{"id":133910,"date":"2025-04-18T12:47:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T16:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=133910"},"modified":"2025-04-18T12:47:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T16:47:17","slug":"greatest-losing-performances-in-wwe-wrestlemania-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/04\/18\/greatest-losing-performances-in-wwe-wrestlemania-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Greatest Losing Performances in WWE WrestleMania History"},"content":{"rendered":"

Throughout the history of WWE WrestleMania, we often celebrated the winners who triumphed, the champions who won it all, and the victors who stood tall in the end. While the spotlight usually shines on the winners, rarely do we express our gratitude to wrestlers who, even though they walked away on the losing end, still gave fans one hell of a moment to remember.<\/span><\/p>\n

While it is true that careers are immortalized in victory, who said that they cannot be in losses as well? From show-stealing performances to emotional heartbreakers, here are six losing efforts in WrestleMania history that left us in awe. These are the greatest losing performances ever seen at the Showcase of the Immortals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bret Hart – WrestleMania X<\/h2>\n

It had been nearly a full year since <\/span>Bret \u201cHitman\u201d Hart<\/span><\/a> was on the WWE\u2019s mountaintop (then WWF), but in 1994, he was ready to reclaim his throne. He began by winning the Royal Rumble match with co-winner <\/span>Lex Luger<\/span><\/a>, earning the right to face WWE Champion Yokozuna at WrestleMania X.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, since Luger had to face Yokozuna earlier on the show, Bret was booked to face his little brother, Owen Hart, in order to make the competition fair. Both Hart brothers had beef with one another dating back to late last year, especially after Owen had betrayed Bret at the Royal Rumble 1994.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the opener of WrestleMania X, the pride of the Hart Family dazzled the <\/span>Madison Square Garden<\/span><\/a> crowd with a fabulous technical masterpiece. Surprisingly, it was Owen who shocked the world with a clean victory over The Hitman. But despite losing this battle, Bret ended the night winning the war, as he defeated Yokozuna for the WWE Title later that night.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ric Flair – WrestleMania XXIV<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ric Flair was nearly the age of 60 years old when he took it to the Grandest Stage of Them All to defend his four-decade-long career against Shawn Michaels. In a retirement match at WrestleMania 24, Flair brought everything he had to pull out one last miracle to keep his career alive.<\/span><\/p>\n

Flair\u2019s career might be coming to that end, but he\u2019d be damned if he is letting it end in vain! Instead, <\/span>the 16-time World Champion<\/span><\/a> went on to deliver a spectacular, emotionally charged performance, even by his age at the time.<\/span><\/p>\n

When talking about this match, everyone will always remember the \u201cI\u2019m sorry, I love you\u201d<\/em> moment before the final Sweet Chin Music that brought Flair\u2019s in-ring run to an end. The Nature Boy\u2019s loss was inevitable, but the emotional weight and Flair\u2019s graceful exit made this one of the best performances in WrestleMania history, even if it ended in a loss.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania XXV<\/h2>\n

It is only fair that we include <\/span>WWE\u2019s No. 1 greatest match in WrestleMania history<\/span><\/a> on this list. At WrestleMania 25, Shawn Michaels delivered a storytelling and drama masterclass against The Undertaker. The Streak was alive and well at 16-0, but Shawn came the closest to breaking it before it was destroyed five years later by Brock Lesnar.<\/span><\/p>\n

Michaels embodied his \u201cMr. WrestleMania\u201d moniker, pushing the Deadman to the brink of defeat and forcing everyone to believe, if even for a moment, that the Streak could potentially end. Michaels\u2019 performance, marked by perfect pacing, flawless selling, and high-risk spots, elevated the match to an instant classic.<\/span><\/p>\n

There were no winners or losers here — only legends of these two icons echoed louder than ever. Many wrestling gurus called this bout the best of both men\u2019s careers, and that praise is rightfully earned.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cody Rhodes – WrestleMania 39<\/h2>\n

Cody Rhodes returned to WWE in 2022 with a mission: to \u201cfinish the story\u201d. It took him a full year to finally get the chance to do it. At WrestleMania 39, he came incredibly close, losing to Roman Reigns in the main event for the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.<\/span><\/p>\n

