Shining the Spotlight 09.15.06: Booking Booker
Posted by Michael Weyer on 09.15.2006
A look at the ups and downs of the career of Booker T and how he's managed to rise above so many stupid angles to become a champion again. Plus, reader mail.
In wrestling today, a worker has to go through a lot of stupid gimmicks and/or angles to reach the top. Quite often, once you get to the top, you fade right back down with a few more stupid gimmicks to rub it in. But in some cases, a worker is able to go on despite all that, despite all the crap thrown at him, despite all the idiotic stuff he's made to do. And in some cases, that worker can even reach the top again.
A key example is Booker T. This is a man who has gone through some of the absolute stupidest, lamest, backward, moronic and at times downright insulting angles than a dozen workers do in their entire careers. And yet not only has he gotten through them but in some cases, he's actually made them work. That includes the "King Booker" idea that sounded bad but has instead allowed him to become World champion for the SIXTH TIME! SIXTH TIME! SIXTH TIME! SIXTH TIME! SIXTH TIME! SIXTH TIME!
Sorry, I just love hearing him say that…
My focus on Booker this week is to show that no matter what crap is hurled at you, if a worker has the right amount of talent and heat, he can rise above it all and continue on his winning ways. For that, if nothing else, Booker deserves plenty of respect. Now I need to point out that, as hard as it will be to believe, every single idea you read here was conceived by an otherwise rational, sane person who thought it would be good for the character.
From the very beginning of his career, Booker Huffman had to put up with backward booking. He and brother Lane had gotten attention as the Ebony Experience, the top tag team in the Global Wrestling Federation, winning the tag belts three times. When Global went under, the two managed to get hired by WCW who promptly gave them the worst gimmick imaginable. Named Kole and Kane, the Ghetto Blasters, the two were to come out to the ring in chains, led by Colonel Robert Parker, a thinner, more over the top Boss Hogg. Yes, that's right, 15 years ago, a Southern-based wrestling company was going to have two black men portrayed as slaves. Thankfully, the gimmick never hit TV as at their first appearances, the hatred of fans convinced WCW to change it. Quite frankly, Booker's career could really only go up from there.
Although both from Houston, the brothers decided to become Harlem Heat (Frankly, "Houston Heat" just doesn't have the same ring to it), taking their old names as Booker T and Stevie Ray. WCW hooked them up with Sheri Martel as "Sister Sherri" and before long, the Heat were the top team in WCW. From 1994 to 1996, they held the tag team titles seven times and had memorable feuds with the Nasty Boys and the Steiners. One feud was a bit goofy as they went against Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Bunk, managed by Col. Parker with the twist that Sherri started to stalk Parker romantically. Shortly after that, the Heat went on their own.
In 1998, when Ray was injured, Booker finally got the chance to take the spotlight many thought he would. He quickly proved he had been the key to the team by breaking out big time as a singles star and by June of that year had captured the TV title five times. He engaged in a wild match at Superbrawl VIII against Rick Martel and Perry Saturn to win the belt, a 40 minute match that was to be won by Martel but he suffered an injury and thus Booker and Saturn had to improvise the last half hour. He also had the classic best-of-seven series with Chris Benoit that was one of the best things in WCW that year. The two also traded the TV title at house shows, the belt changing hands five times in as many days. Of course, WCW would ruin it by not mentioning any of the title changes on TV, basically telling the people at those shows that "you don't matter" which hardly helped the company's image.
Booker was injured and forced to give up the belt although he'd win it back in March of 1999. Stevie Ray returned and despite his singles success, WCW decided to have Harlem Heat reunite. It wasn't too bad as they'd claim the tag titles three more times. However, in 2000, they'd have a falling out over joining the nWo and Stevie would actually get a lawyer to strip Booker of the "T" nickname in favor his Ray's new partner Big T (the former Ahmed Johnson and yes, these were grown men fighting over the use of a letter. It makes one wonder if Russo had some sort of beef with Sesame Street in his youth). As bad as that was, it was going to get worse.
