Times You Wanted Your Favorites To LOSE..

[Ruthless-RKO]

Some people may say they have never wanted their favourite to lose.. But I know there are some matches out their where you may have wanted ur favourite to lose, maybe because of the situation, stipulation or whatever is may be..

A recent one for me would have to be Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam..

Triple has been a favourite of mine since late 99'. I have always enjoyed him, I don't care what people think of him. However, this match I felt Brock had to win, he just can't come back to the 'E' and lose 2 consecutive macthes, so in the back of my mind I had that feeling Brock was going to win and I always actually wanted Trips to lose even though with the storyline, it made sense that Trips should have gotten his revenge.

Anyways, if they face off at WrestleMania.. Triple H all the way!

So my question is simple, has there been a time where you haven't backed your favourite to win any particular reason, and which match was it?

 

[TheWrestlo]

I'm a huge fan of Bobby Roode, I've watched him since he was the enforcer of Team Canada, and I've always enjoyed hes work. When he won the heavyweight title, I just about jumped out of my chair, and was overjoyed.

However, I remember June last year, when Austin Aries announced he was going to challenge for the heavyweight championship. I was pretty happy and was hoping he would hold out over Bobby Roode. Same thing happened for Hardcore Justice and once Roode lost, I remember thinking "Please don't give him a way to challenge for the title" and thankfully, they didn't.

So to sum it up. I was with Austin Aries over one of my favs, Bobby Roode.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I cannot think of a single scenario whereby I ever have wanted my favorite to lose, or ever would. By definition, your favorite is the one you like the best of all, so why would you ever want them to lose? I think if you are ever hoping for your favorite to lose, perhaps they really aren't your favorite after all. Or used to be, but aren't any more.

 

[metans]

I cannot think of a single scenario whereby I ever have wanted my favorite to lose, or ever would. By definition, your favorite is the one you like the best of all, so why would you ever want them to lose? I think if you are ever hoping for your favorite to lose, perhaps they really aren't your favorite after all. Or used to be, but aren't any more.

Not at all. it's an odd concept I'll admit, but depending on the circumstances not totally illogical. for example - your favourite superstar teams with john cena.

 

[RatedMKD]

Closest example I've had to this - that I can think of off-hand, at least - was when Sheamus challenged Cena for the WWE Title at TLC a few years ago. I saw Sheamus wrestle in my hometown a few times before he was signed, and while he's by no means a favourite of mine, I thought he had great potential and was very excited to see how far he could go. I was of the belief that his title opportunity was too much too soon, and that it was more likely to hurt his career in the long run to win it at that point. The phrase I used regularly in the weeks leading up to the match was "I hope he looks good in defeat".

That said, when he wound up winning, I was absolutely elated, and I'm sure I would've felt disappointed had he lost. I guess I really did want him to win, I just didn't think that he should.

The only other instances I can think of are where a favourite of mine is squaring up against another favourite, and/or I feel that it's time for my favourite to lose whatever title they hold. Team Hell No is an example. Bryan's my number one guy right now, but I think Team Rhodes Scholars should have taken the championships by now. That said, Rhodes and especially Sandow are both high up there for me also.

There's absolutely a possibility for instances where I would prefer to see "my guy" lose, I just can't think of any cut-and-dry past examples right now.

 

[gooseholla]

I cannot think of a single scenario whereby I ever have wanted my favorite to lose, or ever would. By definition, your favorite is the one you like the best of all, so why would you ever want them to lose? I think if you are ever hoping for your favorite to lose, perhaps they really aren't your favorite after all. Or used to be, but aren't any more.

Bunk!!! Hogan vs Rock, WM 18. Easy - don't think there is anyone who didn't want Hogan to win, even though we all knew Rock was going to take it. And yes, Rock was my fav at the time.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Bunk!!! Hogan vs Rock, WM 18. Easy - don't think there is anyone who didn't want Hogan to win, even though we all knew Rock was going to take it. And yes, Rock was my fav at the time.

First of all, I wouldn't say there was no one who didn't want Hogan to win, because speaking from personal experience, I for one did not want Hogan to win. Hogan was not my favorite in this match, the Rock was, so therefore I wanted the Rock to win.

I would suggest that the Rock was not truly your favorite at the time. If you were rooting for Hogan in that matchup, then Hogan was your favorite. You may have liked the Rock, and he may have been your second favorite at the time, but he wasn't truly your favorite. If he was, you would have been cheering for him to win. Hence the definition of the word favorite.

