Booker T isn’t buying the idea that WWE should be painted as the bad guy if Sheamus is really done with the company.
Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker pushed back on the reaction to Sheamus’ reported exit, saying fans need to stop acting like every long-running WWE star is supposed to stay there forever.
“What did I say about talent in WWE? I said we’re in a different time now. It ain’t like it was back in the day.”
Booker said the whole idea of someone being a “lifer” in wrestling doesn’t really make sense to him. In his mind, WWE is still a business, and no job is guaranteed forever just because someone had a long run there.
“You think guys are going to be around for 100 years? When I hear the term ‘lifer,’ like, ‘I thought he was going to be a lifer,’ what the hell does that mean in a job, when you’re working a job? What does that mean?”
He compared it to major sports, where even top athletes eventually move on from teams. Booker’s point was simple: fans don’t expect basketball or football players to stay in one place forever, so wrestling should not be treated like it works differently.
“Does anyone expect any basketball player to stay on the team forever? How many football players stay on the team forever? One, maybe.”
That is where Booker brought up Sheamus directly. He pointed out that Sheamus is 48 years old, started in WWE developmental back in 2007, hit the main roster in 2009, and still got almost two full decades with the company.
“How many people like myself have been in the business for 35 years, going from wrestling to commentator? It’s not that many, dude. It’s a life expectancy in anything. And when I hear people out there — and I heard these podcasters talking about, ‘This could be a problem.’ Sheamus is 48 years old, okay? He started in WWE in 2007 in FCW. He started on the main roster in 2009. This guy’s had a damn near 20-year career as a pro wrestler in one company.”
Booker also made it clear that leaving WWE does not mean Sheamus is out of options. If anything, he believes Sheamus can still make money elsewhere and keep wrestling as long as he wants.
“The thing is, if Sheamus left WWE, he can still go make money and do this thing for however many years he wants to do it.”
That lines up with what has already been reported about Sheamus’ situation. His WWE profile was moved to the Alumni section, and the word is that he turned down a restructured deal for less money after his contract expired. We previously reported that TKO is treating contracts more like a sports franchise now, where older stars on bigger deals may not be kept at the same number if the company thinks their best years are behind them.
Booker’s view is a lot less dramatic. To him, this is just how corporations work. People get released, laid off, fired, or decide not to take a new deal, and that does not automatically make WWE the villain.
“So when I hear people literally trying to make WWE the bad guy when somebody gets released, laid off, or fired, that happens at any corporation, because it really does.”
Sheamus gave WWE nearly 20 years, built a Hall of Fame-level résumé, and still has enough name value to draw interest if he wants to keep going. Booker just doesn’t think fans need to turn every exit into a crime scene.
Do you agree with Booker T that WWE shouldn’t be blamed for Sheamus’ exit, or do you think the company should have done more to keep him? Let us know in the comments below.
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