10 Most DAMAGING Single Losses In WWE History 

Bray Wyatt has got 2 of the greatest gimmicks in recent history over, only to have his legs taken out from under him with terrible booking every time...

Vader and Booker T had something in common. They were big stars in other promotions (notably WCW) so Vince had no plans to let them win the WWE Championship.

Kane losing to Steve Austin the next night after winning the title. Kane never felt to be the same. He began to look more of a human.

WWE: "WHY CAN'T ANYONE GET OVER?!?!" also WWE:

Booker T's loss to HHH was a crime. I was so disgusted I stopped watching WWE for years after that.

Beat him with an Atomic Drop? I know it was in the 70s-80s...but still lol

Damian Sandow, to me was one of the biggest mistakes WWE has done in recent time. Dropping the ball, not giving him a title run, beating John Cena that night, even if it was for a few short weeks until Cena regained or something. Sandow to me has the talent, and the mic skills. Could have become a huge deal.

The Nexus Summerslam situation will always be rough to me. Honestly, I still think that the Nexus should have swept the match 7-0 without losing a single member.

Nobody likes to talk about Austin's politic BS compared to more easy targets, but him beating Kane the night after Kane won the WWF title his first time ruined Kane for years. It pretty much put a cap on him ever being a legit main event threat in the company.

no one believed Ryback was going to win the title, because no one believed Ryback vs Rock would happen, we just weren't sure what cheap ending would happen

Can confirm, some small company comes through my county every once in a while to perform at the fairgrounds, Honky Tonk is almost always on the card.

I'm still angry about Asuka vs. Charlotte at WM 34, and a little suprised it's not on here.

Technically a win, but Lex Luger DQ at Summerslam 93, after the Lex Express build all summer. After giving a jetpack level push, at least give him the strap until survivor series.

The Goldberg loss came at a time when HHH had a groin injury and could barely move, hence the bicycle shorts, which makes it even worse

You lads know the history of WWF at the Garden, that's impressive. My dad used to take us in the 80s, back then they would get people like Liberace and Andy Warhol and all those crazy pop stars involved. It was fun

Kevin Owens was never the same after his loss to Oldberg

In hindsight, it was probably for the best that Ryback never won the WWE Championship.

I'll never get over that Booker T loss for one reason. It's one thing if Vince just didn't want him to be champion after that buildup, which would be stupid, but fine. It's the fact that Booker hit one of the most devastating looking moves I've ever seen, an absolutely brutal Harlem Hangover from the top rope that looked like it killed Triple H, only for Triple H to kick out of it like it was just another move. I mean, imagine if that Wrestlemania match between Lesnar and Angle had resulted in Lesnar actually connecting with that huge Shooting Star Press, and Angle kicked out from it. Or if HBK had kicked out of Taker's jumping tombstone, just to lose to a simple chokeslam a minute later. That top-rope Harlem Hangover was one of the most impressive and most memorable single moves in WWE history, and ABSOLUTELY should have ended the match. And what makes it absolutely brutal is that when Triple H did hit the pedigree a couple of minutes later, he took damn near thirty fucking seconds to crawl over and make that pin, and Booker still didn't kick out. The ending made Triple H look invincible and made Booker look like shit, the exact opposite of what that storyline deserved. You can have HHH win... just not like THAT.

At 4:09, kinda sucks that Ricky Steamboat had a short run as the intercontinental champion, especially after winning it in that epic match with Randy Savage.

Charlotte didn't need Asuka's streak but Brock didn't need Taker's either

Ah, a "salt in old wounds" video, my favorite type ! *gets comfy with a glass of fresh tears and some overcooked brownies*

Damien Sandow's loss will always upset me; he was one of my favourites, and while Damien Mizdow was fun, I was really looking forward to him being world champion. Never fully recovered aside from the Mizdow stuff

Correction: Nexus to John Cena - SummerSlam 2010

Bray Wyatt: His father was released on April 15th 2020, his brother was released on April 15th 2021. I hope, they don´t drop the ball completely before April 15th 2022.

Tatanka could've stayed over after Borga but the booking killed his momentum. Right after the loss if you would have been put into another story or started chasing a belt or anything other than what they gave him I think he would have been just fine.

Lol. Booker T. Of course it’s the thumbnail.

To this day, it amazes me that WWE tried to say that the HHH/Booker angle where H talked about Booker's hair and the infamous "You People" line was not about race but about Booker being a former WCW star. Which is just beyond stupid.

On the flip side, when the Warrior beat Honky Tonk Man, WWF made sure they strapped a rocket onto Warrior's back. So...it balanced out? yay...?

