When Tony Khan decided to pit HOOK against Jinder Mahal in a hypothetical debate over who is more worthy of a World Championship shot on their respective show, it created the wrong kind of hype for the now 29-1 singles star.
To some, the feud was pretty straightforward, with fans taking sides as they often do in the tribalistic world of professional wrestling in 2024, but the conversation did create a unique dialogue about how HOOK came into all of his win, with some questioning who he really beat to become one of the most dominant singles wrestlers in AEW history.
Discussing the pressing wrestling questions of the day on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T noted that, while HOOK has won plenty of matches, he doesn't recall very many of them, as they've largely been booked against indie guys and midcarders, instead of the top performers AEW has to offer.
“Do you remember five of those 28 wins that HOOK had? I’m serious. Do you remember five of the guys that HOOK beat? Three of the guys HOOK beat? I don’t want anyone to think I’m hating on HOOK. I don’t want anyone to think, for one second, that I’m hating on HOOK. I wanna touch on Tony Khan more than anything. When I asked, ‘How many of those wins do you remember HOOK had on television?’ That winning streak, you can’t remember one,” Booker T said on his podcast via Fightful.
“The thing is, seems like that would have been a h*ll of a time to make HOOK a household name, having that 28-0 run. Seems like he would have had all those shows on Dynamite. I don’t know when the h*ll he picked up a 28-1 record because I haven’t seen this kid. Personally, I don’t watch a lot of AEW, but I do watch a lot of highlights from AEW, TNA, and every other organization, and I have not seen a whole lot of buzz about HOOK. There should be a h*ll of a lot of buzz around HOOK if he has a 28-1 record. I could be wrong. I could be wrong about that. I do know that if this kid was in Reality of Wrestling and he had a 28-1 run, he’d be near the top rung as far as people talking about him on a weekly basis.”
Could AEW have done a better job of building up HOOK? Sure, though he does have a few signature wins over the likes of Ricky Starks, “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry, and Rob Van Dam, most of his matches came against performers who have no real footing in AEW, if they are even employed by the promotion at all. If Tony Khan wants to make HOOK into a legitimate star, they should probably release him into the actual AEW ecosystem instead of placing him in his own category.
Could Booker T: The Movie be coming soon?
Elsewhere on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T was asked by his co-host Brad Gilmore if he was working on a book moving forward, as fans want to learn more about his experience inside the ring and out of it.
While Booker T isn't working on a book at the moment, he is working on writing a movie, as, after watching the Von Erichs' story get immortalized on the silver screen by A24, he wants to get in on the action with a film of his own.
“Not working on any books, but we are working on a movie script, based on my life and story in general,” Booker T revealed via Fightful. “Hopefully, we’ll get that done sometime soon in 2024. That’s the next big project for Booker T, and hopefully, we’ll make that come to fruition real soon. [A book] is something I think about because I’m in a different phase in my life. I had a great wrestling career, but now I’m a promoter and booker. Being able to see life from this perspective, being one of the few black promoters in this business. One of the few black wrestling business owners. I think I have a whole lot to tell as far as how did I get here and, more importantly, what it took to stay at this level.”
With The Iron Claw having already doubled its money at the box office despite being a relatively small release, it's clear there's a real appetite for professional wrestling films at the moment, especially ones based on dramatic, beloved characters of the past. Considering everything Booker T went through during his life, it's safe to say the cinematic depiction would be a must-watch for fans of the business, too.
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