Booker T

World Championship Wrestling (1993–2001)

Harlem Heat (1993–1997)

Booker T and his brother Stevie Ray signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) after Sid Vicious recommended they sign with the company. In August 1993, they debuted as the tag team Harlem Heat, with Booker T renamed Kole and Lash renamed Kane. They debuted as heels and were on Harley Race and Col. Rob Parker's team in the WarGames match at Fall Brawl 1993 on September 19 against Sting, Davey Boy Smith, Dustin Rhodes, and the Shockmaster. They lost the match but were over as heels because of the caliber of faces they wrestled.

In 1994, they acquired the services of Sister Sherri as their manager and changed their names back to Booker T and Stevie Ray, at their request. By the end of 1994, they held the WCW World Tag Team Championship after defeating Stars and Stripes (The Patriot and Marcus Alexander Bagwell) in December. After dropping the title to the Nasty Boys, Harlem Heat regained the belts on June 24, 1995.

Afterward, Harlem Heat got into a feud with Col. Parker's "Stud Stable" of "Dirty" Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck. Parker and Sherri were carrying on a love affair and Parker eventually left the Stud Stable in favor of the Heat to be with Sherri. Harlem Heat won the WCW World Tag Team Championship at Fall Brawl 1995, defeating Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck. Their third title reign only lasted one day, but the duo regained the tag team title nine days later from the American Males (Buff Bagwell and Scotty Riggs). On the June 24, 1996, Nitro, Harlem Heat defeated Lex Luger and Sting to capture their fifth WCW World Tag Team Championship.

Three days after losing the tag team titles to the Steiner Brothers, Harlem Heat regained the titles back from the Steiners on July 27. On September 23, Booker T and Stevie Ray were defeated by Public Enemy (Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge) but took the titles back for the seventh time on October 1.

They lost the Tag Team Championship to the Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) on October 27. Subsequently, they fired Col. Parker and beat him up and became full-fledged faces. They then entered into a brief feud against Col. Parker's newest team, the Amazing French Canadians, a feud they won. In 1997, they feuded with Public Enemy (Grunge & Rocco), the Steiners, and the nWo. In fall 1997, they fired Sherri and added a new manager, Jacqueline. They were briefly put out of action by the nWo and returned to feud with the Faces of Fear (Meng and the Barbarian). Stevie then took five months off from WCW to recover from an ankle injury and Jacqueline left for the WWF.

World Television Champion (1997–1999)

Booker T made the transition into singles action and won the WCW World Television Championship from Disco Inferno on the December 29, 1997, episode of Nitro. Booker T feuded over the title with Perry Saturn and Rick Martel culminating in a gauntlet match at SuperBrawl VIII. Martel, the man that was originally supposed to win the match, went down early due to a knee injury, meaning the finish and the remainder of the match had to be called in the ring.

During spring 1998, Booker T began feuding with Chris Benoit. Benoit cost Booker T the World Television Championship during a match against Fit Finlay. As a result, Booker T and Benoit engaged in a "best-of-seven series" with the winner meeting Finlay for the title. After seven matches and interference from Bret Hart and Stevie Ray, Booker T won the series, and on June 14, regained the Television Championship.

Booker T scored a clean pinfall victory over Bret Hart on the edition of February 22 of Nitro. The following month, he regained the World Television Championship from Scott Steiner, who, in turn, defeated Booker T in the finals of the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship tournament. Booker T lost the World Television Championship to Rick Steiner a month later at Slamboree.

Harlem Heat reunion; Misfits in Action (1999–2000)

By mid-1999, Booker T had convinced his brother, Stevie Ray, to leave the nWo and reunite Harlem Heat. Harlem Heat defeated Bam Bam Bigelow and Kanyon for the WCW World Tag Team titles at Road Wild. They lost the WCW World Tag Team titles to Barry and Kendall Windham on August 23, but Harlem Heat regained them about a month later at Fall Brawl. When The Filthy Animals were stripped of the WCW World Tag Team belts due to an injury suffered by Rey Mysterio Jr., the title was put up in a three-way dance at Halloween Havoc. Harlem Heat claimed their tenth WCW World Tag Team title defeating Hugh Morrus and Brian Knobs and Konnan and Kidman. By late 1999, a female bodybuilder named Midnight had joined Harlem Heat. Stevie neglected her help and started disputing with Booker over her.