 

[King of the Words]

Off the top of my head, I can't remember a time when I wanted my favorite to lose. However, I remember a situation in WWE/WWF where I wanted my favorite to lose.

It was back in 1994, just after Bret Hart and Lex Lugar both won the Royal Rumble match. On Raw, I believe, they were going to have a coin toss to see who got to face the WWFC. first at Wrestlemania 10. Bret was my favorite wrestler at the time but I wanted him to lose the coin toss because I favoured the way the matches would go at Mania if Lex won the toss.

If Bret won the toss, he would go against Yokozuna first, and Lex would go against Crush in a grudge match. Then the winner of the WWFC. match would face Lugar in the main event of Mania 10 for the title. However, if Lex won the coin toss, he would face Yokozuna, who was champion, first and Bret would face his brother Owen Hart first in a grudge match, and then Bret would face the champion in the main event of Mania 10.

I really wanted to see Bret vs. Owen, at Mania, and know Bret would be in the main event later, so I cheered against Bret in that coin toss. It worked out in my favour, and I got to see the 2 Hart brother battle it out in a classic match at Mania 10. The only thing I didn't like about this was that Lugar loss. I wanted him to win so we could see Bret and Lugar for the title. I really wanted to see Bret take the title from Lugar just after he won it. I was hoping that would turn Lugar heel and we would get a major Bret, Lugar feud out of it. Unfortunately, for me, Lugar loss against Yokozuna and that killed the dream match I was hoping for.

So, that is one senario, where I never cheered for my favorite wrestler.

 

[TommyGoBoom]

Cm Punk Vs Jeff Hardy
Wanted Punk Too Lose Cause Of Jeff's Contract Running Out

 

[thebarber]

I wanted Hulk Hogan to win at Wrestlemania 18, that would have been off the chart.

I wanted Chris Jericho to retain the World Title on the same card, loved the slimeball Jericho, even though booking wise it wouldnt have madeany sense.

I also wnated Kurt Angle to humble Taz in his debut in WWE ta the 2000 Royal Rumble, there are 3 that come straight to mind

 

[NotoriousMEAT]

My favorite of all time.. is The Undertaker. But once CM Punk came to WWE, I knew he would be the heir to the throne. As The Undertaker consistency faded to SummerSlam-WrestleMania, CM Punk climbed to WWE's main event. After vanquishing Jeff Hardy and regaining the World Title, I was excited initially for a Punk/Taker feud. It was awesome too, because I had a front row seat to a Smackdown during their feud (The one where Punk found Teddy Long in the casket) and got to watch my two favorites battle it out in the main event. But I never wanted Undertaker to take the championship from Punk. Each of their title matches I rooted ruthlessly for Punk.

Another example would be The Rock vs John Cena. The Rock is who got me hooked on wrestling, making me become a life long fan, and now an aspiring wrestler myself. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hurt by him leaving for so long. I loved every moment of his return, but I did not want him to defeat Cena. I actually rooted against The Rock that night.

 

[flyinbukta]

Well, my two main examples are CM Punk any time he wrestles, I mean, when you're favourite's a heel, you always want them to get their ass kicked at least a little bit, because that's their job.

Also, HBK vs. Flair at Wrestlemania 24, I think it was. HBK is one of the two wrestlers who are easily my favourite of all time, and I was never really a fan of Flair until his whole "next time you lose a match, you're gone" thing. (I know, Flair's a legend, but I missed his heyday, and didn't really get to see any of those great moments until after that storyline and eventually that match, where I became a fan). But Flair was the underdog, kinda, and I found that I didn't want to see him retire, not even a little bit. So that was one time that I wasn't supporting my favourite.

 

[HBKperfect23]

It was back in 1994, just after Bret Hart and Lex Lugar both won the Royal Rumble match. On Raw, I believe, they were going to have a coin toss to see who got to face the WWFC. first at Wrestlemania 10. Bret was my favorite wrestler at the time but I wanted him to lose the coin toss because I favoured the way the matches would go at Mania if Lex won the toss.

If Bret won the toss, he would go against Yokozuna first, and Lex would go against Crush in a grudge match. Then the winner of the WWFC. match would face Lugar in the main event of Mania 10 for the title. However, if Lex won the coin toss, he would face Yokozuna, who was champion, first and Bret would face his brother Owen Hart first in a grudge match, and then Bret would face the champion in the main event of Mania 10.

