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Legendary booker and manager Dutch Mantell worked for several companies throughout his career, including TNA/IMPACT. The 73-year-old recently recalled how Booker T could sometimes be difficult to deal with during their time with the promotion.
In November 2007, Booker T debuted in TNA after being granted his release from WWE. The former World Heavyweight Champion has made no secret that he lost passion while wrestling in TNA for two years.
Mantell, a creative team member at the time, spoke on Story Time with Dutch Mantell about Booker T's desire to look good to WWE:
"Booker was very difficult at times to work with because you would lay out where you wanted this to go, and he would immediately try to change it because he didn't like it, and the reason he didn't like it – and it took me months to kind of figure this out – he wanted to know how it would make him look not only with his present employer, TNA, and the fans (…) He looked at it through another lens, the WWE lens, and how that would make him look to them." [2:56 – 3:48]
Booker T won the TNA Legends Championship and TNA World Tag Team Championship (w/Scott Steiner) during his short run with the company. In February, the 58-year-old retired from wrestling after his 2023 Men's Royal Rumble match appearance.
Dutch Mantell on Booker T's plan to impress Vince McMahon
According to Dutch Mantell, Booker T used TNA as a platform to show WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon what he could do.
Mantell added that Booker complained to then-TNA writer Vince Russo if a certain storyline development did not go as he wanted:
"He knew Vince [McMahon] watched the show, and he didn't wanna do anything that didn't portray him in the best light. Not the strongest light, but the best light, and I can understand that. I remember one time we had him doing something and his agent laid out what he wanted him to do. Well, he didn't like it, so he ran to Vince [Russo]." [3:49 – 4:18]
Booker T returned to WWE in 2011 as a commentator and part-time wrestler. The two-time Hall of Famer now works as an NXT announcer.
Do you have any memories of Booker T in TNA/IMPACT? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