Stevie Ray eventually challenged Midnight in a match that decided whether or not she would stay with Harlem Heat. After being defeated with a surprise small package, Stevie Ray turned on both Booker T and Midnight to form Harlem Heat, Inc. with Big T, Kash, and J. Biggs. Stevie Ray and Big T dubbed themselves Harlem Heat 2000. Throughout this period, Huffman was referred to simply as Booker, as Harlem Heat 2000 won the rights to the name "T" in a match with Big T against Booker on February 20, 2000, at SuperBrawl X. Kidman and Booker T defeated Harlem Heat 2000 (Ray and Big T) at Uncensored 2000.

When Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff formed The New Blood, Huffman eventually completely changed his in-ring persona, helping lead Captain Rection's military-themed Misfits In Action stable as G.I. Bro, reprising his gimmicks from his days in the WWA. He defeated Shawn Stasiak at the Great American Bash in a Boot Camp match. He returned to the Booker T name on the June 19 Nitro, promoting Rection to the status of General and demanding the Misfits start standing up to the New Blood.

WCW World Heavyweight Champion (2000–2001)

Booker T was elevated to main event status. After WCW booker Vince Russo grew disgruntled with Hulk Hogan's politics, he fired Hogan during the live broadcast of Bash at the Beach on July 9, and announced an impromptu match between Jeff Jarrett and Booker T for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Booker T won the match, in the process becoming the second ever African American champion in WCW after Ron Simmons, and the third African American to win a World Heavyweight title. He lost the title to Kevin Nash on August 28 on Nitro. He regained the title a few weeks later in a steel cage match with Nash at Fall Brawl on September 17, but again lost the title, this time to Vince Russo himself in a cage match (Russo was speared out of the cage by Goldberg and won the title), Russo vacated the title and Booker T won it for the third time in a San Francisco 49er Box Match against Jeff Jarrett on the October 2 episode of Nitro.

Booker T's next feud was with Scott Steiner, to whom he eventually lost the title in a Straitjacket steel cage match. Steiner won by TKO when he put an unconscious Booker T into the Steiner Recliner at Mayhem on November 26. Steiner was WCW's longest reigning champion in years, while Booker T was briefly out with an injury. Booker T returned to the roster and defeated Rick Steiner for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship at Greed on March 18, 2001. This made Booker T the ninth WCW Triple Crown winner. On the final episode of Nitro on March 26, Booker T defeated Scott Steiner to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship for the fourth time.

According to sports journalist Michael Landsberg, Huffman was salaried at "close to a million dollars a year" in WCW. He won a total of twenty-one titles within the organization, making him the most decorated performer in its history. Booker T was also the reigning WCW United States Heavyweight Champion and WCW World Heavyweight Champion when he accepted a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2001–2007)

The Alliance (2001–2002)

After WCW was bought by the WWF in March, Booker T made his debut at the King of the Ring pay-per-view on June 24 attacking WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin during his match, promptly injuring him in his first move in the WWF. Booker T later turned heel and became a leading member of The Alliance during the Invasion storyline. In his debut match in the WWF, Booker T defended his WCW Championship against Buff Bagwell on the July 2 episode of Raw is War; sports journalist Michael Landsberg reported that many have called this bout "the worst match ever". At Invasion on July 22, The Alliance defeated Team WWF when Austin joined the Alliance. On the July 26 episode of SmackDown!, Booker T gave up his WCW United States Championship and handed it over to Chris Kanyon. He later lost the WCW Championship to Kurt Angle, but he went on to win the title back on the July 30 episode of Raw is War. Booker T kept the title until SummerSlam on August 19, when he lost it to The Rock after feuding with him over the similarity in their gimmicks and their identical finishing moves, the Book End/Rock Bottom. Booker T won the WCW Tag Team Championship for an eleventh time, this time with Test, and he also had a WWF Tag Team Championship reign with Test. At Survivor Series on November 18, Booker T was eliminated third by The Rock after a roll-up and eventually The Alliance was defeated, causing them to disband.

