Why Booker T Won’t Let Kids Watch Polarising AEW Match

Booker T has given his thoughts on one of the most divisive matches of the modern era.

After a vicious and blood-soaked year-long rivalry, there was no way Swerve Strickland and Hangman Adam Page could have a regular match at All Out. But few fans were prepared for the sheer unfiltered level of violence that would follow.

In an Unsanctioned Lights Out Cage Match, the pair closed the show in a clash that immediately divided fans online. They utilised chairs, a cinder block, a staple gun, a hypodermic needle, pieces of burned wood, and more until Page finally grabbed the victory.

While some felt the barbarity was justified, others felt it pushed the envelope a little too far for what remains a wrestling show at heart.

Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T gave his thoughts on the match but began by praising Swerve Swerve Strickland. Booker said Strickland is a “hell of a talent,” before describing his in-ring skills as “incredible.”

Swerve Strickland vs. Adam Page “Isn’t My Cup Of Tea” – Booker T

The WWE Hall of Famer went on to break down the match itself, suggesting it’s not something he’s a fan of or something he’d show his kids. However, he acknowledged that AEW is trying to be an alternative to WWE and appeal to a younger generation than himself so he knows he’s not the target audience.

“Is it my cup of tea? No, it’s not. But there again, there’s an audience for it. Obviously, a lot of the fans in AEW, they get off to that kind of stuff. And I think when you are catering to your people, you’re going to be willing to go out there and do anything.

I mean, I think that’s what Tony Khan wants in that company, for these guys to be able to go out there and do things differently than they have done before. And I said that before, I think AEW is trying to change the landscape of the way fans watch professional wrestling. I could be wrong, but that’s what it seems like to me.

And the reason I said that the first time was, the way the tag team division worked. Because they didn’t have to make traditional tags, they can come in the ring and they can stay in the ring for and do three or four spots with the guys, and then before they get it — there was just a lot of shenanigans that was going on that I just did not understand from a tag team perspective.

But was I supposed to understand it? Perhaps not. Was I supposed to understand the six-sided ring in TNA when I was there? No, I didn’t need to because it was for the young guys. It was for that generation.

Is AEW for this generation of what they’re trying to cater to? Perhaps. But is it my cup of tea? No. Am I going to let my kids watch, you know, somebody get stuck with a needle?

Nah, that’s not — I don’t think I want my kids to see anything as far as hypodermic needles, just because of what I had to see when I was a kid in real life with hypodermic needles. Something that is still embedded in my brain, how many lives it really, really ruined, you know?

I mean, so I look at that from a totally different perspective then perhaps they do. They may think it’s cool, ‘It’s just something we’re doing on television.’ But if you’re a parent, it seems like you would think a little bit differently.”

Following All Out it was reported that Swerve Strickland would be taking some time off, and could even miss WrestleDream in October.

H/t to 411Mania