WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T Looks Back On Decision To Leave TNA

TNA had its most promising period in the mid to late 2000s, a time when it featured several pro wrestling legends. But, WWE legend Booker T wasn't interested in sticking around in the promotion when he heard that two of the architects of WCW's success in the '90s, Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan, were TNA-bound.

Booker T left WWE just a little while after attaining success with his King Booker gimmick and joined TNA. The two-time WWE Hall of Famer joined TNA in 2007 and left in 2010, and his exit from the promotion was the subject of discussion on his "Hall of Fame" podcast. The veteran star has discussed his three-year run with the promotion and why he chose to leave TNA in 2010.

"I left right before they [Bischoff and Hogan] came in and I knew exactly what was getting ready to happen," said Booker T about Hogan and Bischoff joining TNA. "I didn't think it was going to be good, I didn't think it was going to be good for me, that was really one of the reasons why I said, 'My time was up.'"

Booker T left the company in late 2010, eventually returning to WWE as a commentator, and had his final few matches in the promotion. Hogan and Bischoff had signed their TNA contracts in 2009 and the duo debuted in the promotion in January 2010, with them leaving a few years later. Their stint in TNA wasn't necessarily a success for either of them, with Hogan leaving the company in a controversial TV angle, while Bischoff filed a lawsuit against TNA for breach of contract.