As 2000 went on, Vince Russo came up with one of his biggest brainfarts (and with Russo in 2000, that's saying a lot). He had Booker take back the persona of G.I. Bro, a character he'd play in his early independent days. Booker would come down in army gear, give stupid promos and be put with the Misfits of Action, a comedy team. Thankfully, even the WCW braintrust realized this wasn't working and had Booker regain his old persona. Even better, after the infamous Hogan/Jarrett Bash at the Beach debacle, Booker was finally given his first World Championship, a great moment for the fans. His first reign was cut short by Kevin Nash but he regained it only to lose it to Russo himself in a cage match. Booker got it back in the incredibly stupid San Francisco 49'ers Box match against Jeff Jarrett. The rule (I swear I am not making this up) was that there were four boxes in the ring. One contained the belt, one a blow-up doll, one a photo of Scott Hall and the last a glove and whoever opened the right box would win the title. If anything could exemplify Russo's "belts are only props" mentality, this is it.
Booker would lose the belt once more but win the U.S. Title from Rick Steiner at the final Nitro broadcast. He would then defeat Scott Steiner later in the show to win both belts and thus have the (slightly dubious) honor of being the last WCW champion. When WWE began the Invasion angle, Booker was a prime player, attacking Austin at the King of the Ring tournament. On June 6th, 2001, he faced Buff Bagwell in a WCW title match on RAW. The match was intended to be a test to see how WCW would work on WWF programming. As pretty much everyone knows, it was a total disaster, the fans turning on it immediately and thus the plan to reestablish WCW was thrown out the window in favor of burying it via the Invasion.
Ironically, Booker would actually get the best part of the Invasion. During Russo's tenure, Booker began to exhibit traits that bore a suspicious resemblance to the Rock, from promos to the Bookend which looked like the Rock Bottom. When the Rock returned to WWF, Booker interrupted a promo to do a big bit on how he was a bigger star than the Rock. The Rock responded by inventing a new catchphrase: "Who…in the Blue Hell…are you?" Their feud was one of the Invasion's few highlights as Rock beat Booker for the WCW title at Summerslam. Booker would team with Test to win both WCW and WWF tag titles. At the end of 2001, he started a feud with Austin that involved a brawl in a grocery store.
Starting in 2002, Booker's WWE tenure began to be marked by gimmicks and angles that were, to put it lightly, rather dumb. First, he was put in a match at Wrestlemania 18 against Edge. The match was added quickly just to give Edge a bout in his hometown so the contrived explanation was that they were fighting for a commercial for a Japanese shampoo. In mid-2002, Booker would be inducted in the new nWo but would leave the group to form a partnership with Goldust. To the surprise of many, the two became a good tag team, holding the WWE tag belts a couple of times. Often, there would be bits of Goldust going wild with impressions of workers while Booker played the straight man.
Going into 2003, Booker seemed to be taking a big step, challenging HHH for the World title. It was a controversial angle as HHH did some interviews insinuating Booker wasn't right as a champion because he was black. If Booker hadn't already held every title in WCW, that might have been a little more effective, if no less insulting. Booker ended up coming short at Wrestlemania, although it was a good match. He was put on the back burner at RAW, beating Christian for the Intercontinental title in Canada (you can imagine how well that went over with the Canadian crowd) and then pairing with Rob Van Dam to hold the tag titles. He would be traded to Smackdown in 2004 and established himself as a heel by running the show down as "minor leagues."
After feuds with both Eddie Guerrero and RVD, Booker found himself in another writing mess by getting on the Undertaker's bad side. This led to several bits where he'd seek the aid of a voodoo priestess to try and counter ‘Taker's powers. (I still say if WWE had gotten Papa Shango instead, it would have been comedy gold). He'd lose to Undertaker but rebound by winning the vacant US title then getting into a feud with John Cena over it. While he lost the belt and the feud, he was still nicely over with the crowd so turned face by taking on JBL, who also made some less-than-flattering remarks about Booker's race. Once again, Booker came up short and as 2005 dawned, it appeared he was back on the mid-card treadmill.
And then a real-life move ended up being exactly what Booker needed.
