On the latest “Hall of Fame” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T gave his thoughts on the Tuesday Night War between AEW and NXT.
Booker on Tony Khan saying the streak of John Cena and The Undertaker performing in front of over 1 million people came to an end on NXT:
“NXT versus AEW, and I must say, NXT went out there and did the damn thing, man. They went out there and did the damn thing. 921K views and AEW did 609K. That’s a vast difference, man. That’s a huge difference, 300,00 people. People can say what they want to say. You know, the one person I’ve always tried to stay off of, you know, I try not to dig at Tony Khan or anything like that, just because he’s got to try to run a business, but at the same time, I got to take a dig at this last comment that he made about the NXT rating. He said that it was the first time that John Cena and The Undertaker appeared in front of less than a million people for WWE, and the thing is, he’s got Edge. He’s got Christian over there. He’s got all those guys and they’ve never performed in front of 600,000. So it’s like, when you say stuff like that, you might want to think about it before you say stuff like that, you know, because Edge was in the main event. Edge was in the main event of that show, and they drew 609K. The thing is, I’m sure Tony Khan thought that there was going to be a bigger number. I can’t be positive on this, but I would imagine that Tony could would have imagined that AEW Dynamite probably would have got a bigger number, and the thing is, I’m sure Tony Khan would have been gloating, basking in it as far as, you know, if the numbers would have been flipped, just say for instance. I’m sure Tony Khan would have been, It would have been a party. It would have been a celebration if they would have actually won. So it’s just like, I don’t know what Tony Khan’s modus operandi is. I don’t know what his fixation is on WWE.”
He went on to say, “I just don’t see the big picture. I don’t mind trash talk. I don’t mind the boys trash talking. When the boss is doing it, doesn’t that feel a little childish to you?”
“In doing that kind of internet stuff, it just doesn’t seem like a boss to me, and I’ve said this before about Tony Khan as far as him being a boss, being a leader. That’s what that company I think needs more than anything, and I’ve said that before, leadership, and Tony Khan going on social media tweeting, this is not leadership.”
On Shawn Michaels helping NXT talent become stars:
“Tony Khan was talking about Shawn Michaels not winning the Booker of the Year award. Personally, I’m hoping and praying that that’s the last thing that Shawn Michaels will be thinking about was a year end award. But on the other hand, I think Shawn Michaels is doing a hell of a job with the NXT brand, creating moments, as well as magic at the same time and getting these young guys to the point to where they need to be more than anything because NXT is still a developmental group and the object of that game down there is to get those guys promoted to the next level and hopefully get somebody else to take their spot. It’s about creating talent, I think, in WWE and I think that’s what that brand is all about.”
On the Undertaker appearing on NXT:
“That’s my dog. He came over and gave me some love, you know what I mean, which was real, real cool. We boys. We boys. We were in the trenches together for many, many years and I got a lot of respect for that dude. He is the Godfather of my kids.”
On Vic Joseph announcing NXT despite his dad passing away earlier in the day:
“I gotta give my partner Vic Joseph huge, huge props man. Huge credit man because his father passed away earlier that night and he powered through the show just because he knew his dad would want him to get out there and get the work done. It’s what he watched his dad do his whole life. It was a rough night for Vic, man. It was a rough night for him, so big ups to Vic going out there and making that show happen. I tell people all the time, I tell all of my guys that I have to answer to, I always tell them, I say, ‘Man, I could not do that show without Vic being there guiding me through every moment of it, man. He’s like the maestro. He lets me know when to go and when to lay off and whatnot.’ He’s a hell of a dude and a hell of a man to stick it out last night. I hope you’re doing alright.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit The Hall of Fame with Booker T & Brad Gilmore with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
