"I earned that respect" - Details on The Undertaker allowing WWE legend to change in the locker room
Booker T recently revealed that he only started dressing in the WWE locker room when The Undertaker gave him permission to do so.
In 2001, Booker T was one of many wrestlers who joined WWE after Vince McMahon purchased WCW. Despite his previous success, the five-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion did not initially prepare for his matches in the WWE locker room.
Speaking on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw, the 53-year-old explained that The Undertaker respected him and questioned why he did not change with everyone else.
“I remember coming to work one day and Undertaker said, ‘Hey, man, why don’t you come and dress over here with us?’ " Booker T recalled. "That was the first time I dressed in the TV locker room. I earned that respect and it paid off."
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After he worked for WCW from 1993 to 2001, Booker T performed as an in-ring competitor for WWE between 2001 and 2007. He won several titles in WWE, including the World Heavyweight Championship and the Intercontinental Championship. Booker also emerged victorious in the 2006 King of the Ring tournament.
Booker T compares the WCW and WWE locker rooms
Booker T was part of a WCW roster that included legendary names like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Ric Flair. Along with Booker, Goldberg was also among the younger stars in WCW during the 1990s.
Over two decades later, Booker T regularly tells students at his Reality of Wrestling school about the importance of locker room etiquette. He noted that he learned this lesson based on seeing how some of the WCW stars handled themselves backstage.
“I always tell people, ‘You gotta know how to make it in the locker room before you ever have a chance at making it in the ring,'" Booker T added. "And I say that because I came from WCW, and every WCW guy, none of them knew how to make it in the locker room. They could work, they didn’t know how to make it in the locker room."
The two-time WWE Hall of Famer also described how he tried to forget about his WCW accolades as soon as he joined WWE. He knew that any titles he won at another company would not mean anything to his new co-workers once he began working for Vince McMahon. Booker went on to have a legendary career in WWE, so he certainly proved himself during his time there.
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