On the latest “Hall of Fame” podcast, WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T gave his thoughts on the Carmelo Hayes – Grayson Waller match at NXT Spring Breakin’:
I definitely give it an eight on the Richter scale, 8 to 10. Grayson Waller, he’s a guy that’s gonna go out and perform, win or lose. That’s what I really like about Grayson Waller. He’s taken a lot of losses as of late and it’s not deterring him from the mission, and that is still to go out and make the crowd feel something. When that dude walks out the curtain, he looks the part. He feels the part. Then he goes out in the ring and he works the part as well. I told Carmelo, I said, ‘Man, you couldn’t have done that good of a job without a hell of a dance partner’, and Grayson Waller was hell of a dance partner at Spring Breakin’ for Carmelo Hayes. Those guys went out there and made each other look next level. The finish may have gotten rushed because it seemed like it just happened out of nowhere, but other than that, throughout that match, those guys went out there and rocked it. They brought it and big props to both of them.”
On if Waller should be called up to the main roster:
“If Grayson Waller was to get the call up to RAW or SmackDown in the draft, I wouldn’t be surprised. I wouldn’t be surprised one bit just because he’s mature. He’s definitely mature enough to get to the main roster and understand what being at the main roster actually really, really means and working his way to that ceiling, and not just to get to that ceiling, but to crash that glass ceiling. He’s got the look. He’s got the charisma. You don’t really think about how good of a worker he is until you see him in a match and then you go, ‘Oh, this guy’s pretty good.’ He’s got all the qualities to actually be a main roster star. Carmelo Hayes, same thing, but I see Carmelo Hayes perhaps needing maybe a little bit more seasoning before moving to that next level and representing that brand just a little bit longer, just to have a little bit more staying power, just to be a little bit stronger when you do make that move.”
Thoughts on the NXT Triple Threat Match between Indi Hartwell vs Roxanne Perez vs Tiffany Stratton at NXT Spring Breakin’”
“The main event was awesome. The girls went out there and rocked it. Indi is definitely finding her place being champion. Indi has been working her butt off to finally get to that point. I’m so happy to see Indi in that position in there with another one of mine, Roxanne Perez, and then Tiffany Stratton, she’s definitely somebody that’s going to be a major star in the business. I mean, she is just on the cusp of figuring this thing out and really being able to blow it totally out of the water. But watching those girls go out there and perform, it was awesome.”
“Tiffany did the dive. One thing I always say, the dives, normally the guy that catches you is the one that gets hurt. Indi was in position, but I wouldn’t even say it was a bad position or anything like that. It was just something that happened. That’s the wrestling business. It’s not a matter of if, it’s just a matter of when something like that is going to happen in the wrestling business. This is part of it. Her ankle rolled and her knee buckled at the same time. So I don’t know if it was an ankle injury. I don’t know if it was a knee injury. I know when she went down, it wasn’t part of the script or anything like that. I know when they took her out of there, I did not anticipate her being able to return. I give Indi Hartwell a boatload of credit for continuing that thing.”
On if he feels Roxanne Perez should be called up to the main roster:
“I don’t book the show or anything like that, but if I was booking it, Roxanne would stay in NXT a little bit longer. I mean, she’s just now really beginning to feel her way through this thing. The main roster is a monster being on the road every week. It’s different than being in NXT every week, being in Orlando every week, traveling around the world, going to all of these overseas shows. When I talk about maturity, you got to be ready for that. How many young guys have we seen go to that main roster and fail like the Drew McIntyre’s who we thought was in a perfect position to go all the way to the top being a Mr. McMahon guy? How can you not make it? Only one way you can’t make it is not being ready for that moment, not being mature enough to handle that moment. We listen to the stories that Renee Dupree tells when he was a young kid on the roster and how it affected him. I’m that guy to say, let’s make sure, let’s make damn sure that these young guys and these young girls are ready for that moment. That moment is not just being in the ring. The pressure and the stress comes outside of the ring. The travel, being away from home, being away from your loved ones. When they say it’s lonely at the top, it’s true. That’s a very, very true statement. You know, there again, we talked about a guy like Grayson Waller. I’d say Grayson Waller is mature enough to actually go and succeed. So that’s what I’m thinking about, putting these people, these young people, in the best position so they can thrive.”
“Another one of my students, Kylie Rae, congratulations. She just got pregnant. She’s expecting her first. For her, the pressure of being out there was really, really hard.”
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.
