On the latest episode of his “Hall of Fame” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T addressed the recent string of critical comments made by Bret Hart regarding modern wrestling and Bill Goldberg. Hart has been vocal in recent interviews, often expressing harsh criticisms that have sparked debate within the wrestling community. Booker T expressed confusion and disappointment over Hart’s current demeanor and the “scorched earth” approach he appears to be taking with his legacy.
“Bret Hart has been all over the place lately,” Booker T observed. “It’s like, everything nuclear, everything’s just… burn, let everything burn. Why? I mean, I know Bret Hart had his issues with Goldberg, and those, those issues are deep rooted for what happened inside the ring. But one thing I must say, stuff that happens in the ring, it happens. I don’t think none of us go out in the middle of the ring and try to hurt somebody on purpose or anything like that”.
Booker T expressed concern that Hart’s comments might be doing irreparable damage to his relationships within the industry. He noted the importance of being able to coexist with peers and celebrate the past without animosity.
“Some of this stuff you just can’t walk back,” Booker T warned. “You’re going to see, we got to see each other at some point in time. And to not be able to relive some of the greatest moments in the history of this business, because of bitterness… It’s got to be a lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, dark day at the end of this ride. And I just say, I just think Bret Hart’s a much, much better person than the person that we’ve been seeing as of late. I know he is”.
The conversation turned to Hart’s continued criticism of Bill Goldberg for the concussion that effectively ended Hart’s career. Booker T offered a defense of Goldberg based on his own personal experience wrestling him. While acknowledging Goldberg’s limitations at the time, Booker T emphasized that being “green” does not equate to being malicious.
“I wrestled Goldberg,” Booker T stated. “I was always aware of what good happened working with Goldberg, just because I knew the guy was green, I knew he wasn’t the most experienced professional wrestler in the world, so I was always thinking about protecting myself when I was in there with Goldberg. And that’s just the truth. But I think it was smart at the same time”.
Despite the need for caution, Booker T rejected the notion that Goldberg would intentionally harm an opponent. “Even if something would have happened, which it could have, I wouldn’t have thought that he did it on purpose or anything like that. Because, just because I know Goldberg, I’ve been around Goldberg for many, many years, and Goldberg is someone that I could consider a friend”.
To illustrate the reality of accidental injuries in professional wrestling, Booker T shared a story about a time he inadvertently injured Renee Dupree. He explained that he was unaware of the severity of the incident until he heard Dupree discussing it years later, proving that even safe workers can cause harm without realizing it.
“I was listening to Renee Dupree talk about I broke his nose,” Booker T recalled. “And I actually saw the footage just yesterday… I caught it with that back elbow. Was deadly… right on the point, right on the position point. He was all busted up and bloodied up”.
Booker T continued, mentioning another incident with Paul London. “I’ve got a guy, Paul London… I caught it with that, that back elbow, but trust me, it wasn’t out of malice or anything like that. And trust me, I was not trying to hurt those guys. And now 20 years later you might hear them talk about it and and they may be a little bit hot about it, sure. Just because me personally, I didn’t remember it until I heard someone say something about it and then I go back and watch, and I go, Oh, man, I did catch him”.
Booker T also discussed how perception in the ring can differ from reality, citing a story involving Stevie Richards. He explained that his style of working sometimes led opponents to believe he was “shooting” on them or being intentionally stiff, when in fact he was just performing in character.
“I heard Stevie Richards is talking about me, and he said we had a match on Velocity,” Booker T said. “When I started working it, he thought I was real. He thought I was shooting. He thought I was really being serious. And then after a minute, he realized that’s just the way I work. And after that, we had a really, really good match. He actually said it was a match that got him promoted”.
In light of the controversy surrounding Bret Hart’s interviews, Booker T made a firm declaration about his own approach to discussing former colleagues. He stated that he refuses to participate in “shoot interviews” designed to air grievances or speak negatively about people he worked with, specifically mentioning requests to talk about Batista.
“I just refuse to give these podcasters shoot interviews about what went on with me and my peers in stories that happened inside that locker room. You’re not going to hear too many of those stories from me,” Booker T asserted. “People have tried and tried and tried to get me to talk about Batista, and tried to make me say anything negative about Batista, and I’m like, Man, I’m not going to say anything negative about Batista. This is a guy that him and I had a deal. Disagreement with and you have disagreements with people all the time. You settle your differences like, man and you move on”.
Booker T criticized the culture of rehashing old conflicts for entertainment value. “It’s not that big of a story to what we got to keep rehashing it over and over and over for someone’s for for someone else’s entertainment. And I think that’s what Bret is doing right now. He’s not entertaining anyone else, but these people that want to hear that kind of stuff, that negativity”.
Co-host Brad Gilmore offered an analogy to describe the situation, sharing a personal story about his grandmother deciding to stop driving after a minor accident.
“My grandmother… went out onto Richmond Avenue… she rear end. Rear ended somebody,” Gilmore shared. “You know what grandma did? She turned around, she came back in the driveway, she walked in the house and handed my dad her keys and said, I’m done. I can’t drive anymore. She knew it in the moment… I shouldn’t be on the road anymore”.
Gilmore applied this lesson to Bret Hart’s current public persona. “I say that story, to say, you know, Bret, like you don’t need to drive the car anymore… let your body of work speak for itself. You don’t need to go out there and talk about the past anymore. We know who you are. You’re a one in everybody’s book”.
Booker T concluded the segment by reiterating his belief in Bret Hart’s character, despite the recent outbursts. “In a lot of ways, he’s being used,” Booker T said. “The person I know, I know Bret a much better person than that, at least I would, at least I would like to think that way”.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit The Hall of Fame with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. You can listen to the show on YouTube and all podcast platforms.
