10 Huge Wrestling Stars Who Lost To Ridiculous Opponents

6. Charlotte Flair Loses To Carmella

carmella charlotte flair
WWE.com

Some context is necessary here.

Firstly, Carmella is really quite underrated. Her TLC 2020 match with Sasha Banks was genuinely excellent, she's very animated, and when she's permitted to go back and forth in serious, competitive matches, she brings a feisty energy that informs the tone of a scrap.

She wasn't particularly good in 2018, which was suboptimal, since she indirectly benefitted from one of the longest winning streaks in WWE history - and, since Asuka was pushed deep into the era of 50/50 sludge, it stood out as all the more impressive.

At WrestleMania 34, Charlotte Flair shockingly brought it to an end. At the very next pay-per-view - well, not the very next PPV, because the insidious long-term sportswashing phase hadn't reached women's wrestling by Greatest Royal Rumble, because WWE had to be "seen" "effecting" "change" - Carmella dethroned the SmackDown Women's Champion at Backlash. The match was tedious, it all felt like a cheap heat stunt, and as a result, Carmella was never taken seriously as a top heel.

"Just have wrestlers get beat by anybody we like at the time" shouldn't be so effective as a business model.

Game's gone.

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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 current Undisputed WWE 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!