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Daily DeMarco: Do Wins And Losses Matter?

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Macho Man Randy Savage WWE Wins and Losses

Greg DeMarco offers his thoughts on a controversial question in the world of pro wrestling: Do Wins And Losses Matter?

Professional wrestling is based on the carnival act of staging a fight, originally in a boxing ring, and challenging members of the audience to pay for an attempt to knock the big act off, with the promise of winning back a larger portion of money for a win. Eventually someone would win, but they were also part of the show. It was all about the work–from day one.

Wrestling - Sikeston, MO 1938 - 1.jpg

Wrestling in Missouri, circa 1938

But wrestling (minus the “pro”) also has its Olympic roots, as a true competitive sport. In the 1896 Olympics, Carl Schuhmann pinned Georgios Tsitas on the second day of their match, as the first day saw them grapple for 40 minutes before the match was suspended for darkness.

There were five Olympians total in this open weight competition, with Schuhmann scoring the events only pinfalls in both of his matches. Schuhmann was a gymnast, by the way. The four matches in these Olympic games were contested with Greco Roman Rules, but there was no time limit and no scoring. The two non pinfall “finishes” saw one wrestler retiring from the match, and the other ended due to a shoulder injury.

Believed to be a wrestling match from the 1896 Olympics

While completely different in nature, scope, and presentation, both of these early wrestling examples shared one common thread: Wins and Losses Mattered.

What happened?

Wrestling, the professional variety anyway, evolved from its carnival roots to start staging multiple matches, not using audience challengers or plants. Matches were still staged, but the stakes were changed. At first the biggest stake was a championship, with other stakes usually coming in the form of… you guessed it… wins and losses!

The carnival roots still held strong, since early champions tended to be a champion you had to overcome. Fans traveled miles and paid good money to see championships defended in the main event, and men (and sometimes women) battle for wins and losses on the undercard.

Boxing also had an influence on early wrestling, as early boxing was more of a fight. The earliest written rules of boxing that I could find reference to was in 1713, and they included headbutts, chokes, throws, and even eye pokes! Boxing obviously changed, but it established the idea of rankings, championships, and the structure of a card. Wrestling (and later MMA) would take this format on.

But even in eras we are old enough to remember or read/watch, wrestling was still about winning and losing. Even when personal issue was added in as a stake, in the end you got your revenge by making your opponent suffer a loss–not being set on fire, buried alive, being sacrificed to the Gods, etc. Granted, those things are still losses, but they weren’t deemed necessary.

Something else came to the forefront as professional wrestling progressed–it was really a form of entertainment. While being presented as a sport, it was selling because it was an entertaining one.

Again, WHAT HAPPENED?

Well, this answer is easy: Vince McMahon happened. Or more accurately, Vincent Kennedy McMahon.

Vince McMahon had to fight to get into the wrestling business, but you also have to understand why he fell in love it to begin with. When his father took him to his first ever show, he didn’t fall in love with sport. He fell in love with the characters and the showmanship- the larger-than-life characters. “Larger than life” is in his own words, and that’s why it’s so often used to describe the ideal WWE Superstar.

It was Vince McMahon who had to make a balloon payment to his dad and his business partners, a payment that if he missed even by a day, would have meant Vince lost everything. WrestleMania was the gamble that allowed Vince to make that payment. It was seen by 19,000+ at Madison Square Garden, and over a million paying normal ticket prices to watch on closed circuit television.

What made WrestleMania different? Spectacle. Liberace was the timekeeper for the main event. former Yankees manager Billy Martin was the ring announcer. Muhammad Ali the referee. The Rockettes performed in the ring. Hulk Hogan and Mr. T won the main event. It wasn’t built–or sold–on competition. Wins and losses really didn’t matter. It was built on larger-than-life characters performing in a larger-than-life spectacle.

And it allowed Vince McMahon to fully own what would become the WWE we know and love (love to hate?) today. Pushing wins and losses aside allowed the the business’s most powerful figure to take full ownership of the business’s most powerful entity.

Dammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmnnnnn man! That is a huge statement to swallow!

Let it sink in: once Vince McMahon put on an event where wins and losses took a back seat to being a larger-than-life spectacle, the business took off. Once Vince has his moneymaking model, the rest of the business was ripe for the picking. Vince couldn’t have gone national–thus running in others’ territories–without a larger-than-life spectacle. Without Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Roman Reigns. As Vince himself has said, they “broke the mold.”

