Booker T Reflects on His Influence in WWE’s King of the Ring Tournament

In a recent discussion, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T reflected on his King Booker persona and its influence on the contemporary iterations of the King of the Ring tournament. The King and Queen of the Ring tournaments now come with a guaranteed opportunity at the world heavyweight title, a topic Booker T addressed during his appearance on The Undertaker’s “Six Feet Under” podcast.

“I’m the only King to have ever won the Heavyweight Championship,” Booker T noted. “Now, they’ve established that winning the King of the Ring leads to a title shot — and that’s because of me. I just want to put that out there [laughs].”

He explained that fully embracing the character was essential to making the gimmick work, which he successfully did during his time as King Booker in WWE. “Winning the Heavyweight Championship was an honor, but it wasn’t something I actively thought about,” he said.

“What mattered to me was knowing I represented the show well. It was clear I did an extraordinary job playing that role because it was a character, a gimmick. To effectively portray a gimmick, you must fully commit to it; otherwise, it won’t resonate.”

Additionally, Booker T acknowledged his wife, fellow Hall of Famer Sharmell, as a crucial part of his success with the King Booker gimmick, emphasizing that he couldn’t have achieved it without her by his side.

He revealed that the gimmick was inspired by his habit of referring to Sharmell as his “queen” and noted that he won only one match to earn the title of king in WWE. The veteran wrestler recalled turning down the chance for a babyface run as king because portraying the King Booker character was a challenging endeavor each week.