There's an old saying that you should never involve your real-life family in the in-ring action. Kevin Sullivan would certainly agree to that as he insisted his then-wife Nancy play as Chris Benoit's girlfriend only to have them fall for each other for real and give Sullivan the dubious honor of being the only man in history to book his own divorce. And I don't think I need to tell you about Matt Hardy, Edge and Lita. So on the face of it, having Booker's new wife, Sharmell, come to the ring as his valet appeared to be a bad move. That seemed proven when Booker started a program with Kurt Angle and Angle (who really should be above that sort of thing) made disparaging remarks to Sharmell as gutter trash and that she wanted Kurt. That led nowhere as did another feud with Christian.
But then someone thought up the very nicely paced "Sharmell interferes and Booker doesn't know it" trick. Week after week, Sharmell would interfere, whether by distraction or hitting an opponent, allowing Book to get the win, seemingly oblivious to his wife's aid. It allowed Booker to beat Benoit in October to win back the U.S. Title. The next week was the payoff, as Booker came out with Sharmell to apologize to Benoit for Sharmell's interference but then attacked Benoit and revealed he'd known all along what Sharmell was doing and had played dumb to fool everyone. Instantly, Booker not only was a heel again but a pretty damn smart one too, using the low expectations of everyone to his advantage.
So a feud was born for the belt with the title held up for another best of seven series. This one, however, had another real-life twist as Booker sustained a real-life injury with the series 3-1 in his favor and got Randy Orton to fill in for him. Orton beat Benoit in the final match to give Booker the belt back although Booker couldn't come back soon. He finally did but to lose the title to Benoit. After that came…The Bogeyman.
I know I may be in a minority but I kind of like the Bogeyman. I do, he's very entertaining with what he does but getting in a feud with him was pretty bad for Booker's image. Having to act freaked out week after week by the Bogeyman's antics made him look too comedic (although I did love the "Saturday Night's Main Event" bit where he faked an injury to get out of a match with Bogeyman then was scared off by him, running by Teddy Long and doing a great double-take before continuing to run). The Wrestlemania match was arguably the worst on the card (save for the Candice-Tori encounter) and once again Booker seemed on a downward spiral.
So when the King of the Ring tournament was revived and Booker ended up winning it, a lot of people didn't expect much. That seemed proven when Booker did a huge coronation ceremony with William Regal overseeing it, naming himself King and Sharmell his Queen. But then a funny thing happened. Somehow, someway, Booker made it work. The King persona combined with the arrogance he always had as a heel got him over big time. "All hail King Booker!" has established itself as arguably the second-best chant of the year (right after "Don't fire Eric!") What seemed to be a comedy bit has landed Booker the top spot on Smackdown.
Now it's true Booker benefited from some circumstances. From what I've read, JBL was supposed to beat Mysterio for the World title at Judgment Day and then drop it to Batista. However, JBL's injury forced him to the sidelines so Rey retained. And since Booker was so over (and Rey's run has been less than thrilling), he got the shot and the title at the Bash. The big test was retaining it at Summerslam as even WWE realizes how huge Booker is over as a heel champion.
Look over this career and you'll see one filled with some major highs and lows. You'll see a very talented worker with great mic skills be put through one idiotic and backward angle after another and yet rise. A lot of that is because of Booker himself. He gets along well with folks backstage (aside from his encounter with Batista at the SummerSlam commercial shoot) and has proven he's willing to do whatever the company asks him to. There's also his charisma, the connection he's had with fans that pulls them in for his side and manages to make even the dumb stuff work a bit. That work has paid off as he is once again a World champion and a huge star on his show. Booker T should be an example to both fans and other wrestlers, that if you keep at it, put up with whatever crap writers and management throw at you and just do your best, you can still be a major star. Booker T is living proof that no career should be written off, no matter how low it seems to be.
Can you dig it?
Onto this week's mailbag. RColeman has this very insightful letter on my Hogan/Flair column a few weeks back:
I think you might have left out a little something in your ideas on why both Hogan and Flair still have a tremendous following today. Another very good reason is that today's wrestling fans, marks and smarts alike, have learned to separate a performer in real-life from his character in the ring. Anybody who reads the dirtsheets online today knows everything about Terry Bollea and Richard Fleir, and will gossip, debate, and deconstruct every aspect of it. However, they understand somewhere down deep (in this era, at least) that who these men are inside the ring is an exaggerated character developed for the purposes of entertaining them, and who they are outside the ring makes very little difference just so long as it doesn't spoil the fun. I sent a reply to your fellow columnist, Michael Melchor, on this issue when he called all Hogan fans "Dumb Bastards" where I included the following comments that I think also apply to Ric Flair: "Hulk Hogan and Terry Bollea (hence Ric Flair and Richard Fleir) are two different people. One is the make-believe...character that exists in the ring, and the other is the man who has marketed that character for twenty years. Millions of people, including me, understand that quite well. We continue to love the character, while respecting the man behind it as a shrewd marketer who calculates every move to effect."
