Booker T sets the record straight
May 9, 2006

WWE: Inside WWE > News > Booker T sets the record straight

“It was simply about respect, that’s all.” Booker T, sporting a swollen left eye, commenting exclusively to WWE.com about the bloody and brutal fight he had with former World Heavyweight Champion Batista on the set of the SummerSlam commercial Monday in Encino, Calif. It took a number of SmackDown Superstars to pull Batista and Booker T off one another in a fight that lasted at least five minutes. “I’m not going to say anything else about it. The fight had to do with respect,” says Booker.  

“I have no ill will toward Dave, but I feel like he doesn’t know the history of the business that’s all.  Maybe he should study the history. There’s a lot of us who paved the way in this business for men like Batista,” says Booker. “When I started, guys like Greg Gagne, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and countless others were in WCW. I walked in the locker room and had to earn their respect. It took me 16 long years, but I earned it.  Respect isn’t a right, it’s a privilege.”

When asked if the two men have buried the hatchet, Booker T pointedly says, “We’ll never be friends. We’ll never exchange Christmas cards. But I will work with Dave in the ring like nothing ever happened. It’s not about us, it’s about the company and more importantly it’s about entertaining the fans. I’ll never do anything to hurt our product.”

WWE.com is attempting to reach Batista for more on this situation.

It had to be done
WWE: Inside WWE > News > Batista claims it had to be done

May 10, 2006

“We had to get past this. It had been brewing for a long time,” says former World Heavyweight Champion Dave Batista in an exclusive interview with WWE.com about the brutal fight he had with Booker T Monday on the set of the WWE SummerSlam commercial shoot in Encino, Calif. The fight was so intense both men were left swollen and bloodied and it took nearly a half dozen Superstars to separate them. 
    
“It’s over,” says Batista. “We will agree to disagree. We won’t be friends, but we will work together. I can promise you we won’t cause problems.” But Batista does have an issue with the way he’s been portrayed in the locker room. “Some guys say I’ve been running around claiming to be the top-money draw in the company, that I’m carrying the WWE on my back. I never said anything like this, the rumors break my heart. I would never disrespect guys like Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H with comments like these. I am not a Prick!”
    
Batista says he hopes the issue is finally over. “I want to move on, it’s like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I can’t wait to get back to work again”.