All he's asking for is a little respect: the former WCW champion and master of the Spinarooni is finally getting his props in WWE - Interview: Booker T - wrestler Booker Huffman, World Wrestling Entertainment - Interview

ONE OF THESE DAYS, BOOKER T (real name: Booker Huffman) is going to get his respect from all the "suckas."

A former WCW tag-team and world champion, Huffman has played the cowardly heel since coming to WWE, even after joining the NWO.

Athletic, agile, and good on the mike, the 37-year-old Huffman has established himself as a top-level heel after a shaky beginning. Recently we caught up to the inventor of the Spinarooni to give the man some respect.

WRESTLING DIGEST: It's taken awhile, but it seems like you've finally found a niche at the top of the WWE card. When you look back at your debut in that match with Buff Bagwell, what comes to mind?

BOOKER T: The debut was a disaster. I was out there with one guy who wasn't willing to put in the time and effort to give a good performance. It was one of the worst performances I've ever given. I was embarrassed and disappointed with that. I knew I could do so much better. Looking back, though, I think that was a test. I think WWE really wanted to see how we would react in that situation and see how we could handle things not going as well as they could. They wanted to see how we reacted when there were some trials. Were we going to go the way of the old WCW or were we going to be able to handle it? I was disappointed and vowed to make it better. I think it was a test that I passed.

WD: When you heard that WWE was purchasing WCW, what was your first reaction? Were you scared you may not have a job? Was it exciting to think there were possibilities outside WCW?

BT: It was the saddest day in most of the guys' lives because they weren't sure what was going to happen. We were closing up shop and a lot of guys were out of jobs. it was the greatest night of my life. The old WCW was very good to me. I spent eight years there, but I felt that for my career and myself that moving to WWE was the best thing for me. It came at a good time in my career. I was still under contract [to AOL Time Warner] at the time. I could have just stayed at home and waited until that contract ran out. But that wasn't the best thing for my career. I walked away from six figures on that contract, but I needed to be in WWE. I think I got a lot of respect for that. It was my time. Fans were behind me. My value was being out there and in the ring. Since I've been here, I've been treated like nothing but a WWE family member. They've made me feel at home and like they really want me.

WD: You come to WWE and you're immediately put in a program with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, one of the federation's biggest stars of all time. What kind of message did that send you?

BT: The thing WWE is best at is putting people in places where they can succeed. They put me in the spotlight with Steve. We had never worked together in WCW, so it was great to work with him. They made a complete difference in my career with that one move. Before working that program with him, I still got noticed when I was at home in Houston, but it wasn't that bad. After I got involved with him, I found it really hard to even walk out of my house. It was like being one of The Beatles.

WD: One of the memorable moments in your feud was the grocery store skit in Bakersfield. Describe how that came down.

BT: It was a one-time shoot, and thankfully it was a one-time shoot All we were told was to go out and be kids. It was much messier than I expected. It took me three washes to get all that stuff out of my hair. I had eggs, sugar, cake mix, all kinds of stuff all over me. But it was a great shoot.

WD: From those scenes, you got a sense of what it's like to work with Austin. What's it been like for you now that he's gone?

BT: It's been strange. It's been strange not to see him around. He was the business for so long and now, all of the sudden, he's not here. But you have to take care of your business in a certain way. He didn't take care of his business in the way you're supposed to around here and no one is going to last doing things like that.

WD: People have caught on to some of your phrases. They know you're going to say "sucka" and be surprised when someone says something you don't like. You've got the Spinarooni, which is something you had in WCW. Why has it worked so much better in WWE?

BT: They make everything bigger in WWE than it really is. That's what you have to do. You have to make the crowd think that everything you're doing is a huge deal. I never thought the Spinarooni was going to be a household name. It's certainly come a long way. I've been doing that since I was a kid. It's like the "Tell me you just didn't say that" or that "What?" phrase. You just do something once or twice in WWE and they'll run with it and make it huge. That's what I love about this place.

WD: How did you get started doing the Spinarooni?

BT: The Spinarooni started because I've always been an entertainer. I was a drum major in high school. I played touch football in the street, tackle in the grass. I could play basketball. I always had coaches asking me to come out, but I had my way and my own rules. They got me in trouble at times [Huffman spent time in jail after robbing a Wendy's fast-food restaurant in his early 20s.--ed.], but I dealt with that. I liked drama and being on stage. I like the thought of telling a story. I was a drum major because I wanted to be out there at halftime entertaining. I was in parades. That was my way out. The Spinarooni came about some time in high school. I never thought it would lead to a Chef Boyardee commercial.

WD: A lot was made about the NWO coming to WWE with Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan, and Kevin. Nash. From your WCW days, you know those guys well. Now, you're actually a part of the group. When they were first-being talked about being signed, what, to you, were the positives and negatives of bringing those guys into a locker room that is filled with young guys who could be ready to make that jump to superstardom?

BT: I thought it could be a positive for the fans and a positive for the ratings if those guys came here and worked as hard as everyone else. Them coming here isn't taking money out of my pocket. We do have a lot of young guys who are hungry and ready for the big lime. That's why those guys are going to have to work hard. They have to work hard to last As we saw, it didn't work out for Hall.

WD: Bringing those guys in brings about memories of the Invasion angle and how it was botched. How do you think that angle could have been done better?

BT: Invasion wasn't a success like it was meant to be. We didn't have Sting, Lex Luger, or Goldberg. I was the only one left that was really true WCW. I think the fans recognized who I was, but I was really the only one. The fans were kind of confused; they didn't really know what to do. I didn't really want cheers, and I was getting some cheers, some mixed reaction. It just didn't go the way it was supposed to go. There's a lot of things going on right now that haven't gone the way they were supposed to go. We'll get it turned around, but it's going to take a lot of work from us all and from the whole company.

The Book on Booker T

* Real name: Booker Huffman

* Height: 6'3"

* Weight: 250 pounds

* Birthdate: May 1, 1965

* Hometown: Houston

* Catchphrase: "Tell me you did not just say that!"

* Finishing move: Scissors Kick

* Signature move: Spinarooni

* Pro Debut: 1989

* Career titles: WCW champion (five times): WCW U.S. champion; WCW television champion (six times); WCW tag-team champion (11 times); WWE tag-team champion.

* Miscellaneous: Performed as the tag team Harlem Heat with his brother, Stevie Ray; Among his former aliases are GI Bro, Kote, and Booker.

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