As time goes on, of course, this process will become more hit and miss, like with the Randy Orton/Summerslam match, but the idea is exactly the same. These men have spent a quarter of a century marketing themselves. And like it or not advertising, even when it gets stale or annoying, still works well when done correctly. That's why no one forgets Flair or Hogan...because they're as exposed as Coke and Pepsi. You can get so tired of them that you stop drinking soda all together, but you will always remember your first taste as a good feeling. As I told Mr. Melchor, I've completely stopped watching WWE product because it simply doesn't entertain me anymore, but I'm still a Hulkamaniacs, and FAR from a dumb bastard. And those that still cheer for Flair (I was never a Flair fan, really) are far from being idiots, too.
Why do we keep cheering? Because we understand...and we still like it. It's as simple as that.
That is one of the single most brilliant comments I've ever heard about the mentality of a wrestling fan. Indeed, I've pointed out in this column how Booker T could still fans on his side no matter the stupid stuff he was pulled into doing. One can argue the thing about Hogan or Flair being different people as I think they (and in a way Booker) are proof of the old adage that the best characters are just the real person cranked up to 11. And you're definitely right that both men have done a great job marketing themselves to make sure fans will never forget, as much as they might want to. Love them or not, their impact on wrestling is something that's going to be remembered long after they finally hang it all up.
I got a lot of mail on last week's column about workers TNA and WWE should grab. Rick Funcannon had a quick comment on Monty Brown
I want to see Monty go to WWE. I think he has all the skills to make it as a WWE wrestler. It would be great to see them throw him in a tag team with Shelton Benjamin. WWGTT part 2!!!!
I agree, seeing them as a team would be fun but I think Brown is better off establishing himself as a singles star. With the low scene on Smackdown, he can easily dominate and get the run TNA should have given him.
Shaw Paul had this to say:
Just a quicky regarding your free agent feature, i actually said the same to Steve Cook after his feature on the best of the indie scene, after meeting Bryan Danielson in England recently i asked if he's ever been contacted by WWE and he said yes but turned them down flat. He said he didn't agree with television and the way it is one of the, if not THE biggest factor to all the problems in the world and doesn't want to be a part of the problem.
Anyway, as much money as he would make, don't expect to see The American Dragon on TV anytime soon
Can't say I'm surprised. AJ Styles has also said no to WWE offers and I think that, like Danielson, he thinks it's better to be the big fish in a small pond. Am surprised Danielson has problems with television matches, a true rarity in the business. Still, I think he should consider TNA for more exposure as he would truly wow the crowds and be a highlight on any broadcast.
John Bryant shared a dream match along with some other comments:
Okay I have an idea of the match that people would kill to see. an Ultimate Submission Elimination Fatal 4-way match between a Fully Healed Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit vs Bryan Danielson vs Samoa Joe. If you don't like this match Then what about this idea of a match: The Hardyz vs Daniels & Styles in a Ladder Match or an Ultimate X match(your choice of the Stipulation) Okay okay I wanted to know from the wrestling columnists who they thought Samoa Joe should have his first loss against so please spread this around.. and also: Who could potentially be TNA's new Main even Heel which is the reason I want Angle in TNA since Angle also does a pretty good Heel. I mean no disrespect to Christian but he's not exactly in the Main Event. look at TNA though their doing the same thing with Jarrett that WWE did with Triple HHH by keeping the main title on him almost eternally. I know alot of people want Jarrett to drop the title and drop out of the main event picture but unfortunately TNA doesn't exactly have alot of options at Main Event Heel guys, unless of course they turn Joe back heel and give him the Main Event push he need
That would be a pretty damn sweet match but sadly will probably never happen (especially given Shaw's comments above). As for Joe's first loss, not sure who would be the "right" choice. I'm truly afraid Jarrett is going to get the win over him at No Surrender, which would be a horrible, horrible way for it to end. I see you share my opinion of Christian as not right for the main scene and not sure if you read my column a month or so back talking about how Jarrett has actually gotten worse than HHH in terms of hogging the spotlight. I do wish they'd go for Joe in the Main Event but sadly it seems they're still obsessed with recreating 1999, which doesn't bode well for TNA's long-term future.
