5 WWE Superstars who refused to lose a match
The worked nature of professional wrestling means that, in many ways, the industry is a collaborative effort between those involved. However, that is not to say that there are not sometimes disagreements as to how things should be done. WWE, like any other business, has its fair share of internal politics.
The difference between winning and losing a match is not just reflected in WWE's televised storylines. A Superstar's pay is often linked to their spot on the card, both in terms of overall salary as well as merchandise sales.
Performers who win titles and frequently main event pay-per-view events for WWE are naturally seen as being more valuable to the company than those who are lower down the pecking order - and so they are paid accordingly.
Beyond the financial element, WWE also has to work to accommodate the expectations (and even egos) of certain Superstars. Some talents who are working their way up the card may not want to take a loss that might hinder their progress, while Superstars who are already established in the main event might be keen to avoid losing in order to protect their headline status.
Adding to WWE's headache in this respect is the fact that some top tier Superstars have had creative control agreements in place, meaning that they have the right to object to the company's plans. Here are 5 WWE Superstars that refused to lose a match - and the circumstances behind their decision.
#5 The Shield (to John Cena)
The handling of The Shield following their debut at Survivor Series 2012 was some of WWE's finest booking. The trio of Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose were brought up from NXT and immediately presented as threats to everyone in the promotion - including John Cena.
Some four months later, however, WWE decided that it was time for The Shield to lose their first high profile match at Elimination Chamber 2013, with Cena slated to pick up the victory as part of a six-man tag team match.
The newcomers strongly believed that the time was not right for them to lose, arguing that they felt they were too early in their run for them to be bested by Cena.
Speaking on Chris Jericho's podcast in 2014, Ambrose revealed that himself and his stablemates immediately protested the proposed outcome once they learned of it.
"We’ve gone in, the three of us, and protested everything. If we don’t like something, we’re like terrors to them – it’d be like, ‘ah God, The Shield’s not going to like this!’ Two seconds later we’re in the office – ‘er, yeah, we don’t like this.'"
While no member of The Shield had outright creative control, the group did have strength in numbers and used this to have the decision changed.
“Not that we’re jerks. They wanted us to… I think it was our second or third pay-per-view, it was right before our first WrestleMania, a six-man on a pay-per-view and the finish was Cena over with the schmutz. We were like: ‘But as soon as we go down to John, we’re just like everybody else, because that’s what he does to everybody else. There’ll be a time where we do that all day and that’s fine… but it is not today. Otherwise, why are we even here?’”
The Shield were ultimately victorious that night, although the now-Jon Moxley continued to have regular issues with creative up until his WWE departure in 2019. Following his exit, Moxley was very open about the fact that creative frustrations were a big factor in his choice to exit the promotion.