Booker T A&E Biography Review

I’m finally getting caught up on the WWE on A&E specials, and the Booker T Biography was well done.

Here are some thoughts on the Booker T episode:

– I’m sure Booker has told the story before, but I didn’t recall the background on his mother passing away at 49. The impact that had on his rough childhood where he went without water or electricity was certainly significant. So was him eventually going in the wrong direction. Again, I knew he’d been in jail for robbery, but I forgot that it involved robbing 26 Wendy’s restaurants. Booker retelling the story of cops pointing guns at him was something. Also, Booker’s line about no one ever asking what he wanted to be when he grew up was brutal.

– It was great to see Stevie Ray get a lot of screen time. Obviously, as Booker’s brother and tag team partner, he’s a big part of his life and career. You had to laugh at Booker mentioning Stevie Ray got him a job as a security guard straight outta prison.

– Ivan Putski and Bruce Gasarch added a lot with their involvement in the documentary. Putski played a role in Booker’s initial wrestling interests, while Gasarch’s belief in him gave him an opportunity to go to wrestling school.

– I liked that they really went into the racial issues early in their Global Wrestling Federation run. That was their launching pad as Harlem Heat and an important part of the team’s history. Throughout the documentary, they played up the importance of Booker and Stevie Ray to young Black kids and giving them someone to look up to.

– Surprisingly, the documentary did go into Booker’s infamous Hulk Hogan promo, though didn’t spend much time on it.

– I had forgotten how great a moment it was when Booker finally captured the WCW World title at Bash at the Beach 2000. However, the convoluted path to get there sure was wild. I had also forgotten about the hilariousness of Booker’s grocery store fight with Steve Austin. That was awesome.

– Yes, they completely ignored Booker’s feud with Triple H. But I’m not sure anyone really expected them to go into that. At this point, you know what you’re getting with a WWE-produced documentary. They weren’t touching that one.

– Booker’s emotion when describing his son currently being in jail was another tough part. That is probably one of the biggest takeaways from the documentary – the love that he has for his son, despite the path that led him there.