Booker T almost joined the NWO, after being prompted by Scott Hall to join the faction.
The former WCW Heavyweight Champion was one of the few WCW stars who didn’t join the group in its original form. The NWO recruited 39 different members over its incarnation, which doesn’t even include the Japanese version of the group.
The faction was formed when Hulk Hogan joined Scott Hall and Kevin Nash at Bash of the Beach 1996. It became so popular, they still sell a huge amount of merchandise nearly 30 years later
Booker T spoke with The Undertaker on his Six Feet Under podcast, revealing how he almost joined the NWO soon after it was formed. He noted how Scott Hall asked him to join because “we need some color, bro”, although he turned them down because it would mean taking all the bumps and working all the house shows for the group.
Booker T on passing up the NWO
“I always, always tell the story of Scott Hall. It was right after the NWO got started. I guess they had, you know, Hall, Nash, they may have had one more member in there. And, uh, Scott Hall, he came up to me, ‘Hey bro,’ he goes, ‘We need some color, bro. We want you to join, man.’
“But I actually turned it down, said, ‘No, man, I’m a solo man,’ you know? Because the thing is, I knew if I would have joined the NWO, I would have been taking all the bumps and I’d have been on all the house shows. I said, ‘To hell with that. That deal doesn’t sound like a good deal for me.'”
Booker T did eventually end up joining the NWO. However, this was after the Invasion, when the group was a part of the WWE. However, this did not last long.
