WWE legend Booker T has named the two stars from the recent WWE releases that stand out and had some advice for them.
On his "Hall of Fame" show, the veteran spoke about "WWE NXT's" Duke Hudson, whom he trained and saw up close at his Reality of Wrestling promotion.
"I got a chance to see him make his rise and then you know make his journey to WWE to 'NXT,' and the thing is Duke Hudson's been in that system now for six years. Six years in that system and the thing is, let me tell you something, this is a word from the wise to someone like a Duke Hudson or anybody that want to want to do this, they want to, you know, partake in this business six years in the 'NXT' system, that's going to be way too long for anyone to be in an 'NXT' system. And the thing is, I say it all the time, if you don't change with the times, the times will pass you by," he said.
He stated that it is imperative to change with the times and reinvent yourself to be successful in WWE, adding that it could be as simple as getting a new haircut or putting in more effort in the gym to have a better physique.
"If you don't know how to actually reinvent yourself and do something and make them look at you differently than they've looked at you before, that's not going to be on them; that's going to be on you," he said. "I'm gonna tell you right now: if you ain't preparing, you are preparing to fail, and that's the bottom line to that."
The second name that Booker T listed was former Imperium member Giovanni Vinci, who was also let go by WWE, ending his almost eight-year run with the promotion.
"Another guy is Giovanni Vinci, this is a guy who was part of the Imperium and I thought Vinci had a great look. I don't know about his in-ring prowess because I've really never gotten a chance to really see him work up close and personal only a couple of times, and he looked like he could work, he looked like he could be a star in this business," asserted Booker T. "But, there again, sometimes the stars don't align properly and that's just the way like my brother say the old mop flop."
Vinci was ejected from Imperium last year and seemed like he was about to embark on a singles run. But following a series of losses, he was seemingly written off television before being released. Booker T believes that the toughest challenge for Vinci, as well as his former Imperium partner Ludwig Kaiser, in WWE, was stepping out of Gunther's shadow and flourishing as individual stars.
Aside from Hudson and Vinci, the likes of AOP and Paul Ellering, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, Cedric Alexander, and Sonya Deville, to name a few, were let go by WWE.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Hall of Fame" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
