5 current WWE superstars who had undefeated streaks and the wrestlers who defeated them
Unbeaten streaks are always supposed to be a safe bet when you are trying to put over a superstar as a main player. Bill Goldberg's WCW unbeaten streak enhanced his aura and placed him as a credible challenger to Hulk Hogan. Similarly, the Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak amped up the attention around Wrestlemania season as more and more challengers fell by the wayside.
Among the current WWE superstars, Asuka is the most recent performer who was built up with an undefeated streak. Unbeaten in NXT, Asuka finally bit the dust against Charlotte Flair at Wrestlemania, cementing Charlotte's position as the top dog in the women's division. While the decision to have an established superstar breaking an unbeaten streak is always debated, one can't argue that the result didn't bring more eyeballs to the product.
WWE has had some pretty impressive undefeated streaks over the years. Normally, a wrestler that ends someone's unbeaten streak is supposed to get a great rub and, usually, a main eventer is chosen for that honour. Remember Umaga's unbeaten run in 2005? It ended at the hands of none other than John Cena.
However, many a time, WWE loses the plot as well. Remember who ended Roman Reigns' main roster singles unbeaten run? It wasn't CM Punk, Daniel Bryan or Brock Lesnar - Instead, it was the Big Show (with a little help from Seth Rollins) at a time when he was no longer considered as a vicious heel.
This list looks at five current WWE superstars who have had unbeaten streaks and the wrestlers who defeated them.
#1 Bobby Lashley gets pinned by JBL at WWE No Way Out
Bobby Lashley debuted in WWE in September 2005 on the SmackDown brand and immediately went on an undefeated streak. The WWE creative saw big things for the future ECW champion and pushed him to the moon, wasting no opportunity to remind viewers of his amateur wrestling and military accomplishments.
Lashley went on to beat undercard wrestlers like Simon Dean and Orlando Jordan and was part of the Smackdown team for the traditional brand vs brand Survivor Series elimination match. Lashley was allowed to shine in the match, executing numerous high intensity moves on the RAW wrestlers. However, the crowd wasn't completely behind Lashley and they mostly cheered when Kane eliminated him after an illegal Chokeslam.
WWE continued to hype that Lashley was unbeaten in singles competition and that streak stood for nearly six months. In the end, the streak was broken in unceremonious circumstances by JBL. At the No Way Out PPV in February 2006, Lashley had his shoulders pinned to the mat after JBL hit him with a Clothesline from Hell after an interference by a shillelagh-wielding Finlay.
Once the first loss was chalked down, the floodgates started - Lashley lost a lumberjack match to Finlay, failed to capture the Money in the Bank briefcase at Wrestlemania and lost to Booker T at the King of the Ring before bouncing back to capture the United States Championship.