10 Wrestlers Who HATED Losing

It's only a game but some played it so seriously.

Triple H Stephanie
WWE.com

When you read this list, you'll quickly spot a pattern.

Every entry centres around a major act that starred in a bigger, bygone era, in which, the wrestlers held a certain creative autonomy. They hated losing because wins and losses mattered. Wins and losses affected their aura and drawing power. If they lost too often, they would be stigmatised as such. Writing these words feels so unnecessary. And yet, somehow, the biggest wrestling company on the planet has lost sight of the very mentality that built it. It's like McDonald's suddenly serving up soya beans to its obese North American public.

Wins and losses in WWE don't matter now, at least in the baffling, chaotic narrative, in which a defeated midcard champion can simply choke out the WWE Champion to earn an "Opportunity". Wins and losses do affect their aura. This mentality defines WWE's ills; that Kofi Kingston Vs. Samoa Joe match died at Extreme Rules because Joe lacked any semblance of credibility in the challenger role. Perhaps now, with AEW encroaching on WWE's monopoly, EC3 might extort Vince and refuse to look at the lights for Titus O'Neill on Main Event.

Or perhaps Vince McMahon will warehouse him for his inability to speak in an Irish accent.

10. Roddy Piper

Triple H Stephanie
WWE.com

Hot Rod absolutely hated staring at the lights.

Known as the greatest and most over WWE star to have never held the Heavyweight Title, part of the reason why lay in a booking principle of the era in which he starred. His chief protagonist, Hulk Hogan, was the WWF Heavyweight Champion at a time in which babyfaces reigned supreme for years on end; house shows took precedent over TV, and those who attended wished to cheer on a hero. Putting the strap on Piper also risked something of a political minefield, for he was as irascible as his magnetic, influential onscreen persona. Traced back to his Mid Atlantic days, he hated jobbing. It was simply inherent to him as a major draw with an unshakeable belief in himself.

Hulk Hogan claimed that he used to tease Roddy Piper about this as each legend receded into quasi-retirement. "You could have made millions more, if you'd promised to do a job," Hogan would text Piper, as he recounted to Chris Jericho on Talk Is Jericho.

Then again, Hogan in his mind was probably Whatsapping with André The Giant at the same time, so that's probably bullsh*t.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!