Steve Carrier on February 17, 2026
Booker T isn’t just going after Dave Meltzer — he’s now addressing the voters who named him Worst Television Announcer of 2025.
After Eric Bischoff blasted Wrestling Observer subscribers on his 83 Weeks podcast, Booker took a slightly different approach while speaking on the February 17, 2026 episode of his Hall of Fame podcast. When the topic of so-called “AEW sickos” came up, Booker shifted the blame away from the fans themselves. His co-host Brad Shepard said: “These AEW sickos, they’re anti-WWE.”
Booker responded by making it clear he doesn’t see the voters as the real issue, stating that he understands Dave Meltzer has a large following and they will more often than not agree with him.
“You know what? Let’s not blame them. I don’t blame the students—I blame the teachers. Meltzer has a lot of people following him, so he’s going to have more people agreeing with him than disagreeing. I understand that. But hopefully, people listening to me right now might wake up and say, ‘Man, what the hell was I thinking about pro wrestling?’”
Instead of firing back at fans directly, Booker focused on what he believes is the larger problem — how wrestling is consumed and discussed.
“When you take the fun out of pro wrestling, we’ve lost it. We really have. If we take the fun out of pro wrestling, it’s over. So I don’t give a damn what people say. I was supposed to have this job for three months—it’s been going five years now. So I must be doing something right.”
Booker’s comments come days after the Wrestling Observer Newsletter released its 2025 Year-End Awards, where he topped the Worst Television Announcer category with 516 votes. While Bischoff attacked the credibility of the voting base outright, Booker framed the issue as a difference in philosophy — arguing that wrestling should be fun, not overanalyzed. And he made one thing clear: five years on commentary speaks louder than any award result.
Do you agree with Booker T’s take that wrestling should be about fun first, or do awards like this reflect real criticism? Let us know your thoughts below.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
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