HALL OF FAME EXPANDS!
Houston wrestling all-star executes power move with ESPN Houston
May 3, 2022, 12:58 pm
Booker T is bigger than ever. Photo via WWE.com.
By popular demand (and when popular WWE legend Booker T demands something, it’s best to say yes), the Hall of Fame wrestling talk show has expanded to four nights a week on ESPN 97.5 FM and 92.5 FM.
Hosted by 5-time world champion wrestler Booker T and best-selling author and summa cum laude UH grad Brad Gilmore, the Hall of Fame show will air at 9 pm Tuesdays through Fridays.
The Hall of Fame show debuted on ESPN radio in Houston in 2019 and has grown into the No. 1 wrestling show in Texas. Station boss Todd Farquharson tells me, “We’re excited to expand the footprint of The Hall of Fame. Booker and Brad have been terrific partners.”
The Hall of Fame show came by its name legit. Booker T is a two-time inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame, first as an individual superstar and later, as a member of the Harlem Heat tag-team with his brother Stevie Ray.
We caught up with Booker T and Gilmore to talk wrestling and The Hall of Fame.
CultureMap: How did two Houston guys, Booker T, a street-tough wrestling veteran, and Brad, straight-A brainiac at UH, get together to co-host a radio show?
Brad G: I met Booker when I was 18 years old. I saw a tweet from him asking for people to audition as a ring announcer for his promotion, Reality of Wrestling. I sent in my resume and got a call about three weeks later.
I met with Booker and got the job. A couple years later, he called me and asked if I’d co-host a radio show with him. I jumped at the opportunity. Growing up I never thought of being on the radio, especially not with Booker T, a guy who main-evented the first wrestling show I ever went to at Toyota Center. It really was an unexpected dream come true.
CM: Does Booker still have his wrestling school in Houston?
Booker T: Of course! The Reality of Wrestling School is still going strong. We opened our school in 2005 and we are one of the few schools still out there training the next crop of stars. We’ve had several of our talent recently get picked up by WWE or AEW.
One of our girls, Rok-C (now Roxanne Perez) just signed with WWE about a month ago and she’s already main evented NXT with the champion Mandy Rose. It was awesome. So there’s no slowing down for us at the school. We are always training talent and we have more students now than ever.
CM: What is Booker’s relationship with WWE now?
BT: My relationship with the company has never been better. My contract with them isn’t up for another several years. I’m still around doing the kickoff shows for all the premium events on Peacock. I sometimes host RAW Talk and Talking Smack and WWE has me involved with several other projects.
CM: Booker, how’s it feel being married to a fellow WWE Hall of Famer now that Queen Sharmell was inducted at WrestleMania last month?
BT: I can tell you that our price for bookings has definitely gone up! But my wife has always been my queen, whether she was in the WWE Hall of Fame or not. But I will say, it’s pretty awesome they inducted her. We are a Hall of Fame family!
CM: What’s your opinion of the AEW wrestling promotion? Is it a serious challenger to WWE?
BT: AEW is a wrestling company that’s trying to provide a product like everyone else. I think it’s a good thing because wrestlers need a place to work and the more places to work, the better for the wrestlers, the business, and the families.
How much competition is it to WWE? I think it’s something that the WWE needs to keep an eye on. AEW has a cult following and a passionate and loyal fan base. When a company has that, you never know how big it can get and how fast it can grow.
I’ll say this, competition makes you run faster, so I think it’s a great thing for wrestling.
CM: How much wrestling do you guys watch each week? It seems like wrestling is on 24/7 these days.
BG: You are right. There are seven wrestling companies, including Impact and Booker’s Reality of Wrestling, on TV each week. It’s almost impossible to watch everything, but we want to give the listeners our best takes and most informed opinions.
We watch as much as we can. Booker and I both have a passion for wrestling. Watching hours and hours every week doesn’t feel like work. It’s no different than covering the NBA or NFL like a beat reporter.
