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PWINSIDER Q&A: BOOKER T ON MORALE, RANDY COUTURE IN WWE, HACKSAW, HALL OF FAME AND MORE

Answered on 10/26

In the interview that Booker T recently did with the Orlando Sentinel, he pretty much stated that the backstage morale at Smackdown is way better than at RAW and that there are no politics or hassles on WWE's Friday night effort. My question is: Is he just frustrated about his suspension and/or the way he was portrayed on RAW or is there some truth in his words? Is the moral among Smackdown's workers really that much higher? And if so: Why?

I don't know if morale is that much higher, but I can say that there is a feeling amongst some workers that if you are on Smackdown you have more "opportunity to succeed" when it comes to television time and feature matches, while on Raw you will always be secondary to John Cena (before his injury), Triple H and Shawn Michaels.  On Smackdown, it isn't inconceivable for a mid-carder to work his way to a semi-main event position, or even have matches with the top stars (Batista, Undertaker), while on Raw, a lot of wrestlers feel like they are "spinning their wheels".

Why does WWE keep Hacksaw Jim Duggan around? 

Ever hear the pop he gets?  Hacksaw has managed to maintain a certain level of popularity with the fans, and as long as they keep yelling "Hoo!" and chanting "USA" during his matches, I see no problem with WWE keeping him around as an undercard cult favorite.  Plus, given his successful battle with cancer, I actually think it is inspirational to see Hacksaw still out there having fun. 

My question is about the WWF In Your House Final Four pay per view from February, 1997. The final four competitors were Bret, Austin, Taker, and Vader, but I was wondering how they were chosen. I *think* that I remember four way qualifying matches, but I cannot find any info on them. Was there a sort of tournament to decide who was in the finals, or was it just the one match for the vacant title? If there was a tournament, what were the results and was anyone eliminated by pinfall/submission (as all eliminations in the PPV main event were of the over the top rope variety)?

The Final Four PPV concept was created, in the storylines, because of Steve Austin winning the Royal Rumble despite having been eliminated by Bret Hart (because of a Mick Foley-Terry Funk brawl outside the ring, the referees were all distracted and missed Austin being thrown out). So, the participants were Austin and the men he had "illegally eliminated" after getting back into the ring, which were Hart, Vader and Undertaker. The match was to determine a Wrestlemania challenger, but when Shawn Michaels "lost his smile" and gave up the World Title, the match was changed into a title bout to fill the vacancy.

Do you think Davey Boy Smith, Honky Tonk Man or Demolition will be inducted into the Hall Of Fame? 

Of the names you listed, Davey Boy Smith would be the most likely to be inducted, especially with his son Harry now working for the company. Honky Tonk Man has had a lot of derogatory things to say about WWE, so I don't see him going in anytime soon. As for Demolition, Bill Eadie (Demolition Ax/Masked Superstar) filed a lawsuit against WWE trying to claim ownership of the Demolition gimmick, ultimately losing (although he still used the gimmick on indy shows), so that might hinder the team getting in. However, if WWE can "forgive and forget" with Sable, who filed a pretty nasty lawsuit against WWE, I imagine over time Demolition will get in eventually.

With Randy Couture parting ways with UFC, could you see him possibly joining WWE and using his MMA popularity to crossover into a WWE star, the way Ken Shamrock did?

I highly doubt it.  I can't see Couture, at 44 years old, wanting to go on the road and work for WWE.  I'm not saying his popularity wouldn't carry over to some degree, I just don't see it happening.  If Couture needs money, he'll make it in MMA, not pro-wrestling.

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