Booker T Assesses His Impact On WWE's King Of The Ring Tourney

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has discussed his King Booker gimmick and how he played a part in the newer versions of the King of the Ring tournament.

The King and Queen of the Ring tournaments now guarantee a shot at the world heavyweight title, which Booker T talked about during his recent appearance on The Undertaker's "Six Feet Under" podcast.

"I'm the only King that won the Heavyweight Championship," said Booker T. "Now, they've put in place where if you win the King of the Ring, you actually get a title shot — that's because of me. That was because of me, I just want to throw that out there [laughs]."

Booker T revealed that the key to pulling off the gimmick was to buy into the character fully, which he did when he was King Booker in WWE.

"As far as the King goes, winning the Heavyweight Championship was a great honor, but it wasn't a thought or anything like that. I wasn't thinking about winning the Heavyweight Championship, but being the guy, knowing that I was representing the show, it let me know that I had did an extraordinary job playing that role because it was a role, it was a character, it was a gimmick. When you playing a gimmick, you have to really buy into it 100 percent, otherwise, it's not going to work."

The WWE legend also credited his wife and fellow Hall of Famer Sharmell for the success of the King Booker gimmick, stating that he wouldn't have been able to pull it off without her presence beside him. He added that he was given the gimmick because he used to call Sharmell his "queen," and he highlighted how he won just one match to be anointed the king in WWE. The veteran star recalled that when he was informed that he could have a babyface run as king, he rejected that opportunity because the King Booker role was hard to play each week.