CM: There’s no shortage of wrestling talk shows and podcasts out there. What makes your show different?
BG: Well, there isn’t another wrestling show hosted by a two-time WWE Hall of Famer and the BOAT (Best of All Time). But seriously, our show is so much more than just wrestling.
Although we spend most of the time talking about wrestling, we venture off into personal stories, music, debates about which Rocky movie is the best, and just life in general. It’s a lifestyle show more than a wrestling show. You can’t find a show like the Hall of Fame anywhere else.
CM: Is Booker retired from wrestling, I mean for real?
BT: I’ll never be done wrestling. I’ll be doing this until I can’t move my legs anymore. Wrestlers never retire. If I get a chance to bounce around the ring like a kid one more time, I’ll take that opportunity every time. I won’t be retired from the squared circle until I’m six feet under.
CM: Is anybody out there who can beat the WWE’s unified champion Roman Reigns?
BT: That’s a great question. It’s going to take someone special to take the spot of Roman. He’s really been on a different level of late than most of the guys, and making it past Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania was big for him.
There’s still so much left to do for The Head of the Table, so that’s a question that can’t be answered yet.
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A new challenge awaits, and the Astros know what’s at stake
Jun 27, 2025, 2:05 pm
The Houston Astros didn’t just sweep the Philadelphia Phillies. They sent a message.
In three tightly contested games against one of the best teams in baseball, the Astros leaned on their elite pitching and timely offense to secure a statement sweep. Hunter Brown was electric in the finale, shutting down the Phillies’ lineup and showing the kind of dominance that’s become a defining feature of his game. Bryan Abreu slammed the door with four strikeouts to close out the win, and rookie Cam Smith delivered the deciding blow — an RBI single in the eighth to drive in Isaac Paredes, lifting the Astros to a 2-1 victory.
It wasn’t a series filled with offensive fireworks, but that’s exactly the point. Both teams sent out top-tier pitching throughout the series, and Houston was the team that kept finding a way. For much of the season, the Astros’ inconsistent offense might’ve been a concern in a series like this. But this time, it felt different. The bats showed up just enough, and the pitching did the rest.
Now, with Houston on pace for 96 wins at the halfway point, the question becomes: Is the league officially on notice?
Maybe. Maybe not. But one thing is certain, the Astros have the third-best record in baseball, they’re 17-7 in one-run games, and they’re playing with the kind of rhythm that’s defined their near-decade of dominance. Unlike last year’s uneven campaign, this version of the Astros looks like a team that’s rediscovered its edge. Whether or not they need to take care of business against the Cubs to validate it, their recent run leaves little doubt: when Houston is clicking, there are very few teams built to stop them.
Off the field, however, a bit of long-term uncertainty is starting to creep in. Reports surfaced this week that extension talks with shortstop Jeremy Peña have been put on hold as he recently signed with super-agent Scott Boras. The combination has led many to wonder if Peña might follow the same free-agent path as Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, and others before him. Boras clients rarely settle early, and Peña, now one of the most valuable shortstops in the game, could command a price tag the Astros have historically avoided paying.
If Peña and even Hunter Brown are likely to get priced out of Houston, the front office may need to pivot. Isaac Paredes could be the most logical extension candidate on the roster. His approach — particularly his ability to pull the ball with authority — is tailor-made for Daikin Park and the Crawford Boxes. Last year, Paredes struggled to leave the yard at Wrigley Field, but in Houston, he’s thriving. Locking him in long term would give the Astros offensive stability and the kind of value they’ve typically targeted.
As for Cam Smith, the breakout rookie is far from free agency and will remain a cost-controlled piece for years. That’s exactly why his contributions now, like his clutch eighth-inning knock to beat Philadelphia, matter so much. He's one more reason why the Astros don’t just look good right now. They look dangerous.
And the rest of the league is starting to feel it.
There's so much more to get to! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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