling school, Reality of Wrestling. If you guys haven't tapped in to Reality of Wrestling, make sure you subscribe, you know what I mean? You know, click, you know, all that stuff. We're trying to get up to a million YouTube subscribers right now, we're at 850,000 subscribers now. But I'm working with my own television show,

working with my students, I've had my school now for 20 years. Wow, congratulations. I love playing golf, you know what I mean? Getting out on the golf course, you know, hitting the links, you know, just to, you know, I mean? Getting out on the golf course, hitting the links, just to stay stress-free more than anything. Staying in the gym, that's one of my all-time hobbies that I hope to have as long as I live.

I ask God, just give me my help more than anything. I don't ask for money. Man, make the money, you know what I mean? Just give me my help and I'll get the work done. I ask God, you know, just let me finish my work, you know, and then we'll meet in the middle. You know what I mean? So, but now, man, I'm all about, you know, retirement is not something I think about. You know, when I retire, I think I'll be six feet under. It's about, you know, staying, staying on the grind. It's about what's next. It's not about the past.

You know what I mean? It's truly about the future and what's next. You know, so I'm thinking about my 10 year plan, man. I'm working on my 10 year plan. What's going to happen over these next 10 years? What can I create over these next 10 years? More than anything. Now who does Booker T model his golf game after?

Probably, definitely not a Tiger Woods or anything like that. I'm way down here. If it's Tiger and Charles Barkley, I would say Charles. I would say Charles Barkley. Hang that for now. I'm in the middle. I'm in the middle. I'm in the middle somewhere. I would say it's Charles the Tiger.

I'm in the middle. I wanted to ask, like I said, I'm a huge fan. Your first WrestleMania moment, when you came over from WCW, you had your chance to be at WrestleMania. We here, WrestleMania weekend. What was your first moment like?

Man, it was it was surreal. Being in Canada, yeah, going to get his edge. I remember walking out the curtain and I remember before I walked out the curtain, I remember Undertaker, he was sitting in what we call the gorilla position. He said, make sure you take it all in. I really didn't think about that before he said that. And then I walked out on stage and I stopped and I just looked around. There was like 70,000 people. And I was like, wow, man, this is freaking, this is awesome. Because you got gotta think about it, 70,000 people coming to see that 20 by 20 square foot. That's it, that's it.

You know what I mean? It's not a football field or anything like that. It's 20 by 20. And for them to come to see you, the ones that had those sides up, you know what I mean? It's awesome. It's the most adrenaline rush you're ever going to have.

Nothing, nothing is ever going to top that moment. You know, so get that out of your head. What is all over with? Take it and savor that moment. And hopefully you'll get a few more of those moments. You know, for me, you know, I definitely got a chance to have many more of those WrestleMania moments. But for young people that's getting into this business that think about it and wonder about

it, I say, man, go out there and work your ass off to really make it happen, to have that WrestleMania moment at least just one time. Trust me, it's something you'll remember for the rest of your life. That's right, definitely. I ain't gonna lie, I'm still mad. I know you won a chip before here. You became champion one time, but at WrestleMania,

when you fought Triple H, you were so over. Like, you was supposed to be the champion that night. You know what? A lot of, so many people, a lot of office guys told me, man, you should have won that night. I thought you should have. You know what I mean? And with the angle, yeah,

perhaps I should have won that night. For sure. You know, but honestly, I never really, I never really lost any sleep over it or anything like that. I always looked at wrestling a certain way. I always looked at it as a performance. And I always say, guys, I always say, if they give me that damn check every time, I'll take the hell. Because that was a monster check, man.

You feel me? Yeah. He took the sunglasses off that trip. But I need that chicken. Run that bag for sure. I feel that. I definitely feel that. All right, but you did win the championship.

No, but I tell you what. I left everything in the room. I was like, I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home.