2009 - Hot as hell having just retired Jeff Hardy to become WHChamp; CM Punk gets crushed in back-to-back PPVs by Undertaker (Notable here is that Punks winning the title seemed to signal a new era for Smackdown having had an excellent main event scene revolving around Hardy, Edge, Morrison & Punk..... Taker returns from injury and kills all that momentum in 2 virtual squash matches) 2010 - Rehabbed from the above set-back and once again hot (and evil!) as hell; CM Punk's Straight Edge Society not being able to get the better of Rey Mysterio and then subsequently getting single-handedly dismantled by a stale-as-hell Big Show for no good reason. (On not one of these occasions could the evil mastermind of this cult make the numbers-game work once? ...Really???)... This angle should have been the catalyst to send Punk back to the main event where the SES could have owned Smackdown. 2011 - Having caught lightning in a bottle for the 3rd time in 3 years; WWEchamp Punk is white hot yet again. However, having already botched the storyline by bringing Punk back too quickly (He should have just returned for Summerslam to call Cena out as the fake champ); we then get the messy Nash/JohnnyAce conspiracy angle with HHH beating Punk for ZERO reason. People like to point to the 400+ day 'mid-card main event' run that eventually followed; but the damage had been done.

The Honkey Tonk Man's loss to the Warrior and subsequent burial was punishment from Vince for refusing to drop the belt to Savage earlier and forcing creative to rewrite a half year or so of plans for the title. There are a lot of interviews about it out there.

Punk losing to triple hhh at night of champions 2011 was such bullshit and I feel like it hurt punk a lot

“WrestleMania 2000” should have been Triple H v. The Rock with Rock winning instead of waiting for Backlash.

How was this list not packed with ex-WCW arrivals from 2001-2003? For example: Booker T dropping the WCW belt during the invasion Stalker DDP v Taker Any member of the nWo at WM Scott Steiner v Triple H (who had plugged his opponent as the best heel in the business at the time of his signing)

Goldberg, Booker and Sting. I guess HHH have a grudge against WCW top starts based on how he buried those three

Paciti throwing Billy Graham and Bob backlund in there just so people think he's a wrestling historian or something, we all see through you Adam!

HTM is definitely not applicable here. He had a ceiling and he’d reached it already, whereas Warrior’s star power was only gonna up.

Asuka losing to Charlotte at Mania should've been on here

Superstar is still a sore spot for me. He was THE heel, but it was so charismatic he was actually gaining fan support. Superstar wanted Vince to turn him face and let him keep the title.. but well, as we saw.. Vince Sr. is 100% where Vince Jr. gets his thought line.. and it ended what could of been the Hogan style era before Hogan. Vince Jr. even said himself, Superstar came along 1 generation to soon.

Lesnar losing to Cena in 1st match back was madness. Not necessarily damaging. But madness.

I always feel uncomfortable when talking about Vader, the eye thing really messes with my head and I get an irritation in my eye lol.

Nexus losing to Team Cena at SummerSlam '10 was the wrong move. Originally, Nexus was told that they were gonna go over at SummerSlam. Just imagine if they won that night? They’d become even more dominant and maybe some of the members still would be employed. The reason they didn’t go over is because Vince basically said that John Cena should go over so there’s a happy ending and so that the kids go home with smiles.

This could have easily been a top 10 list of "Cena Wins LOL" moments.

I'd argue that the Last Man Standing match (or even the middle PPV match I can't remember ATM) did far more damage to Bray than Wrestlemania.... Bray's promo after losing at Mania, I thought, was gold that truly showed off the craziness

tazz to triple h was a total burial

I’d also throw Cesaro’s loss at this year’s Elimination Chamber in there. Killed the momentum he had at the time, and now it’s an uphill battle to get it back, and unfortunately I’m not too optimistic about it

If John would have turned heel to beat Bray that would have still saved his eater of worlds gimmick and kept him at the top. AND we would have gotten the fabled John Cena Heel turn. 2 birds with one stone.

Poor Damien Sandow. That guy really had something and now he's lost to history.

Shadow should have won that match, further injuring Cena, and forcing him to take 6-8 weeks off. This would build up heat for a PPV rematch upon Cena's return.

Two things: I feel like Vince McMahon Sr. was a hell of a guy. Also; I feel like Bob Backlund vs. Verne Gagne would have gone 2 hours in their prime.

Imagine losing to an atomic drop in 2021

The Fiend vs Goldberg was so damaging for WWE as half their roster realised they would be better off elsewhere

I never realized Tatanka looks like a lost Whalburg brother.

Booker's WrestleMania loss was a hate crime. WWE lucky that social media wasn't a thing then lol

I swear to God, John Cena buried more talents than Hogan ever did

Booker should have brought up Chyna to Triple H by saying "No Wonder why Chyna despises egoholic people like you."

Cm Punk vs. Triple H at NOC should be on this list.

1. Scott Steiner to Triple H (Royal Rumble 2003) 2. Ricochet to Brock Lesnar (Super Showdown 2020) 3. Kofi Kingston to Brock Lesnar (Smackdown 2019) 4. Bart Gunn to Butterbean (Wrestlemania XV)

I'd forgotten how much I hated Cena and Triple H until now. Thanks for the reminder! 😃

The Public Enemy losing to The Acolytes on Sunday Night Heat in 1999

Pain. All of these entries cause me pain. Especially those last 3, holy shit what was WWE thinking?

