Ranking Triple H's 19 WrestleMania Matches - From Worst To Best

9. Triple H Vs. Booker T (WrestleMania XIX)

There are many reasons to hate the Triple H-Booker T match from WrestleMania XIX. The racial implications made by Triple H in the build to the match had no place in the business, certainly by 2003. Piggybacking on that was The Game's victory over his top contender, essentially supporting his claims that "people like Booker" do not win World Championships. It made the company look bad, and for Triple H it was the worst possible way to build up one of the marquee matches of what would go on to become recognized as one of the greatest events ever produced by WWE. For all the negativity surrounding the match, it was a damn fine bout. Triple H controlled the pace, working over Booker's knee in the same way his own left leg was targeted a year earlier by Chris Jericho. He even broke out the rarely-seen Indian Death Lock, called magnificently by Jim Ross. Booker, to his credit, was as motivated and as crisp in his work as he had been since his debut. By the time the former WCW Champion broke out the Harlem Hangover, it looked like he was on the way to validating his WWE career. But it was not to be. Triple H delivered a Pedigree and took an eternity to cover his opponent for the three count, essentially killing any of the heat that Booker had built for himself in the build to the show. The Creative aside, the match was a good example of a ring general and dynamic babyface working together to prove that a match does not need special gimmickry or weaponry to be great. The championship could be defended in a traditional match and still keep fans invested in the action.