Booker T Explains Why He Refuses To Watch AEW

Booker T has no desire to get on board with AEW.

On August 24, AEW headed to London, England, for Forbidden Door — its annual cross-promotional event with NJPW.

In the main event, Kenny Omega, Will Ospreay, Kota Ibushi, Darby Allin, and Hiroshi Tanahashi joined forces to beat the Death Riders, Gabe Kidd, and The Young Bucks in a wild Lights Out Steel Cage Match.

Following the event, it’s been confirmed that Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland will be out for several months as they both require surgery. At Forbidden Door, Strickland squared off against Kazuchika Okada before quickly going under the knife as doctors looked to repair his torn meniscus.

Ospreay is expected to have a major operation on his neck in the coming weeks as he prepares for a lengthy spell out of the ring.

Booker T Has No Interest In AEW

On the latest episode of his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T discussed the Lights Out Steel Cage Match and the moment where the Young Bucks poured a bag of gummy bears onto the canvas instead of thumbtacks as fans expected.

While plenty of fans saw the funny side, Booker was much less amused. The veteran said that spots like the one mentioned are why he has no interest in watching AEW.

“Look here, I’ve said it before. AEW is trying to change the way people look at professional wrestling. I really don’t look at AEW as, you know … you asked me if I watched it. No, I didn’t watch it because it’s that right there is perhaps one of the reasons I would not watch an AEW show. I can honestly sit here and tell you right now that I’ve never watched the AEW show.

I’ve watched bits and pieces, but a lot of that has been on the internet. I’ve never sat and watched the show because of stuff like that. Like I said, personally, I don’t want to change the way people look at professional wrestling because it is a beautiful, beautiful sport. Beautiful art when you look at it properly.”

On a different episode of his podcast, Booker T was recently critical of WWE and its policy on live events. The veteran voiced concerns that the lack of matches, especially for younger talent, could lead to injuries and up-and-coming stars being less prepared than previous generations.

H/t to Wrestling Inc