Booker T. Tells Current Talent To Shut Up About Part-Timers

[The GOAT]

"I look at guys like Brock Lesnar, guys like the Rock, like RVD and Chris Jericho who make their return briefly and then go off again, I look at those guys and think they are still willing to go out and help the product first and foremost. I tell the young guys on the roster that when they start selling tickets, selling out Pay-Per-Views and bringing up merchandise revenue, then they can start talking. Until then they should just shut up and enjoy the ride. That's the way I look at guys like Brock Lesnar coming back. He's a major big time superstar. A guy who's done it in the WWE, who's gone to MMA and done it and now he's back again trying to complete the trifecta. So I give guys like Brock Lesnar big, big props for still wanting to be around and do this and bring revenue into the business. When the young guys start selling tickets and creating a buzz for PPVs then we won't have to bring back guys like the Rock. Until then, just keep quiet and enjoy the ride."

Thoughts? I know he's probably just towing the company line, but I feel he's right and he's wrong. He's on point when he says that part-timers still draw $$$$ and WWE are right to still utilize them (although Jericho and RVD aren't anywhere near as big as The Rock and Lesnar), but at the same time, younger guys are never gonna be able to draw if they're not given the proper chance to become big stars themselves.

Ryback in late 2012 is a good example of this. He had a lot of momentum heading into Hell In A Cell, but The Rock was promised the championship several months beforehand, so Ryback was jobbed out when he was at his hottest despite the fact that his career would have definitely benefited from going over Punk that night for the title. There was even a rumored idea that Ryback would win the strap and then drop it back to Punk at either Survivor Series or TLC, but since they specifically promised Rock he would get to be the one to end Punk's streak, that couldn't happen either. Of course, the subsequent losses that Ryback suffered were a lot more responsible for his downfall than losing at HIAC was, but you can't deny that winning the championship for even just a month or two would have boosted his career a bit.

And then there's Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler, guys whom the fan base love but the WWE doesn't. And then there's Batista coming back to win the Rumble this year in place of the guy that the WWE Universe has been rallying behind for the past two years...

 

[Red Rain]

I also doubt Brock Lesnar is doing this to help the business. That kind of talk is bullsh**
Brock was big in MMA but people make it seem as if his WWE numbers were worth fapping over.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

I also doubt Brock Lesnar is doing this to help the business. That kind of talk is bullsh**
Brock was big in MMA but people make it seem as if his WWE numbers were worth fapping over.

I don't care about his first WWE run numbers, but he is a definite draw now. biggest draw in UFC history and proving to draw on this wwe run

 

[Red Rain]

I don't care about his first WWE run numbers, but he is a definite draw now. biggest draw in UFC history and proving to draw on this wwe run

Agreed. People overrated his first run to justify his contract when that simply is far from the case.
However, Lesnar's talent is once in a generation and that doesn't go away considering he's performed so sparingly since 2004.

WWE doesn't control Lesnar at all, which is a breath of fresh air. That cat does what he wants and how he wants to do it.
The part time talent is given more control over their characters and the full time talent is primarily told when to take a pi**.

 

[Just Kevin]

If Booker T were still active and in the midst of a big push.. heading toward a shot at the title and the WWE jobbed him out and replaced him with a Lesnar, Jericho, Batista, or any other part timer he'd be bitching just like the young guys today. It's easy to criticize when you never experienced a situation.

I really don't like the part timer thing either.. but it seems that Jericho, Batista (once he comes back), and even Lesnar are going to spend a bit more time this time around.. especially if Lesnar wins the title, and though I dislike part timers I am looking forward to Lesnar beating Cena.

 

[The GOAT]

Yeah, Brock drew some pretty average numbers during his first run (although his feud with The Rock was a definite success), but McMahon said himself on Off The Record in June of 2004 that he was just starting to become a box-office success when he left.

If Booker T were still active and in the midst of a big push.. heading toward a shot at the title and the WWE jobbed him out and replaced him with a Lesnar, Jericho, Batista, or any other part timer he'd be bitching just like the young guys today. It's easy to criticize when you never experienced a situation.

I really don't like the part timer thing either.. but it seems that Jericho, Batista (once he comes back), and even Lesnar are going to spend a bit more time this time around.. especially if Lesnar wins the title, and though I dislike part timers I am looking forward to Lesnar beating Cena.

Yeah, I wonder if Booker T. felt this same way back when Hogan, Nash and others were hogging the main event spotlight in WCW. Remember Bash At The Beach 2000?

 

[Red Rain]

Yeah, Brock drew some pretty average numbers during his first run (although his feud with The Rock was a definite success), but McMahon said himself on Off The Record in June of 2004 that he was just starting to become a box-office success when he left.

Lesnar had improved by leaps and bounds by the time he jetted. Working with the Smackdown Six (he was actually one of them) benefited he and the company greatly. Like Cena, he wasn't expected to succeed overnight. It would be two full years before Cena or Lesnar would blossom into the performers WWE expected. Unfortunately, by the time Brock was ready, he left.

The benefit of having a WCW to turn to, quenches the disputing.
I realize WCW was low rate, but fans didn't realize this in '96, when talents were leaving WWE because they weren't being paid to their liking.
No sense in beating a dead horse, however. I'd love for two companies to be genuinely be competing with one another.

 

[The GOAT]

Lesnar had improved by leaps and bounds by the time he jetted. Working with the Smackdown Six (he was actually one of them) benefited he and the company greatly. Like Cena, he wasn't expected to succeed overnight. It would be two full years before Cena or Lesnar would blossom into the performers WWE expected. Unfortunately, by the time Brock was ready, he left.

The benefit of having a WCW to turn to, quenches the disputing.
I realize WCW was low rate, but fans didn't realize this in '96, when talents were leaving WWE because they weren't being paid to their liking.
No sense in beating a dead horse, however. I'd love for two companies to be genuinely be competing with one another.

I think Vince's comments about Brock becoming more of a growing attraction when he left had more to do with the audience finally warming up to him rather than just improving on his work in any one specific area (verbal skills, ring work, etc.) It usually takes time to become an attraction as people don't typically become draws overnight.

As far as his mic skills went, he may have improved on them a little by the end of his first tenure in WWE, but not a whole lot. His ring work, on the other hand, never needed working on imo. He was a freak of nature athletically speaking and his performances inside the squared circle were always so stellar that it was almost impossible to improve on them in the first place.

 

[Red Rain]

I think Vince's comments about Brock becoming more of a growing attraction when he left had more to do with the audience finally warming up to him rather than just improving on his work in any one specific area (verbal skills, ring work, etc.) It usually takes time to become an attraction as people don't typically become draws overnight.

As far as his mic skills went, he may have improved on them a little by the end of his first tenure in WWE, but not a whole lot. His ring work, on the other hand, never needed working on imo. He was a freak of nature athletically speaking and his performances inside the squared circle were always so stellar that it was almost impossible to improve on them in the first place.

You and I only differ in particulars here. I saw massive improvement in both Cena and Lesnar in the first two years of performing on the active roster.

You mention 'warming up' and I suppose I'm too smart for that logic. The audience, as a whole, may require being accustomed to the new big thing. I observed the ring work, the mic skills and the ability to work the crowd and saw Cena & Lesnar come around by working with superior talent.

I'm not saying that the 'warming up' analogy is false, only that I (being one fan) see the details. For the record, people downplay working the crowd. Working the crowd has less to do with verbal skills and more to do with body language and acknowledging them. Examples of this are generally reserved for house shows, though.