Booker T weighs in on AEW being back on TNT.
Having been part of WCW during the Monday Night Wars, Booker T knows what it's like wrestling on TNT. And he believes it will lead to everyone stepping up their game. On a recent episode of his Hall of Fame radio show, Booker gave his thoughts on All Elite Wrestling landing a deal with TNT and why he thinks wrestling and the wrestlers will benefit from the deal.
"It’s not something (TNT) are unfamiliar with. They know exactly what they are going to get out of professional wrestling. They don’t know exactly what they’re going to get out of this product, but they are willing to move into this venture with AEW and see if it’s something that can bring something totally new and something fresh to the table. That’s the thing right there. So many people out there, they want to see exactly what’s going on. I’ve been listening to a lot of talking, saying 'wrestling is back.' If that’s the case man, it’s going to step up everyone’s game," stated Booker. "Everyone is going to have to start thinking in a different direction. Of course, it’s always going to be sports entertainment. But for me personally, I always thought man, at the end of the day, the payoff was always going out there and giving it to these guys right in the middle of that squared circle. Giving these guys a moment that they are going to remember for the rest of their lives. I’m talking about a moment that is frozen in time because it was something they had never seen before in their lives. That’s what wrestling always was and hopefully, that’s what wrestling always will be. Hopefully, the bar will be raised in the weeks and months to come."
Booker expanded on his thoughts on why he believes the wrestlers will go the extra mile to get themselves over on television.
"It’s not a competition or anything like that. But from a wrestling perspective, I know when I was in WCW and I was watching WWE, I knew when I was watching it, I wanted to be better than those guys. I wanted to know if I could compete with those guys. I wanted to know exactly how good I was. That’s where we are right now," he said. "We’re at that stage where the guys are really going to have to think totally different as far as 'how do I go out there and make the fans cheer my name, how do I make the fans think of me as an entity, as someone that they’re going to be bringing the signs for? How do I tap into that?' The 'this is awesome' chant is gonna go out the window. Wrestling’s back. The war is on, and I’m looking forward to seeing exactly what happens, man."
You can listen to the entire clip with Booker T in the video above.
