5 times a WWE Superstar refused to lose
Fans have always cared about who wins and who loses a match, but in many cases not as much as the wrestlers themselves. In some scenarios, this is due to the wrestler not liking who they are working with and in others, it is for not agreeing with a booking decision.
WWE have always been known as a company where its wrestlers are involved in more than what we see inside the ring. Incidences such as Hulk Hogan refusing to lose to Bret Hart at Summer Slam 1993 and the Survivor Series 1997 Montreal screwjob are a couple of storyline outcomes that were determined due to a wrestler possessing significant backstage influence.
These are exceptional circumstances and in most wrestling matches, performers who are asked to lose do so without incident. It is rare amongst lower level talent who are trying to make a name for themselves in the business but is more common in established stars who have more pulling power backstage.
Down the years, many popular WWE Superstars have engaged in backstage politics in order to influence the decision making of bookers and superstars that haven't got their own way have sometimes left the company altogether.
Here are five times a WWE superstar refused to lose a match.
#5 John Cena refuses to lose to the Nexus
John Cena isn't known for engaging in backstage politics, however, there was a time where he had a bit of a reputation for his influence backstage.
2010 was the height of the Nexus' popularity, the group made an instant impact on their Raw debut tearing apart the ring, smashing up the ringside area and attacking WWE staff. Nexus became the hottest thing in WWE during the summer of 2010 and their rivalry with Cena established them as the hottest heels in the company.
At SummerSlam 2010 the Nexus team of Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, David Otunga, Skip Sheffield Michael Tarver and Darren Young faced off against the WWE team consisting of John Cena, Edge, Chris Jericho, Bret Hart, R-Truth, John Morrison and Daniel Bryan in a 7-on-7 tag team elimination match.
According to Wade Barrett, Vince McMahon had originally decided for the Nexus to go over in the match. Edge and Chris Jericho reportedly recommended to Cena that he put over the Nexus group, but Cena didn't like the idea and thought the storyline had run its course.
Cena has since admitted that he was wrong for not putting the group over, the defeat was clearly very damaging to the Nexus as they never recovered and disbanded a short time afterwards.