The WORST Wrestling Story Every Year (1989-2025)

2003 - Triple H Vs. Booker T

Triple H Booker T
WWE

Booker T did not win the Royal Rumble, and was the first #1 contender for the newly-created, secondary World Heavyweight title. He won a lesser battle royal with just over four weeks to go until WrestleMania XIX. He didn’t feel like a red-hot babyface whose victory at WrestleMania was guaranteed.

Then again, he had to win. That is because, in a brief but unforgettably horrible programme, Triple H was a racist prick towards him.

In verbal duels, Triple H said that Booker T wasn’t a main event-level, championship-calibre wrestler. He said that Booker was only in WWE to entertain people, after which he urged Booker T to dance for him. If this was all a bit too subtle to grasp, Triple H wielded his beloved sledgehammer and mocked Booker for having “nappy hair”.

In a shocking angle, Triple H threw money at Booker in a bathroom stall, asking him to fetch a towel - the very clear heat behind which was to depict black people as only capable of and worth holding down menial jobs. It was desperately ugly stuff, but at least Booker T was winning.

He couldn’t not win.

He didn’t win, and what’s more, Triple H took 23 full seconds to successfully pin Booker T after executing the Pedigree. The gall of that, bloody hell: it is a babyface spot designed for a cheated babyface to create a sense of hopelessness. Triple H did it, to win, when he was never more vile a heel.

The ugliest means to an end imaginable, and WWE didn’t even do the happy ending.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!