New SmackDown General Manager adds to his impressive list of experiences
 
By Jim Varsallone  jvarsallone@miamiherald.com

To have the boss call you into his office could be a good thing or maybe not.

For WWE’s Booker T, it was all good, gladly accepting Vince McMahon’s offer recently to become the WWE SmackDown general manager.

“Vince McMahon gave me the news, and my initial thoughts were ‘OK,’” chuckled Booker T, ready for the challenge. “More than anything it was a great honor to be named general manager of SmackDown by Vince McMahon, a guy who I respect so much, a guy I learned from, a guy who’s mentored me so many years. It was a great, great day for me. It really was.”

Booker T’s wrestled through many big storylines during his WCW and WWE career, but Sunday begins a new chapter, his first pay-per-view as a G.M., and it’s one of the big four.

WWE’s SummerSlam pay-per-view is 8 p.m. EST, emanating from the Staples Center, home to NBA’s showtime Los Angeles Lakers.

Booker T’s met many legendary sports figures like Muhammad Ali and football great Gayle Sayers, and Sunday could be another magical moment for the sports fan. Maybe.

“I’ve met Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I’ve met Shaq [a former Raw guest host]. I wouldn’t call us friends, but we know each other very well,” Booker T said. “Magic Johnson, I haven’t gotten a chance to meet him just yet, but I definitely hope to and get that picture with him so I can put it up on my wall.

“You can’t sleep on Magic, the guy who did it so gracefully with that million dollar smile. He did it the way he wanted to.”

WWE does, too, putting smiles on many faces including athletes and celebs, especially in L.A., Southern California, Hollywood. Charlie Sheen, Ashton Kutcher, Jenny McCarthy, Shaq, Michael Clarke Duncan, Rose McGowan, Arsenio Hall, Tito Ortiz, Cheryl Burke, Slash, Piers Morgan, Lacey Schwimmer, Trace Adkins, Marlon Waynes, Nancy O’Dell, Snoop Dogg, Magic Johnson. You never know who may appear when WWE’s in town.

Don’t worry WWE fans. Although a Magic meeting would be great, Booker T’s not looking to stargaze at the Staples Center. He’s focused to help entertain the tens of thousands of fans in attendance and millions more watching on pay-per-view.

• SmackDown’s cornerstone matchup at SummerSlam features World champ Sheamus against Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez).

SmackDown’s cornerstone is World champ Sheamus, but Alberto Del Rio is not far behind.

Booker T said: “It is the flagship Friday Night SmackDown World heavyweight champion Sheamus going up against... a guy who’s so unpredictable in Alberto Del Rio, a guy who’s so technical, a guy who’s so sound in the middle of the ring. That matchup is the one that I’m going to be highly, highly anticipating.”

Booker T not only respects Alberto Del Rio.

“That Lambo [Lamborghini] he was in was awesome,” he said. “Alberto Del Rio coming to WWE, the guy’s got a lot of class, but more importantly, he goes out in the middle of that ring and steps up every week. He believes he is better than everybody else from the entertainment standpoint, and it shows — even when he’s just walking to the ring. I love what the guy is doing. I love the showmanship and style. His in-ring presence, the guy has it all.”

Do you have a favorite SummerSlam moment involving you?

“I really don’t,” Booker T said. “I never really think about myself that way. I always let the fans determine what moments they liked the most.

"I never performed for that reason. I always performed to the crowd, and I just wanted to make sure they left enjoying it. They got plenty of moments, perhaps,”

• Booker T completed his gig as commentator for SmackDown and started his new endeavor.

General manager Booker T. No one saw it coming just as he never planned to work at the broadcast table.

Commentating just happened because WWE execs remembered his days backstage as a wrestler when he called the matches for the boys and girls off the monitor in the locker room. He entertained his peers. It’s much different when you’re sharing, working with others at the broadcast table amid restrictions.

