Pro Wrestling Real Life Stories: Episode 4 - Dave Batista, Booker T, Finlay and the truth behind their 'real' fight
Perhaps one of the most talked-about "shoot fights" in professional wrestling lore is that of an altercation between former WWE Superstar Dave Batista and WCW/WWE legend Booker T.
Although the general consensus among fans is that Booker T allegedly got the better of the exchanges, the reality behind this unfortunate clash is much more complex than someone winning or losing the fight. In fact, what most people aren't really privy to, is that there were a few other key factors at play before, during and after the fight transpired.
Today, we are going to be looking at some of the lesser known intricacies of this real-life rivalry between Batista and Booker T--and attempt to unravel how a minor backstage issue led to a bloody, brutal "real fight". We'd like to thank former WWE Superstar and current WWE producer Fit Finlay for providing the fans a deep insight into what really transpired back in the summer of 2006...
*Fans can look forward to 2 episodes of "Pro Wrestling Real Life Stories" being released every weekend (Saturday & Sunday) in the upcoming days.
#5 Wrestler's court
Well, wrestler's court--an informal backstage court that settles real-life issues and disagreements between the performers--was undoubtedly more prevalent back in the day than it is now. However, around the year 2006, the wrestler's court--despite gradually beginning to lose a bit of significance--was still very much a thing...SummerSlam was fast-approaching, and needless to say the WWE Superstars were incredibly busy with their routines ahead of the biggest party of the summer.
Anecdotes:
It was noted by WWE.com that the entire crew were, especially the WWE's top performers, were headed towards a magnificent mansion for a photo-shoot related to SummerSlam 2006, and it was under the roof of said mansion that both Batista and Booker T found themselves crossing paths once again.
Rumor has it that the first time when they'd truly gotten to know one another was when Batista and Melina Perez were reprimanded by wrestler's court--allegedly owing to the latter's attitude problems in the WWE locker room...Apparently, the judge had ruled against Melina, and the prosecutor in said case was none other than Booker T.
It was around the same time that Dave Batista was rumored to be in a real-life relationship with Melina, and the former had been rubbed the wrong way by Booker T leading the charge in the prosecution of Melina by the wrestler's court...