I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going to go home. I'm going that. Alright, but you did win a championship. No, but I tell you what, I left everything in the ring that night. No, you did. I went out and performed my ass off. I didn't win, but I still won. I still won. Because I'm a kid. I'm a kid from South Park, Texas, who dropped out of school in the 10th grade,

who went to prison, all right, got locked up, came out and found myself in the main event of WrestleMania. All right? Damn it. That's a win. That's a win. Any way you look at it, that's a win. Nah, for sure.

That's definitely a win. But you did win a championship and you won it in my hometown, Indianapolis, Indiana. I happened to be watching, but I was sick. I couldn't be there, but shout out to Chyme. I'm able to be at WrestleMania now, but I was mad I couldn't be there for the Great American Bash, but I'm glad you won that championship.

We was overdue for us, WW fans, Booker T fans. I was excited. Glad you had that moment. What was that like? You said, you just said something earlier too. You said, when I, when I, at WrestleMania 19 against Hunter, you said I was over. Yeah. I should have won.

Yeah. It was shit. In 2006, I was way more over than ever. King Booker. King Booker. Yeah. I mean, come on. I mean, the greatest king of them all. The most revered king of them all. You know what, man?

That was like some of the best time, the best time in my wrestling career with my lovely queen, Charmelle, at my side where she actually won Miss Black America in Indianapolis, Indiana as well. That was a moment for us, man. Ray Mysterio, I give him big props, man, because what a worker, what a worker, man.

I couldn't have did it without him. But that moment, that was my crowning moment. That was the moment for me that really put the icing on the cake as far as my career goes. You know. The 40s and free agents podcast with Daniel Jeremiah and Greg Rosenthal has prepared you for the 2025 NFL draft. We've told you what last year's playoff teams need to return to the postseason and how teams with new coaches should approach the draft.

So as draft season comes to a close, we've got you covered before your favorite team goes on the clock. We'll break it all down once all 257 picks have been made. Listen to the 40s and free agents podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod.

And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug van is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette, MMA fighter Liz Caramouche. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things.

Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast. And to hear episodes one week early

and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcast. I'm Israel Gutierrez, and I'm hosting a new podcast, Dub Dynasty, the story of how the Golden State Warriors have dominated the NBA for over a decade. The Golden State Warriors once again are NBA champions. From the building of the core that included Klay Thompson and Draymond Green to one of the boldest coaching decisions in the history of the sport.

I just felt like the biggest thing was to earn the trust of the players and let the players know that we were here to try to help them take the next step not tear anything down. Today the the Warriors dynasty remains alive, in large part because of a scrawny six foot two hooper who everyone seems to love. For what Steph has done for the game, he's certainly on that like Mount Russmore for guys that have changed it.

Come revisit this magical Warriors ride. This is Dubb dynasty. The Dubb's dynasty is still very much alive. Listen to Dubb Dynasty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. My name is Brendan Patrick Hughes, host of Divine Intervention. This is a story about radical nuns in combat boots and wild haired priests trading blows with J. Edgar Hoover in a hell bent effort to sabotage a war. J. Edgar Hoover was furious.

Somebody violated the FBI and he wanted to bring the Catholic left to its knees. The FBI went around to all their neighbors and said to them, do you think these people are good Americans? I went around to all their neighbors and said to them, do you think these people are good Americans? It's got heists, tragedy, a trial of the century, and the god damnest love story you've ever heard. I picked up the phone and my thought was, this is the most important phone call I'll ever make in my life.

I couldn't believe it. I mean, Brendan, it was divine intervention. Listen to Divine Intervention on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I don't know if you guys know the stats or anything like that, but out of the history and the annals of times as far as the King of the Ring Tournament, I'm the only king to ever win the heavyweight championship. I'm the only one. And that wasn't by accident or anything like that.

That was by design. I said, after King Booker, they're gonna have to break the damn mold because there'll never be another king like me ever again. And I proved that. I proved that. I proved that. I proved that. So, nah, man, it was a great time in my career.

