In a recent interview on the Underground Dialogue podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T offered his detailed perspective on the late Hulk Hogan, addressing the racism controversy, their professional history, and his overall legacy in the wrestling business. When asked about the situation, Booker T provided a nuanced take based on his personal interactions with Hogan.
Booker T addressed the infamous tape that captured Hogan using racist language, suggesting that the context of the situation is often overlooked. “Capturing a moment, you know, when he did say the racist comments, this is what I always say about that,” Booker began. “When the camera ain’t rolling, you might say some stuff… your guard is down and you just spewing and you just talking… Everybody always talk about the racist comment, but no one thinks about the situation and how that racist comment came out”.
He contrasted the controversy with his own experiences, stating that Hogan was helpful to him early in his career. “Hogan helped me when I was a young aspiring wrestler trying to move up in the business,” he said. “I don’t think he would have did that. You know, a racist wouldn’t just do that. Let me go help the black guy… I can only treat people the way they treated me”.
Booker T also discussed the well-known incident in WCW where Hogan reportedly used his creative control clause at Bash at the Beach 2000. Booker T explained that he views the incident as a business decision rather than a personal or racial one. “Hogan and I had an infamous moment when I was getting ready to win the world title. He pulled his creative control card,” Booker T stated. “But I’m like this here. If I got creative control and somebody gave it to me, I’m gonna pull it too… It’s a power move… if you in position to make a power move in business, what would you do? You gonna make the move”.
Despite the professional friction and public controversies, Booker T gave Hogan credit for his immense impact on the wrestling industry. “I always looked at the dude as the guy who changed the whole name of the game for professional wrestling,” he said. “The movies, star power, people looking at professional wrestlers from in a different light, and the marketing, and he’s the one that started that movement. So I give him a boatload of props for that”.
Ultimately, Booker T concluded that while he cannot speak for others’ experiences, his own interactions with Hogan were not negative. “He may have had a little racism, I don’t know,” Booker T said. “But my thing is this, I know every interaction… It was never he’s never looked down on me or shunned me… it was always a great interaction with Hogan”.
Click below to watch the entire interview.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit The Underground Dialogue podcast with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
