Facing the Facts: Curt Hawkins’ Unprecedented Losing Streak Makes Him a Winner in the WWE

In the build to WWE WrestleMania 34, everyone is talking about the two-year undefeated streak of Asuka. At the same time (and perhaps more impressively), Curt Hawkins has made the most of his unprecedented losing streak.

In the world of competitive sports, teams and individual stars are constantly scrambling to be crowned “the greatest.” However, in the world of sports entertainment that superlative is nearly impossible to define. In professional wrestling, specifically WWE, wins and losses don’t matter; as head of SmackDown creative, Road Dogg Jesse James, said so bluntly on Twitter. But it’s not that wins and losses don’t matter, but they are less important than creating compelling storylines.

We’ve seen stars born in a single night and legends fall with a mere 3-count. Paige defeated AJ Lee for the Diva’s Championship on her debut match on the main roster. The Undertaker’s legendary WrestleMania streak was brought to an abrupt end at the hands of Brock Lesnar. Jinder Mahal, a perennial loser, had a 170 reign as WWE Champion. A reign that surpasses other notable superstars’ in length, including Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, and Mankind.

So,In a sport where wins and losses are written by a group of television suits in the back, how do you quantify who is the best in the squared circle?

This brings us squarely to Curt Hawkins. After a quick fact-check, Hawkins is sitting pretty with an unprecedented 0-186 losing streak. This includes WWE Live Events, televised RAW and SmackDown shows, and Pay-Per-Views. In fact, the last time Curt Hawkins tasted victory was at the expense of Apollo on November 8, 2016.

I think it’s safe to say that if any competitor amassed that many losses, they would be without a job. But Curt Hawkins has not only embraced his streak, he’s thriving because of it. Since making his return to WWE, Hawkins has stood across the ring from main event level talent including Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and Braun Strowman. He’s also gone one-on-one with NXT stand out, Aleister Black. He currently has two shirts available on the WWE shop, one of which commemorates his unprecedented streak.

Although it seems like a foregone conclusion, his matches are anything but ordinary. His own self deprecation and heelish ways lead to some hilarious spots that one might not expect to see on WWE programming. On the March 12th episode of WWE: Main Event, Hawkins faced Goldust. The match started off with a good exchange between the two. However frustrated with his inability to gain any sort of momentum, Hawkins fell to his back. Laying in the middle of ring, he yelled “I’m going to lose anyways,” and told Goldust to pin him.

The maneuver was met with a chorus of boos from the WWE Universe. A confused Goldust stood over Hawkins and asked, “what are you doing!?” Hawkins assured Goldust that he was forfeiting, but of course (like any good heel), Hawkins tried a surprised roll on the Bizarre one. Eventually Hawkins would lose again like he has for nearly two years straight. But the match was everything that that makes wrestling a joy to watch. It was fun, competitive, a little goofy, but nonetheless entertaining.

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In sports entertainment, where wins and losses aren’t as important as good storytelling, the greatest superstars are the ones that are able to create compelling TV.  Hawkins may not be winning many matches, but his character work has been winning over the WWE Universe.