During the latest edition of his “Hall of Fame” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T commented on Big E. winning the WWE title, the work he’s done with his character, and more. You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
Booker T on Big E winning the WWE title and Big E’s character work inside and outside the ring: “I’m pleased to see Big E as the champion. I told Big E, I said the cream rises to the top, and you’ve got something and your day is gonna come. That day is here because he’s the champion now. I say this also, what he makes out of this moment is gonna be his legacy and what he leaves behind in this business as far as how he ran with the championship and how special was that time. That’s gonna be all up to him now. I was looking at the first week as far as still carrying a lot of the New Day baggage with him as far as still going out and dressing like the New Day, still chanting New Day Rocks, still having the same aura or attitude. But I remember Big E saying when I made the first comment about him maybe needing to change a little bit of something, I don’t know if he said it publicly but he said it to me, he said you became champion as King Booker. I think the character was somewhat over the top and flamboyant and whatnot. That could’ve been taken as a joke, but that’s the one thing I tried that with all the antics outside the ring, he never took any of that inside the ring. It was always king vs. peasant or someone trying to dethrone him. I tried to make that moment as seriously as I possibly could. I notice Big E, that’s one thing he does. Once his matches get going, all the New Day antics pretty much go out the window when he becomes a worker. That part there, I agree with 100 percent. Big E is definitely capable of carrying the company and being that guy.”
On gimmicks being a thing of the past in wrestling: “I was talking about something last week, and I said gimmicks are pretty much the thing of the past. But I always say also, there’s a place for something like that on the show, but there can only be one. Everybody cannot be a gimmick as far as the overall show. It’s not gonna work if every wrestler….it would look like cartoon or circus. But if you’ve got that one guy like The Undertaker – you just can’t have the whole roster looking like a gimmick. The same thing with the performance. You just can’t play haha all the time and get in the ring and expect the fans to take you serious if you don’t switch gears. You can do haha, but when you get in the ring, haha goes out the window. I say that because it’s professional wrestling. The most athletic guy may not be the most over guy because this is entertainment.”
(h/t – 411 Wrestling)