I wouldn't change it for anything. Most definitely. I want to ask you this question because, you know, as a fan, we see everybody about to come out. First thing we do, we hear that music. How did you settle on your theme music? Because we all know, obviously, when you came out, you know what I'm saying, we got the flares going,

everybody geeked about it. What's that moment you were just like, nah, this is it. This is what I'm about to pull up to work every day with. I remember back in 91, late 91, when they first, oh, daddy is right there too. When they first approached us with this sound right here, it was just out of an abundance of music that we just had to pick from.

And soon as we heard it, man, I was like, man, that's it. That's the soul. Just because I wouldn't, it's very, very important as far as the music you have, your name, like such as Booker T and Stevie Ray, championship names, championship names. We wanted championship music as well. And I wanted everybody, all of the fans

to have an experience when they heard that music. And that music was so unique. It wasn't rap, you know what I mean? It had its own feel, its own flavor. And when you heard it, you go, oh man, here come the boys and they about to come out here and do some work. You know, so now, man, that music,

still to this day, man, it hypes me up, man. My wife got that on her phone. So I gotta hear it every day, you know, but it's awesome, it really is. That's why I say every time you call wifey, that's what you hear. That's tight. But what was it? You dig it, sucker! That's why I say every time you call YP, that's what you hear. That's tight. That's tight. But what was it like?

You didn't get sucked up. That's the only thing I hear in my house. What was it like though when you changed and when you came King Booker? Well, no, the royal music, it was majestic, man. I couldn't even call myself Booker T. I had to be King Booker. You know, it had to be royal. It had to be majestic.

When I became King Booker, I had to believe it. I had to believe it at 100%. I had to believe that somebody hit me on the head. I had amnesia and really woke up believing that I was a king. For two years, for two years, after I was King Booker, I could go to a restaurant and I would never pay for a meal. I would never pay for a drink because somebody would say, King Booker,

please let me get that for you. Every time, I still to this day. I'm about to change my name. Right, that's far. That's far. You know, so, nah man, it was so cool playing that role. Plus, I was thinking about Hollywood at that time, and I was thinking about, man, some director,

some producer, they gotta be watching this. They gotta be seeing it. Oh man, you know, this is some great work. You know, so, nah. What's your most memorable moment in the ring with your brother? Man, most memorable moment with my brother, along with sister Sherry,

would be Sturgis, South Dakota, hog wild against the Steiner brothers. And the reason why, we was the only black guys in Sturgis, South Dakota. It was crazy. It was the stupidest thing in the world. I kept asking myself, how did I get here? It was like freaking being in the Wizard of Oz.

I'm serious. It was that crazy. Because like I said, we was the only brothers there who was going against the Steiner brothers and circled around the ring. Everybody was on motorcycles. And they rode out on their Harley's. And we beat the hell out the Steiner brothers. We almost started a riot, man.

They started throwing rocks at us, man. And everything, security had to get us out of there. I remember telling the fans, I can say, it was nothing but bikers. And I remember getting the microphone and I said, listen, I don't like rednecks. You people are rednecks. Oh, man.

Booker, you out of pocket. You out of pocket. Well, you was asking for it, Booker. Man, what? I had to act tough. I tried. I tried. Just to see if it would work.

I swear to God. I swear to God. I don't know what I was thinking. I really don't. But it worked. Got those guys. They were so riled up, man. It made that match so freaking awesome.

Just getting out of there was the problem. I can't imagine. The real match happened after the match. For sure. I'm sure they didn't pick up the tag in here. Now I want to ask you this question, obviously, with the wonderful progression. Listen, we live in WWE world.

What's it like as you see the progression with the company and then you start seeing yourself getting branded so many different places, especially like with video games. I know for all of us going up playing video games, like it's some classic wrestling games. What's that like when you were part of that now? Cause now you got a whole different market. No, man, it's awesome.

