– Jim Ross recently stated on Twitter that Sean Waltman would be a great addition to the training staff at WWE developmental, noting,“His youthful energy would also connect well.”
– Booker T took part in a WWE conference call today to promote this Sunday night’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Here are some highlights courtesy of ProWrestling.net:
* WWE publicist Joe Villa opened the call and discussed the WWE Royal Rumble and the “Shooting Straight” panel that take place on Saturday and Sunday. He turned the call over to Booker T and plugged his book “From Prison to Promise.”
* Booker said he’s looking forward to the Royal Rumble. He said it’s one of the biggest events of the year next to WrestleMania.
* Booker said he would not be entering the Rumble. He said he will be doing his general manager duties.
* Booker was asked for his thoughts on the new straight shooting panel approach. He said he’s looking forward to it. He said there are questions that fans have waited years to have answered and now they have that chance.
* Booker said listed his personal favorite Rumble memory is when he returned to the company.
* Regarding the potential of a Harlem Heat reunion, Booker said he thinks the fans want it and it’s something they need to do at some point.
* Booker was asked about the return of The Rock. He said Rock is a great ambassador to the business and it’s great that he’s back. He spoke about how the young wrestlers can learn from the way he has fun in the ring.
* Booker was asked how far WWE contacted him about being a surprised entrant in the Royal Rumble match. He said it was a couple weeks. “It was almost a spur of the moment thing, it wasn’t planned months in advance at all,” he said.
* Booker said he is getting ready to start writing his second book. He said the fans deserve to hear about the WCW and WWE side of hiscareer. He said he will probably leave out the TNA years because it was bleak and not much happened.
* Booker T said nothing about the panel discussions is scripted. He noted that Kevin Nash is a character. He said he, Nash, and Big Show have three different stories to tell from three different perspectives. “We’re not going to hold anything back,” he said.
* Booker’s promotion Reality of Wrestling was brought up and he was asked whether he has anyone ready for WWE. He said there’s already one of his kids in WWE developmental and another one who entered Gut Check.
* Booker was asked about Rumble surprises. He laughed and said he would like to see Junkyard Dog if he could pick from anyone.
* I asked Booker whether he hoped to spend his entire career in WCW before the sale to WWE occurred or whether WWE was always on his radar. He said he hoped to be a guy who spent hiscareer in one company. He noted that he was leery of WWE because they worked in a lot of cities with colder climates.
* I also asked Booker about using different accents during his TNA time with the goal of being noticed by someone in Hollywood. He stated that he wasn’t trying to become an actor, but rather he was pursuing voiceover work. He said he wants to work behind the scenes in wrestling and help the younger wrestlers achieve their goals.
* Booker was asked whether it was hard to be as revealing as he was in his first book. He said he has no skeletons in his closet and he hopes to inspire kids who read it.
* Booker was asked about growing up before the eyes of the viewers in WCW. He said there was truly a war between WWE and WCW during the Monday Night War era. He said the NWO changed the landscape. He said it was great to be on top during that time and having the arenas sold out. He said you saw the wrestlers start to relax and there were a lot of guys who were paid a lot of money and didn’t care about their performances and partied too much. He said he felt that’s when the momentum shifted. Booker said he was having fun and he saw everything happening around him and the other wrestlers becoming soft. He said he knew he would win by attrition. He said he was still ready and prepared to go around the track one more time in WWE. He said the guys who were slacking weren’t as prepared. He said all the money they were paid caught up with them and they got fat and couldn’t keep up anymore. “Thank God I was prepared for the situation when it came,” Booker said.
* Booker spoke about adjusting from WCW to WWE and how hard he worked. He said he’s blessed to still be there and wants to be an ambassador for the business for years to come.
* Booker was asked more about The Shooting Straight panels. He said there won’t be any rules and he’s prepared to answer anything and everything, including dropping the n-bomb in a promo accidentally. “All that is in the past,” Booker said. “We shouldn’t have to hide from it.” He said he expects the questions to get personal.
* Joe Villa wrapped up the conference call and delivered a final pitch for the Royal Rumble, the Shooting Straight panels on Saturday and Sunday, and hyped that you can pick up Booker T’s “From Prison to Promise” on Amazon.com. Booker gave his Twitter handle and encouraged viewers to check out his Reality of Wrestling. Booker hyped the Royal Rumble pay-per-view to close the conference call.