Former WWE star Curt Hawkins has revealed that he actively tried to prevent WWE from ending his infamous losing streak long before it eventually concluded at WrestleMania 35.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Hawkins discussed the origins of the streak and admitted that he quickly realized it had become one of the most interesting aspects of his character.
According to Hawkins, WWE once planned to end the streak in his hometown of Brooklyn with a victory over Heath Slater. “I was gonna beat Heath Slater on Main Event because we were in Brooklyn, and Vince was just like, ‘Oh, it’s Hawkins’ hometown. Let’s give him one.’”
However, Hawkins immediately pushed back against the idea. “Then the writer came from the meeting to tell me, I was like, ‘No, that’s a terrible idea.’”
At the time, Hawkins estimated the streak was already well into triple digits. “It had to be 100 something at this point.”
Rather than ending the streak with a routine television win, Hawkins believed there was much more potential in continuing the storyline. “When the article came out, I embraced it and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s kind of cool. Let’s see what comes to this.’”
He felt that defeating Slater on Main Event would have been forgotten almost immediately. “If I was beating Heath, no offense, it’s gonna be forgotten by tomorrow by everyone.”
Instead, Hawkins leaned fully into the role and even admits he was essentially “politicking” to keep losing. “I’m sure a lot of people in WWE don’t politic to lose. But I was really trying.”
When asked whether he had a dream scenario for ending the streak, Hawkins explained that he intentionally avoided thinking about it. “I tried to not even think about it, because I think it would drive me nuts.”
Rather than focusing on potential wins, he concentrated on making the losses as entertaining as possible. “It was more productive to come into work and be like, ‘What’s your finish? Great. I can’t wait to take it the best I can.’”
The streak ultimately reached 269 consecutive losses before Hawkins and Zack Ryder captured the Raw Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 35, giving Hawkins one of the most memorable redemption moments of his WWE career.
Reflecting on WrestleMania, Hawkins also discussed how different the experience was from his earliest appearances on WWE’s biggest stage.
He and Ryder first appeared at WrestleMania 24 as members of Edge’s entourage and even participated in the main-event angle involving The Undertaker. “We ran in the main event of WrestleMania 24 and attempted to attack The Undertaker. I think we were 22 years old, it’s a wild way to start.”
Like many young wrestlers, Hawkins admitted he and Ryder assumed bigger opportunities would naturally follow. “The next year, Matt says it all the time. He’s like, ‘Just assuming we’ll probably have a three-way with Edge next year.’”
Instead, reality hit much harder, with the pair finding themselves in much smaller roles. “We were like anonymous lumberjacks or something on a pre-show. So it didn’t really turn out like that.”
In hindsight, Hawkins’ willingness to embrace the losing streak ultimately transformed what could have been a forgettable run into one of WWE’s most unique long-term storylines, culminating in a WrestleMania moment that remains one of the biggest crowd reactions of his career.