That loss ended controversially, despite the fans firmly behind him and every storyline thread pointing to his way. Despite this, Rhodes put on a gutsy, fearless underdog showing that surely proved he belonged in the brightest light on WWE\u2019s biggest stage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though Reigns retained the title, Rhodes’ support only grew larger, making his eventual conquest next year all the more sweeter. It wasn\u2019t his time yet, but looking back, it may have been the right decision all along.<\/span><\/p>\n

Randy Savage – WrestleMania XVII<\/h2>\n

At WrestleMania 7, two of WWE\u2019s most popular phenoms put their careers on the line against one another. It was a matchup between a former champion, Ultimate Warrior, who was still loved by fans, and Randy Savage, who now went by \u201cMacho King\u201d after betraying the WWE Universe by turning to the dark side.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both men gave it their all in a match highlighted by grit, passion, and desperation. With his career on the line, Savage hit Warrior with five consecutive flying elbow drops — his finishing maneuver — yet, he still couldn\u2019t seal the win. Ultimately, the Warrior walked away with the final victory, marking the end of Savage\u2019s career (for now\u2026).<\/span><\/p>\n

However, what made Savage\u2019s loss iconic wasn\u2019t his in-ring performance, but it was the aftermath. His manager, \u201cSensational\u201d Sherri Martel, betrayed him, beating him up after the bell, only for Miss Elizabeth, his former manager, to make the save and fend off Sherri. Savage\u2019s reunion with Elizabeth gave birth to one of the most emotional scenes in WrestleMania history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Steve Austin – WrestleMania 13<\/h2>\n

\u201cStone Cold\u201d Steve Austin revolutionized the wrestling world when he battled Bret \u201cHitman\u201d Hart at WrestleMania 13 in one of the finest bouts this sport has ever seen. It was a bloody, violent submission contest for the ages that featured MMA legend Ken Shamrock as the special guest referee.<\/span><\/p>\n

With blood pouring down on his face and locked in the Sharpshooter, Austin refused to quit against Bret, choosing to pass out rather than submit. By doing this, Austin earned the respect of everyone in the arena, turning him into a legitimate superstar.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a rare case where the loser of the PPV\u2019s major affair won more than the winner. Bret walked out of the contest as a villain instead of his actions, while Austin became the fan-favorite anti-hero with the audience fully in his corner. This \u201cdouble turn\u201d would go on to kickstart the Attitude Era, ushering in the most successful period the WWE has ever seen.<\/span><\/p>\n

This five-star classic has recently been announced as a <\/span>Hall of Fame inductee<\/span><\/a>, being featured in the inaugural \u201cImmortal Moment\u201d category. Not only the greatest losing performance in WrestleMania history, but in the entirety of wrestling, period.<\/span><\/p>\n

More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/b><\/p>\n

Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013 Stay tuned to the <\/span><\/i>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/span><\/i><\/a> for more on WWE WrestleMania and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

You can check out WWE programming on <\/span><\/i>Netflix<\/span><\/i><\/a> (Raw), <\/span><\/i>USA Network<\/span><\/i><\/a> (SmackDown), <\/span><\/i>The CW<\/span><\/i><\/a> (NXT), <\/span><\/i>Tubi<\/span><\/i><\/a> (WWE Evolve), <\/span><\/i>A&E<\/span><\/i><\/a> (WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments) and <\/span><\/i>Peacock<\/span><\/i><\/a> (WWE Main Event as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on <\/span><\/i>YouTube<\/span><\/i><\/a>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/span><\/i>WWE Speed<\/span><\/i><\/a>).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Throughout the history of WWE WrestleMania, we often celebrated the winners who triumphed, the champions who won it all, and the victors who stood tall in the end. While the spotlight usually shines on the winners, rarely do we express our gratitude to wrestlers who, even though they walked away on the losing end, still […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5476,"featured_media":133921,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2192,4,3],"tags":[629,362,98,361,469,395,396,9331,47,8906],"class_list":["post-133910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-stone-cold-steve-austin","tag-bret-hart","tag-cody-rhodes","tag-randy-savage","tag-ric-flair","tag-shawn-michaels","tag-wrestlemania","tag-wrestlemania-history","tag-wwe","tag-wwe-wrestlemania"],"modified_by":"Chinyere Okafor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5476"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133910"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133919,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133910\/revisions\/133919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}