Once Vince McMahon created Sports Entertainment, there was no looking back. It was about performing first, winning second. Pro wrestling became a show, but more importantly it became about the show. And in some parts of the story, the show would be about Vince McMahon.

The regional territories couldn’t compete with Vince McMahon, and most of them died off. Killing the territories wasn’t Vince McMahon’s intention, but it was a byproduct of his success. He bought a lot of his competitors, paying them handsomely in the process. Others refused to be bought, and that decision was usually futile. Vince McMahon, using Hulk Hogan, had changed the business, and they had to change or get out.

So…do Wins and Losses matter?

Wrestling is a show. The wrestlers in the ring are telling a story, and the best stories have a stake that the performers–and the audience–are invested in. That stake is the biggest part of the story. Sometimes that stake is a championship (or the quest for a championship), other times it’s a personal issue. Rarely do two wrestlers stand face-to-face in the center of the ring, with an invested crowd hanging at each movement, with the main stake simply being a win. And the match is rarely judged on the stake, it’s usually judged on the performance.

That is the biggest way the wrestling business has changed. At their simplest form, wins and losses do not matter. The result of a win or a loss is the true stake, although there are plenty of times where a winner loses in the end. That’s part of the story.

But the importance of a win–or a loss–can be built into the story. It can be sold by the promotion…the performers…the announcers…the fans. It’s a simple principle: the stakes matter. If wins and losses are the stakes, then wins wins and losses matter. When the stakes are something else, wins and losses don’t matter.

That’s why I have coined the phrase that I maintain today: “Wins and Losses don’t matter–except when they matter.

Good Reads On The Chairshot

And that’s it for today’s blog post! Thank you for reading the 7th Daily DeMarco–here’s to many more!

 

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

 MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling) 

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast 

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR


Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand


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Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

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DeMarco: Top 5 Non-Title WrestleMania Matches In WWE History

Not all WrestleMania classics had titles on the line. Dive into the top 5 non-title matches that stole the show & defined legacies. #WrestleMania #WWEHistory

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Shawn Michaels Kurt Angle WrestleMania 21

Not all WrestleMania classics had titles on the line. Dive into the top 5 non-title matches that stole the show and defined legacies.

WrestleMania is the Showcase Of The Immortals, but it’s not always the championship matches that steal the show—or define careers. In fact, some of the most iconic, business-defining, and emotionally resonant contests at the Grandest Stage of Them All didn’t feature a title at all. These matches succeeded because of character work, in-ring execution, and the kind of storytelling that sells tickets and moves merch.

Here are the five best non-title matches in WrestleMania history—at least, according to me!


5. The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan – WrestleMania X8 (2002)

This was never going to be a five-star technical clinic—but it was always going to be the moment. “Icon vs. Icon” was a tagline, sure, but it was also the reality: the biggest star of the ‘80s vs. the biggest star of the Attitude Era. And Toronto turned it into magic. Hogan walked in a heel but walked out immortal (again), with the SkyDome shaking on every punch, every look, every gesture.

What made this work was its self-awareness. Rock and Hogan read the crowd and flipped roles mid-match—Rock became the arrogant aggressor while Hogan Hulked Up to thunderous applause. It’s not often a non-title match headlines a card emotionally the way this one did, but it dominated every headline and highlight reel.


4. Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart – WrestleMania X (1994)

Sibling rivalries don’t usually lead to technical masterpieces, but then again, this wasn’t your average family drama. Owen and Bret opened WrestleMania X with a wrestling clinic that stood tall over a night packed with title changes. Owen needed to prove he was more than Bret’s little brother, and he did it by out-wrestling the best wrestler in the company. Clean. One-two-three.

It wasn’t just a great match—it was perfect storytelling. Owen’s victory, contrasted with Bret’s later world title win, set the tone for an entire year of brother-vs-brother tension. Bret became champion, but Owen had the moral victory—and all the bragging rights. This is proof that opening matches can steal the show.


3. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania 25 (2009)

If WrestleMania moments could be trademarked, this match would be the reason why. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels wasn’t about championships—it was about legacy. Michaels wanted to be the man who ended The Streak. The build was steeped in biblical imagery: light vs. dark, heaven vs. hell. And the match? Pure perfection. Each man brought everything they had—near-falls, psychology, reversals that had 70,000+ people gasping in unison.

