10 Wrestlers Who Became World Champions At The WRONG Time

7. Booker T

Don't hate the player, hate the game. Nope, not that 'Game'. The "game" in question here was a corporate power struggle for WCW's future. Some at AOL/Time Warner wanted the company gone, whilst others hanging over from Ted Turner's regime wanted it to stick around. There was only ever going to be one winner.

The on-screen product was pricklier than Ted's moustache too. Vince Russo-led nightmare fuel bled all over episodes of Nitro and Thunder every single week, and Russo's own power struggle vs. Hulk Hogan came to a head on Bash At The Beach 2000. Hogan walked out, then Booker T lucked into a World Title win over Jeff Jarrett.

Perhaps "lucked out" is too strong. Book had worked diligently as a key member of WCW's roster for years, but he was pushed during an era when madness reigned supreme behind the scenes. It was clear to anyone with a working pair of eyes that WCW was going to continue floundering.

Nobody knew it'd be a goner by March 2001, but the summer of 2000 was not an ideal time to become World Champion.