WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T has given his thoughts on WWE’s shocking decision to release former WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman from the company.
Strowman was one of six WWE Superstars released from their contracts on the 2nd of June. The other stars released were former NXT Champion Aleister Black, Lana, Ruby Riott, Buddy Murphy, and NXT star Santana Garrett.
Speaking on his Hall Of Fame podcast, the five-time WCW Champion shared his feelings on Strowman leaving the company.
Booker T said:
“Yeah, it definitely made me go, ‘Wow. Braun Strowman?’ And then I started looking at it from a business perspective, you know, if it is true, the rumors out there saying Braun Strowman had a huge contract and he was making a lot of money. When doing budget cuts, that’s the one thing you’re going to be thinking about – ‘Who do we really need? Who’s the guy we really need here to keep this thing running?’”
“And take nothing away from Braun Strowman. He was an enigma, he was a guy that was somewhat of a throwback to the guys that did it much before him. Look at Braun Strowman, even being the enigma that he was, it was kind of hard to match Braun Strowman up with more than two or three guys on the roster. He was a throwback to the way a wrestler was back in the day.”
Booker T used the example of wrestling in Japan to highlight how wrestling has shifted towards smaller wrestlers in recent years.
Booker continued:
“But just think about it. In Japan back in the day, it was the battle of the giants. The Stan Hansen’s of the world. The Big Van Vader’s of the world. If you look at Japan now, it’s totally different. The wrestlers are totally different. The way they wrestle now is totally different. That’s the only thing I’m saying – I’m not throwing shade or anything like that. You say, ‘Who are the guys we’re really gonna need right now to fuel this thing to take us where we want to be?’ Is Braun Strowman one of the guys? Obviously, they didn’t think he was one of the guys or it could’ve been something I don’t even know about as far as his contract.”
“If you put the title on a guy like Braun Strowman, there are only two or three guys on the card he can wrestle – that he can actually go out there and compete. That’s why I say it didn’t favor him a whole lot as far as being a guy that they say, ‘We’re gonna be using this guy for the next 15 years.’ When I think about talent and signing them to a big contract – million-plus – this is a guy that’s gonna be around for quite some time. I gotta get my money out of this guy. That’s no diss or anything like that. You look at a guy like Braun – what are we paying him? What are we getting out of him over a 365-day period? That’s something I think about. But is he a guy I thought would be on the list? No, I didn’t.”
Booker T also shared recently his memories of The Ultimate Warrior’s “eerie” dressing room.