Booker T Unloads on Swerve Strickland Over WWE Racism Claims: 'You Got Played, Bro'

03/31/2025 08:22 PM

Booker T isn't staying silent after being name-dropped in a hot-button interview. The WWE Hall of Famer has officially clapped back at AEW star Swerve Strickland, and let's just say—it wasn't pretty.

This all started when Swerve sat down with Vlad TV and echoed the criticism many fans have had about WWE's treatment of Black wrestlers. While talking about representation—or the lack thereof—on WWE Premium Live Events, Swerve said: "That's not what happened when Vince said the N-word in front of you… that's not being treated fairly. My opinion."

He doubled down by saying his words weren't just personal gripes: "It's not what I'm saying, it's that I'm saying what people are saying. I'm saying what your audience is saying. It's not just me talking out of my ass. It's what your audience has been complaining about for the better part of 2-3 years—about not seeing Black talent getting singles matches on PLEs and stuff like that."

Well, Booker T took that personally—and he had the chance to confront Swerve face-to-face.

Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker revealed: "I was at an event this weekend in Richmond, Virginia. Lo and behold, who was at the same event with me, actually as a part of the same party. It was literally the first person I ran into the morning of the event. Just like Swerve Strickland said, me having the energy when Vince McMahon said the N-word, rest assured I had the energy when I saw him because I approached Swerve Strickland and I had a conversation with Swerve Strickland."

Booker wasted no time expressing his disappointment: "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 be the AEW Champion."

Then Booker got blunt: "For him to say something like that about me—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."

He wasn't done: "I have to apologize for nothing that I've done in this business because I've gone out there and I have literally represented in the ring and out of the ring from day one all the way to this day in 2025."

Booker also called out Vlad TV directly: "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 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."

Then Booker gave it to Swerve straight: "You got played. You got played bro. You got played. You let that man play you and pitch you against me and me against you."

On the topic of the infamous Vince McMahon segment where he used the N-word on-air, Booker fired back: "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."

Booker continued with a warning: "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?"

Booker made it clear—this wasn't about hate, it was about disappointment: "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."

On the N-word debate: "When I stop hearing it on the radio every day, then we can have this conversation. When I stop hearing it as a term of endearment in a lot of places and circles, then we can talk about this."

He added: "As far as the N-word goes, it's not a word that nobody has ever heard me say but one time in my life, especially in this business or around any of my peers… that's not something I do."

Booker turned the heat up on Swerve's claim that WWE doesn't book Black stars at major events:

"I hear people like Swerve Strickland talk about there's not a lot of Black representation on the PLEs these days. Well damn it, I didn't have to worry about that in my day, I was on all of them. I was on all of the pay-per-views, alright? I was main eventing some of them as well. I don't know what the hell he is talking about as far as that goes."

And then came the burn: "Maybe it's a drop-off as far as talent, maybe guys need to work up to my level and really think about themselves in a position and say, 'Hey man, let's forget about this Black thing and let's throw it all in and see how good we are.'"

Booker also pointed out: "I could have sank all the way to the bottom in WWE just like so many others did. More importantly, most of those guys are white guys, I'm just saying. It's about how talented I was."

And for Strickland? "It's about how talented he is. It's about how talented every other Black person that gets what they get—don't just throw a tag on them because they're Black. It's ridiculous."

On Swerve's in-person response, Booker said: "I can tell you this, he never said that he didn't get played. He never said that and that right there spoke volumes to me."

And to wrap it all up, Booker T said he's proud of his record: "If you can base my veracity on a skit, we got a problem. My reputation is solid, my reputation is 100 as far as dealing with racism. I know how I've dealt with racism in the WWE, but I don't have to go out and publicize it."

He also left this for the next generation: "I'm gonna be the one with the young guy, pulling him in and telling him, 'Hey, you've got so much talent, but you're gonna go up against this. You're gonna go up against this. But this is how you get through it.'"

And as for the skit itself? Booker's take is simple: "I've said it a thousand times out of one thousand times, I don't think the skit with Vince McMahon and John Cena was a racial issue with me. I just don't. Take it for what it's worth."