You know, seeing how far we've come, especially from a video game perspective. You know, I was, I read it to a guy last night. He was like, man, I used to play you in a video game, man, you know, what not with you. It was just so cool seeing that. I just got an email just last week, you know, about perhaps being a voice, you know,

from a commentating perspective. So, never in a million years, just like from an action figure. You know what I mean? I remember my first action figure, it was like a cutout, you know, just like a plastic cutout, you know what I mean? I remember my first action figure, it was like a cutout, just like a plastic cutout. I thought it was so freaking awesome. They had something like that. And now I got maybe 40 action figures,

40 different action figures. So, nah man, to see the progression of WWE, just from a talent perspective, it's been like so freaking awesome. For me having a handed, you know, working with a lot of that talent and, you know, trying to put a little bit of light like on trick Williams, you know, working with trick Williams, like, you know, get a little beat, you know, you know, ad libs, you know, when he come out,

you know, to add a little bit, you know, Stefan of Acura, she's doing so awesome. I put a little ad libs on some of her stuff, but now seeing the growth, man, of these young guys and the talent, it's been awesome. Especially in NXT with Shawn Michaels and his team work with that next generation of stars. Man, I'm so living my best life right now because I think teaching is like my wheelhouse, coaching is like my wheelhouse.

I love being able to work with the young guys and try to get their full potential out of them. You know what I mean? So for me, man, awesome, awesome time right now. Wouldn't change for anything. Most definitely, especially when you talk about the RLW work, like you say, using all your experience and being able to pour it back into the next generation,

it's definitely dope to see. Cause like, you got a lot of people who get older in the situation, they're like, man, I don't care. You can tell your energy's really still there for those people. You know what? When I started my wrestling school 20 years ago, I wouldn't hire nothing but young kids.

I'm the oldest guy on my crew by design, because they give me a lot of energy. I got a lot of young kids, and just say for instance, you get some bad apples, some old head in there. They wanna tell some stories from back in the day that's just bitter from the bitch that's the way it treated them.

We create new stories. This is a different journey. This is the way you guys are gonna remember it. So for me, having a part in that is so freaking awesome. My right hand man at Reality of Wrestling started with me when he was 18 years old. And now he runs Reality of Wrestling. My partner, Brad Gilmore, on my Hall of Fame show, my podcast, started with me when he was 18 years old.

Now he's 33 years old, a grown man, you know, graduated from college, you know what I mean? These guys are gonna take over reality of wrestling one day. You know, long after I'm gone, reality of wrestling is still gonna be here, all due to the way, you know, we've created it. You know, the young guy gonna learn from this guy and he's going

to keep passing it on and keep passing it on and forevermore reality of wrestling is going to be a staple here, hopefully, on this earth. Just because, man, for me, it's all about the young guys. I've had my, I've had my time to shine. And the thing is, I'm still having fun. I'm still having fun. One of my kids, he went to Japan last year. It was his first trip to Japan and I was able to help facilitate that. And just to think from my perspective, man, he's going to be running

around Roppongi. You know what I mean? He's going to be at the Kyo Plaza. He's going to go to the Hard Rock. You know what I mean? He's gonna get on that bus and go around just like I did. And see the same things I did back, this life don't stop, man. It don't stop, it keeps going. And for me to be able to, you know, pass it on, man, it's awesome. You know what's so dope about this?

Cause like even now we got my man B.Hen, he now tapping into the wrestling scene heavy. Man, when he saw you with Sexy Red, man. Oh man, that's what got my man B.H. and he now tapping into the wrestling scene heavy. Man, when he saw you with sexy red, man. Oh man. That's what got me back into it. I had sent it to Jeff. I'm like, nah, he got sexy after Booker clowning. That's why I thought you retired.

I thought you was done. After Fuga was sexy. How was that, man? Oh man, I'm telling you man. I told my wife, I'm just acting. I said, that's my boy right there. Like I literally called Jeff Booker T all the time, bro. So to see you do that, bro,

that really turned me up for real. That showed me that you still tapped into the youth. Oh man, if you don't know how to change with the times, the times will truly pass you by. You know what I mean? So for me, it's all about, will truly pass you by. You know what I mean? So for me, it's all about,

I quoted little baby last week. What'd you say? I don't call myself a goat. I leave that up to the people. That's a bar. That is a bar. That's a bar, bro. That's a bar, bro.

