On the latest episode of his “Hall of Fame” podcast, Booker T delved into the controversy surrounding the resemblance between Lacey Evans’ character and the iconic persona of Sgt. Slaughter, which he popularized during the 1990s in WWE. Evans introduced the character on the June 2nd episode of SmackDown.
Regarding Evans’ match with Zelina Vega, Booker said,
“I was reading a lot of the comments about her making her comeback. You know, a lot of people weren’t that impressed with her. A lot of people were calling for Lacey Evans to be fired, all kinds of stuff. I didn’t actually see the match or anything like that. But a lot of people saying that it was underwhelming with Zelina Vega. If I’m not mistaken.”
Commenting on Evans not seeking permission for the gimmick, the WWE Hall of Famer offered the following insights,
“Nah, it doesn’t matter. I don’t think Sarge has any weigh-in on [whether] you know somebody [has] a certain gimmick or not, if they want to do an army gimmick or not, they want to do the Cobra clutch or not — that’s just not the way the business works. Now, on the other hand, some things [that are] almost like sacred aren’t to be rehashed or anything like that.”
Discussing the compatibility of the gimmick in the present era, Booker T suggested,
“And I just don’t think where the world is right now, we gonna need a savior like you know, Sgt. Slaughter coming in to save America. I was just looking at last night, A&E’s biography on Iron Sheik. And Iron Sheik — in that era, when Iron Sheik was doing that, it was perfect timing. When Sgt. Slaughter did it, it was perfect timing. America was in a totally different place than we as Americans, as people, we were in a totally different place and with that time and it worked. It worked perfectly.”
Elaborating on whether Evans is even fit for a gimmick of that sort in the first place, Booker added,
“But for Lacey Evans, we’ve seen her this sassy vixen, Southern Belle, and then go from that to the story that she gave there for a minute as far as her background being whatnot. Then now, you know, jumping into the Sgt. Slaughter [gimmick]. It’s just hard, man. Because she’s jumping all around you and it’s just that character — it’s just hard for it to work in 2023. Coming out, barking orders at that gimmick wrestler. And we see the characters that get over, you know. The Rhea Ripleys, the Charlotte Flairs. The Bianca Belairs. Just real people, you know. I mean, they’re just coming out and making you feel a certain way when you see them walk out that curtain, has a certain something about them that makes you feel. And this when it comes out, it makes you feel like we are in a different era, you know? I don’t think G.I. Bro could work for one second today.”
