Booker T To NXT Talent Called Up In WWE Draft: 'Be Careful What You Wish For'

WWE called up a number of "NXT" superstars in the 2023 draft including Indi Hartwell, Grayson Waller, Alba Fyre, Isla Dawn, and JD McDonagh, among others. Booker T, who is used to watching these stars perform weekly from the announce desk, addressed the call-ups during a recent episode of his "Hall of Fame" podcast.

"'NXT' got hit hard," Booker T said. "Some of my favorites left and they're moving onto bigger and better things, which, congratulations, I'm glad to see them move on to the next level." He recalled how some of them have put a lot of time into the business and mentioned McDonagh competing for two decades to get to this point. He also shared how McDonagh and Waller both thanked him for "giving them the rub" on commentary every week.

"It's true that these guys are now swimming with the big fish," Booker T added. "Now the spotlight is totally going to be on these guys. They're going to have to go out there and perform in the ring and out of the ring. They're mentally gonna have to be prepared every week because the machine now, it picks up. Be careful what you wish for because now you are in that storm, you're in that vortex, and it's not going to stop until it's over."

"Raw" has officially added Hartwell, McDonagh, Zoey Stark, Katana Chance, Kayden Carter, Odyssey Jones, and Indus Sher to the roster, while "SmackDown" has gained Fyre, Dawn, Waller, Pretty Deadly, and Cameron Grimes. Meanwhile, Von Wagner and Xyon Quinn are both free agents.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Hall of Fame" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.