Why Triple H Beat Booker T At WrestleMania 19

A former WWE writer has shed light on why Triple H controversially defeated Booker T at WrestleMania 19 when they clashed over the World Championship.

Back in 2003 at WrestleMania 19 in 2003, Booker T battled Triple H with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line. The bout was the biggest of Booker T’s WWE career at that time and he was firmly the fan favourite.

However, the rivalry between the pair is controversial among fans to this day as the storyline leading into the match contained racial undertones. This made the result, which saw the Cerebral Assassin retain his title, surprising and upsetting for those that witnessed it.

During an appearance on 1140 AM, former WWE head writer Brian Gewirtz discussed the match and said he was firmly behind Booker T becoming the new World Heavyweight Champion:

“I can say I was definitely a proponent of it because, from a storyline standpoint, Booker is the underdog of that match and Triple H is the big bad [guy]. After going through this whole build-up to it, it’s a satisfying payoff to see the hero defeat the villain in that particular case.”

Gewirtz explained that the mindset was that, because the match wasn’t the night’s main event, Booker getting the big win might get lost in the shuffle.

“I think that the mindset at the time was that it was the title match that was third or fourth last on the card and the moment would be lost in the totality of the show if we pulled the trigger and named a new champion. Now, I’m not saying that was the smart decision or one that I was necessarily in agreement with at the time, but I think that was the mindset.”

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the above transcription.