Charles Indelicato shared these comments:
1)If Kurt Angle is promising his fans he will be back, then he WILL be.
2) Shelton Benjamin does not need to go to TNA. The brain surgeons at the WWE corporate office need to better utilize his talents and use him the way he was meant to be used; as a main eventer. He is too good to only be seen on Sunday Night Heat. RAW has all but phased him out completely, which is a complete travesty in my opinion. I, personally, could do without Eugene, Snitski, Junkyard Jim Dugan (or whatever the hell his name is), Carlito, Armando Alejandro what's-his-face, and Umaga. If Cena goes to Smackdown, another major face will need to step up. Right now, there are none, so now what? Of course, what the hell do I know? These genius writers and McMahon think they know what's best.
I agree with Angle and would love to see Shelton getting a bigger push. The problem is that Shelton still lacks a bit on the mic and heat with fans. I think he needs to find a persona that could click (maybe the arrogant superstar one is good) and then he could really get going. As for your list, would argue Carlito could be a top face given the chance but as you point out, Vince and the writers so often lack foresight.
First-timer Chris shares some good thoughts:
Hey man
Long time reader, first time writer. Firstly, your column is a great read every week. Now, enough of the pleasantries and on to the reason I am sending this
As a huge fan of TNA and Ring of Honor, I was more than a little confused by a number of your selections
Firstly, TNA don't need useless big men like Gene Snitsky and Khali, and after reading your reasoning, it just makes absolutely no sense to me.
Going the other way, Samoa Joe? No way, look at Umaga and think, that could be Joe under the stupid face paint. He wouldn't look as strong in a company where there is so many limitations placed on workers, same goes for Chris Sabin. AMW need to stay away from WWE, as we have all seen what WWE do to real tag teams. They split them up after a short title run, or job them out. Abyss is someone who would probably do well in WWE, but I think he will do better in TNA where he has been given as push as a monster, the thing is, he is in a company where he is one of the biggest guys on the roster, in WWE, he would just be another big man
Besides those, I would agree on almost all of your other choices.
Keep up the good work
True, TNA doesn't need useless big men but that doesn't stop them from bringing Kevin Nash back all the time, does it? Given that mentality, hiring a couple of guys who actually had a bit of heat in WWE isn't that far off. AMW is on the verge of a split anyway and I still feel they've got more of a run in them and could dominate in WWE before breaking up. As for Joe, I think WWE might actually be able to make him work, as they did with Angle. At least he'd get some actual main events rather than undercard bouts with big guys.
Andy Critchell gives a nice analysis of my picks:
I enjoyed this article very much. It's obvious that you put a lot of hard work and thought into the column.
I thought your choices for Khali and Snitsky in TNA were actually very inspired and I think it would be fun to see both guys in the land of vanilla midgets.
As far as your moves to WWE go, the only ones I can see being possible are Monty Brown and AMW. I think you are really overestimating Samoa Joe's talent as well as his Impact with the general population as many of them have no idea who he even is and it would be hard for them to swallow some random fatty beating up guys that are built like brick shit houses. As for Abyss, he's only a "big man" in TNA. If he ever came to the WWE, he would not be nearly as imposing compared to "monsters" like Kane Mark Henry and Umaga. Plus I don't think he talks and if you are gonna be silent in the WWE, you had better be huge and Abyss simply isn't. Sabin might flourish in a tag team but I doubt it. He has no charisma at all and the WWE already has a Charlie Haas, they don't need another one.
Anyway, I want to say again that I really enjoyed your column and I look forward to reading it again next week. Thanks!!
P.S. If you get a chance you can read my thoughts in the "500 Good Words" section of Andy Clark's "The Shimmy."
