"I can't say that, it's going to mess up all of my street cred" - Former WWE Champion refused to use four-word phrase given by Vince McMahon
It's no secret that WWE was wholly different under Vince McMahon's regime. The former CEO was quite particular about the verbiage used on TV, and Booker T recently revealed a four-word phrase McMahon wanted him to say during a live broadcast.
Booker T developed a reputation for his unique announcing style, and he recalled being against saying 'much to his chagrin,' which refers to being annoyed or distressed by something. The former WWE Champion said that he wasn't known to utilize such vocabulary in his promos and felt that the phrase would have destroyed his "street cred."
Vince McMahon has historically always been in his commentator's ears as he fed them lines from the Gorilla position and was pretty stubborn about his vision for the product.
However, Booker T wasn't going to blindly follow everything Vince McMahon wanted him to do and revealed why he refused to say 'much to his chagrin,' as you can view below on his podcast:
"Yeah, much to his chagrin. That's the one that I was like, I can't say that; it's going to mess up all of my street cred (laughs). I would never say 'much to his chagrin.' I never said that to anybody in my regular daily life, ever! Yeah, I can imagine you and I having a conversation, 'much to his chagrin' (laughs). You'd look at me like, 'What are you talking about?' So, that was the only one, and like I said, I couldn't say as it would have messed up all my street cred," revealed the Hall of Famer. "I mean, I'm out here talking about Shucky Ducky Quack Quack, and no bread, no water, just meat, and now I'm saying, 'much to his chagrin.'" [45:50 - 46:40]
Booker T comments on making commentary return for WWE
As announced by the company earlier this week, Booker T will join NXT's announce team alongside Vic Joseph following a massive reshuffling of the commentary lineups for every brand.
Booker T is one of the most recognizable voices in wrestling and has sporadically appeared for WWE in various roles over the past few years. The former world champion revealed that he has a great relationship with high-ranking WWE officials, which enabled him to get another stint as a commentator.
The 57-year-old legend also sent a message of gratitude to WWE and eagerly looked forward to a new chapter in the promotion.
"I know the higher-ups in WWE that made the decision to actually pull the trigger and put me in the booth. I just want to thank them first and foremost. I want to thank those guys." [3:20 - 3:35]
Are you excited to see Booker T on NXT? Share your reactions in the comments section below.
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