Booker T Apologizes To Former WWE Star For In-Ring Injury
Booker T has publicly apologized to Paul London for an in-ring incident between them nearly two decades ago.
Booker broke London's nose with a back elbow during a match on an episode of WWE's "SmackDown" in 2004.
"I want to say, first and foremost, to Paul London, I apologize," Booker T said during his "Hall Of Fame" podcast. "Okay? If I did anything that you thought I did out of malice or if I hurt you, I apologize."
London discussed the incident during an episode of the "Cafe de Rene with Rene Dupree" podcast. During the podcast, London said Booker had never apologized for breaking his nose. London also said that Booker was in denial about having ever hurt anybody in the ring.
Booker said he had forgotten about the in-ring incident, but he did recall what happened after seeing the video from the match. He said his goal as a wrestler was always to make his actions appear as real as possible. But he admitted he frequently had issues during his career when executing his back elbow to shorter opponents.
"I always had problems with it because I had to lean into it as opposed to just throwing it up," Booker recalled. "So, but, I was going to throw it in a spot to where you could get caught if you didn't take it right, you know? So it wasn't out of malice or anything like that, it wasn't actually to hurt Paul London or anything like that. But I did hurt him, okay?"
Booker said he has never had anything bad to say about London, and he was surprised to learn that London was still upset with him about the incident. Booker said he even hired London to work matches for Booker's Reality of Wrestling promotion, all of them after the 2004 incident.
London has been outspoken in the past about his feelings on the pro wrestling industry and more. Booker was disappointed to see London mocking him during the podcast.
"If Paul London had a problem with me, he could've talked to me," Booker said. "That happened in 2004. Seemed like I would've known about his beef with me before now."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the "Hall Of Fame" podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.