“I give myself a C, maybe a C+, maybe,” he admitted. “That job is a job you’ve got to learn on the job and literally study on a weekly basis. You’ve literally got to stay in tune to what’s going on in life as well, just to stay fresh. Being a commentator is something I jumped into headfirst, not knowing exactly what I was getting myself into. I looked at it as a learning experience. I never tried to put myself over Michael Cole or Josh Mathews or tried to make myself the voice of SmackDown or anything like that.

“I was just trying to learn, get better. Right now I’ve got Teddy Long as my adviser just because you can’t step into something thinking you know it.”

• So what is the greater challenge? Tag team wrestler, singles wrestler, trainer, promoter, commentator, general manager or artist?

“Commentator,” he laughed. “Everywhere else I’m comfortable. I actually don’t consider myself a trainer. I consider myself a teacher. Trainers are like Army drill sergeants. They train one way. They train everybody to do it the same way.

“I don’t do it that way. My guys go out and figure out the problem. As long as it’s right, it’s OK with me. About being in the ring, I was always comfortable performing in front of a crowd. That was something that didn’t bother me at all. Running my own business, being the promoter, the knowledge from all the years performing prepared me for that.

“Commentating was something I was stepping into blind. Even though I had performed for years, it doesn’t prepare you for being at the table. I loved it. I had a great experience with Michael Cole, Josh Mathews, King [Jerry Lawler], and I wouldn’t change it for nothing.”

Any discussions about doing both -- general manager and commentating?

“No, I don’t think you can do both,” he said. “You’d be like a player/coach, getting too involved. Your opinions should be voiced publicly as commentator, but as G.M. that should be done behind the scenes. As a commentator, that was my job to voice my opinion, whether people liked it or not. I think separating the two is appropriate.”

• What can he learn from his G.M. predecessors like John Laurinaitis and Vickie Guerrero?

“I can learn a lot from John Laurinaitis,” Booker T said. “He was a stern G.M. He made some crazy, stupid decisions, but sometimes he made some really good decisions. He went out and upheld the position as far as being real serious about it.

“Vickie Guerrero, she went out and entertained to the utmost. That’s what this job is going to entail. I have to go out and entertain the fans. I got to give them the best show on Friday night I possibly can give ‘em. Everybody knows the personality of Booker T. Everybody knows I’m a little offbeat sometimes. It’s going to be great. Friday Night SmackDown, you can look forward to some highly entertaining content.”

• Booker T already named former SmackDown G.M. Teddy Long as his senior adviser. Good move. Long’s invested a long career in the industry, working several jobs including manager and referee. Booker T plans to have an assistant, but it won’t be his queen, aka wife Sharmell.

“My queen right now is busy,” he said. “Kelly Rose and Kendrick James just turned 2-years-old [Aug. 5], so she’s busy. She’s got her hands full with the twins.

“SmackDown G.M., trust me, I’m going to be on the job. I’m going to be calling it down the middle. I’m not going to be pulling any punches. It’s going to be all about the show, giving the fans the best entertainment Booker T can bring.”

• Booker T did not want to critique A.J., Raw’s newest general manager, a young general manager at 25.

“I want to say good luck to A.J.,” he said. “As far as the way she handles it and how long she lasts, because it is a rough job, and she is so young, dealing with so many different personalities, it’s going to be hard just to keep it fresh.

“I always say it’s easy to get there, but it’s so, so much harder to stay there. So I just say good luck to A.J. on handling that situation.”

• Anyone on SmackDown you’d like to see get a shot to step it up?

“I don’t want to say to be biased or anything like that as far as I want this one to step up,” he said. “I think these guys are going to have step up. It’s up to them to step up.

“I’m going to be voicing my opinion [backstage], not just going to be some figurehead G.M. I want to voice my opinion as far as which guys I think are stepping up and which guys aren’t. So these guys are going to have to go out there and learn their craft. Otherwise, I’m going to be pushing for them taking a step a back, putting them on the backburner, to instead work with somebody else. These guys got to step up to the plate. They got to produce.”

• When not on the road for WWE, Booker T keeps busy with his PWA wrestling school and ROW promotion in Houston.

 http://www.realityofwrestling.com/

Booker T mentioned a new wrestler Ty from ROW as potential.

