During the most recent episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T spoke on how he became a commentator in WWE, working in NXTO and coming to WWE from WCW.
On how he got the job to be a commentator in WWE:
“This thing goes back to WCW. It’s just one of those things where every time we were on the road overseas, I was the commentator in the back for the boys, in front of the monitor. I just would be having fun, and I would give guys different names; I would name their moves totally different names. I would just be way over the top with it, so it was just something I did to pass time, and the boys liked it. When you’re out on the road, you got to figure out a way to pass time more than anything…when I came to WWE, same thing. I was on the road, doing commentary on the road…When I was wrapping my career up, Michael Cole, he came to me and he was like, ‘How would you like to start doing commentary and get on the commentary team?’ What are you talking about? I can’t do that, and he was like, ‘I think you could do it.’ I love Michael Cole. He’s always been my biggest supporter. I wouldn’t be doing commentary if it wasn’t for Michael Cole putting me on the team and trusting me for some damn reason. I would screw up so many times. One day on television I go, ‘I want to see a f—–g fight.’ I’m like, what the hell? I didn’t mean for that to come out. Cole goes, ‘What did you just say?’ I go, What did I just say? I didn’t even realize I said it. And the thing is, I knew I would be screwing up. But he would still keep trusting me, I just didn’t understand it, and a lot of times I was like I just know they’re gonna take me off the team sooner or later. Sooner or later, that day came for me. I was doing SmackDown, I was doing Raw, and then they came to me one day and they go ‘Book, we’re gonna take you off commentary, but we’re gonna leave you on the kickoff show. It’s nothing wrong or anything like that.’ I go guys, I was gonna come talk to you guys about it. I was so happy that day. Graves thought I was crazy because they took me off the team, and I was so happy because I just knew I wasn’t ready for that. I knew I wasn’t. Then they end up putting me back on again, and they end up taking me off again. But then the NXT gig [came along].”
On working commentary in NXT:
“You know what? I always tell the story of when I was doing commentary my first time around under the Vince regime, and he came into my ear and he goes, ‘Hey, Book, say “much to his chagrin. Much to his chagrin.”‘ I go. ‘I’m from the hood.’ I didn’t even know what that meant. First of all, chagrin? I’m thinking about the chin area. I’m just saying, and I look at the camera, got those little cameras that’s looking at us. I knew if I said that, all my street cred would have been gone. So I couldn’t really be myself on Raw and SmackDown. But when I came to NXT, Shawn Michaels was just like, ‘Just be you. Whatever you want to do, just do it.’ I remember after the first night I did commentary in NXT, and I came back through the curtain. Shawn goes, ‘Man, I don’t know what you were saying, but I liked it.’ So I was like, Oh man, I love this. So being able to be down there in NXT, it’s so refreshing to be myself. But it’s really, really cool also because I used to be one of those kids, and I know about making mistakes. When I see them make mistakes, I can call it out. I can critique them from a certain disposition, as opposed to the guys on the main roster. I see the guys on the main roster making mistakes. It’s a little bit harder to critique them because they’re supposed to be pros. They’re supposed to have everything, but with the young guys, they’re still learning. So that’s why for me it’s so refreshing. As well as I get a chance to work with them hands-on. I’m a teacher at heart. I love teaching and explaining and trying to get you to understand. You know what chess is all about, because you just can’t run into a chess game and start moving pieces. You gotta really strategize if you want to be really, really good at chess.”
On how name for Stephanie Vaquer’s Devil Kiss came about:
“Again, the soundtrack. It’s one of those things to where if you got a talent that’s out there and they’re doing something, and it’s good but it doesn’t really have a soundtrack to it it’s not gonna have that same feel it’s not gonna have that same punch. I learned that when I was coming up because of Spinneroonie and Mark Madden. Spinneroonie wouldn’t have been the Spinneroonie. I give Mark Madden all the credit out of Pittsburgh, that was just so over the top when he saw it. ‘Spinneroonie!’ I’m like, what? What is that? I better do more of this. People start buying into it. I didn’t know the Spinneroonie was my signature. I didn’t know that until Mark Madden made it my signature. I was like, “Oh s–t! That’s my signature. And then, with Stephanie Vaquer, I said that move needs some sound for the people to actually get on board and really accent it. ‘Ah, ah, ah!’ So many people tried to give me grief about it, because they try to make it sound like, what is Booker T doing? I’m like, go along with the ride and let’s see where this thing goes, and then when the whole arena is doing it, and then the t-shirts come out and the merch, then let’s talk about it. So for me, everything I do, everything is all for the talent. It’s all for the young talent to get over.”
On coming to WWE from WCW:
“I always say you got to know how to make it in the locker room before you have a chance at making it in the ring. When I came into WWE, I had to get those guys to trust me, and I had to gain that trust. I had to keep my head down and do things a certain way, as far as let me show these guys how good I am, as well as hey, he’s not that bad of a guy. So they instantly gave me a chance. So I was put with the top guys, I think, for a reason too, just to see if these guys took to me, if they were gonna go back and take a report back and say, I don’t know about this guy. I always tell my students, everything is a test. Don’t think nothing isn’t a test in this business. I didn’t care what they threw at me back then. I knew I was gonna pass the test,. So I used to love working with Pat Patterson because he would give me a match, and he would say, ‘Go out and do it this way, gi-ging.’ Gi-ging, that’s where that come from. Yeah, this way, and then bing zip, ging, and it’s over with, and that was the match. And then I would go, I love it. So I didn’t care. Just give me the instructions, and I’m gonna go out here and deliver it, just like you just explained it to me gigi gigi gigi. I wanted to be able to fit in and fit in properly and gain those guys’ respect. I remember, I don’t know, maybe six months in, might even be sooner than that. I came in one day, and I was going to the locker room, and Undertaker say, ‘Hey, man, why don’t you come dress over here with us?’ I went dressed over there with those guys, and it was where the big guns dress, wasn’t a lot of guys, not a lot of baggage in there, you know. So, felt like I was in from that point.”
All quotes are courtesy of Insight with Chris Van Vliet.
Also during the interview, Booker talks on his feud with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, his debut in WCW during the Shockmaster fiasco and more!
You can watch the full interview below: