The Book deal is complicated because it's also around the time WCW was hit with that racial discrimination lawsuit. Booker
was being pushed under Russo's two regimes (fall '99 and spring 2000 onward), but it's also a good look to put the belt on a black man when your company's racism is being examined.
Highly recommend The Lapsed Fan podcast's coverage of the whole Bash at the Beach debacle. A lot of details I forget, but bunch of interesting stuff like inconsistencies on how/if Booker was already tipped off a few days prior, racism lawsuit with Arn, Terry Taylor, Russo, etc. named, Bischoff being Hogan's puppet, Jarrett's role, context of Russo coming in diminishing Hogan/Flair/Sting from the jump, etc.
On another note, Jannetty ep next week gonna be batshyt