In its aftermath, Booker T remained a heel, and he joined forces with Vince McMahon and The Boss Man in December to feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin. After Booker T cost Austin a match against Chris Jericho for the Undisputed WWF Championship at Vengeance on December 9, Austin gained revenge in a brawl in a supermarket on the December 13 episode of SmackDown!, in which Austin won, assaulting Booker T with food. The brawl cost the company $10,000 to $15,000 in damage. Then the week after Booker T vandalized Austin's truck causing Austin to chase Booker T around a bingo hall and a church.

Booker T's first WrestleMania appearance was at WrestleMania X8 on March 17, 2002, against Edge, a match he lost. They feuded over who would appear in a fictional Japanese shampoo commercial. When the brand extension was introduced in March, Booker T was drafted to the Raw brand. At Insurrextion on May 4, Booker T briefly held the WWF Hardcore Championship twice, defeating Stevie Richards only to lose it to Crash Holly seconds later. Booker T then re-defeated Crash and lost the title to Stevie Richards a few minutes later.

Feud with Evolution (2002–2003)

Goldust began trying to start a tag team with Booker T, but Goldust kept costing Booker T matches. With the nWo now operating in WWE, Booker T was eventually invited into the nWo. His time there was short-lived, when he was kicked out of the nWo by Shawn Michaels after a superkick from Michaels. Booker T then turned face and found a partnership with Goldust and the pair teamed to battle the nWo. Booker T and Goldust had a WWE Tag Team Championship match against The Un-Americans (Christian and Lance Storm) at SummerSlam on August 25, but The Un-Americans retained after interference from Test. At No Mercy on October 20, Booker T and Goldust battled Chris Jericho and Christian for the World Tag Team Championship, but they lost the match with Jericho using the title belt on Goldust.

Booker T spent the rest of 2002 teaming with Goldust. They won the World Tag Team Championship at Armageddon on December 15 in a Tag Team Elimination match defeating the teams of Christian and Chris Jericho, Lance Storm and William Regal, and the Dudley Boyz. They held the belts for about three weeks, when they lost them to Regal and Storm on the January 6, 2003 episode of Raw. Booker T and Goldust lost the rematch and decided to go their separate ways. The gimmick for Booker T and Goldust was Goldust being a strange, yet dependable ally who Booker T eventually warmed up to after initial skepticism. However, Booker T's popularity had soared and he amicably separated from Goldust, at Goldust's request, in order to pursue the World Heavyweight Championship. On the February 24 episode of Raw, he eliminated The Rock to win a battle royal to become the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XIX on March 30.

Booker T targeted Evolution after Batista and Randy Orton attacked Booker T's former partner, Goldust. Several weeks before WrestleMania, the incumbent champion and Evolution's leader, Triple H, cut a controversial promo on Booker T. Triple H downplayed Booker T's WCW success, pointing out that the WCW World Heavyweight Championship had been held by non-wrestlers like booker Vince Russo and actor David Arquette, calling WCW and its title "a joke", despite the fact that, as World Heavyweight Champion, Triple H was holding the WCW World Heavyweight Championship's physical belt, the Big Gold Belt, and that Triple H's Evolution stablemate, Ric Flair, had been a multiple-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion. He said that "people like" Booker T would never win world championships in WWE. This promo is often interpreted as racist due to Triple H referencing Booker T's "nappy" hair and implying that Booker T was just in WWE to dance and entertain for "people like" Triple H. During the WrestleMania XIX press conference Michael Cole asked Triple H as to whether he had deliberately cut a racist promo, Triple H claimed this was not the case and that he was just referring to Booker T's criminal past. A week later, Booker T attacked Triple H in the bathroom and laid him out after Triple H had thrown a dollar bill at him, ordering Booker T to get him a towel. However, Booker T lost to Triple H at WrestleMania. For several weeks, he teamed with Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash in a feud against Triple H, Ric Flair, and Chris Jericho. At Backlash on April 27, Booker T, Michaels and Nash lost to Triple H, Flair and Jericho when Triple H pinned Nash after a sledgehammer shot.