Also,

“My kid right now, my champion is Rockstar Robbie Gilmore,” Booker T said. “He’s a standout. He’s a kid who works behind the scenes tirelessly.

“Most of the people who just watch it. They don’t understand how hard it really is. That’s why I try to give background on who these kids really are and what they’re trying to do in this business.”

• SummerSlam is a week after the close of the Summer Olympics.

Booker T’s favorite Summer Olympics sport?

The 100-meter dash.

Usain Bolt

Booker T: “He was a thunderbolt. He was running. He was running hard. It was a good race.

“The United States didn’t pull it out. We didn’t pull it out in any of our big events [men’s track & field] that we normally rule — the 200, the 400, the hurdles. It just proves they are getting better around the world, and we gotta step it up, too.”

WWE reps traveled to London, scouting amateur wrestlers during the Olympics. A list of amateur wrestlers made a smooth transition to the pro style. Why not more.

“We got to just let these kids know exactly what the WWE is all about,” Booker T said, “what the lifestyle of a WWE superstar is really all about... I think it’s going to be up to us to educate them — the life of a WWE superstar compared to the life of one of those other guys in one of those other sports. The life of a WWE superstar is a rough, rough life. In the next 20 years, are you going to have cauliflower ears? Are you going to be walking straight up? It’s a hard life, but the richest you get from it you can’t pass up on it — seeing the world, being in front of that audience. You choose it. It didn’t choose you. You just have to be prepared for it.”

• SummerSlam is on the heels of summer time’s movies?

“One movie I watched was ‘The Avengers,’” he said. “That was a pretty good movie. That was the last one I got a chance to see this summer.

“I’m looking forward to the new Bourne movie, ‘The Bourne Legacy.’ I’m a big fan of The Bourne Trilogy. I’m looking forward to catching that, after the rush. I’ll probably catch a matinee or something like that.”

• From Houston, Booker T is an 11-time WCW tag team champion, a six-time WWE champion and has the distinction of being the last official WCW champion. He was a WWE Intercontinental champion, United States champion, WCW Television champion; Hardcore champion and 2006 King of the Ring.

• Twitter @BOOKERT5X

• WWE’s SummerSlam pay-per-view is 8 p.m. EST Sunday, Aug. 19 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It marks the 25th anniversary of one of WWE’s top pay-per-views.

 Book It

Dolph Ziggler (with Vickie Guerrero) vs. Chris Jericho

Booker T analysis: “Dolph Ziggler/Jericho, that’s gonna be a match to watch because Jericho is such a professional. He’s an artist when he goes out into the ring. He’ll make Dolph Ziggler the best that he’s ever been that night. Trust me.

“Dolph has gone out and performed at a high level thus far, but Jericho’s gonna go out there and bring the best out of him and show him something that he’s never seen before.”

Triple H (with Shawn Michaels) vs. Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman)

Booker T analysis: “Brock Lesnar/Triple H, that match just from a nostalgia perspective you got watch, you got to buy a ticket, got to get the pay-per-view to see exactly what’s gonna happen.”

WWE champ CM Punk vs. Big Show vs. John Cena

Booker T analysis: “CM Punk/Cena/Big Show triple threat for the WWE championship, everybody’s gonna be anticipating that.”

Kane vs. Daniel Bryan

Booker T analysis: “Daniel Bryan/Kane, that match will be knock down, drag out.”

World champ Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) — (See above)

Also, Intercontinental champ The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio

WWE tag champs R-Truth and Kofi Kingston vs. The Primetime Players (Titus O’Neil and Darren Young)

And more.

 http://www.wwe.com/shows/summerslam.

• SummerSlam pre-show: U.S. champ Santino Marella vs. Antonio Cesaro (with Aksana)

The pre-show airs at 7:30 p.m. EST on www.wwe.com, Facebook and www.youtube.com/wwe.

• The WWE superstars and divas have some fun with the WWE SummerSlam theme song “Don’t Give Up” by Kevin Rudolf.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUhQmx4SRZw.

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