5 WWE Superstars who surprisingly offered to lose matches

Wins and losses do not count for everything in WWE. However, it is fair to say that the majority of superstars prefer to win more matches than they lose.

John Cena, for example, has won 78.8 percent of matches throughout his WWE career. If the veteran superstar had only won half of those matches, there is a good chance he would not have become the legend he is today.

Plenty of stories have been told over the years about superstars who asked to win matches to elevate their own careers. But did you know that some high-profile names have also requested to lose matches against certain opponents?

In this article, let’s take a look at five WWE stars who surprisingly offered to let someone defeat them.

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#5 Charlotte Flair offered to lose against Bianca Belair (WWE RAW)

Charlotte Flair reportedly offered to lose her RAW Women’s Championship to Bianca Belair on the October 18, 2021 episode of RAW. Instead, WWE’s higher-ups booked Belair to win the match via disqualification, meaning Flair retained her title.

According to talkSPORT’s Alex McCarthy, Flair pitched a finish that would have seen her drop the title to Belair.

“She also campaigned to lose clean to Bianca Belair on Monday Night RAW. She’s understood to be a huge fan of Belair and believed the finish killed what could have been a big win for her,” McCarthy stated.

Four days after the match, Flair was involved in a controversial title swap with SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch on WWE SmackDown. During the segment, Flair went off-script by dropping the RAW Women’s Championship on the ring canvas.

Flair allegedly exchanged words with Lynch and on-screen WWE official Sonya Deville after the segment. According to various reports, the backstage confrontation led to Flair getting escorted out of the building by security.

Belair, meanwhile, continued her feud with Lynch on the following week's episode of RAW.

#4 Chris Jericho offered to lose against JTG (WWE SmackDown)

Cryme Tyme (JTG and Shad Gaspard) challenged The Big Show and Chris Jericho for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship at SummerSlam 2009. Two weeks before the pay-per-view, JTG surprisingly defeated Jericho in a singles match on WWE SmackDown.

JTG told Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Dr. Chris Featherstone that Jericho wanted to lose against him ahead of their SummerSlam match.

“I actually think it might have been Chris Jericho's idea. My mom actually came to that show, she brought her friends. I'll say about 80 percent of the roster doesn't know what they're doing that day until they get there. I believe Jericho actually told me the good news. He was like, 'Me and you tonight, kid, you over!' I'm thinking he's messing with me, I'm like, 'Okay!' and then a writer came up to me and confirmed it,” JTG said.

JTG thought the storyline was going to lead to Cryme Tyme winning the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship at SummerSlam. However, WWE’s decision-makers opted to book The Big Show and Jericho as the winners of the match instead.

Jericho tweeted in January 2021 that Cryme Tyme were “good cats” but they were not ready to win the titles at that stage of their careers.

#3 Hulk Hogan offered to lose against Jacques Rougeau (non-WWE event)

One of Hulk Hogan’s most surprising defeats came against former WWE Superstar Jacques Rougeau at a live event in 1997.

Rougeau, who organized the show, told Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Dr. Chris Featherstone that Hogan was the person who came up with the finish to the match.

“He says, ‘Well, you’re going over,’ in front of all the boys. I actually felt uncomfortable because [Ric] Flair was there, a lot of the big guns were there. It was a big crowd, a big card. Anyway, I laughed at the time and then when I realized Hulk was serious, I just listened to every word,” Rougeau said.

Realizing how big the victory would be for his career, Rougeau did not want to say anything negative that could change Hogan’s mind. He told his former WWE co-worker that he was “all ears” and willing to finish the match however he wanted.

Rumors have existed over the last two decades about Hogan receiving an extra $10,000 in order to lose the match. However, Rougeau told WSI’s James Romero that Hogan was “really professional” and the speculation is “not true at all.”

#2 Brock Lesnar offered to lose against JBL (WWE live event)

Brock Lesnar generously agreed to lose a live event match against JBL shortly after joining WWE’s main roster in 2002. The match took place in Abilene, Texas, which is where JBL went to university.

Speaking in a YouTube Q&A, the WWE Hall of Famer said Lesnar offered to give him a hometown victory in front of his friends.

“I was working with Brock in Abilene and I said, ‘Hey, Brock, I wanna talk to you,’ and he goes, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, your college buddies are here. I’m gonna put you over.’ I said, ‘Brock, they don’t care who goes over. I couldn’t care less. You win, I win, it doesn’t matter.’ I said, ‘We’re going to a place afterwards,’ and so that’s what I was telling him,” JBL said.

JBL defeated Lesnar at the April 14, 2002, live event to hand The Next Big Thing his first official loss as a member of the main roster. A month later, Lesnar suffered his first televised defeat when he and Shawn Stasiak lost against The Hardy Boyz at Insurrextion 2002.

Later in the Q&A, JBL said he was unsure whether Lesnar wanted to suplex him due to his height. The up-and-coming superstar responded, “I’ve been suplexing people since I was five years old,” and promptly threw his opponent across the ring.

#1 Bret Hart offered to lose against Shawn Michaels (WWE Survivor Series 1997)

The infamous Montreal Screwjob incident occurred at WWE Survivor Series 1997 after Bret Hart refused to lose the WWE Championship to Shawn Michaels.

Interestingly, Hart revealed on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions show in 2020 that he initially offered to lose against Michaels at the event. The Canadian star then changed his mind when The Heartbreak Kid said he would not do the same if the roles were reversed.

“‘I have no problem putting you over. I have no problem dropping the title to you or doing anything you want.’ And the big problem between me and Shawn started right there. And he said, ‘I appreciate that, but I just want you to know that I’m not willing to do the same thing for you,’” Hart said.

WCW-bound Hart thought his match against Michaels was going to end in disqualification, meaning he would retain his title. Without Hart knowing, Vince McMahon ordered referee Earl Hebner to award the win to Michaels when he locked his opponent in the sharpshooter.

Michaels controversially won the match, capturing the WWE Championship in the process. Hart reacted by spitting in McMahon’s face before drawing the letters “WCW” with his finger toward WWE’s camera. Later that night, Hart legitimately knocked the WWE Chairman out backstage.