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Booker T says he is “disappointed” in Swerve Strickland and feels that Swerve “got played”

Aaron Rift

AEW star Swerve Strickland has been vocal about how he was treated by WWE prior to being released in 2021. During an interview with VladTV that was published last week, Swerve issued a response to Booker T saying he (Booker T) was treated fairly in WWE…

“That’s not what happened when Vince [McMahon] said the n-word in front of you. That’s not being treated fair, my opinion. To that statement, it’s not what even what I’m saying. I’m saying what people are saying. I’m saying what your audience is saying. So it’s not just me just talking out of my ass out of nowhere. It’s what your audience has been complaining about for the better part of two, three years from not seeing Black talent even getting singles matches on PLEs and stuff like that. Now, those guys are on socials more, they talk back and forth with the fans a little bit more. So you can’t ignore that anymore.”

While speaking on his podcast, Booker T revealed that he approached Swerve at an event in Virginia…

“I had an offer to be on Vlad TV before as well and I turned it down. They called me back and they offered me money to go on Vlad TV and I turned it down because I was not going to go on Vlad TV and be exploited. I wasn’t going to go on Vlad TV and have him make me look like a fool in front of the world, I was not going to do that. I wasn’t going to go on Vlad TV and say anything negative towards any black man that’s ever been in this business because I know how hard it is for all of us.

I’ve been the first one saying it, any brother getting his bag, I’m all in 100%. I told Swerve Strickland to his face how disappointed I am in him as a young brother because all I did for Swerve Strickland was put him over and put him on a pedestal as being one of the best out there, that he deserves to being the AEW Champion.”

“I don’t know if these guys think racism stopped in 1990 when I got in the business, but it didn’t. You may not hear about a lot of racial issues with Booker T because I handled racial issues handfirst. I opened doors, I broke down barriers for people like Swerve Strickland. Swerve Strickland would perhaps not even be here if it wasn’t for me.”

“You speak on Vince McMahon and him saying the n-word, you want me to be angry black man in the company. You want me to not open doors and make spaces for people like you, that’s what you want me to do. Swerve Strickland, I hope you’re never gonna be in the movies, I hope you’re never gonna be on a movie set because you might hear somebody say the n-word and if you’ve got a problem with it, they’re gonna tell your ass to get the hell out of here, this is a movie, alright?”

“I’m upset because more importantly I’m disappointed in Swerve Strickland because what I told him — I’ll repeat it just like I repeated it to him, you got played. You got played bro. You got played. You let that man (VladTV) play you and pitch you against me and me against you.” (quote courtesy of Skylar Russell)