What is an appropriate win loss record for a WWE superstar?

[oneguy]

Lately on this site there has been increased talk/complaining about WWE's 50/50 booking in their matches. Josh Isenberg always complains about it in his reviews and Jim Ross recently brought it up in his blog which has heightened interest. The biggest complaint about it is that it makes it hard to build up any superstars if they are constantly winning one match only to lose the next match. But what else is WWE to do? If a wrestler wins more matches then he loses, people will complain that he is being shoved down their throats and in their face. If the wrestler loses too many matches then fans will complain that he is getting buried and that his talent is being misused. So what is an appropriate win/loss record for a WWE superstar? Out of ten matches is it okay for someone to win 8 and lose 2? What about 4 - 6? Or 7 - 3? Or 3 - 7? What is the appropriate win/loss record that will finally make fans satisfied or at least yourself satisfied?

 

[J.J.]

I don't fully measure wins and loses. It depends on how the person is booked. They can look good in a losing effort, while still getting over. Or they can look bad by winning by DQ or a sloppy finish. Depending on the flow and the chemistry between the two workers - fans could lose interest. I find this happening when I view some Diva matches.

A guy like Heath Slater who is known for losing over the last few years, I look at wins and loses. His win over Ziggler was his first win and how long? He has lost so much in the past that I don't find his character the least bit intimidating or likely to start steamrolling his competition inside the ring.

How they look in a feud. Example: Kevin Owens wins 2/3 matches over Dean Ambrose. Granted Owens wins the feud but the story they told is remarkable and both look strong. I can't accept that because both gain from it even if Owens ultimateky went over. Here's an example of when loses somewhat matter. John Cena going over in his feud with Bray Wyatt in 2014. Such great buildup - made Wyatt look like a believable competitor just to lose and he suffered losing steam going forward.

I don't have a problem with .500 booking. Regardless people are still going to feel someone is being buried or held back.

 

[Stone Cold Tea]

I've been rewatching the 2001 Raws lately and I've made it to November. There was a hell of a lot of tag matches then with guys trading wins. You had matches like Angle/Jericho losing to The Dudleys.

Does anybody see a Usos defeating a team of Ambrose/Reigns?

Would it change how you viewed them if you did?

My favourite guy The Rock lost a lot and always got his arse kicked.

Everybody managed to get over then so lets not put too much credence in a win loss record.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Wins and losses don't matter in WWE anymore. I can't pinpoint when this happened but it was a while ago.

It's perfectly fine to lose ten or more on the spin and then win a title because simply holding a title is enough.

 

[Azane]

a Jobber should be 1 for 9

a Brock Lesnar should be 9 for 1

Someone Like John Cena should 7.5 to 2.5.

Remember, because Wrestling is a fantasy booked sport, it doesn't need to follow traditional rules of win Loss records, in the end all that matters is who wins when a straps on the line.

50/50 booking is dumb, because it's forced, that's not to say superstars winning and losing half the time is a bad thing, it IS when creative decides they need to win 50% to keep balance. Wrestle booking doesn't need balance, you want your main event draws to shine and pull in the bucks, Making everyone a mediocre and generic 50/50 athlete, just leads to less Must-see TV or Live shows.

Personally, I'm satisfied with whatever the records say in the end, as long as they're not forced into what they are. I think Goldberg being 100% forever was about the only "forced" Win/loss I was interested in, while something like Nikki Bella's title reign being 100% to push AJ off, was forced, boring and hurt the product.

 

[BuriedByCena]

I don't mind the 50/50 booking. The problem is that Cena/Roman are booked to win 100% of the time when everyone else is 50/50. It is jarring. If they got rid of the whole superman/god character burying the entire roster every RAW and PPV, it would be a lot better.

It is just so obvious those two are forced on us.

 

[Good Golly It's Ollie]

Wins and losses don't matter in WWE anymore. I can't pinpoint when this happened but it was a while ago.

Which is fine; what matters is that people watching the match give a real shit about the outcome. I think rather than the actual number, what's important is that the guy winning somehow contributes to their character. As JJ said it's how they're booked that counts.

(BTW Jake I'm not criticising or disagreeing with you, I'm just using your comment as a starting place for my own post)

Take Neville's recent upset over Owens. People immediately cried "burial!" which was nonsense because a) Jobber's Victory - Neville is in no real feud at present; b) Owens' loss was to advance his storyline, ergo it's not jobbing or being buried, and c) Upset means literally that. It's not normal for Owens to lose that way and this was made clear. He slipped up. It happens.

Owens picked up the win next week and it was clear that this contributed to him as "badass, but not infallible". Tl;dr Owens' loss actually mattered to his character whereas Neville's win didn't matter to his own.

Anyway I really feel the poll should have had an "It doesn't matter" option. Still, nice thread OP, I can't remember the last time this was brought up actually.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

This is an ambiguous question, because it really depends on the role they are playing. For example, I have chose 9W v 1L because that any regular main eventer needs to begin with to get over. Look at how often Cena wins, and when he loses it has mostly never been a clean loss! See Brock Lesnar - he has rarely been pinned since he came back in 2013. And the people he has beaten are top stars - and he now looks unstoppable.

I also refer back to the 80's and 90's - Barry Horrowitz was always losing for years and years - he was the headline Jobber in WWE with no wins for years. Then he beat Skip and won a few other matches and after that he remained a lower mid card talent that fans cheered even if he lost.