10 Most Infamous Wrestling Losing Streaks

9. Kenta Kobashi

Curt Hawkins
All Japan Pro Wrestling

All Japan Pro Wrestling had their sh*t together. Well, it did under Shohei Giant Baba, at least.

Baba had a long-term in place to catapult Kenta Kobashi to lasting stardom. Throughout 1988, he lost all 63 of his first singles matches. He wasn't booked as a loser because he irked somebody in the office; it was part of a masterplan to position Kobashi as a battling, sympathetic underdog - a relatable avatar for the fans to rally behind.

He wasn't buried. His losses weren't attributed to a dip in confidence or a series of flukes which benefitted neither him nor his opponents. His early performances were so fiery that he cultivated a cult following, and when he did win - and win again, and again - he did so as the sentimental heart beating within All Japan. The losing streak didn't merely portray the legend as a man of the people; it furnished the vast majority of his seminal nineties matches with a crucial layer of unpredictability.

Kobashi was the fallible gladiator of the King's Road - one whose genuine emotional bond with the audience was borne from the sole occasion on which this booking method worked.

Contributor
Contributor

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!