WWE had plans for a Booker T vs. Edge match at WrestleMania 18, where the company originally wanted him to cut his hair. This was a feud over a Japanese shampoo commercial.
Edge went over in the bout and Booker T didn’t get his head shaved. WWE went with the idea later in 2002 with Edge shaving Kurt Angle’s hair.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Booker said the original idea involved a haircut.
“They wanted me to cut my hair. Yeah, and when they came to me with the idea, I go, ‘Is Edge cutting his hair?’ And Edge was like, ‘I’m not cutting my hair.’ So that’s when they came up with the shampoo idea, you know,” Booker said. “I wasn’t doing it, you know. I was like, ‘This is who I am, you know.’ I mean, I worked too hard to grow my hair to, you know, cut it off.”
Asked whether he was comfortable saying no, Booker said he always has been and will speak up even if it costs him.
“Oh yeah, I’ve always been able to say no. No, contrary to what the popular belief, what you might hear from people, I’ve never done anything that I didn’t want to do in this business. Never, you know,” Booker said. “I might get fired. But that’s the plan, you know. But no, I’ve always been outspoken.”
Booker said he learned that from the top stars he watched coming up. He always knew that once he was in a top role, he could speak his mind.
“You know, it’s kind of crazy. I come from an era where you know I watch like certain guys perform, and I don’t have to say their names or anything like that, but they were so good that they could say whatever they wanted to say, and I learned from those guys, and I always knew I was talent, and I always knew I was in a position where you was making some money off me, you was selling some tickets, so I always knew once I got to a certain position, I can say whatever I want to say,” he said.
