Booker T Admits He Was 'Nowhere Near' His Prime As King Booker In WWE

WWE's King of the Ring tournament has produced a number of royal gimmicks over the years of its existence, but few are as memorable as the run of King Booker following Booker T's 2006 King of the Ring victory. However, on his podcast "The Hall of Fame," the WWE star openly admitted that the run occurred past the peak of his physical capabilities.

"I know when I was King Booker, I was nowhere near my prime, but dammit, I could still go," Booker said. "I could still work with the best of them. I could still perform and make you think [I] was at my top level, and that's what performers do."

The two-time WWE Hall of Famer stated that every wrestler gets up to a certain age where they can begin to feel the cumulative effects of their "bump card." However, Booker made sure to note that being past your prime is not something negative to worry about, but rather an inevitability of life.

"I said the same thing about Nick Aldis," Booker stated. "Is he still in [the] prime of his career? No, he's not, as far as those years where he could go as long and as hard as he could go when he was ... in his early [or] mid-20s, [or] early 30s. That's prime years. You can say that [and] that's not a negative on anybody. These days, people want to make that a negative ... but it's not."

The reign of King Booker lasted for roughly a year and a half, from his tournament win in early 2006 until his departure from the company in October 2007. Booker would then go to TNA, joining the Main Event Mafia for a time before eventually returning to WWE as a commentator and part-time wrestler.