I really wanted to see Bret vs. Owen, at Mania, and know Bret would be in the main event later, so I cheered against Bret in that coin toss. It worked out in my favour, and I got to see the 2 Hart brother battle it out in a classic match at Mania 10. The only thing I didn't like about this was that Lugar loss. I wanted him to win so we could see Bret and Lugar for the title. I really wanted to see Bret take the title from Lugar just after he won it. I was hoping that would turn Lugar heel and we would get a major Bret, Lugar feud out of it. Unfortunately, for me, Lugar loss against Yokozuna and that killed the dream match I was hoping for.

I never understood this. To me Bret won the coin toss. Why wouldnt you want to be in the last match of the night? Why would you want to defend your newly won WWF title later in the same night? Anyway, this was a really cool concept to get the Bret/Owen match in and have Bret walk with the title. Perfectly booked. I too was a Bret fan and wanted him to "lose" the coin toss because I wanted him in the last match.

I rooted for Marty Jannetty to win the ic title against Shawn Michaels. Shawn wasnt my top favorite yet but was still one of them. I just wanted to see a Marty run.

 

[Natural Selection]

Kevin Nash has always been one of my favorites, but when he faced Goldberg for the strap in the now infamous tazer match I wanted him to loose. I still remember the feeling of being simultaneously excited and disappointed. So when Hall hopped up on the apron part of me was going "Yes, Nash is going to be champ." while another part of me knew it shouldn't go down like this.

 

[WCW_Sting]

WCW was on the road to Spring Stampede '94. I'm not sure how far in advance this match was to the PPV, but a particular WCW Saturday Night featured the main event of Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. "Stunning" Steve Austin. The winner would go on to challenge "Nature Boy" Ric Flair for the World Heavyweight Title at Spring Stampede.

Being seven-years-old, I always wanted good guys to beat the bad guys. Flair was a face at the time, and he and Steamboat were two of my favorites (Sting obviously being my top favorite). I didn't like the idea of two of my favorite wrestlers having a match against each other, so I cheered against Steamboat. Austin was at the top of my "hated wrestlers" list, so it was very odd that I wanted him to win. Austin was arguably the top heel in WCW at the time, if not second to Rick Rude. It's when I think back to these moments that I realize WCW truly didn't know the talent and star they had in Austin.

Steamboat won the match, and he and Flair had a tremendous match at the PPV. It ended in a draw when Steamboat gave a Tiger Suplex pinning combination to Flair, and both of their shoulders were down for the three count. Steamboat thought he had won the title at first, but left disappointed.

 

[Jez94]

For me it would have to be Undertaker vs Triple H, Wrestlemania part 2.
Love both the men in the industry, and with HHH being one of my all time favs (Coincidently along with Taker) I was really glad that he was defeated, dont get me started on why the streak shouldnt be ended, but thats for another thread

 

[jameswalsh292]

Here is an easy one.

About 10 years ago there was a match between hhh and kane. If kane won he got the world title. If hhh won, kane would have to unmask.

At the time I was a big fan of kane and hated hhh. However I wanted hhh to win simply for the fact that i was curious to see what kane looked like. It was at a point where i still half believed that kane was really burnt and his burnt face was a topic of discussion between me and friends for years before hand.

So in this case I didnt care about my favorite and in turn makes me feel like the bad guy. If it was to happen now I would of wanted kane to win. Kane was so popular at the time and a title run would of been cool. Actually I remember being real interested after he unmasked aswell, cause he was going nuts, that was cool tv.

Apart from this instance, i cant remember a time where i didnt want my favorite to win.

 

[Fisheatppl]

Well at this point I have never had an instance where I didn't want my favorite to win. However its coming close. My all time favorite is The Rock, and when he said he was going to be "WWE Champion" I was excited as anyone, and I wanted it to happen. However at the time I could not have anticipated CM Punk was going to has a 400+ day reign as champion, shattering records along the way. I mean this was April that Rock announced it, and July he and CM Punk had a confrontation. At the time I had hoped John Cena would be champion (well not specifically him but I could see who else) and then Rock would beat Cena again at RR, then go on to face the Royal Rumble winner CM Punk at WM.

But things change, and CM Punk is on the longest streak almost anyone thought they wouldn't see again, and well Rock winning takes away all the credibility CM Punk brought back to the championship. It is an instance where moments and legends are created. Whoever can beat the longest reigning Champion in over a lot of WWE fans lifetimes will be propelled to the highest level. It is a classic moment to let someone new win the Rumble and face Punk at WM. And even if that is not the scenario, beating CM Punk will still do wonders for someone's career, finally taking down the champ. Unless that person is The Rock or John Cena (or any other of that calibur, HHH, Taker, you get the idea). Face Ziggler, Ryback (not my choice though), even Miz, will be MUCH more helped by beating CM Punk than Rock, and its a moment and situation that doesn't come around very often.

