WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T Weighs In On Wrestling Tribalism

Competition is often seen as a positive in professional wrestling, but it does also bring a lot of tribalism. Passionate fans find themselves arguing on social media to defend their chosen company, and while Booker T doesn't agree with that, he also doesn't think it is anything new. "It was the same way back when WCW was going against WWF back in the day. It was like that when the WCW wrestlers finally got a chance to go wrestle on WWF television," he said on "The Hall Of Fame." "Those fans were rabid WWF fans, they didn't care anything about WCW or WCW wrestlers, I had to earn my respect with WWF fans."

Booker felt that WWE fans didn't accept him as one of them, and while people like Cody Rhodes and Adam Copeland have received huge ovations in arenas after making a switch in the modern world, online there are still negative comments about wrestlers joining a rival company. Despite that, the talent themselves don't feel the same way, with Kenny Omega recently taking to social media to make it clear they all support each other in the wake of Jade Cargill joining WWE. While the wrestlers of rival promotions are often seen as friends on social media, that doesn't stop fans from making their feelings clear online. For Booker, the rise of the internet is the biggest difference nowadays in comparison to the tribalism during his era.

"It wasn't as prevalent and people weren't as outspoken, we didn't hear the comments as much because we didn't have social media," Booker said. "But, it's always been out there this is something that's not new to me. The fans now has just gotten to a point where they can organize a whole lot better just with a click of a button."

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