Booker T responds to Batista’s comments about 2006 altercation
Booker T has responded to comments made by Batista about a backstage fight between the two of them nearly 20 years ago.
The two were involved in an altercation at a WWE promotional shoot on May 15, 2006, after an argument turned physical. A clip of Batista discussing the incident recently went viral on the WWE subreddit, in which he takes issue with Booker starting a fight with him while he was injured.
Booker responded to Batista’s comments on an episode of his Hall of Fame podcast, saying:
“There’s a story going around, as far as the kerfuffle that Batista and I got into back in the day at the SummerSlam shoot out there in LA.“
“I saw a video of him and he said that it’s sad that the guy chose to pick a fight with him when he was injured. And I go, ‘Wow, man. That’s just not fair.‘”
At the time of the incident, Batista was rehabbing from a surgically repaired triceps and a torn lat muscle. He had been forced to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship in January 2006 due to the injury. He returned to action that June.
Booker continued:
“First of all, I didn’t pick a fight with anybody. And I definitely didn’t know anybody was injured or anything like that. This is the first time I heard about anything like that.“
“I just don’t want people to ever think that I was a bully or that I would be going around picking fights with people. I did not pick a fight with anybody. But I did finish the fight with Batista.“
“Nothing but love for Batista. And guys, quit pulling up these old stories where I’ve got to comment on them. I’m never going to get deep off into what really happened with him and me because it’s one of those locker room stories and I always thought those stories are kind of sacred.“
Dave Meltzer detailed an eyewitness account of the backstage altercation in the May 29, 2006, edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, available in our archives for subscribers.
“There was a general feeling coming from several different sources that Batista deserved what he got. Even people you would expect to back Batista were taking Booker’s side in this,” Meltzer wrote.
Booker’s comments begin around the 19-minute mark of the podcast. The below video is cued.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.