Sometimes I think Vince forgets nxt is his and thinks it's wcw guys

1st one i think of is hogan after bret and yokozuna title mainevent. Its gotta be somewhere on top of the list

Braun Strowman to Brock Lesnar at No Mercy 2017.

Bray vs Seth, Bray vs Goldberg, Bray vs orton

I don’t think RYBACK was that bad. He should’ve won, but he overachieved in that role, and was a solid main event babyface until they inexplicably had him turn on Cena after Mania.

The way he says Graham 😂😂

Still to this day I don’t know how they could have had booker loose

10 Best WWE "Restart the Match" finishes in history

There was steel cage match at Extreme rules for Cena and Wyatt before Payback

Triple H vs Booker T’s outcome was a damn shame .

Anyone who has ever lost a match to Shawn Michaels, CM Punk, or Daniel Bryan got screwed...

When john took the DDT on the floor then won when Ricky the dragon steamboat blacked out do to jake Roberts I was wondering what the floor was made of in 2010

Yes because DAMIEN SANDOW vs Randy Orton just screams main event 😭😭😭

All fine choices, but honorable mentions to the WrestleMania 34 debacle where both Rumble winners were denied and the WWE/Universal Title shitshow that was Super Showdown 2020-as bad as 34 was, SSD 2020 is the only time in 33 years as a WWE fan that I came away from a PPV genuinely angry with most of the results. 🙄

That honky tonk record title run is gonna be surpassed by gunther i think

Bray Wyatt is the best gimmick since Undertaker but they ruined him.

Kofi Kingston to Brock Lesnar destroyed his World title status

Nakamura vs Styles,Rock vs Cm Punk and Fiend vs Goldberg should be in the Video

Goldberg still won the championship a month later in a one on one match where Trips put him over clean. I don't count that as being disappointed or buried. Bray Wyatt vs Cena on the other hand was different Cena totally buried Wyatt. because they couldn't have their top babyface lose to him at Mania 😒🖕. Wyatt was totally under used by WWE for years and he probably should of asked for his release that night afterwards.

Please do video for list of top wrestlers who only worked in wwe or nxt

I’m shocked Cena and HHH are on this list. Just. Shocked.

I say that the NEXUS could have lost, but not to John. If it was Daniel Byran then it could have worked within the story.

So 3 of the entries were cena and 3 more were triple h.. yup, sounds about right

Ricoche to Bork at the Arabia show

1. Goldberg literally smashed Y2J and HHH through the pod, how could how still be weak after that? 2. HHH: People like you don't deserve to be WHC. Booker T: Are my 5 world titles are joke to you?

Feel so bad for Damien Sandow

For some reasons I expected triple h to be mentioned a few times on this list

Bray vs. Cena wasn't so so even if the booking was wrong

Kofi losing the WWE Title to Lesnar in seconds on Smackdown is pretty damaging that made Kofi look like one of the weakest WWE champions of all time.

Lesson: H is the worst I’m still in disbelief that Angle and Rousey went over he and Steph

Okay Shinsuke Nakamura getting pinned cleaned at WM 34 isn't here, he was hot as hell and had perfect chance to win the big one since he never felt the same. Braun Strowman lost to Brock clean at No Mercy, he was hot and pretty much beaten Brock throughout feud still couldn't beat him and lost in 9 min like jobber he then went on to loose thrice to Brock and lost all momentum and now no one cares for him.

Re: HonkyTonkMan...... That's just the downside to how he was booked throughout his epic IC title run.... The only way was down.

Cena/Nexus is always on lists like these but I have to tell you that it is 100% true. The Nexus was hugely over and really looking like world-beaters and I remember watching that pay-per-view at my friend's house and how deflated we were for John Cena to win- it was such a bullshit ending. You knew right then the Nexus was dead. Also, Fiend losing to Orton after COMING BACK FROM THE DEAD will be on this list in the future. Its even worse when we learned that the match ending was changed that weekend from Fiend going over and none of the guys knew why.

and soon to be on this list..... Fiend losing to Orton @Mania 37

Using big contract wrestlers to put over small contract ones is a great business strategy tbh.

We can't forget about the RAW when Rey Mysterio won his first WWE championship and then lost it to big match John

I am still mad at WWE for what they did to Booker T. HHH is a good heel, but he is a POS, so I guess it's not acting. I miss Ryback

It always amazed me that Yokozuna’s sloppy, I don’t give a fuck about my weight attitude got shot up the card and championships while Vader never got shit...

I'm sure #1 & 2 is probably the same on EVERYBODY'S list. I can agree to disagree with anybody about the Goldberg loss. Although, I do believe he should've gotten hit with the sledgehammer & got pedigreed. I don't agree with #8. Honky Tonk Man other than the match should have been longer. I was never a fan of Sandow, so I don't agree with that 1 either. I think Rusev's WM 31 loss to Cena should've made the list. Also, I agree the Ryback loss made NO SENSE to me.

Kofi and Brock. After he lost no one acknowledged his reign or even the idea of a rematch. So Kofi went back to clapping and tossing pancakes 😥