A Look Back At Booker T's Forgotten TNA Run
TNA trying to create real competition with WWE featured them signing quite a few big names to hit the free agent market. Booker T was a huge addition when his WWE contract expired, and he wanted to make a change. Rumors started the second Booker left WWE that he would end up in TNA as the worst secret in wrestling.
Booker did have some fun moments, but his stint was overwhelmingly viewed as a disappointment. Other wrestlers criticized him for treating TNA like a vacation and he didn’t necessarily deny that notion. That shouldn’t take away from the good moments since Booker did provide some entertainment value. TNA witnessed a mixed bag from Booker that should be viewed back today.
The Good
Booker T was allowed to show new sides of himself with a bit more creative freedom in TNA. The biggest success for Booker was clearly becoming part of the Main Event Mafia. Kurt Angle and Sting were the leaders, but Booker still received a lot of promo time to help sell the veteran group’s feud with the younger stars in the Frontline.
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Scott Steiner and Booker found success as a tag team almost a decade after feuding in WCW. TNA witnessed noteworthy success from the Main Event Mafia as a rare act of all former world champions banning together. Booker was more motivated here on the character side and even introduced his own title known as the Legends Championship.
Some fans would say that Booker’s best moment in TNA came when he was on commentary with Kevin Nash. Booker adopted the persona of Black Snow for comedic one-liners when mocking the wrestlers feuding with the Main Event Mafia. The hilarious performance played a small role in WWE bringing him back for a commentary position down the line. Only one other obvious moment from his TNA stands out when debuting as Sting’s mystery partner to a huge pop before instantly losing relevance.
The Bad
Most of the feuds and storylines for Booker T ended up missing the mark or disappointing. Booker entered a feud with Samoa Joe as Joe’s longest program after winning the TNA World Championship. The PPV matches were nothing special and ended up harming Joe's overall momentum. Other opening rivalries like working with Bobby Roode left a lot to be desired.
Booker didn’t fit as well into TNA as some of the other top signings like Kurt Angle, Sting, and Christian Cage. The fit never made overall sense since Booker didn’t seem to want to evolve or add new depths to his character. Fans lost interest in Booker as a top star and he settled into a secondary role for the rest of his run.
The overall success of the Main Event Mafia allowed Booker to skate by without having to do much beyond the group production. Booker’s matches were his weak spot and failed to step up in his biggest outings. WCW witnessed Booker becoming one of their best in-ring workers and he was always solid in WWE, but the TNA tenure of his career hurt that portion of his reputation. It is one of many reasons why Booker’s TNA time is often forgotten.
The Legacy
The biggest negative of Booker T’s TNA career is the thing that comes up most when defining his time there. Booker admitting on his radio show that he treated TNA like a vacation after the years of grueling work for WWE and WCW confirmed the rumors and assumptions. The lack of care for TNA’s well-being or growth rubbed many of the homegrown stars the wrong way.
AJ Styles named Booker and Rob Van Dam in shoot interviews as some of the wrestlers who didn’t take the same pride in their TNA work as he and the other homegrown performers did. There was also an incident of Booker refusing to put over Matt Morgan when TNA wanted to help elevate him. Morgan was likely never going to be a top star, but Booker has since confirmed his controversial move of letting management know he would not go for it.
TNA unfortunately never paid off from the investment of Booker. The hope of him becoming another major player to help them contend with WWE as a top promotion didn’t work out. Booker didn’t view TNA as being worthy of his full effort and showed the negatives of a wrestler not committing their full effort. The years that have gone by — and Booker confirming rumors — showed that his legacy in the company is forgotten for good reason.
