book-t離開WWE之後的訪談 - 摔角 Wrestle

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-fritzwrest2407oct24,0,3160753.column

Booker T moves on from WWE but says he's not finished wrestling yet

以下是來自於摔迷之家的簡略中文翻譯
http://www.19977.com/thread-70778-1-1.html

在一個採訪中，前WWE/WCW冠軍Booker T發表了他對最近離開WWE的感想。

談到他的禁賽:"我感覺在這件事情上面WWE根本沒有試圖保護我......甚至他們
無緣有的就把我禁賽。我認為這是不對的，所以我才決定離開WWE，因為我要保
護我的聲譽和形象。"

談到轉到Raw: "我在SmackDown!待得很快樂...那是很舒服的日子大家都在試圖
幫助和捧頂級的明星。我們幾乎都1不在乎誰是冠軍，大家都在努力幫助這個品牌
，沒有後台政治。而轉到Raw，感覺就像一大塊烏雲蓋在天空。我知道那個地方
不是我喜歡的。那裡的後台政治很多，這使得你必須要去考慮和處理很多沒必要
的垃圾工作。在那裡我根本不會享受到快樂..."

談到Triple H和Summerslam: "那是要完成工作，雖然那是後台政治。我個人很
喜歡和希望在Summerslam比賽的會是我和Jerry Lawley。當然我是一個職業的選
手，我要去完成我的工作，但是那比賽本來可以安排得更好的。我感覺雖然我人
在那裡，但是我的心思根本不在那裡，所以我根本沒有觀看自己在那場比賽的表
現。"

其他的內容還包括Booker T說他還沒有宣佈退役...很有可能他會去TNA試試新一
種風格。

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以下是原文(未排版,請見諒)
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Brian Fritz | Fightin' Words on Wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts
October 24, 2007
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Single page view Reprints Reader feedback Text size: Over the past
year, World Wrestling Entertainment had been ruled by King Booker.
But the king has vacated his throne.

After seven successful years with World Wrestling Entertainment, the
wrestler best known as Booker T (Robert Booker Huffman) decided it
was time to walk away from the promotion.

On Oct. 16, the WWE announced that he and his wife, Sharmell, had
been given their releases from their contracts effective as of Oct.
27.




Booker T was serving a 60-day suspension when his name came up on a
list of clients of Signature Pharmacy, which has been battling an
investigation by New York prosecutors alleging the sale of
performance-enhancing drugs over the Internet. Booker T has denied
that he was ever a client of that company and feels that he was a
scapegoat.

"I feel that I wasn't protected by the (WWE)," says Booker T. "I feel
like I got suspended without just cause. I feel like it wasn't right,
and that's the reason why I chose to leave WWE because in order to
protect my reputation, I have to believe in something."

It's a reputation that he had earned as a veteran of the wrestling
business, a career that has lasted more than 18 years.

"I've never heard my name come up in any scandals or anything like
that," he says. "You've never heard of Booker T having a late-night
party or was drunk on the town naked. I've been a total role model as
far as my professional wrestling career goes. I just want to keep it
that way. I've got a lot of fans out there. A lot of kids look up to
me."

There were other factors that led to his departure from the WWE. Over
the past few years, he lost two good friends with the deaths of Eddie
Guerrero and Chris Benoit. Plus, the tough schedule was starting to
take a toll on him both physically and mentally.

"I knew that at this stage in my career it was time for me to take a
step back from the WWE because I wasn't willing to keep putting
myself out there and wake up 50 years old one day pushing a walker,"
says Booker T.

After more than three years of performing for the WWE Smackdown
brand, Booker T was moved to the Raw brand in June, a change he did
not want.

"My time on Smackdown, it was a great run," explains Booker T. "It
was beautiful, just pushing for whoever was the champion over there.
We really didn't care who was the champion. There were no politics,
no hassles. Then going back over to Raw, it was like a dark cloud
coming over. I just knew it wasn't the place where I wanted to be.
There are a whole lot of politics. You have to deal with a lot of
garbage. I just knew, for my mental state, it wasn't going to be a
good place."

It was at the Judgment Day pay-per-view on May 21, 2006 when Booker T
won the King of the Ring tournament and transformed himself into King
Booker, a character he had been until his release by WWE. Fans really
had taken to the role, which saw Booker dressed in a robe and crown
as he spoke with an English accent. It was over the top -- as most
successful wrestling personas are.

"It was my creation, my persona and everything that I did was all
me," says Booker T. "I'm trying to reinvent myself , and being that
character gave everyone the opportunity to see me in a different
light. The fans loved it and fell into the character of King Booker."

In July, King Booker declared that he was the only king in wrestling
as he started a feud with legendary wrestler and Monday Night Raw
announcer Jerry "The King" Lawler. Many thought the storyl ine
between them would build to a match at the Aug. 26 Summerslam
pay-per-view.

Instead, the feud ended weeks earlier in a match on television which
King Booker won. At Summerslam, Booker squared off with Triple H
(Paul Levesque) who was returning after an eight-month absence
resulting from an injury.

"That's where the business part comes in, the politics come in,"
explains Booker T. "I really feel like it should have been me and
Jerry Lawler at Summerslam. I'm a professional, and I go out there
and do my job. It wasn't what it could have been. I can honestly say
I have never watched that match on tape because I felt like my body
was out there but my mind wasn't."

Now, Booker T is focused on his own wrestling promotion in his
hometown of Houston, called the Pro Wrestling Alliance. There, he
trains newcomers how to wrestle and also holds shows in the area.

"One reason why I opened my wrestling school was to teach guys the
real way of going out there and doing this -- knowing the psychology
of professional wrestling, knowing how to be that fan sitting in the
audience as you're in the ring doing your thing,'' says Booker T.
"That way you know exactly what that fan is looking for. They go out
there and do their routine, and that's pretty much it."

As for his career in the ring, Booker T says it's not over yet.

"Oh no -- definitely not retired. When I retire, you're going to see
the fireworks, everything."

Brian Fritz is the host of the Between the Ropes show, which airs
Wednesday nights from 10-midnight on 740 AM (WQTM). You can e-mail
him at [email protected].

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