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What’s the story?
Followers of Finn Balor on Twitter were treated to a tongue-in-cheek kudos for a big milestone that Curt Hawkins has recently surpassed. According to Balor, Hawkins has recently amassed an abysmal 100-match losing streak.
In case you didn’t know…
Curt Hawkins, whose real name is Bryan Myers, re-joined WWE in late 2016. He first went to the Smackdown Live roster and was treated to several weeks of hype videos before he arrived in-person. These videos were given a humorous "Chuck Norris Facts" angle to them, a sign that perhaps he was returning with purpose.
His debut ended up being rather confusing as he merely showed up to October's No Mercy pay-per-view but never actually wrestled. The following weeks, he kept finding ways out of competing in actual matches. He finally entered competition on a November 1st episode of SmackDown, losing to Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship in seven seconds. Ninety-nine losses later and here we are.
The heart of the matter
Curt Hawkins has been relegated to the bottom of the card. WWE only views him as a guy who puts over everybody else, which is why he's earned this unenviable streak.
The silver lining in all of this is that he's a talented performer in the largest wrestling promotion on the planet who can be relied upon to do his job well inside of the ring. That isn't the worst gig to have.
Hawkins did respond to Finn's kudos with a humorous retort of his own, simply offering the "100" emoji. He's at least a good sport about it.
What’s next?
Unless WWE has a Jinder Mahal-level change of heart with the guy, Hawkins can expect even more losing. Who knows, maybe he'll get to 200 straight losses by the end of 2017? That would be notable.
Author’s take
There's nothing wrong with losing in a pre-determined sport. That doesn't mean he isn't actually good at what he does. It's a shame that WWE picks guys like him to be perennial losers because even in simulated competition, what motivation is there for we the fans to care about his matches?
If he wins, then the person he beats must be a real loser. If he loses, then that's just like the 100 times we've seen him previously. It's hard to see the value in this kind of booking.
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