WTF are they doing with Booker T?

[shafe_41]

So I haven't watched TNA in quite awhile and when I stopped watching weekly a little under a year ago, Booker T seemed poised to possibly be given a legit shot and become a champion. Then they gave him the whole "Legends Title." First off, I just want to say that's the most rediculous name for a title ever. And back then when Booker would defend it, he could talk. Which brings me to my question...

WTF is TNA doing to Booker T? I mean EVERYBODY saw him as King Booker in WWE and he debuted in a somewhat simlilar fashion in TNA. Not quite King Booker, but when he turned heel after his debut, it was a King Booker type of character. He spoke with poise and you could understand what he was saying. When in holy hell did they make Booker T somebody who couldn't speak full words and just grunt a lot? In no way is this racial... but the mofo sounds like a gorilla or an ape. It's rediculous. Did he get hit in the head with something and it's part of a storyline/character trait where something scrambled his head and couldn't talk anymore like a normal human? When did this happen? And why?

I was never a huge Booker T fan when he was in the WWE. When he was in WCW, nobody wanted that guy to win the WCW Title more than I did though. I loved Harlem Heat and it was obvious Booker was a breakout star. Now I'm still not a huge Booker T fan, but I respect everything he's done in the business and I truly believe he is one of the Top 50 guys in history to lace up a pair of boots. But what gives with this gimmick where he can't talk? Doesn't Booker deserve more than this B/S gimmick?

 

[LokiCobain]

It's entertaining, and I've honestly began liking him. He bothered me to no end as King Booker in WWE, and now he's just a comedic kinda guy. He used to switch accents every week. He just seems kinda insane at the moment. Him and Steiner as a tag team adds to that, because Steiner has a similar insanity on the mic. I like what TNA is doing with him, and it seems like he's doing what he wants, even if it is ridiculous.

 

[mrchance33]

The accent thing was his idea... I remember reading in a interview he did it to show his versatility in his roles. I hate when he does that spastic crap where he looks like hes mentally ******ed.

 

[KaosTheori]

Im with Loki. As a whole I find TNA entertaining has hell! I look forward to hearing Book run his mouth. Being black I see it has he just acting a fool because he can. He knows he's heading towards the end of his career and I think he's trying to extend his life-span in the wrestling game. If he can find that happy medium between "ghetto" Booker T and King Book when it comes to commentary, i'd love to see him at the booth. Black Snow! He cracks me the fuck up! But that's just my opinion.

 

[AzLunchbox]

And your opinion.....is wrong! I love Booker AT but i can't STAND Black Snow!

Worst......Commentator.....Ever!

Booker doesn't know how to call a match....it's been proved....even when he wasn't acting like Black Snow....in WWE he called a match and it was horrid. He doesn't let anyone else talk, he doesn't speak clearly, he doesn't talk about the match, he doesn't even breathe!

So yeah....I love The Book.....but keep him away from the commentator table!

 

[WWF Wrestling Fan]

Lets face it Booker T is a great wrestler/entertainer but tna os make him look like a jackass with his some what brittish accent dont get me wrong i like Booker as a face and a heel a heel when he was in wCw and the early part of his wwf career when when he became King Booker that gimmick was one of the worst i have ever seen in my whole fuckin life just like they have him now with his '' Loyal Subjects '' heres a message for Booker Hey Book your an American you come from Texas and your black your not fuckin brittish lose the stupid accent

 

[RicSpade]

The problem with this whole accent thing of Booker T. is that its well quite frankly going to mess up the newer viewers to TNA when they see this black talking in some deep accent to Kurt "whut we gon do wit him boss I kno I take care of him" in like a jamacian accent, and then you have him being black snow which he speed talks everything and mocks the JR oversell, and then you have his king of de anemals accent, and then you have Booker T.

The marks are going to tell you that you sound stupid, the long time fan will feel sorry for you like they do Goldust since he still stutters and the new fan won't be able to get behind your concept because they won't know who the hell you are its like having multple personalities but with no reason behind it...

 

[HBKscm]

The problem with this whole accent thing of Booker T. is that its well quite frankly going to mess up the newer viewers to TNA when they see this black talking in some deep accent to Kurt "whut we gon do wit him boss I kno I take care of him" in like a jamacian accent, and then you have him being black snow which he speed talks everything and mocks the JR oversell, and then you have his king of de anemals accent, and then you have Booker T.

The marks are going to tell you that you sound stupid, the long time fan will feel sorry for you like they do Goldust since he still stutters and the new fan won't be able to get behind your concept because they won't know who the hell you are its like having multple personalities but with no reason behind it...

could not have said it better myself... to add my own spin on that though i was never a huge book fan. I've always thought he was over rated. his mic skills have always held back from what he can do in the ring and considering he really only has 3 main moves thats saying a lot, to quote "The rock has.. the sharpshooter, the rock bottom, and the peoples elbow. You (booker) have the spinarooni, the dipsy doodle, and the sufferin succotash" ... like i said 3 moves.. then theres sharmel who brings him down even more like to the point that every time i would hear her voice when they were on SD i would change the channel for the next 5 min bc thats how long they would drag out that lame ass entrance.. the accent thing has just killed any intrest in the booker character for me and if he was never on t.v. again he would not be missed by me or anyone i personally know for that matter... Now can you did that sucka!!!

