Booker T has addressed renewed discussion surrounding his well-documented backstage altercation with Dave Batista, firmly pushing back against claims that Batista was injured at the time and suggesting that the story has been misrepresented years later.
Speaking on The Hall of Fame with Booker T & Brad Gilmore, the WWE Hall of Famer reacted to a resurfaced video in which Batista allegedly implied that Booker T knowingly picked a fight with him while he was injured.
Booker made it clear that this was the first time he had ever heard such a claim—and strongly denied it.
“I saw a video of him, and he said that the guy chose to pick a fight with me when I was injured. And I go, ‘Wow. Man, that’s just not fair. Man, it’s just not fair.’ First of all, I didn’t pick a fight with anybody, and I definitely didn’t know anybody who was injured or anything like that. This first time I heard about anything like that,” Booker T said.
He went on to explain why the accusation bothered him, emphasizing that he has never wanted to be viewed as someone who bullied others backstage.
“But, man, it’s just, it’s one of the things that I just don’t want people to think that, that ever to think that I was a bully or anything, and I would be going around picking fights with people. I did not pick a fight with anybody,” he stated.
Booker T also addressed the idea that an injury was later used as justification, admitting he was genuinely surprised when he heard the explanation.
“I was shocked when I saw it, as far as I’m like, ‘Come on, man, you know, being injured, you know, that’s kind of like crying wolf a little bit, you know, and then again, saying that I picked a fight with him.’”
Despite revisiting the controversy, Booker made it clear that there is no lingering resentment toward Batista. In fact, he offered high praise for Batista’s post-WWE success in Hollywood.
“I’ve always said this about Dave Batista… as far as Batista inside Hollywood… he is killing it out there in Hollywood. I think he’s the best wrestler actor… just because of his range. So I give nothing but props, man… if I saw him today, I say, ‘Man, what’s going on? And, you know, you killing it out there, bro. Keep doing what you’re doing.’”
While the backstage incident remains one of WWE’s most infamous behind-the-scenes stories, Booker T’s comments reinforce his long-standing stance: he never knowingly picked a fight—and any suggestion otherwise doesn’t reflect the reality of what happened.
