TSC Interviews: Former WCW/WWE World Champion Booker T

Booker T. Huffman is a man that has been through it all and had an incredible journey. His true story should be called From Prison to Prominence: The Booker T. Story. Hell, the guy just went on the wrong path once and could have ended up in jail 5-99 years.

But the dude persevered. He didn't just get out of prison and become a huge wrestling star, known all over the world. He didn't just become one of the most decorated champions in wrestling history.

Huffman got out of jail and never looked back. Most importantly, Booker became a better man.

I sat down with the former WCW/WWE World Heavyweight Champion to discuss his WCW, WWE, and TNA runs, trials and tribulations, as well as the charity work he and his wife Sharmell participate in. It's certainly an interview you don't want to miss.

Don't feel like reading? CLICK HERE to listen to the podcast or scroll down to read the transcript!

When did you become a wrestling fan?

I've pretty much been a wrestling fan my entire life. Houston wrestling was very popular here in Texas. Paul Boesch was the promoter down here and also a former wrestler himself. I watched it on television a lot, but I wasn't one of those kids that dreamed of becoming a wrestler.

Some kids dream about being a professional wrestler their whole lives. I wasn't like that, but I did watch it on television all the time. Saturday night and Sunday mornings are when they would air. Junkyard Dog (JYD) was my favorite wrestler.

You said you didn't want to be a wrestler when you first watched it on TV. When did you decide you actually wanted to be a wrestler?

Well, it wasn't a decision of something I originally wanted to do. It was an avenue I decided to pursue early on. It was something my brother Stevie Ray really wanted to do. I didn't want to actually become a wrestler until I went to wrestling school in 1990. Ivan Putski opened up a wrestling school in the area and held an eight week course. I went in with my $3,000 and when I came out, I felt like wrestling was something I was meant to do.

So Stevie Ray was the one that pushed you to get into wrestling?

I wouldn't say he necessarily pushed me. It's something where we used to pretend that we were wrestlers as little kids, but never thought about being wrestlers. Maybe my brother did more. My brother thought about that when he was growing up a lot more than I did because he'd go to the Sam Houston Coliseum to watch wrestling. It was something he started out doing himself by working out and bodybuilding, but I never thought about it like that.

Your past problems have been well-documented. How did you get through your trials and tribulations to become who you are today? 

Just believing in myself, knowing I didn't want to be one of the kids still on the corner, 20 years later drinking a 40 oz.—never seeing what life was really all about. I always felt like I was going to be one of those kids that got to see the world.

Having faith. I had some good people around me as a kid too. I went to prison at age 20 and then coming out, people believed in me and didn't categorize me as someone that was a bad kid. Having somebody believe in you gives a whole lot of motivation.

Besides going to Ivan Putski's wrestling school, how did you get your first major break in the business?

My brother and I went to a show in Amarillo, TX. It took us 18 hours to get to the show from Houston because the weather was so bad. We ended up meeting Skandor Akbar. He ran a promotion down in Dallas called the Global Wrestling Federation (GWF). He saw me work and said “I need to get you guys to come work for me one day.”

That was the beginning. Going to the GWF and being seen on ESPN Monday through Friday every week was great exposure, as far as being seen on TV on a worldwide stage, even if we didn't get paid that much. That was the beginning [precursor] of my WCW run.