With success comes ego and politics, which has been a common theme in the wrestling industry for as long as it has existed. This became even more notable since Vince McMahon took over the WWE to change the landscape, providing the top stars with more power than fellow wrestlers.
Some have used it to their advantage by not doing a job as planned and finding ways to get around it. In such cases, these Superstars usually have a conflict with the wrestler they're scheduled to put over, or simply want to protect their reputation. Here are 10 WWE Hall of Famer a who refused to lose a match and why.
10 Shawn Michaels To Bret Hart At WrestleMania 13
WrestleMania XII will always be fondly remembered for the all-time classic Iron Man match between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. The next edition was scheduled to have a rematch with Hart picking up the victory this time around, but Michaels didn't want to lose to his nemesis at the biggest stage.
This led to a bitter rivalry between the two Superstars that transpired from inside the ring to behind the scenes. Michaels would run with the now infamous "I lost my smile" angle to duck a rematch with The Hitman.
9 Jeff Jarrett To Chyna At No Mercy 1999
As Jeff Jarrett prepared to exit the WWE once again, he had been scheduled to drop the Intercontinental Championship against Chyna at No Mercy in 1999. With his contract expiring the day after the PPV, Jarrett used it to his advantage in his contract negotiation with the company.
He declined to partake in the event unless he was paid $300,00 in return, which Vince McMahon resisted at first. However, since Vince didn't want Jarrett to walk out of the company as the Champion and wanted the big payoff of the feud to take place, he found an agreement with Jarrett to proceed with the result.
8 Hulk Hogan To Bret Hart At SummerSlam 1993
When Hulk Hogan surprisingly returned to claim the WWE World Heavyweight Championship off Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX, the build-up was supposed to lead to a match between him and Bret Hart at SummerSlam 1993. It would've been the passing of the torch from Hogan to Hart as Vince McMahon had imagined it, but the former wanted no part of it.
Believing that Hart wasn't worthy as a smaller Superstar in build and uncomfortable in losing against a widely popular younger wrestler, Hogan did everything in his power to sabotage the angle. He would instead drop the title back to Yokozuna at King of the Ring.
7 Steve Austin To Brock Lesnar On Raw
In 2002, Brock Lesnar was quick to put the entire WWE on notice with his dominance over the roster, picking up major victories over some of the industry's biggest stars. With Steve Austin not being booked in any angle, Vince McMahon had him losing a King of the Ring qualifier match on Raw to Lesnar.
Austin has been vocal that he was open to losing versus Lesnar but wasn't willing to do the job on a random occasion. Believing that it was best saved for a bigger event, Austin refused to partake in the match and walked out on the WWE.
6 Honky Tonk Man To Randy Savage At Main Event Special
With WrestleMania IV coming up, WWE had plans for Randy Savage to claim the Intercontinental Championship against The Honky Tank Man. Sadly, that didn't materialize as the latter opposed Vince McMahon's booking decision, believing that his character's reputation would take a severe hit.
At the time, The Honky Tonk Man wasn't signed to a full-time contract with the WWE and wanted to maintain a high profile to negotiate better pay with the company and elsewhere. As it turned out for Savage, when one door closes, another opens; as he was moved on to bigger things when he won the WWE Championship against Ted DiBiase at WrestleMania IX.
5 Bob Backlund To Hulk Hogan
In 1983, Vince McMahon was ready to change the tides of the WWE by crowning Hulk Hogan as the new face of the company. The only problem is that Bob Backlund was the reigning WWE Champion at the time and was unwilling to drop the belt against Hogan.
McMahon attempted to work around Backlund's demands by suggesting that he turns heel, although he had no interest in doing so or losing to a lesser 'true' wrestler in Hogan. That would bring The Iron Sheik into the mix as the transitional champion between the two, which in fact played out much better than WWE could have ever imagined.
4 Triple H To Booker T At WrestleMania XIX
Sixteen years have passed by since WrestleMania XIX, and plenty of fans have yet to get over Triple H retaining the World Heavyweight Championship against Booker T. Following an intense buildup, the big payoff fans were hoping to see didn't take place after all.
Triple H was resistant against the idea of dropping the championship at the biggest event of the year versus a former WCW star. Vince McMahon would soon join Triple H on board, and the rest is history in one of wrestling's biggest disappointments.
3 Roddy Piper To Mr. T At WrestleMania 2
Roddy Piper and Mr. T had been apart of the first ever WrestleMania main event when the latter picked up the victory alongside his tag team partner Hulk Hogan. The following WrestleMania, they met once again inside the ring although they were competing in a boxing match this time around.
Piper, who was always protective of his character throughout the years, didn't want to be knocked out by Mr. T. While being selective played its role behind Piper's decision, he also wasn't fond of Mr. T inside and outside of the squared circle. The outcome was changed to Mr. T winning due to disqualification following a body slam from Piper.
2 Chyna To Lita At Judgment Day 2001
Chyna is a WWE Hall of Famer after having been inducted as a member of D-Generation X in the class of 2019. As one of the top stars from the Attitude Era, Chyna became a pioneer in the business thanks to some notable achievements such as a reign with the Intercontinental Championship, participating in the Royal Rumble among other things.
In the early 2000s, WWE wanted Chyna to be apart of the women's division, which she resisted as she had been previously involved in high profile feuds with the likes of Chris Jericho. After refusing to lose a match to Lita at the 2001 Judgment Day pay-per-view, Chyna would never wrestle again for the WWE as the two sides went their separate ways.
1 Hulk Hogan To Shawn Michaels At SummerSlam 2005
The dream match of Hulk Hogan versus Shawn Michaels finally became a reality at SummerSlam 2005. The company had initially planned for a follow-up in which the latter would get a victory but Hogan wasn't on board with the plan. Once it became clear that Hogan didn't want to put Michaels over, the Heartbreak Kid made sure to lose on his own terms.
The contest has now become infamous for Michaels' over the top selling and in-ring antics. Given that Michaels had screwed over a number of Superstars during the 90s, it could be said that he only got a taste of his own medicine with the outcome of this angle.