Harlem Heat Nearly Made WWE Jump

Stevie Ray was part of the iconic Harlem Heat tag team in WCW. Alongside his real-life brother Booker T, the two would go on to win numerous titles during their time in WCW. That said, it appears that Harlem Heat almost signed with WWE at one point in time.

Harlem Heat never went to WWE as a team as they would break up after WCW went under. This always disappointed fans as they wanted to see the legendary tag team compete in Vince McMahon’s company.

While speaking on Wrestling Then And Now, Stevie Ray revealed that Harlem Heat was very close to signing with WWE at one point in time. Ray stated that while they were under contract with WCW, WWE was interested in bringing them over.

Conversations between the two parties were being handled through a liaison, and the Harlem Heat kept the negotiations tightly under wraps. However, word eventually got out and people started approaching them about the rumors. Ultimately, they stayed in WCW after receiving an offer they couldn’t refuse.

 “Actually, we were about to go to WWF at one time. Yeah, a lot of people don’t know that, yeah. We did as much as we could possibly do, that we thought in WCW, you know? We had won the tag team belts a few times and stuff like that. And WWE was talking to us. And we didn’t tell anybody that this was going on, because they were talking to us behind the scenes, because we were still under contract. And so [WWE] was talking to us through a liaison. And then all of a sudden, people started coming up to us and go, ‘Hey man, I hear you guys might be going to WWE.’ [We say] ‘No brother! Look, where you hear that from, man?’ We [were] like, ‘No that’s not true, man. I don’t know where you heard that at.’

“And I swear to God, different people would start asking. And my brother’s looking, and we’d be at the hotel or something. Somebody had got light of what was going on. We would never admit to it, brother. It was like, I’m like OJ bro, you know what I’m saying? ‘No, it wasn’t me, bro! Y’all got the wrong dude. Serious business man, we would never admit to it. Not until like years later, I’m admitting to it now. But even back when I’m still there, I didn’t admit to it. I think the statue of limitation is over now. [laughs]

We just wanted to play our contract out and leave, you know, in good terms. Just business. And when our contracts weren’t even up, I can’t remember how much time we had left on them — maybe eight months, something like that, close to a year… next thing, we got called to the office. And they set us down, it was like, ‘Hey we want to give you guys new contracts.’ And we were like, ‘No that’s okay. We just want to play our contracts out.’ [laughs] It was like, ‘We earned what — this is what we signed to.’ And then once they threw the numbers out there, then it was, ‘Ah, I think these numbers look good.’ And I think me and my brother was like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna go for this.’ So that’s what happened. That’s why we never went to WWE.

Once I think back on it, I think my brother might have leaked it. I think Book might have leaked it man, I’m serious. I think he might have leaked it to somebody, either intentionally or unintentionally. But then again, I don’t know. He never admitted to me, but if I know my brother he might have did that on purpose.”

While Harlem Heat never did make the jump to WWE as a team, both members eventually had separate stints in the company. Ray became a commentator and appeared on WWE television in the early 2000s, while his brother Booker T became a multiple-time World Champion and WWE Hall of Famer. Regardless, fans will always be disappointed that Harlem Heat never competed in WWE in their prime.

What’s your take on what Stevie Ray said? Do you think Harlem Heat would have thrived in WWE? Sound off in the comments!