I'm scared because he got a lot of lyrics. I don't know if you can repeat. No, my boy, he was like, you just quoted little baby. Yeah, that's hard, man. That's hard. And I know the kids that you're around and the youth appreciate that though,

that you can still be relatable to them too. You know why, man? It ain't about me. It really is. I swear, I love what I do. I love who I am. I love everything about what's going on, but it ain't about me, man. I've had my time, you know,

and for me to see the young guys doing it, but for me to still be here, I did not expect to still be doing this 35 years later. I did, I thought, you know, 15 years ago, this thing would have been over with and I would have been doing something else. But for some reason, I'm still here. God put me in this position for some reason.

And I'm gonna just keep doing it and I'm gonna keep doing it to the best of my ability. But it's just like working the NXT with Vic Joseph. Yeah. Vic Joseph, I'm his right hand man. I'm his co-pilot. He's the guy that's running the whole board, you know what I mean? And I'm gonna try to make that dude look as best as I possibly can.

That's my job. You know what I mean? And I appreciate the young guys, man, that know, you know, why I'm here, know what I'm doing and know that I'm here for them 100 percent. Know that they could come to me for anything. I'm going to be there for them. So, nah, man. I can say this is a great time in my life. Seriously, I wouldn't change it for nothing. No, I'm tapped in, but I've been watching LFG. Yeah, yeah. Legends of Future Greats.

It's a heck of a show. But like you said, you tapped in with the U-Pim. You know, seeing you on that show and how you relate to the wrestlers and how the guys really embrace you, you could tell that you was meant for this. You know what? Those shows, man, I love doing LFG. I'm meant, I'm perfect for shows like that.

Working with Bubba Ray, working with Mickey James, Undertaker, it's been really, really cool. But being able to tap into the young guys and really get into their head to let them understand what this thing is about, how big this opportunity really, really is. And an opportunity like this don't come around too often. It's few and far between. So take it as serious as you possibly can. Look at this like it's a job. Like you waking up in the morning and you go and do your nine to five because if you're not looking at it like that,

you slip it. You know what I mean? Because, you know, if you're not preparing, trust me, somebody else is preparing a little bit harder than you. You know, so for me to really tap in on screen as well as off screen, you know, because those guys, they call me. You know, we do film study, you know, when nobody's around, you know, because those guys, they call me, you know, we do film study, you know, when nobody's around, you know, because I'm about winning, you know what I mean?

I want my team to win at the end of the day, you know what I mean? So nah, man, LFG is something that has been, you know, so awesome to be a part of, and I can't wait to season two. Most definitely. Listen, Booker, we appreciate your time, and make some noise, Booker T one more time.

Five times, baby. Five times. Listen, we appreciate y'all for coming out. Shout out to Chyne for making this wonderful event happen. It's Club 520, we'll see y'all next time. Yeah. The Volume. The Volume.

The 40s and Free Agents podcast with Daniel Jeremiah and Greg Rosenthal has prepared you for the 2025 NFL draft. We've told you what last year's playoff teams need to return to the postseason and how teams with new coaches should approach the draft. So as draft season comes to a close, we've got you covered before your favorite team goes on the clock. We'll break it all down once all 257 picks have been made. Listen to the 40s and free agents podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war this year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We met them at their homes.

We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

I'm ready to fight. Oh, this is fighting words. Okay. I'll put the hammer back. Hi, I'm George M. Johnson, a bestselling author with the second most banned book in America. Now more than ever, we need to use our voices to fight back. Part of the power of black queer creativity is the fact that we got us, you know?

We are the greatest culture makers in world history. Listen to Fighting Words on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Israel Gutierrez and I'm hosting a new podcast, Dub Dynasty, the story of how the Golden State Warriors have dominated the NBA for over a decade. The Golden State Warriors once again are NBA champions. Today the Warriors dynasty remains alive in large part because of a scrawny six foot two Hooper who everyone seems to love. For what Steph has done for the game, he's certainly on that Mount Rushmore.

Come revisit this magical Warriors ride. Listen to Dub Dynasty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.