"It's never going to work like that" - Booker T discloses the biggest obstacle in WWE-AEW crossover
Booker T has given insight into what could happen in a potential WWE-AEW crossover. With AEW currently on the verge of arguably the biggest wrestling crossover in years with The Forbidden Door, many have fantasized about a dream WWE-AEW crossover. Two-time Hall of Famer Booker T revealed the biggest obstacles that will prevent it from ever happening.
AEW is arguably the #2 wrestling company in the world. While New Japan Pro Wrestling took that spot for years, they were a long distance behind WWE and didn't hold a big presence in the United States of America. AEW has been quick to expand its global appeal, securing a few broadcast deals outside the US.
On the latest episode of The Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T said that he isn't in favor of a WWE-AEW crossover and went into detail to explain the reason. He revealed the inevitable conflict that will take place with two giants like WWE and AEW trying to cross-promote:
"I can't speak for Stephanie [McMahon] or Triple H, and we can't speculate. But I wouldn't. I wouldn't be thinking about cross-promoting or anything like that. I'd be thinking about one thing - putting these other guys out of business, if possible. It's just my thing. We're talking about doing stuff with AEW? That's not going to work for me from a business perspective. Just because there's always going to be a conflict there, somewhere down the line. It's not going to be roses. We're talking about AEW when there's a 100 executive producers. It's never going to work like that. Sooner or later, somebody's going to get ticked off. You can't be friends in such situations." (54:00-55:00)
He gave a smaller analogy to his promotion Reality Of Wrestling by saying that he has to be the one running the show:
"There's no way you can have my people at Reality of Wrestling trying to call the shots. Who has the final say? I do, every time. In business, someone's always got to be running the show." (55:05-55:54)
You can watch the full episode of Booker T's Hall of Fame podcast below:
Will Booker T be proven right by the Forbidden Door?
Ahead of #ForbiddenDoor this Sunday, @IAmJericho & his new #SuzukiGun ally @lancehoyt face the team of @JonMoxley & @tanahashi1_100 on #AEWDynamite LIVE on @TBSNetwork! https://t.co/Q31Hl3dZfV
In just a few days, we will see the biggest wrestling crossover in years. The Forbidden door is expected to be headlined by the AEW Interim World Championship bout between Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
The IWGP World Heavyweight Championship will also be on the line as Jay White defends the title in a star-studded fatal-4-way match featuring Kazuchika Okada, Adam Cole, and Adam "Hangman" Page.
Booker T could be proven wrong, but there haven't been rumors of conflicts between AEW and NJPW from a creative standpoint so far. However, with two companies of the caliber of AEW and WWE, two-time Hall of Famer Booker T is likely on point about the potential conflict that might happen.
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