'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
In most sports, your career, your future is dictated primarily on wins and losses. However, in the sport of professional wrestling, where the outcomes are pre-determined, things are vastly different.
Sure, everyone prefers a win over a loss, but in sports entertainment, there's a bigger objective in place, than just winning and losing. It's based primarily on the story and how each story is told. If you can engage your audience, by successfully telling your part of a story, using your body, you are indeed a winner, no matter what the record books may say.
Another factor in place, which is as important as any, is getting over with the fans. You can lose a majority of your matches but still get over, as long as you connect with your fanbase and compel them to become emotionally invested in your overall body of work. One example in recent years would be Fandango.
I'm not referring to the current Breezango run. The stint, I’m referring to is the period everyone downloaded his entrance music on their phones and danced along as he made his entrance. For a while, each time he made an entrance, the entire arena pointed in the air and together tens of thousands of fans did ‘the Fandango.’
I've been doing some in-depth research regarding win-loss records and I’ve narrowed a list down to 10 current and former WWE Superstars who were able to get over, despite racking up a tonne of losses along the way.
#10 Zack Ryder
Zack Ryder has been around for a while now and despite the fact that he's now considered a veteran, Ryder has taken quite a few losses over the course of his career and if you don't believe he's over, go back and watch Wrestlemania 32.
Now that he's paired with Mojo Rawley as the tag team known as The Hype Bros, don't expect any sort of magical winning streak to kick off anytime soon.
Over the course of Ryders’ entire career, he has a win/loss percentage of roughly 50 percent . Now, that may not be the worst of this list in terms of percentages, but here's one fact that is pretty daunting, Zack has lost 76 percent of his pay-per-view appearances. Sure, his Intercontinental Championship victory this year certainly softens that blow a little, but he did turn around and drop the title the very next night.
Zack Ryder is someone who has been around for a while and even though he hasn't lit the world on fire, so to speak, he does receive a pretty good pop, each night out. If in the near future WWE decided to give Zack a good mid-card push, the legion of dedicated Ryder fans would make sure it would be a worthwhile experiment.
#9 Mark Henry
This is someone some of you may think is not over with the fans. Not so fast, my friends. Right before and right after that epic heel swerve, Henry was very much over. His entrance alone would bring the house down, with that slow, subtle camera panning over his massive frame, as all the fans bounced to his music.
Everyone loved the Hall of Pain era. Plus, in Marks early years, he was a heavy fan favourite, especially when he was billed as an Olympic icon.
Henry has had a pretty good career, in terms of overall length of tenure and accomplishments. However, when you take a look at how many matches he's lost, it may surprise you. While only winning roughly 47% of his televised matches, Mark has been involved in 72 pay-per-view matches of which he has won only 25.
Mark Henry is undoubtedly reaching the later stages of his career and while he's lost more than his fair share, he has had a good run and has truly played a vital role in helping put over a lot of today's top stars. Henry is a dead-lock for a Hall of Fame bid when his time comes.
#8 Damien Sandow
Damien Sandow is someone who, in my opinion, should still be with the WWE today. He was extremely talented and as entertaining as anyone on the roster. However, Sandow didn't really get over until the stunt double angle with The Miz. Once he started showing the fans that true performer side if himself, we all ate it up.
Sandow lost 72 percent of his matches on Raw and Smackdown, while only winning 25 percent of all his pay-per-view bouts.
It's hard to really understand why Sandow never got the push he deserved, especially following the success of the Mizdow persona. There have been rumours that Vince didn't care for him or he ticked Hunter off and so forth. Regardless, he never saw the spotlight he worked hard to deserve.
Sandow was someone who could've easily transitioned into a big time player on the roster but was cut short of such a run and that's too bad. It appears TNA has big plans for him and I can only hope that's the case.
#7 The Godfather
Charles Wright is someone who has worked under multiple monikers throughout his career. However, none were as adored by the fans as much as The Godfather. Following his run with The Nation of Domination as Kama Mustafa, Wright underwent a character repackaging and was reintroduced as The Godfather.
Fans immediately fell in love with the fun-loving persona and his ever-expanding lineup of beautiful ladies, more commonly known as the "hoe train."
While fans loved the gimmick, that didn't necessarily translate into a big pile of wins for The Godfather. While winning only 44% of his Raw matches, The Godfather lost 21 of the 32 pay-per-view matches he competed in. Regardless of his wins and losses, the gimmick was good enough to land him a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame, where he was inducted in the class of 2016.
#6 Chris Jericho
Yes, ‘The Ayatollah of Rock-'n'-Roll'a' has a less than stellar win/loss record. Jericho has won titles everywhere and has succeeded as a staunch, heated and hated heel.
