Best Times Wrestlers Lost on the Way Out

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

I wouldn’t be surprised if it aged like a fine milk, but I found the Good Housekeeping Match where Jeff Jarrett lost to Chyna really entertaining at the time.

[Alyce: Old Media Enthusiast]

Bryan vs Reigns

[newbombturk]

Flair against Perfect on Raw in 1993.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Jan 16, 2022 8:16:24 GMT -5 KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! said:

I wouldn’t be surprised if it aged like a fine milk, but I found the Good Housekeeping Match where Jeff Jarrett lost to Chyna really entertaining at the time.

Jarrett couldn’t win because the IC title wasn’t a household item, though as Lawler pointed out, it’s a household item at Jarrett’s. So match restarts, Chyna bashes with him a guitar and wins.

[Bo Rida]

Bo Dallas leaving NXT was so funny.

[Jake, The Jake, Jake]

I loved Jeff Hardy’s exit in 2009

[Citizen Snips Has Left]

Not a wrestler or a loss but Gorilla Monsoon finally throwing the Brain out of the WWF in 1993 is the greatest wrestling exit of all time.

[Aceorton]

Taz at Anarchy Rulz '99. Eliminated shockingly early in the three-way with Masato Tanaka and Mike Awesome in a pass-the-torch moment that had the crowd stunned. And he got a legit sendoff from the boys as he left.

[Jonathan Michaels]

Jan 17, 2022 3:35:23 GMT -5 newbombturk said:

Flair against Perfect on Raw in 1993.

I love how amicable it was when Vince let Ric go back to WCW.

He told Flair if he even wanted to leave, he could, and asking him to put Curt over was super reasonable.

[Some Baritone guy IS REDEEMED!]

ROH's Summer of Punk.

[Starshine]

Uhaa Nation losing to BxB Hulk, followed by the entire DG roster coming out and everyone getting really emotional over his departure.

www.dailymotion.com/video/x3sgayp

[Jindrak Mark]

Mick Foley/Cactus Jack losing those classic matches at Royal Rumble/No Way Out and the emotional farewell after losing the latter one would have been perfect if he didn't return 3 weeks later and put in a half-hearted performance at Wrestlemania. He barely even got a reaction after being eliminated from the Wrestlemania match when he tried to do the same teary eyed exit again. The fans seemed like they couldn't even muster the emotion for it after already going through it at the previous PPV.

I had no problem with him coming out of retirement for the Orton/Edge matches later on but to do it immediately like that was just a little off. I don't fault him taking the Wrestlemania main event spot and the money that came with it but from a kayfabe POV it really cheapened the magnitude of the loss the previous month.

[ianriccaboni]

I loved Jericho vs Cena in 2005. Great send off.

[wendytorrancev1]

Jan 17, 2022 23:35:33 GMT -5 Jindrak Mark said:

Mick Foley/Cactus Jack losing those classic matches at Royal Rumble/No Way Out and the emotional farewell after losing the latter one would have been perfect if he didn't return 3 weeks later and put in a half-hearted performance at Wrestlemania. He barely even got a reaction after being eliminated from the Wrestlemania match when he tried to do the same teary eyed exit again. The fans seemed like they couldn't even muster the emotion for it after already going through it at the previous PPV.

I always found that exit at Wrestlemania XVI to be a bit odd. It was meant as a tear-jerking moment, with Linda McMahon screaming "Oh, no, Mick!" and Mick getting eliminated. The crowd has zero reaction to it, although the intended reaction was the crowd going on an emotional rollercoaster, and at the same time, building more heat for Triple H, who had eliminated Mick via a Pedigree on a chair (IIRC). It failed at both, especially illicting any emotion out of the audience. It was also very manipulative due to as you said, the same thing happened at the PPV prior, which was No Way Out. 

Mick also returned during the summer the WWF Commissioner, so it was a really useless move. 

[XaviersSS2015hair]

Jan 17, 2022 13:07:57 GMT -5 Jonathan Michaels said:

Jan 17, 2022 3:35:23 GMT -5 newbombturk said:

Flair against Perfect on Raw in 1993.

I love how amicable it was when Vince let Ric go back to WCW.

He told Flair if he even wanted to leave, he could, and asking him to put Curt over was super reasonable.

The only person that wasn't happy with that agreement was Ole Anderson. Who famously told Flair when he got back to WCW "what good are you to me now?! You just lost on national TV!"
It's crazy that that was still the mentality in January 93. That would be like Tony Khan not wanting to sign Danielson last year because he got pinned on Vince's TV.

[XaviersSS2015hair]

Jan 18, 2022 7:31:54 GMT -5 ianriccaboni said:

I loved Jericho vs Cena in 2005. Great send off.

Jericho liked it too. He said that's exactly the way he wants to be taken off TV. Being physically drug away kicking and screaming lol

[XaviersSS2015hair]

It's crazy to think about now but it was Alberto Del Rio that ended John Cena's never ending WWE run.
ADR returned as the mystery opponent for Cena's U.S. open challenge. It was over a year after ADR had been fired by WWE and I think most people thought they would never see ADR in WWE again. I was at this event HIAC 2015, Cena put ADR over clean as a sheet and the pop was MASSIVE. ADR was just coming back from his goodwill run on the Indies where he was being treated as a folk hero and the fans were into it. This could have and should have been a huge moment but instead we got ADR with Zeb as Mex-America. I don't think beyond the following night on Raw it was even mentioned that ADR was the one that finally beat Cena to end the US Open challenge which had been going for about 7 months.
What should have been a huge moment was completely fumbled by WWE (shocking I know) and soon after Del Rio self destructed.