 

[GameOver]

It's like the product overall at times, makle up ya friggin mind what character you are.
He can't make up his mind what his accent is from minute to minute and is nothing more than a glorified slave to the MEM.

Booker T "was" a possible Rock clone, until he hit WWE then it went downhill from there. about the only entertaining thing he's ever achieved is coining the "Now Can You Dig That ....... SUCKA!!!!!!!" and the five time WCW champ bit which Jack Swagger is now coying.

To me Booker was at his best as a "wrestler" when he was going toe to toe with Chris "the canadian crippler" Benoyt (ps i know thats spealt wrong but ya can't type it without it being edited) in there best of seven series, since then he has achieved little. And it has nothing to do with him being African American. He moves like a ******, talks like crap. Saying that he makes a perfect partener to Scott Steiner as they are both minda's who "were" respected at one point.

 

[Fleisch]

It isn't entertaining at all. As I've said before the guy sounds like a stroke victim learning to speak again. It's pure shit. I'd rather sit and listen to a Warrior backstage interview than Booker's new style.

 

[Nate DaMac]

What are guys bitching about? I love Booker how he is now. Him and Scott together are coming off as the dummy twins and I find it hilarious.It's not a fucking gimmick, it's Booker T acting however the fuck he wants because he has earned the right to do so. Way better than King Booker.

 

[404]

And your opinion.....is wrong! I love Booker AT but i can't STAND Black Snow!

Worst......Commentator.....Ever!

Booker doesn't know how to call a match....it's been proved....even when he wasn't acting like Black Snow....in WWE he called a match and it was horrid. He doesn't let anyone else talk, he doesn't speak clearly, he doesn't talk about the match, he doesn't even breathe!

So yeah....I love The Book.....but keep him away from the commentator table!

How could you possibly tell someone that their opinion is wrong. Afterall, it is their opinion.

It is a 100% Comedic character. The irony is that he actually has called matches between all of the utter gibberish. It doesn't make any difference either way. Black Snow is not necessarily supposed to call matches; Snow is just a complete comedic rib on color commentators.

It's like the product overall at times, makle up ya friggin mind what character you are.
He can't make up his mind what his accent is from minute to minute and is nothing more than a glorified slave to the MEM.

Booker T "was" a possible Rock clone, until he hit WWE then it went downhill from there. about the only entertaining thing he's ever achieved is coining the "Now Can You Dig That ....... SUCKA!!!!!!!" and the five time WCW champ bit which Jack Swagger is now coying.

To me Booker was at his best as a "wrestler" when he was going toe to toe with Chris "the canadian crippler" Benoyt (ps i know thats spealt wrong but ya can't type it without it being edited) in there best of seven series, since then he has achieved little. And it has nothing to do with him being African American. He moves like a ******, talks like crap. Saying that he makes a perfect partener to Scott Steiner as they are both minda's who "were" respected at one point.

He has actually stayed consistent over the past few months with the fast talking ghetto vernacular.

What are guys bitching about? I love Booker how he is now. Him and Scott together are coming off as the dummy twins and I find it hilarious.It's not a fucking gimmick, it's Booker T acting however the fuck he wants because he has earned the right to do so. Way better than King Booker.

Having him paired up with Steiner does two things. Puts over Beer money against one half of the greatest tag teams ever and turns them face. Genius move.

 

[yoshi_doce2006]

Booker's accent is that of his creation. I read some time ago that he went to creative with the idea intending to show movie producers that he could do different accents and crap. Unfortunately the self made gimmick makes his gimmick and speech erratic.

Until the MEM breaks up he may never drop the gimmick. Even then I am not sure if he will be willing to give it up because he thinks that it is actually helping him with a future acting career.

The Gimmick he has created for himself is limiting his success in the wrestling business and it is very likely that creative can not find anything that fits with it. In the end creative may force a gimmick change.

 

[andymcg]

I am going to go out on a limb here, and proberly recieve some bad reps and massive backlash but i really just dont like Booker T what so ever. I didnt see much of his WCW stuff, but i didnt like him in WWE and then when he was coming to TNA i thought, new chance to try like him and well ..... same stuff, i just dont like him in TNA now.

Dont get me rong, hes not half as bad as some of the TNA roaster but i just cant seem to get behind this guy face or heel. For as atheletic as he seems with his kicks, etc theres just somthing about him that makes me not like him. And i dont mean not like him in a heelish way, i mean i really dont like him as a way off if he was to retire tomorrow, i wouldnt miss him one bit.

Yes sounds extremly harsh but i just cannot seem to get him or his character what so ever. But as i did say he does seem very ateheltic with his kicks.

 

[shafe_41]

Having him paired up with Steiner does two things. Puts over Beer money against one half of the greatest tag teams ever and turns them face. Genius move.

