On the latest edition of his Hall of Fame podcast former five-time world champion Booker T gave his thoughts on rising AEW star Wheeler Yuta, and questioned whether the Blackpool Combat Club member should consider changing his name as he believes it will hold him back from succeeding in the industry. Highlights from the episode can be found below.
Questions whether Wheeler Yuta should change his name, as it doesn’t have that “championship” sound to him:
I’m thinking about guys from an overall perspective, and the one thing I’m thinking about [is] ‘champion.’ I’m thinking about this kid who’s like, ‘I’ve got to be champion.’ And the first thing I think about is, does Wheeler Yuta sound like a championship name? You know, that’s the first thing that jumps out to me. ‘The AEW Champion, Wheeler Yuta!’ He’s putting himself behind the 8-ball immediately.
Compares the situation to old TNA star Elix Skipper:
There’s a guy back in the day … A guy that had an abundance of talent back in the TNA days, and he went by the name of Elix Skipper, and I said, ‘Man, that’s just not a championship name. If the brother just changed his name, he might be looked at a little bit differently.
(H/T and transcribed by Wrestling Inc.
)