Various feuds (2003–2005)

Afterward, Booker T set his sights on the newly reactivated Intercontinental Championship. After losing a battle royal for the title at Judgment Day on May 18, Booker T feuded with the champion Christian. After a few matches, Booker T defeated Christian to become the new Intercontinental Champion on the July 7 episode of Raw. About a month later, because of a nagging back injury, Booker T lost the Intercontinental Championship back to Christian at a non-televised house show on August 10. Booker T, meanwhile, was out of action until October.

Booker T returned on the October 20 episode of Raw and subsequently joined Team Austin at Survivor Series on November 16 for a match to determine whether Eric Bischoff or Stone Cold Steve Austin (both co-general managers) would be the sole General Manager of Raw. Team Bischoff won the match. Booker T then feuded with Mark Henry, who eliminated him in the Survivor Series match. Booker T defeated Henry at Armageddon on December 14.

On the February 16, 2004, episode of Raw, Booker T and Rob Van Dam defeated Ric Flair and Batista for the World Tag Team Championship. Booker T and Van Dam held the titles for a month, even defending the belts at WrestleMania XX on March 14 in a Fatal 4-Way tag team match. Eight days later on the March 22 episode of Raw, they lost the World Tag Team Championship back to Ric Flair and Batista. He and Van Dam, never got their rematch due to Van Dam being drafted to SmackDown! that very same night.

On the March 25 episode of SmackDown!, Booker T was "traded" (along with the Dudley Boyz) to the SmackDown! brand in exchange for Triple H, but as part of a new storyline, he appeared unhappy with the move calling SmackDown! "the minor leagues" and even disrespected Eddie Guerrero, the brand's WWE Champion, turning heel in the process. Later on, Booker T bragged about how he was the biggest star on SmackDown! and feuded with The Undertaker. Booker T tried to utilize voodoo magic to try to overcome his "supernatural" foe; however, it did nothing to prevent him from losing to the Undertaker at Judgment Day on May 16.

In mid-2004, Booker T set his sights on the United States Championship along with its champion, John Cena. After Cena got on the bad side of general manager Kurt Angle, he did his best to get the title away from Cena. Cena successfully defended the title at The Great American Bash on June 27 in a four-way elimination match against Booker T, René Duprée, and Rob Van Dam. After Cena was stripped of his title by Angle for "laying a hand" on the general manager on the July 8 episode of SmackDown!, Booker T took advantage of the situation and won an eight-man elimination match to win the vacant United States Championship, thus becoming the one-hundredth United States Champion in history, in a match that also featured Cena, Dupree, Billy Gunn, Charlie Haas, Luther Reigns, Kenzo Suzuki and Van Dam. Booker T won by last eliminating both Cena and Van Dam in the course of less than 10 seconds. After Angle was fired by Mr. McMahon for embellishing his injuries, Theodore Long began his first tenure as SmackDown! General Manager, and booked a best-of-five series of matches for the United States Championship between Booker T and Cena. The first match took place at SummerSlam on August 15 and saw Cena gain the pinfall victory to go up 1–0 in the series. Booker T would bounce back and win the next two matches, on the August 26 edition of SmackDown! and a live event the next night, to take a 2–1 lead. The next match in the series wouldn't come until the September 16 SmackDown!, where Cena won and tied the series at two apiece. The series culminated at No Mercy on October 3, where Cena won the series 3–2, and thusly, the United States Championship.

On the October 21 episode of SmackDown!, SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long placed Booker T in a six-man tag team match with Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio against John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), René Duprée, and Kenzo Suzuki. JBL expected Booker T to betray his partners, but instead Booker T pinned JBL, thus turning face again. Booker T faced JBL for the WWE Championship at the Survivor Series on November 14, but lost after he was hit in the head with the championship belt. The next night, Booker T demanded a rematch, citing Orlando Jordan's interference. He was then joined by Eddie Guerrero and The Undertaker who also wanted a shot at JBL's title, prompting Theodore Long to make a fatal four-way match for the WWE Championship at Armageddon on December 12. Once again, Booker T failed to win the title, as JBL retained it. He then briefly teamed with Eddie Guerrero, at one point challenging Mysterio and Van Dam for the WWE Tag Team Championship, and feuded with Heidenreich.