Booker T Addresses ROW's Ice Williams Joining WWE ID Program

WWE's new "ID" program, which gives indie wrestlers a company-backed push to make it to the big leagues, has already selected several stars for its first crop. Last week, the program added GCW wrestler Jack Cartwheel to a lineup that already includes Zayda Steel, Sean Legacy, Bryce Donovan and Cappuccino Jones. Now, Ice Williams, a standout in Booker T's Reality of Wrestling, has joined the group. Booker presented Williams with his WWE ID contract in front of a live crowd last weekend, and expressed excitement for his future on the "Hall of Fame" podcast.

"Ice Williams, he's on his way," Booker said. "I can only imagine how he felt. I can only wonder what he felt being in that position and something like that happening for him. Man, what a way to be able to springboard into this business." Booker spoke about the program's potential to change lives, comparing it to his own story. In his younger days, Booker spent 19 months in prison for armed robbery, and was headed down a dangerous path until his brother and future Harlem Heat tag team partner, Stevie Ray, opened his eyes to wrestling. 

"That's what I think this program can do more than anything, is change your life," Booker said. "Because professional wrestling changed my life. I can only imagine where I would be at if it wasn't for my brother wanting to go to a wrestling school ... stepping into that ring and loving it the way I did. Finding myself. So many kids out there that's going through that same thing ... wondering what they're gonna do in life. And that ring could be it." Booker's ROW is one of several training facilities accredited under WWE's new ID program. Students attending WWE ID-approved schools stand to get a closer look than they otherwise might training elsewhere.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Hall Of Fame" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.