Booker T: From Prison to Promise: Life Before the Squared Circle (21 page)

I even had the opportunity to wrestle overseas. A GWF referee named James Beard thought my ring work and style were so unique that he took it upon himself to book me on brief tours of Japan and Korea. “They’ll love you over there,” he said. “You incorporate moves reminiscent of martial arts but with American street bravado. They’ll eat it up.”

Sometimes it was hard to process it all. Here was this ex-con traveling the world and making a name for himself in a business he had dreamed about as a kid. Things were escalating beyond my wildest expectations. I had magazine feature requests, public autograph appearances, and even television and newspaper interviews. The whole frenzy was worth its weight in gold in terms of exposure, increasing show attendance and of course bringing bigger paydays.

Then one night, just as Lash and I were about to head out to the ring, one of my biggest supporters and peers in the GWF, “Maniac” Mike Davis, came into the dressing room with huge news. “Hey, guys, I just got off the phone with Sid Vicious. He wants to know if you’d be interested in coming to Atlanta.”

The needle scratched right off the record.

Sid Vicious was one of the biggest and baddest wrestlers to step over the top rope for companies like WCW and the WWF. He had just finished a huge program with Hulk Hogan and then had a falling out with WWF President Vince McMahon and decided to make the transition into the booking position in the WCW front office. He was looking for new talent to propel the roster to the next level and he was interested in Lash and me, of all people. Mike gave us Sid’s number.

Later that night, Lash picked up the phone and gave him a call.

I sat next to him the whole time, trying to listen in and dying to know what Sid was saying.

When Lash hung up, he was almost speechless. “Sid’s trying to make a name for himself and impress the brass at WCW with his ability to spot fresh talent. He thinks we have what it takes to become big stars. He wants to know if we’d like to come work at WCW.”

My heart skipped a beat.

“He told us to sit tight, keep working hard at GWF. He’s going to get us over to Atlanta as soon as possible and make us his central focus.”

Man, this was serious material to process.

Days of sitting with enthusiastic wonder eventually became weeks of nerve-wracking waiting. Just when it seemed we wouldn’t get the call, the phone rang.

“I got you guys in. Are you ready for the opportunity to come down to Atlanta for your WCW tryout?”

We told Sid it was what we’d been waiting for our entire lives and we would see him soon.

Like little kids on the last day of school before summer break as the clock struck three, Lash and I jumped and hugged each other. The energy was in the air. We ran around and packed up everything we needed for a few weeks and tossed it into the back of my Camaro.

Then we called the General and Mike Davis to tell them the news, and they arranged an impromptu send-off party in the Sportatorium parking lot.

After everyone wished us well and said their good-byes, Lash and I sprinted to the Z, kicking up rocks and dust clouds as we jumped in. I cranked the engine over with a loud explosion of American muscle car exhaust and turned the radio up to full blast.

My foot smashed the pedal, and Lash and I peeled out in the arid Texas dirt. We skidded out onto the road that would take us all the way to Atlanta, where we would permanently alter our lives as we knew them. The windows were down, and the wind whipped in our laughing faces. And it was hot, boy. We could barely breathe in such relentless heat, the
Harlem Heat.

But that story has yet to be told—and it’s coming sooner than you think.

Now can you dig that?

I would like to thank my parents, Booker T Sr. and Rosa Huffman, for inspiring me and instilling good values I could build on later in life; my sister Carolyn for providing key insight to my father’s backstory; my wife, Sharmell, for devoting her time to read this story and assist in the editorial process; Medallion Media Group President Adam Mock for believing in the story of my life before I stepped into the ring; Bruce Gasarch for trusting me and keeping my head above water; Brenda Sullivan for peace of mind; and lastly, Andrew William Wright for his creative vision while piecing together the amazing story of my past.

—Booker T

I would like to thank my parents, John and Martha Wright, for their undying support; Adam Mock for the opportunity to write my second Medallion Press book; Emily Steele for her due diligence on this project; and Booker T for trusting me as a new friend and partner to write such an in-depth and personal journey into his past.

—Andrew William Wright