10 Wrestlers Who Got Over By Losing

6. Mick Foley

Dustin Rhodes
WWE.com

Mick Foley was so good that he convinced several wrestling fans that Randy Orton was a top-level worker for 17 years.

And while that's only slightly facetious and hardly consensus - Orton is received about as subjectively as any performer ever - Foley was so phenomenal in the role that it's far easier to argue that Backlash 2004 remains Orton's career peak.

Foley was the best guy to lose to ever. He sold everything like death, and absorbed more gruesome punishment than any big league star before him, but he was also a phenomenal brawler with one of the best working punches you'll ever see. He was as great at doling out the punishment - so much so that a victory over him meant so much more than blood-soaked highlight reel moment - as he was taking it. The emerging WWE star got over by surviving and then maiming Mick Foley, not just by defeating him. The Rock; Triple H; Edge: Foley's legacy as a selfless star-maker is forever established.

He is a legend because he created more legends, and Randy Orton.

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!