Thank you. Somebody here has a brain and can separate facts from opinions. However... I believe Beer Money is going over 2 halves of 2 of the greatest tag teams ever. I know you were talking about the Steiners, but don't forget about Harlem Heat. Also one of the greatest tag teams of all time.

That said... I'm not sure if anybody really grasped what I was trying to get at in my OP. That could also partially be on me because I didn't explain things better. I know in wrestling we're supposed to in a sense... ignore the past as far as certain characters and gimmicks go. My WTF are they doing with Booker T was more of a question out of confusion then a "wtf are they doing?" like they're flushing him down the toilet. I mean you had regular good ol Booker T in WCW and many years in the WWE. Then King Booker with the fake British accent and brought a similar accent after a few months to TNA. I now understand this is a character solely for comedy (like I said... I haven't watched TNA in quite awhile until last Thur. and then last night). I just find it totally strange that he goes from one end of the spectrum of using big words and acting like King Book-ah... do barely even being able to formulate a whole sentence.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I can understand how someone who hasn't seen TNA or hasn't watched it in a while can turn to Impact and see Booker T act differently then their used to but its all for comedy. Booker T and Kevin Nash are cutting up on the mic and having a great time doing it. I find it hilarious, some people may find it wrong but I guess they have no sense of humor. Him and Steiner are acting like jackass heels which is what they are suppose to do act like themselves. I would rather have Booker T act like a bad wrestling announcer from the 80's then a fake king of Africa. TNA allows people to be more then just one dimensional like WWE characters. You can't tell me you believe that fake Jamaican accent on Kofi Kingston. Just have fun with it, stop taking wrestling so seriously.

 

[404]

Thank you. Somebody here has a brain and can separate facts from opinions. However... I believe Beer Money is going over 2 halves of 2 of the greatest tag teams ever. I know you were talking about the Steiners, but don't forget about Harlem Heat. Also one of the greatest tag teams of all time.

That said... I'm not sure if anybody really grasped what I was trying to get at in my OP. That could also partially be on me because I didn't explain things better. I know in wrestling we're supposed to in a sense... ignore the past as far as certain characters and gimmicks go. My WTF are they doing with Booker T was more of a question out of confusion then a "wtf are they doing?" like they're flushing him down the toilet. I mean you had regular good ol Booker T in WCW and many years in the WWE. Then King Booker with the fake British accent and brought a similar accent after a few months to TNA. I now understand this is a character solely for comedy (like I said... I haven't watched TNA in quite awhile until last Thur. and then last night). I just find it totally strange that he goes from one end of the spectrum of using big words and acting like King Book-ah... do barely even being able to formulate a whole sentence.

I actually meant two halves, not sure why i just posted one half. IMO, it's really serves multiple purposes. they rub off of Booker and Steiners legacy as two of the greatest tag teams, shows everyone that they can 'hang' so to speak with the best and turn them face all at the same time. Their ring action together hasn't been all that bad. It could be better but I completely understand where they are going with this. The notoriety alone is worth it.

 

[KaosTheori]

Hey im not sayin Booker T is the bees knees. Im just sayin, in my eyes, hes doing his job. He entertains the hell out of me. Anytime he talks, he says at least one thing that makes me laugh. Job done. Steiner too. They both crack me up. They have nothing left to prove really. Why not have fun in your waning days in the biz.

 

[Kid A]

and your black your not fuckin brittish lose the stupid accent

just to throw this out there, i know you stated that he IS american, but you know black people can be from Britain too right? there are black people with british accents...

not justifying his horrible excuse for one, just correcting what was stated.

on topic tho, the only thing i like about booker right now is his teaming with steiner. other than that i cant stand to see the guy, he's a joke to me at this point, and really always has been. i missed him in wwe but i did get glimpses of king booker when i'd pass by in channelsurfing and it looked horrid then too..

 

[Suneeboy]

What are guys bitching about? I love Booker how he is now. Him and Scott together are coming off as the dummy twins and I find it hilarious.It's not a fucking gimmick, it's Booker T acting however the fuck he wants because he has earned the right to do so. Way better than King Booker.

Nate, you always bring the thread back down to Earth, and again I thank you for that.

What the hell is wrong with people? Booker is a veteran in this business and he can act however he wants. Can't you see that he is actually HAVING FUN out there? I love his promos, and his mannerisms, I actually can't get enough of Booker. I can't wait until Impact this Thursday to see the fallout from Victory Road and here all the shit popping Booker T does on Beer Money.

Its not a gimmick by any means, he is just going out there and enjoying himself. This is the best I've seen Booker T in years. He is actually the reason I started watching TNA again, which I now like better than the WWE. (Did I Just say that???? Yes, Yes, I did.)

 

[That'sVintageMichaelCole]

What's with the stupid poses, like the one at victory road and through the whole of Kurt's speech at this week's impact? They really annoy me, probably more than the accents.

Quite like that he is teamed with Steiner, as it means the MEM has the tag champs too. They wrestle well (individually and as a team) and his stupidness is out of place with the whole MEM ethos of being world champs and the best etc etc. Also wish he would breakout the Harlem/Houston Hangover again.