It was 30 minutes of generational storytelling that transcended pro wrestling. And here’s the kicker—it wasn’t even the main event. Yet it dwarfed everything that followed. Meltzer gave it 4.75 stars, fans gave it their hearts, and WWE gave it a sequel the next year. A match so good it forced the company to run it back—because lightning actually struck.

Now, if THIS MATCH is #3, what could possible be #2 and #1…


2. Bret Hart vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin – WrestleMania 13 (1997)

This wasn’t just a match—it was the turning point of an era. The Submission Match between Bret Hart and Steve Austin was as violent as it was poetic, with Ken Shamrock enforcing the rules and the Chicago crowd growing more frenzied by the second. The brilliance? The shift. Bret Hart, the traditionalist hero, grew darker and more self-righteous by the second, while the disrespectful anti-hero Austin refused to quit, even when drowning in his own blood. There was no title on the line, but the stakes felt bigger than gold.

The infamous double turn changed the business. Austin’s defiance turned him into the voice of a new generation of fans—blue collar, anti-authority, Attitude Era. Meanwhile, Bret would go on to lead the heel Hart Foundation. WWE didn’t need a championship to create a moment that catapulted Austin into superstardom and ignited the company’s hottest era. This match is business-first booking at its absolute best.


1. Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania 21 (2005)

Dream matches often disappoint. This one didn’t. At WrestleMania 21, Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle went hold-for-hold and spot-for-spot with Mr. WrestleMania himself, and together they delivered a masterclass in in-ring psychology. Every sequence had stakes, every near-fall had meaning. It was a stylistic war: Michaels’ heart vs. Angle’s intensity.

Angle forcing Michaels to tap was a statement—it told fans that pure wrestling, not just spectacle, could still main-event caliber storytelling without any need for a title. Michaels sold the ankle lock like death, and Angle’s post-match collapse sold the moment as a hard-fought war. This is the kind of match that keeps purists up at night, smiling, and leaves the storytelling fans like myself as happy as can be!


10 Honorable Mentions (Not Honorable, Just For The Heck Of It)

  • Edge vs. Mick Foley – WrestleMania 22 (2006)
    A hardcore war that solidified Edge as a top-tier main eventer. That flaming table spear is still played in every Edge highlight reel.

  • AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon – WrestleMania 33 (2017)
    Everyone expected smoke and mirrors—what they got was a surprisingly technical, high-energy opener that kicked off the show right.

  • The Undertaker vs. Triple H – WrestleMania 28 (2012)
    “End of an Era” wasn’t just a tagline. The Hell in a Cell match, with HBK as referee, was a brutal epilogue to a generation’s legacy.

  • Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho – WrestleMania XIX (2003)
    A student-teacher battle of wills. Jericho’s low blow post-match was the perfect heel punctuation to a career-defining contest.

  • Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins – WrestleMania 31 (2015)
    The greatest RKO of all time. That curb stomp reversal belongs in a museum.

  • Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show – WrestleMania XXIV (2008)
    More sports-entertainment than wrestling, but a crossover moment that made mainstream headlines and paid off with a great finish.

  • Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis – WrestleMania III (1987)
    A retirement match with big heat, a hot crowd, and Piper walking off into the sunset (for a minute).

  • The Firefly Funhouse Match – John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt – WrestleMania 36 (2020)
    Cinematic weirdness at its best. A meta masterstroke that broke Cena down in layers.

  • Bad Bunny & Damian Priest vs. The Miz & John Morrison – WrestleMania 37 (2021)
    Bad Bunny stunned everyone. He didn’t just belong—he elevated the show.

  • Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio – WrestleMania 39 (2023)
    Father vs. son in a grudge match that played perfectly off real-life drama and Hall of Fame weekend emotions.


Some of these matches shaped legacies. Others shifted eras. But all of them proved that the most memorable moments at WrestleMania don’t need a title—they just need truth in the storytelling and fire in the execution.

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

 MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling) 

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast 

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR


Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand


Powered by RedCircle


Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
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DeMarco: The Biggest WrestleMania Match WWE Is Afraid To Book

Greg DeMarco breaks down the one match WWE was seemingly afraid to book for WrestleMania, despite setting it up over the span of two years!

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WWE Rhea Ripley Dominik Mysterio

Greg DeMarco breaks down the one match WWE was seemingly afraid to book for WrestleMania, despite setting it up over the span of two years!

