10 Things WWE Regrets About WrestleMania

2. Elements Of Racism

"It was a different time."

Yes, yes it was. Both 1990 and 2003 were very much periods less sensitive to offence. Say, "I'm offended" by something back then and you were likely to get laughed at, not rally support on social media or get 10.6k Twitter likes. Even so, racism was still a touchy subject, one that had no place in pro wrestling.

It's shocking to see Roddy Piper sport blackface at 'Mania VI, just as it is to hear Triple H claim that "people like" Booker T should be waiting on him hand and foot rather than wrestling for the World Title before XIX. Those plot points occurred 13 years apart, and a further 16 on from the latter they're rather depressing to watch.

Neither angle fits neatly into WWE's corporate profile in 2019. Using someone's race against them is the sort of thing that'd have folks shaking their heads, not holding up signs saying, "Hot Rod".