So to answer your question, the 2013 Royal Rumble is a time where I (might) want my favorite to lose.

Also IF it was ever Rock/UIndertaker at WM I'd want Taker to win

 

[Teeceezy]

To hatehabsforever, there are plenty of situations where, much like the wrestler themselves, a fan wants their favourites to win, but knows it isn't necessarily what 's best for business. For example, in 2001 Rock was by far my favourite wrestler. While the Rock fan in me wanted him to finally win the big one over Austin, the wrestling fan in me wanted the best development of that story, which had to be Austin winnning after coming back from surgery (The Bionic Redneck as J.R. brilliantly put it). There was no way that Rock should have won that match, and in retrosepct, he looked better in taking the absolute beating he did and almost surviving than he would have in winning. It's not that a fan outright wants their favourite to lose, but it's more about the bigger picture.

Most fans would always want their favourites to win in theory, but in practice the storylines would get bland very quickly. Like any good narrative, there needs to be a conflict which balances the two opposing forces before a resolution is found. What would be the point of a wrestling story, or any story for that matter, where one side gets completely crushed without offering any resistance? Heroes need to face adversity before they can succeed in fictional narratives, and that's why no matter who we support, there needs to be an acceptance that what is best for the story, and ultimately our character/wrestler, is for them to lose the battle to win the war.

Anyway, back on topic, outside of Rock-Austin II, another match that strikes me as fitting the question posed in the first post is the Undertaker vs Jeff Hardy Ladder match for the title back in 2002. The badass Taker was one of my favourites at the time, but as that match went on, I couldn't help but want Jeff to win, because the narrative of the underdog who didn't flinch for the big bully was awesome. That one stands out to me as the best example of when I didn't want a favourite to win.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Triple H is one of my favourites but I always thought he should've lost the World Title to Booker T at Wrestlemania X9. Booker at the time was the hottest thing on RAW ever since the two brands split due to his storyline with Goldust, he showed a new side of him that we had never seen before, he developed a more likeable personality, and was more charismatic than ever. Along with Triple H he was the glue holding RAW together until WM X9 when he lost to him, Trips had killed his momentum and soon after he faded into obscurity. Prior to Wrestlemania, Triple H also buried him in racially demeaning ways, saying that "people like him were uneducated and incapable of winning the big one" which wouldn't have been bad if he had gotten his comeuppance and Booker won in the end, proving him wrong.

I, like many others, was crazy about Austin Aries last year and I wanted to see TNA make him a world champion one day, but I didn't want that day to be Destination X. I was glad he got a title shot, but I didn't think he should've been the one to take the belt from Roode, I thought James Storm should have. After all Roode had put Storm through all year, and after Storm came close to getting his revenge and dethroning his former friend off the belt he robbed him of in the first place, at Lockdown, the feud should've rightfully ended with Storm, at Bound For Glory, finally overcoming Roode and taking his belt back from him. Storm winning it at Bound For Glory would have been a career defining moment for him and would have been a much happier end to the entire story.

And at the Royal Rumble, god I love The Rock, he's my second favourite wrestler of all time, but I hope he does not win the belt nor do I hope Cena win the Royal Rumble match either. It's just that I'd rather Punk hold onto the WWE Title for a lot longer to make his reign far more impressive than already is, then for the Royal Rumble winner to take the belt off of Punk at Wrestlemania and end his streak, making his title win doubley special and a career defining moment for him. Rock vs. Cena II doesn't need the WWE Title on the line, they can just have Cena cost Rock his title match at Royal Rumble and the rematch is set. Ending Punk's streak would benefit anybody else's career greatly.

 

[HBsam31]

The best example of this would be wanting HBK to lose to Austin at Mania 14. HBK was always my favorite, but Austin was red hot at the time, and I wanted to see him run with the title. I think this is more of a case of Austin becoming my favorite over HBK than wanting my favorite to lose. I had never wanted HBK to lose before or after than, and like I said this is the only really good example I could think of.

 

[lowandmighty]

Not at all. it's an odd concept I'll admit, but depending on the circumstances not totally illogical. for example - your favourite superstar teams with john cena.

Aahh ha ha ha! Yes! thats the exact situation where you would want your favourite to lose, although you probably want to see cena take the fall its still a fucking good example.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

The closest I have ever came to this was WM25 during Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker. When Taker went for his suicide dive over the top rope and Michaels pulled the cameraman in the way, I thought Michaels was going to win by count out, and I didn't want The Streak to end that way.