Never one to shy away from controversy, Ryback had recently issued a challenge for a fight with Booker T.
During the latest episode of his “Hall of Fame” podcast, Booker T addressed Ryback’s challenge. He said,
“Let’s get the elephant out of the room, guys. Ryback is not gonna beat me up. [laughs] I’m not scared, I’m not running. The thing is, Ryback put a challenge out to me for a fight. He said even a Bellator fight. Look, Bellator doesn’t want any part of a fight between Booker T and [Ryback]. Reality of Wrestling might put something on like that, but no real big organization will do anything like that. But as far as the challenge goes, I accept Ryback’s challenge to a fight. Now, this is what I need Ryback to do. Just go out on his platform and say anytime he sees Booker T in public, it’s on. The green light between both of them, and nobody’s gonna get sued. And if we just run into each other and something happens, it just happened. Let’s just say that. But I’m not gonna go looking for a fight or anything. That’s just not me. Because you know, you never call a person out to a fight. You never know what a person is capable of. But as far as defending yourself? Oh my God, man. I’m always about defending myself… I want to get it out there.”
Explaining his reaction to Ryback’s challenge and their previous interactions, Booker T shared,
“You know what the thing is? I don’t even know why he called me out. So I did say I wouldn’t shake his hand because of some words that he said. I think I was valid for that. Be that as it may, what his excuse was, the reasons why he said — I did say when he posted that he was going to AEW, ‘Come on man, quit playing.’ It’s one of those types of [things]. But that’s all it was. It was just sarcasm. It was nothing no more than that. But to get called out to a fight and to be called the B word and the P word, that’s something you don’t call a brother. You don’t do that. You never hear me curse and talk down or derogatory towards people. That’s just not me, man. When someone says that about me, it is on when I see it. I mean, it’s as simple as that. And the thing is, I’m an easy man to find. I’m at all the cons, I’m at all the big shows, so show up.”
Reflecting on the potential repercussions if he were to engage in a fight with Ryback, Booker T humorously commented,
“Can you imagine the praise I would get from WWE if I beat the hell out of Ryback? [laughs] I’m not advocating for it. I’m just saying, I would have a 15-year contract added on just for good measure.”
Offering advice to Ryback, Booker T emphasized,
“More than anything, my advice to Ryback is to think about the future, bro. And honestly, I did say I would defend myself and accept the challenge. But man, look — you need to get past this. You need to think about life. And call people out to a fight so the fans you’re talking with have something to listen to? Bro, it just ain’t the way to go.”
