7 Most Pathetic Examples Of Backstage Politics In Wrestling

Every single entry on this list involved uncontrolled egos and people selfishly craving the spotlight. This, was so much beyond that. The build-up, the insinuations, and finally the result, all combined to create one of those moments where you hated yourself for being a WWE fan and watching this abomination.

The year was 2003, the horrendous invasion angle was thankfully a thing of the past and we could finally see what the former WCW stars could do under Vince. For most of them the answer was nothing. But not Booker T. As ever, he was incredibly over with the crowd and his charisma and wrestling ability saw him rise up the card. By the time WrestleMania season was here, Booker was actually getting booked in a world title feud with Triple H. And from there, it all fell off a cliff and kept falling into an abyss.

From the very beginning, the feud was flirting with sensitive topics in a way that was both distasteful and stupid. It went from bad to worse when Hunter suggested during his promos that, “people like him”, cannot be world champions. There was hardly any subtlety in those words and even if there had been, nothing could excuse the clearly racial attacks.

Still, it could have been saved. HHH was after all the dastardly bad guy and had Booker manage to conquer him at the Grandest Stage of Them All, it may have all been worth it. And most reports suggest that was the plan. It had to be really.

However it was not to be. The man of many H’s used his close connections to Vince and convinced management that he should win instead. In a move that could only be described as baffling, they agreed.

Triple H beat Booker and of course, no one can ever forget how he did. The challenger had to lay flat on his back for almost half a minute following a pedigree before Trips finally decided to make the pin. It was humiliating in every way possible and effectively ended Booker’s credibility until years later.

WWE played out an angle for its biggest show where a white man belittled a black with barely disguised racial stereotyping. And when time came for the actual competition, said white man emerged victorious in convincing fashion, effectively a confirmation that he was right all along. The whole thing was so bad, it’s amazing how it actually went through.