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BOOKER T RETURNS FOR SEASON TWO OF WWE LFG, READY TO MENTOR AND WIN

By Mike Johnson on 2025-06-20 14:00:00

WWE Hall of Famer. Six-time World Champion. Trainer. Broadcaster. Author. Entrepreneur.  Father.  

There are few hats Booker T hasn’t worn across his iconic professional wrestling career — but for the second year in a row, he’s stepping into one of the most important roles of all: mentor.

This Sunday at 10 PM Eastern/9 PM Central, WWE LFG returns to A&E for its second season. The competition-reality series once again puts the spotlight on aspiring WWE hopefuls looking to break through under the guidance of WWE legends, with Booker T returning as one of the show’s cornerstone coaches. And this time, he’s not just looking to compete — he’s looking to win it all.

“It’s time to work a little bit harder for Season Two,” Booker told PWInsider in an exclusive interview. “I thought I worked hard in Season One trying to prepare my team for victory. We didn’t walk away with the championship, but my guy Jasper Troy still became the breakout star — the leading man. So we got a win in a different way. But this year, I’m walking in looking for the big win. I want one of my people with the championship at the end of this thing. So we’re taking the gloves off. We're going to work harder, and smarter.”

Booker, who mentors on the show alongside fellow legends Bubba Ray Dudley and The Undertaker, faces a new wrinkle this season: the addition of Michelle McCool — who will be competing not only against Booker and Bubba, but against her husband, The Deadman himself.

“It’s unfair,” Booker joked. “Let’s just be real — those two are going home and talking about the show. They’re gonna be in bed strategizing. That’s cheating! And we’ve all seen what happens when married couples do reality shows... six months later, they’re signing divorce papers. So we’ll see how well they get along after a few weeks of this. They might hate each other — and that might just work to my advantage.”

Jokes aside, Booker knows all too well how competitive the stakes can be — not just among the coaches, but among the talent vying for their moment in the spotlight. This season, some competitors from Season One will be returning, and Booker hopes they’re bringing a new level of seriousness.

“A lot of people came into Season One thinking it was a game. Jasper Troy — he had his eyes on the prize, he had a family, bills, a baby on the way. He took it seriously. Zena Sterling? I really feel like she should have won. She rose to the occasion, even through injury, and still delivered at Madison Square Garden,” Booker said. “Hopefully, some of the people returning this year will understand now — this is not a game. This could be life-changing.”

That desire to see young talent take their futures seriously hits close to home for Booker, whose own journey from Houston’s indie scene to WCW to WWE wasn’t built on reality TV or built-in branding, but on sweat equity and resilience.

“It’s different now,” he explained. “When you're in a program that pays you to train, it can feel like that's just the way it works. But it's not. You're lucky to be in the right place at the right time — and hopefully you’re an athlete WWE can build with. But if you think this opportunity is going to last forever, you’re in for a rude awakening. That window closes fast.”

“Some of these kids still have their parents paying the bills. Some think they’ve already made it. But they need to understand that preparation is the only luck they’ll get.”

As the longtime owner and operator of Reality of Wrestling, Booker has mentored a generation of rising stars — perhaps none more visible than WWE NXT standout Roxanne Perez. He believes that training experience gave him an edge in Season One, and remains his greatest tool this year.

“I’ve been doing this a long time. I love working with young talent. I remember when Athena — the former Ember Moon — came to me in 2006 with her parents. They asked how long it would take for her to get to WWE. I said, ‘I don’t have a crystal ball. But I’ll give her everything I have — and we’ll see how far she can go.’ That’s still my approach. I’m going to push them to their absolute limit and help them find something in themselves they didn’t even know was there.”

Booker is also well aware that his fellow mentors bring plenty of experience — and plenty of personality — to the show.

“A lot of people think I don’t like Bubba Ray, but I do. I respect him. His coaching style is spot-on. He gives the right knowledge and doesn’t sugarcoat it,” he said. “Undertaker — for 30 years, he was an enigma. Nobody really knew the man behind the character. Now we get to see him in this new light, as a mentor, and he’s damn good at it. Michelle McCool? She brings a completely different perspective — but she’s also been there and done it at the highest level. That’s the thing: we’re all saying the same things to these kids, just in very different ways. And that works.”

Navigating the competition in a reality TV format is a different kind of challenge — one that pushes Booker to emotional exhaustion.

“It’s real for me. I don’t care about the edit. I don’t care about cameras. When something goes down on that show, I’m reacting as honestly as I can,” he said. “There are moments I’m frustrated. Moments I’m drained. And by the time I leave the set? I just go to sleep. That’s how intense it is. But that’s how it has to be, because people don’t remember what they see — they remember how they feel. And if I’m not being real, they’re not gonna feel anything.”

Asked whether there’s a “secret strategy” to the series, Booker compared it to a game of spades.

“You don’t always get a good hand. You might have to bluff. You might have to figure out how to get three books with garbage cards. Same here. I had a great team in Season One. Season Two? Eh, it’s okay. But that’s the challenge — if someone gets hurt, if someone flakes, and now you’re scrambling. That’s what coaching is. You’ve got to adapt and survive. Getting through this show is like making it from one WrestleMania to the next.”

In addition to LFG, Booker continues to serve as one of the lead voices of WWE NXT every Tuesday night on The CW, and says a third book is likely in his future.

“I think it’s time,” he said. “The last one was about my wrestling career. But now, with the commentary stuff, fatherhood, running Reality of Wrestling, promoting shows, mentoring talent… no one’s really done what I’ve done with their own promotion and training system. I want to show people what’s possible. The world is your oyster, but you’ve got to work for it. That’s the real final chapter.”

Before signing off, Booker made one final pitch for fans to tune in this Sunday for the new season of LFG:

“If you wanna see drama, tears, heartbreak — the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat — it’s all here. Tune in. Don’t miss out. Don’t get shut out. LFG is going down, man.”

Season Two of WWE LFG premieres Sunday, 10 PM ET / 9 PM CT on A&E. Booker T can also be seen weekly on WWE NXT, Tuesdays on The CW.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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