10 Wrestlers Who Got Pissed Off At Critics
8. Harlem Heat
Booker T is not a fan of Dave Meltzer. At all.
Rumours abound that the former five-time, five-time, five-time, five-time, five-time WCW Champion told him to go f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck himself on Chris Jericho's cruise this year, and the heat stems from Dave burying the idea of Stevie Ray: Hall of Famer.
Booker T and brother Stevie Ray made up Harlem Heat in the '90s. Harlem Heat were a great tag team act - a very over and aggressive blend of explosive power - and were rewarded with a record 10 WCW World Tag Team Championship reigns.
Stevie Ray was not a great singles wrestler.
He epitomised basic, lacked coordination, and stank up undercards with piss-poor and weirdly gentle matches not helped when programmed almost exclusively against similarly leaden opponents. Because of this run, one presumes, Dave Meltzer openly laughed at the news of his induction on Wrestling Observer Radio. It was disrespectful in itself, Stevie Ray was a draw and worked a great role in that right context, and it was a tad hypocritical.
If the WWE Hall of Fame is meaningless - and it is, as Meltzer frequently points out - what does it matter who goes in? He was laughing at both institution and induction. Neither went down well. Booker called Dave a "dirtbag" on his podcast, and noted what the real purpose of the HOF is:
"[It's a] chance to step up on the stage and say, ‘Hey, fans. All of you guys that rooted for me, that cheered for me, that brought the signs, that brought the tickets, I thank you for that ride."
Stevie Ray himself also raged against the criticism on the Wrestling Epicenter pod, saying "Anyone that doesn’t understand that can kiss my black ass!"