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The world of the WWE is an exciting and albeit strange one. What you see in the squared circle is what they want you to consume, but more often than not, that is not the full picture.
You don't know what kind of things have happened inside WWE. That’s true because on numerous occasions WWE Superstars have refused to win or lose a match.
Strange as it might sound, but they had their own reasons as to why they decided to follow their instinct and disobey the direction set by the creative team.
Even though pretty much everything that happens in the ring is choreographed and kayfabe to a large extent, there are some incidences when superstars refuse to put over opponents owing to what it might do to their image. On the other hand, certain superstars believe in passing the torch and ensuring that the next crop of wrestlers get their due and hence refuse to win and instead put over younger opposition.
Either way, the WWE has witnessed plenty of such stories over the years.
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A prime example of this is when Bret Hart refused to lose to Shawn Michaels at the 1997 Survivor Series PPV for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. This famous incident is often referred to as “The Montreal Screw Job.”
In this feature, we take a look at five such instances where the wrestlers went against the creative direction to alter the results of the bouts:
#3 Refused to win- Curt Hawkins (Against Heath Slater)
Curt Hawkins made his return to WWE in 2016. His promos were shown every week on SmackDown Live to hype his return. It almost seemed like he would be a big star in the company, but the same didn't happen.
After returning to the company, Hawkins has lost 269 straight matches without a single victory. His streak is probably one of the longest streaks ever in WWE history. But his streak wasn’t meant to be this long as it was supposed to end last year.
At the taping of the WWE Main Event, Hawkins was pitched with the idea of him defeating Heath Slater to end his losing streak. But, Hawkins rejected the idea, saying his streak is a big deal and it won't be right to end it on the Main Event taping.
Hopefully, the decision was reversed, and Slater ended up defeating Hawkins.
Hawkins would finally get a chance to redeem himself when he teamed up with Zack Ryder to defeat the Revival for the WWE tag team titles in Wrestlemania 35's kick-off show.
#2 Refused to lose- The Shield (Against John Cena, Sheamus, and Ryback)
Ever since The Shield stepped foot on the main roster, they had been booked strong. The fans were nostalgic in every match. And why shouldn't they be? After all the trio's main roster winning streak ended after six long months.
However, there was a time when their streak almost came on the verge of ending. At WWE Elimination Chamber, The Shield faced the team of Sheamus and Ryback, led by John Cena in a six-man tag-team match. Though The Shield defeated Cena and others, it wasn’t meant to be the original ending.
Yes, Reigns, Rollins, and Ambrose were pitched with the idea of Cena ending their streak, but they rejected it.
They approached the WWE officials and insisted on changing the plan. Luckily, for them, the management listened to them and reversed their original plans. Dean Ambrose also revealed the same on the podcast led by Chris Jericho, “Talk is Jericho.”
The WWE creative has been notorious in the past by using John Cena to bury younger talent. The Nexus angle, which was seen as the next big storyline in the WWE fizzled out in a short span of time after Cena single-handedly destroyed the faction.
#2 Refused to win- Bret Hart (Against The Rock)
The story dates back to 1997. The Rock was just a newcomer in WWE, while Bret Hart was already a legend.
The former was working up as a face while the latter was working up as a heel. Coming straight from the WrestleMania 13, Hart was expected to battle The Rock in the main event of RAW with the Intercontinental Championship on the line.
In the match, Hart was pitched with the idea of defeating The Rock clean; however, Hart rejected it, saying if he beats him clean then it would bury him and knock him straight out of the main event picture.
Therefore, Hart lost the match by getting himself disqualified. This way, The Rock defeated Bret Hart and took his first step towards becoming one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time.
There are very few wrestlers in the industry who can match the professionalism of Bret Hart.
#1 Refused to win- Randy Orton (Against The Undertaker)
The Undertaker holds the incredible streak of 21-straight victories at WrestleMania. But his streak wasn't meant to be this long.
Yes, the story dates back to 2005, Randy Orton struggled to make his name as he failed to become the new face of WWE. However, at that time, Orton had the opportunity to bring his career back on the track by starting a feud with The Undertaker.
So at WrestleMania 21, Orton was scheduled to take on The Phenom in a match.
Before the match, Orton was tossed with the idea of him ending Taker's WrestleMania streak. However, 'The Viper' Randy Orton passed the idea, saying he isn't ready for this kind of opportunity.
Therefore, Orton lost his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 21. And Taker continued his WrestleMania streak, making it 13-0.
Orton was called the 'legend killer' and the win would have gone well with him gimmick.
#1 Refused to lose- Shawn Michaels (Against Stone Cold "Steve" Austin)
At WrestleMania 14 Shawn Michaels faced off Stone Cold “Steve” Austin in one of the most iconic matches for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship (with Mike Tyson as Special Outside Enforcer) ever. Though Austin won the match, as per the rumor, HBK was not willing to drop the title to Austin from the start.
Also, as per Shawn Michaels, his whole plan at WrestleMania 14 was to drop the WWF World Heavyweight Title to Stone Cold, but he was just messing up with people, letting them think he would not lose the title.
HBK said it was just a joke and if it was, then it went too far since The Undertaker (who was a locker room leader back then) also got involved in this situation. 'Taker suggested Michaels if he didn’t do what he’s supposed to do, he will have a problem with him.
After this, we all know what happened at WrestleMania 14.