WWE loves its WrestleMania moments. But sometimes, the most electric moment is also the most terrifying. And if we’re being honest, there’s one match that could shatter the internet, define an era, and launch two careers into another stratosphere—if WWE had the guts to actually pull the trigger:

Rhea Ripley vs. Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 41.

Sounds crazy? Maybe. But it’s also  he most logical, lucrative, and legacy-defining decision WWE could make for both stars. Let’s break it down like we always do here: not through fantasy, not through fan service, but through business. Because this match had major upside—and one very real risk.


Pro #1: A Headline-Grabbing Spectacle With Viral Potential

WrestleMania is about the moment—and Ripley vs. Dominik is a moment waiting to happen. Their on-screen relationship in Judgment Day has become one of WWE’s most compelling, meme-able dynamics, blending soap opera with real emotion and elite trolling. YouTube clips rack up views. Social media runs wild with edits and thirst traps. The chemistry between them? Off the charts.

A WrestleMania match between them isn’t just “intergender” for the sake of it. It’s the end of a long-term story that’s already over with the audience. WWE doesn’t need to create this heat—it exists. All they’d be doing is lighting the match and letting it burn all the way to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.


Pro #2: A Massive Risk That Can Pay Off With the Right Booking

Let’s be real: intergender wrestling is still a hot-button issue. But the times are changing—and WWE knows it. They’ve already had Rhea get physical with Akira Tozawa, Solo Sikoa, and in the men’s Royal Rumble. Fans haven’t rejected it—they’ve embraced it, because it fits her character.

Dominik, meanwhile, isn’t some powerhouse male wrestler. He’s a weasel. A brat. And most importantly, he’s believable as someone who could get wrecked by Rhea and still come out better for it. This isn’t Chyna vs. Jeff Jarrett in 1999. This is something entirely fresh.

And if AEW can run intergender matches with stars like Adam Cole and Britt Baker without fallout, then WWE—a much more disciplined, family-conscious product—can do it right. Book it with logic, lean into the emotion, and structure the match like an unsanctioned war, and you’ve got lightning in a bottle. Plus there IS precedent for this in WWE. You have Chyna, of course, and more recently you have Becky Lynch vs. James Ellsworth.


Pro #3: Judgment Day Drama Finally Pays Off In a Big Way

Judgment Day has been one of WWE’s best long-term success stories. But you can only tease the implosion for so long before fans check out. Finn’s beefing with Priest. JD is being JD. But the real core—the engine that kept this stable at its most relevant—was Rhea and Dom.

They were the emotional center. The dynamic people actually cared about. So if they’re going to culminate in a match, you don’t do it on a random Raw. You don’t do it at Elimination Chamber. You do it at WrestleMania. And you do it in a way that matters.

This match would be the culmination of everything. Betrayal, heartbreak, dominance, redemption. Dom turned on Rhea, Dom costs Rhea the Women’s World Championship more than once (think the Raw On Netflix premiere, and rewrite the ending to Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley) and now Rhea wants the revenge she never got. The story writes itself. And it sets the table for their next chapters with clean slates and elevated status.


Con: It Risks Undermining Rhea Ripley’s Star Power

There’s one real risk WWE has to weigh: Rhea Ripley is a top-tier star. Maybe the top star in the women’s division. She should have main-evented WrestleMania 39 Night One. She’s the face of cross-brand credibility. She moves merch. She trends. She wins.

Taking her out of the title picture for a “personal” match—even one this hot—is a gamble. If not done correctly, it could trivialize her reign, reduce her to a storyline prop, or worse: send a message that her biggest spotlight doesn’t involve a championship.

And make no mistake—there’s a business cost to that. Rhea is the division right now. If WWE doesn’t protect her aura and keep her looking like a destroyer, even in loss or emotional turmoil, the entire angle could unravel. The story only works if Rhea stays the alpha, even while taking the emotional damage.


Final Bell

Rhea Ripley vs. Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 41 isn’t a joke. It isn’t shock booking. It’s a rare opportunity where character, emotion, long-term storytelling, and business aligned perfectly. WWE has built this slow burn for nearly two years. The most unexpected—and potentially best—WrestleMania match was right in front of them.

All they had to do… was be brave enough to book it.

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

 MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling) 

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast 

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR


Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand


Powered by RedCircle


Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
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