Booker T Is Glad Vince Russo Did What He Did At WCW Bash At The Beach 2000

Booker T feels that if it wasn’t for Vince Russo then he would not have been WCW World Heavyweight Champion.

Bash At The Beach 2000 is one of the most talked about events in Pro-Wrestling history and has once again become a hot talking point following the latest episode of Dark Side of the Ring.

Going into the July 2000 event, Vince Russo was head of creative and Jeff Jarrett was the WCW World Heavyweight Champion.

Hulk Hogan was set to face Jarrett for the Championship but Vince Russo wanted Hogan to lose so that Jarrett could be defeated by Booker T later in the evening. With Hogan against the idea, the former NWO leader invoked the creative control clause in his contract which led to a sensational turn of events which saw Hogan leave the company.

Following the release of the Bash At The Beach 2000 episode of Dark Side of the Ring, Booker T has shared that he feels Russo may have gone “into business for himself that night” but that he was glad he did, as otherwise, he would not have become the WCW Champion.

Speaking on the Hall of Fame podcast, The WWE Hall of Famer opened up on life in WCW and the turning point BATB 2000 was for his career.

“So, from my perspective, as far as you know, did Vince Russo go into business for himself that night? Perhaps, perhaps, yes. Me personally, I’m glad he won the business for himself. I’m not mad at him or anything for going into the business for himself. Because I won the world title that night. If it wasn’t for Vince Russo going into the business for himself that night, I wouldn’t have won the World Championship.

I found out many years later that Hulk Hogan was supposed to win the championship and then come back at Halloween Havoc, and they were gonna do whatever they did with it. Eric was on board with that 100%. Now this is my thing also. I’ve given Eric a lot of props over the years. but I found out now if Vince Russo wouldn’t have done what he did, I wouldn’t have won the World Championship, and perhaps I wouldn’t have never won it, ever.

That’s how, that’s how you know close and how big this thing really is, for me. And the thing is, Eric Bischoff, he was one of those guys that were hanging out and partying had become friends with guys like Hogan, the NWO, and all those guys. So I could see that happening, you know, 100%.

But if it wasn’t for that, I still give Vince Russo all the credit in the world for being the guy to pull the trigger, because I said it here on the show, I said, ‘There could be 12 guys in the room, and they could get polled who should win the championship. And it could be unanimous that Booker T.

Without Vince Russo in the room; they would’ve given it to somebody else.’ Same exact scenario. They did a poll, my name came up, and Eric Bischoff still woulda gave the title to Hulk Hogan. That’s the sad part about it. That’s really the sad part about that whole thing. A lot of cowards, man. A lot of cowards in the room back then.”

Booker T Refused Dark Side Interview About “Greatest Triumph” Becoming WCW World Heavyweight Champion

Booker T looks back at lifting the WCW Championship as one of the most significant nights from his Two-Time Hall of Fame career.

But despite the night he defeated Jeff Jarrett being the focus of an in-depth documentary, Booker T refused to take part as he feels the series has a negative take and does not offer “any bright light at the end of the tunnel” across the stories covered.

“I didn’t have anything to do with it [Dark Side of the Ring]. I didn’t give any quotes or anything. I think they reached out to me about what I want to be a part of, and I think I declined it. Just like I’ve declined all of the times that they’ve called me for that, just because I just don’t wanna be a part of anything negative.

I don’t wanna be a part of somebody’s downfall or anything like that, somebody’s bad times or anything like that. I think that’s what these shows are pretty much built around. It’s always — I don’t think in the Dark Side of the Ring thing, it’s that there’s never any like bright light at the end of the tunnel.”

“For me, even on my my greatest triumph, winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, I declined to be a part of that episode. Just because, like I say, just totally leaves a bad taste in the mouth. But the thing is, I wanna talk about it as far as truth, compared to perhaps untruth, just because I was there. And I can only give my perspective on how I felt as far as the situation and everything that was going on.”

At the time WCW was sold to WWE, Booker T had become the most decorated Superstar in the company’s history, with Twenty One Championships, and would join WWE as the reigning WCW World Heavyweight and United States Champion.

The Hall of Famer has also recently praised Brock Lesnar, describing an accolade that The Beast deserves to receive.

H/t to 411Mania