There are very few wrestlers who have attained success and thrived as top star in both WWE and WCW. Booker T is one such name. He rose to fame following his decorated career in WCW, where he became a world champion. Following the demise of WCW, Booker T became a significant name in WWE with a world title triumph and took part in some memorable storylines over the years.
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Booker T always had the physique of a top guy, other than his remarkable athleticism in the ring. From his younger days in wrestling to the later stage of his career, the fans have seen a notable body transformation of the former World Heavyweight Champion.
11 Early Days In WCW
After learning the craft of wrestling and performing in the indies, Booker T's first major signing was by WCW. By teaming up with his brother Stevie Ray. Their tag team, Harlem Heat, was a big success in WCW. In the early WCW days of Harlem Heat, Sherri Martel was appointed the manager.
As the WCW Tag Team Champions, Harlem Heat is posing with Sherri in this photo. Booker T was in his late 20s here. He is certainly looking in incredible shape here with good muscle definition, as Harlem Heat felt like a top tier tag team from day one.
10 World Television Champion
From the tag team division, Booker T slowly shifted to his singles career, starting by winning the WCW World Television Championship in 1997. In the mid-card, he had a successful run, as he ended up being a six-time World Television Champion.
Similar to his early tag team run in WCW, Booker T sported a mustache and short hair. His physique looked a little different around this phase, as he looked far leaner with six-pack abs. On the other hand, he still carried significant muscle mass in his upper body.
9 Reunion Of Harlem Heat
Harlem Heat reunited for a brief period in 1999. During this time, they had a manager called Midnight, who was a female bodybuilder and certainly matched the physicality of Harlem Heat.
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Booker T bulked up slightly around this time of his career. While he still looked big and muscular, his abs weren't quite as visible as before. Nevertheless, Booker kept garnering support from the fans and it was easy to see that Booker could easily be a top star on his own.
8 WCW World Heavyweight Champion
Booker T hit the peak of his wrestling career when he won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and began featuring as the main event level star of the company. He won it four times under the WCW banner, with the fifth coming during his WWE run.
As the world champion, Booker T certainly improved his physique from his earlier brief run with Harmel Heat. He looked more shredded, and the big gold looked elegant around his waist. Booker was without a doubt a bright spot in the very dark days of late WCW.
7 SummerSlam 2001
Booker T main evented his first Summer Slam in WWE against The Rock. Coming in as the 5-time WCW Champion (he had lost the title to Kurt Angle in July, only to gain it back a few days later), this was Booker's chance to prove he could hang with WWE's top guys. On screen, he lost the WCW Championship to the Great One, but proved backstage that he had the talent to hang with the top stars in the business.
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As far as how he looked, the WWE version of Booker T saw him grow his hair out longer, while his physique looked identical to his days as the world champion in WCW.
6 The Feud With John Cena
Booker T and John Cena faced off each other multiple times in a long feud in 2004. They primarily competed for the United States Championship, with the first match taking place at SummerSlam.
Booker's physique, however, was drastically different from 2001. Being in his late 30s at this point and many years of experience under his belt, he looked trimmer. He seemed to lose a lot of muscle mass from his younger days, with his chest, shoulders, and biceps looking significantly smaller. However, he was every bit the same athlete, as he constantly put on some of the strongest matches on any given card.
5 King Booker
Perhaps the most outstanding run of Booker T's WWE career was with the King Booker gimmick. Winning the King of the Ring 2006, Booker not only won the crown but also started acting like an actual king. Since the gimmick garnered the attention of the fans, he also entered the World Heavyweight Championship picture and eventually captured it.
While he was the main event star of SmackDown, Booker kept his physique a little trimmer, as being in his 40s, he was looking for longevity in the business, which he managed to do throughout most of his 40s.
4 TNA Days
Besides WCW and WWE, Booker T also enjoyed a three-year run in TNA. Although he never won the world title there, he still managed to become a tag team champion and TNA Legends Champion.
Booker T had a stint there as a member of the stable, The Main Event Mafia, which consisted of various legends. Overall, Booker had a solid run in TNA and was able to extend his career quite a bit, getting some significant screen time. He knew the writing was on the wall in WWE, so he managed to get a solid run with a fresh start.
3 Royal Rumble 2011
Four years after his WWE exit, Booker T returned to a WWE ring at Royal Rumble 2011 as a surprise entrant. This return wasn't as a full-time performer.
Being in his late 40s, Booker T's physique looked identical to his stint in TNA. While Booker's appearance in the Rumble was short, that was quite alright, as he still got a big pop from the crowd. Booker's return to WWE at this point was really to transition into being an announcer. While Booker's announcing skills garnered mixed reactions from fans, there's no doubt he has built his own signature style.
2 Physique in 2020
Since Booker T's return to WWE, he has been associated with the company, playing various roles over the years. SmackDown General Manager, commentator, and pre-show analyst are some roles he has played in the past decade.
But in 2020, Booker T made a one-off comeback to the ring for his own promotion, Reality of Wrestling. Surprisingly, even at the age of 55, he looked to be in incredible shape. His shoulders, chest, and arms looked bigger and more vascular than in 2011.
1 Royal Rumble 2023
Booker T's Royal Rumble 2023 appearance was his most recent match. He just lasted 42 seconds in that match, which is fairly typical for a surprise legend entrant in a Rumble match.
In the late 50s, it's not easy to maintain large muscle mass and physique. Nevertheless, being in his late 50s now, one has to wonder if we've seen the last of Booker T in a wrestling ring. If it is the end, it was an incredible careeer, as Booker totally redeemed his life after he set foot in a wrestling ring and carved out a hall of fame caliber career in multiple companies.