So many people think of Joe as just a fat guy. First off, that's muscle and second, his technical skills are truly amazing. As I said in the column, if WWE is going to get Abyss, they should pop for James Mitchell too, who eats the camera alive. And Abyss is still a great "big man," better than Undertaker these days. Sabin can get over given the right persona and a tag title run would be good for him.
Finally, a truly insightful analysis comes from Mark:
I rarely comment in a negative way on columns and I'm not actually criticizung your column I just think a look at long standing factors might damage the point of your article.
1. Vince always makes outside talent look bad and with TNA making a guy like Monty look major Busch league would damage TNA massively, even moreso with your other picks of Joe and AMW.
2. If your going to TNA, you have to be reasonably good or dropped.... that rules out Benoit and Angle as they are top guys and need the royalties from the DVD's that WWE will sell on them to pay for medical bills down the line. I don't really have any thoughts on Gene so he probably isn't a good pick
I can see Haas, Benjamin and Carlito in TNA if they have the balls for the move (especially Carlito, you know a rib on Scott Halls WCW debut would be freaking SWEET)
A good question that I'd love to ask, as the Rock is so huge and has big money to boot, Would he show up in TNA? Vince could never deny a Rock DVD down the line no matter what he did.....
Lets have a look at the imports so far in TNA (limited to guys with a WWE tenure)
James Gang - Ugh, I can't stand the punches where a guy has to look like the 'finish him' part of mortal combat waiting for the last punch, ditto waiting on the canvas like a dick waiting for the shakey knee drop, and Kip's damn strange hairdo's and buggering of the jackhammer......let them back to WWE, they make me change channel.
Christian - little misused, deserves either jarret or stings spot against Joe, i.e get both sting and Jarrett putting over people and off the highly regarded NWA Title.
Steiner - big fan of scott, limited in what he can do now but a good bring in so far
Rhino - Just an amazing job with him and it shows so much on TV
Dudleys - the real dudleys strangely taken off my TV but looked better than they have in years, don't want runt as I don't like guys of his size hanging with Abyss
Ron Killings - Actually a good build, ruined by his own insistance to be a cross between DMX and Booker T.....wait for the Zzzzzz Axe Kick....
On the plus side, I have checked out all of your recommendations from other feds and agree with all of them, although you'd have to bring in Necro Butcher for a Hardcore/death match with Abyss....this generations Mick Foley vs Terry Funk....
I personally see other things happening, I see WWE having their own territory system that closes out a lot of talent but also leads to a high turnover of talent for TNA to pick and choose from....I see TNA also using the NWA territory system and I see both WWE and TNA with deals with ROH waiting for the next breakout....with TNA winning in the beginning by being riskier with picks....
The quality of development talent has been in question for years and I see the remaining territory system coming under the control of the two TV promotions, kinda like college football leading you to the NFL or the CFL (or god forbid, the EFL).
Anyhow, there are my thoughts....
Some very good thoughts on my article. True, Vince does make outside guys look poor but consider he thinks TNA a bit bush leagues so he may think they don't need to be knocked down, thus giving AMW and Brown a chance to rise. Didn't think of Carlito in TNA, not a bad choice. I don't see Rock ever coming to TNA, nowhere near as big for him in both pay and coverage. Rhino has done better in TNA than I expected, I still say they should have given him a slightly longer run with the title. Killings could be better but frankly I thought he was a tad overrated in his first push in TNA. Not using more of the NWA is a mistake TNA has been making for a while that surprises me. True, NWA has always been nothing more than a bunch of small-time promoters thumping their chests over belonging to something big (Except for TNA and Crockett) but they have first shot at a lot of talent and that should be used more.
Thanks for all the mail and be sure to check out the other columns:
Mike Hamflett has just started the good "Story Lines" with a look at HBK's book.
The Shimmy starts a report card on the Big Show
Larry Csonka gives his Take on Ron Killings and a great one on his dad.
Jullian Williams counts down the Top 10 Table Spots.
Truth Be Told has some very interesting things to say on the idea of racist wrestling angles.
Don't forget Ask 411, Triple Threat, 3R's, Hidden Highlights and Column of Honor among others.
