On his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T commented on the news that Santos Escobar left WWE after letting his contract expire. The Hall of Famer expressed his understanding of the decision, sharing his own experiences with burnout from the grueling WWE schedule.
“Hey man, you know what? I get it, honestly. I do,” Booker T said. “Sometimes, being in the WWE, and I think he’s been there, what, six years. Sometimes, away from your life.”
He then shared a personal story to illustrate the sacrifices required. “Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts said it… ‘When you sign that WWE contract, that means you are obligated to work every day.’ I say that because when I signed my contract… I want to go and get on my boat… it was 2005 when I go to get it registered, it had been sitting that long. I hadn’t been on my boat one time in all those years, and I didn’t even realize it, because I had been working. I was on the road.”
Booker T drew a direct parallel to his own career when he walked away from the company at the height of his “King Booker” persona. “To be able to take a step out of it, I understand totally. Because at the top of my career in WWE as King Booker, I walked away from it, just because I was tired, it was taxing being away from the family. So I get it.”
He ended by saying that a talent like Escobar will have no problem succeeding outside of WWE. “Santos, he’s going to always be able to make money in this business. So leaving WWE, I don’t think it’s going to hurt that guy at all. So big ups to Santos for taking a step back,” he said.
It was reported on October 6, 2025, that Santos Escobar was departing WWE after he and the company could not agree on terms for a new contract. The former leader of the LWO had been used on SmackDown, most notably involved in a storyline with Rey Mysterio.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Hall of Fame with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
