Booker T was warned fairly early into his WWE run that taking a nap backstage may get him warmth, however he wasn’t about to lose any sleep over it. As a substitute of following the unwritten rule, Booker intentionally examined it by telling Jim Ross precisely the place he was going to sleep.
Talking on the Corridor of Fame podcast, Booker was discussing the lengthy hours wrestlers may spend ready round backstage earlier than reveals. He had his personal manner of coping with that downtime — discover someplace comfy and get some sleep.
“I’d simply discover a nook and fall asleep, you understand. However I bear in mind — I all the time take into consideration the primary time after I received to WWE, and I used to be within the locker room and I used to be nodding off, you understand, and I used to be catching a nap.”
That apparently wasn’t one thing everyone thought Booker needs to be doing in WWE. He recalled one other wrestler approaching him backstage and nervously warning him that sleeping may rapidly put him on the improper facet of individuals within the firm.
“And this man got here in. He was so scared, and he goes, ‘Hey, E book, you understand, hey man, I wouldn’t try this round right here if I used to be you.’ And I am going, ‘What?’ He goes, ‘Taking a nap. That’s not cool. You may get a variety of warmth.’ And I am going, ‘Taking a nap?’ He goes, ‘Yeah.’”
Booker wasn’t precisely terrified by the warning. If something, listening to how severe the opposite wrestler was about it made him need to discover out whether or not this supposed rule was really actual.
“Okay. And he was scared. He was actually frightened, to the purpose the place I am going, ‘Let me take a look at this principle, as a result of I’m going to take a nap or they’re going to have to fireplace me.’ Proper?”
Booker didn’t quietly sneak away to see if anyone would discover both. Since Jim Ross was the one that signed his WWE contract, Booker determined to go straight to him and principally announce that he was about to interrupt this supposed backstage rule.
“So, the individual that signed my contract was JR — Jim Ross. I bear in mind strolling after this man informed me that. I left, I used to be strolling out, and I handed Jim Ross and I mentioned, ‘Hey, Jim.’ He goes, ‘Yeah, E book.’ I mentioned, ‘If anyone’s searching for me, I’ll be in my automotive taking a nap.’”
Ross’ response wasn’t precisely the dressing-down Booker had been warned about. He merely acknowledged him and let Booker keep it up.
“He goes, ‘All proper.’ I stored strolling. And he didn’t say nothing.”
That was just about all Booker wanted to listen to. So far as he was involved, if one of many high folks concerned in bringing him to WWE didn’t care, he wasn’t going to fret about some mysterious backstage warmth.
“So, I mentioned, ‘I’m going to go to the highest man and take a look at this principle, as a result of if I can’t take a nap, any person’s going to return and inform me why I can’t take a nap.’”
Booker additionally didn’t see sleeping as him being lazy backstage. He considered it as a part of getting himself bodily able to carry out later that night time.
“As a result of me taking a nap is me getting ready for tonight. I’m preparing.”
If WWE really had an issue with that, Booker wished any person with authority to elucidate the logic to him. Apparently, that dialog by no means occurred.
“And when somebody may, you understand, inform me why I can’t put together and prepare for tonight — as a result of I don’t apply. I don’t do a variety of stuff like that like a variety of these guys did — any person received to inform me. Anyone received to elucidate it.”
Ultimately, Booker’s little experiment apparently settled the problem for good. He stored taking his naps, no one got here seeking to punish him for it, and the supposed backstage rule by no means turned an issue once more.
“And nobody ever defined it to me. And nobody ever mentioned something to me about taking naps, you understand, my complete profession.”
Booker principally referred to as WWE’s backstage bluff on day one and by no means heard one other phrase about it. What one other wrestler handled like a harmful unwritten rule turned out to be one thing Booker ignored for the remainder of his profession with out anyone stopping him.
What do you concentrate on wrestlers doubtlessly getting backstage warmth in WWE only for sleeping earlier than a present? Tell us within the feedback beneath.
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