10 Wrestling Bookers Who Made Themselves World Champion

5. Vince Russo

Vince Russo's two separate tenures as head booker of WCW are among the most maligned creative runs in wrestling history, and (among other transgressions) he broke a rule than he had once set for himself about never appearing on camera. In fact, he shattered it, becoming an obnoxious "New Yawk" version of Vince McMahon's heel boss character.

Russo's on-screen presence turned off as many people as his booking, especially in a ridiculous feud with Ric Flair. Russo didn't stop there, though. On the 25 September 2000 episode of Monday Nitro, Russo faced WCW World Heavyweight Champion Booker T in a steel cage match. Booker T seemed to have the match won when he escaped the cage, but Goldberg - whom Russo had antagonized for weeks - speared the challenger through the cage wall, and the WCW booker hit the ground first, becoming the new WCW Champion.

Like McMahon, Russo relinquished the World Title days later, but unlike McMahon, Russo's company wasn't strong enough to weather the asinine decision.