Booker T recently commented on his controversial loss to Triple H at WrestleMania 19. He made the comments on his Hall of Fame with Booker T and Brad Gilmore radio show and posted to his Reality of Wrestling YouTube channel.
Triple H defeated Booker T in a World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 19. Many fans felt that due to the nature of the rivalry between the two, it would have made more sense for Booker to win, however.
“I would change the outcome in the WrestleMania match with Triple H, that’s about the only thing that I would do differently,” Booker said when asked about his career on the show.
The match result doesn’t appear to bother him too much, however.
“Even with the Triple H match, I’ve said this several times, I forgot all about that match after I got the check,” Booker continued. “When you get a check big enough where you can pay for your house, you don’t think about the title or the match or anything like that.”
“The thing is you can’t get the check if you ain’t championship quality. You got to be a guy that they are giving the ball to.”
Booker T on Kofi-Mania
Booker was then asked what impact it would have had on Kofi-Mania had Booker T been victorious at WrestleMania 19.
“I think the moment that we are in right now in society, I think that’s one of the really, really big reasons we needed Kofi to win that night. Just because of what’s going on in our culture right now.”
“The moment of Kofi winning was so much more important for him winning than it was for me,” Booker continued. “That moment pretty much solidified Kofi Kingston as being a guy that came through this business, a guy that won the World Championship. For me, I won so many world titles, it ain’t even funny. Big difference. I won all the titles except that one!”
Booker’s comments can be heard in the player below:
Triple H’s Promo, March 3rd 2003
On an episode of RAW leading up to WrestleMania 19, Triple H cut a promo that many fans perceived to have racist undertones to it.
“Booker, I think you’re a little bit confused in your role in life here,” Triple H said during the promo. “You see Booker, you’re going to get to go to WrestleMania but see the fact is Booker, somebody like you doesn’t get to be a World Champion. You see people like you don’t deserve it. That’s reserved for people like me.”
“See Book, that’s where the confusion is. Your confusion is… see you’re not here to be a competitor, you’re here to be an entertainer.”
Triple H would later say at a WrestleMania press conference that it was not his intent for the promo to be perceived as his character being racist to Booker. He said he only meant to refer to legal problems Booker encountered earlier in his life when he said “People like you.”
Bruce Prichard has since said that the whole angle was meant to portray Booker as the flag-bearer of WCW at the time.
“The way it was intended and the way it was written, and the way that the whole angle was laid out, was about Booker T being the standard-bearer of WCW. Because at that time, Booker was the biggest star to come out of WCW,” Prichard said on his podcast in regard to the angle.
