Booker T had no issue with his angle with Triple H in early 2003, despite many believing that the angle leaned too heavily into racial insensitivity.
The angle in question saw Booker feud with the Game over the World Heavyweight Championship. Triple H’s verbiage in promos would raise eyebrows as he said that “people like you” don’t win world titles. Many took this as a nod at Booker being African-American, as there had not been a fully-black WWE World Champion at the time.
Amid backlash, WWE would try and play off the comment as Triple H making reference to Booker T’s criminal history. The two-time WWE Hall of Famer spent 19 months in prison after pleading guilty to armed robbery at Wendy’s restaurants in Houston. This did little to quiet critics of the angle, as similar comments had not been made about white WWE Superstars who had fallen afoul of the law.
Booker T on the Storyline
While many still take issue with the angle and the racial undertones, Booker does not have a problem with the storyline. In a recent interview with Adrian Hernandez, Booker discussed some of Triple H’s verbiage during the angle.
“The one line people remember the most is when Triple H said ‘People like you don’t deserve to be here.’ That’s motivation for all of us to get up off our asses and prove them wrong.”
Booker then discussed how the angle played on his real-life background and said he approved of what was said in the storyline.
“It was as real as it could possibly be for me from an emotional perspective and a lot of the stuff that went into the angle, I approved all of it.”
What Came Next?
While the angle was distasteful to many, it did build Booker as a sympathetic babyface. Many assumed that the vile heel Triple H would finally get his comeuppance at WrestleMania 19 by losing the World Heavyweight Championship.
Instead, The Game retained and the finish of the match also saw controversy. Triple H waited close to a minute after hitting the Pedigree on Booker before getting the decisive pinfall, which many felt was a ‘burial’ of the ex-WCW star. Booker would have to wait over three more years before he won the World Heavyweight Championship from Rey Mysterio in 2006.
For the use of quotes, please give an H/T to SE Scoops.