He's also been one of the most adored and revered babyfaces at times as well. However, he's lost a hell of a lot of matches. While his percentage isn't as bad as some of the others mentioned in this article, he's still suffered losses over 46 percent of the time for Raw and Smackdown matches.
The real surprising statistic, however, lies within his pay-per-view appearances. Chris has lost 96 pay-per-view matches, out of 164 total. For someone who has won both a grand slam, as well as a triple crown, that's pretty amazing.
Even though Y2J has dropped many matches, this man has put so many younger superstars over and continues to do so today. His ring work is impeccable and he is a general in the locker, rightfully so. Jericho is one of the last remaining living, working legends, despite losing more often than not.
#5 Cesaro
He's without question, one of the most talented superstars in professional wrestling today and according to his peers, he's the strongest man on the roster.
Not only that, but Cesaro has been over for quite some time now. One trip to a live WWE event will give you all the evidence you need. Especially if you happen to sit in the "Cesaro Section." Cesaro made a name for himself as Claudio Castagnoli on the independent circuit, where he won way more often than he lost.
Unfortunately, his win/loss record isn't quite as attractive in the WWE. Cesaro has dropped nearly 60% of all of his pay-per-view matches and just until recently, he had been winning roughly one match for every three he competed in. Cesaro is in an interesting situation now, being forced to align himself with his nemesis, Sheamus.
Nevertheless, the storyline is intriguing and as his time has progressed with WWE, Cesaro has grown as a storyteller and continues to be among the top overall in-ring performers in the entire industry.
#4 Dolph Ziggler
Year after year, Dolph Ziggler continues to be one of the most underrated workers in the business. Ziggler has been responsible for putting over a plethora of guys who are on top today. Just as many legends, such as Kevin Nash have expressed, Dolph Ziggler is the one who makes everyone else look great.
Ziggler is someone who competes as if every match is a Wrestlemania main event, or as if it's his last fight. Ziggler has lost approximately 53 percent of his televised matches while losing 65 percent of his pay-per-view contests.
Despite those numbers, Dolph Ziggler is extremely over with the fans and a top choice by his fellow superstars, when it comes to who they would rather compete against.
#3 Seth Rollins
Surprise? As unbelievable as it seems, one of the top superstars over the last several years has lost more than enough for someone of his calibre. Sure, we all know that heels historically lose more than they win. However, Rollins was the world champion for much of last year and even with a major injury, he still managed to stack the L's.
With a major babyface turn currently in-progress, I'm curious to see if Seth gets more into the winning column.
Over the course of his WWE career, Rollins has won 215 times. However, he has taken a loss a total of 455 times. That's a jaw-dropping statistic, folks!
Seth Rollins is still one of the WWE's top performers and if he has a full babyface run ahead of him, this could turn out to be his best run to date. It's certainly an exciting time to be a Seth Rollins fan!
#2 Bray Wyatt
This poor guy has really taken a beating, as far as his number of matches lost. As a Wyatt fan, it gets really frustrating to see what's happening to him, but I keep telling myself it will turn for the better.
But when, though? As Husky Harris, his gimmick was boring and quite frankly, no one cared. But, when he went back to the drawing board and was repackaged as The Eater Of Worlds, Bray Wyatt changed everything about how a monster heel was perceived and accepted.
Never before have I seen a heel that everyone and I mean EVERYONE loves. I truly believe his repackaging will one day be remembered as the greatest character rebuild of all-time.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I sat ringside for a WWE house show. When it came time for the Wyatt vs. Orton match, Bray came out first to a sea of fireflies, which is an amazing spectacle in itself. After his music stopped, the entire crowd began singing "he's got the whole world."
Afterwards, Randy Orton made his entrance to a much more subdued audience. That alone speaks volumes of how over this guy really is.
#1 Kevin Owens
Prior to coming to the WWE, Kevin Owens was known as Kevin Steen. The name, however, wasn't the only difference. Kevin was very much used to winning, prior to his WWE tenure. While in Ring Of Honor, Kevin enjoyed a strong win/loss record, winning roughly 70 percent of the time. Kevin also won the majority of his matches at PWG as well.
However, life under the bright lights of the WWE hasn't earned him quite as many wins. Over the course of his WWE and NXT tenure, Owens has lost around 65% of his matches, all together.
Regardless, KO is enjoying the best of times, in regards to his professional career, as the current WWE Universal Champion. No one knows if Owens will get a face turn in his future, but there's no doubt whatsoever that he has plenty of title-runs left.
Kevin Owens has accumulated a tonne of dedicated followers over the course of his professional career and no matter what the case may be, they will always be in his corner. Owens has worked his entire career to make it where he is today.
He is deceptively quick and agile for someone his size. This factor has been one of the major reasons why fans have gravitated to him over the years.
For latest WWE News, spoilers and rumours visit our Sportskeeda WWE section.
