Seven Most Crushing Losses in WWE History

4) Bruno Sammartino vs. Ivan Koloff – Madison Square Garden 1971

On January 18, 1971, Ivan Koloff ended the historic WWE Championship title reign on Bruno Sammartino in Madison Square Garden. Just to reiterate, Sammartino had held the title for two thousand eight hundred and three days until that night in Madison Square Garden.

Pro wrestling was a much different animal back in that time. No one had to worry about crowd reactions or people cheering the heels. Sammartino was the biggest face this industry has ever seen and Koloff beating him was a major moment in wrestling history.

The heat was so intense that Koloff didn’t even get to hold the WWE Championship in victory because there was a fear of a riot. It still goes down as one of the most devastating losses in wrestling history. It just didn’t have the same stage of a few others.