History Main / LoserLeavesTown

* With Wrestling/JayWhite reportedly nearing the end of his contract with [[Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling NJPW]] in early 2023, he was involved in two such matches in February of that year. First, at ''The New Beginning in Osaka'', he lost to Hikuleo in a "Loser Leaves Japan" match. He then flew to the States to work ''Battle in the Valley'', where he lost a "Loser Leaves NJPW" match to Wrestling/EddieKingston.

* With Wrestling/JayWhite reportedly nearing the end of his contract with [[Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling NJPW]] in early 2023, he was involved in two such matches in February of that year. First, at ''The New Beginning in Osaka'', he lost to Hikuleo in a "Loser Leaves Japan" match. He then flew to the States to work NJPW's ''Battle in the Valley'', where he lost a "Loser Leaves NJPW" match to Wrestling/EddieKingston.

* With Wrestling/JayWhite reportedly nearing the end of his contract with [[Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling NJPW]] in early 2023, he's gotten involved in a couple such matches in February of that year. First, at ''The New Beginning in Osaka'', he lost to Hikuleo in a "Loser Leaves Japan" match. After he flew to the States to work NJPW's ''Battle in the Valley'', he and Wrestling/EddieKingston agreed that their upcoming match at said event would be a "Loser Leaves NJPW" match.

* Wrestling/MattHardy and Edge's feud following the controversy surrounding Lita ended with one of these, Matt Hardy on the losing end.

* A stranger example occurred in 1999, where [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vince [=McMahon=]]] was banished from the then-WWF for several months as a result of The Undertaker losing a match to Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin. What makes this strange is that the time period was essentially the exact time surrounding the WWF's IPO, making many suspect that Vince took himself out of the limelight to comply with SEC regulations.

** This was actually part of Eric Bischoff's big plan to [[ContinuityReboot reboot]] the company following his plans to purchase WCW. The original idea was to have Steiner wipe out every good guy on the roster on his way to [[TheBadGuyWins having complete dominance over the company]]. At around the point where this scenario had played out, the ownership transfer to Bischoff's consortium would be complete. In the inaugural Nitro of his regime, he would bring back all the [[{{Face}} Faces]] at once and kick the new company off with a fresh start. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Unfortunately]], after WCW programming was taken off television in the wake of the [=AOL=]/Time Warner merger, the buyout was canceled and WCW itself was shut down shortly thereafter.

* Wrestling/ShawnMichaels was so desperate to end The Undertaker's Wrestlemania win streak, he agreed to put his career on the line at ''Wrestlemania XXVI''. Unfortunately for him, he failed to end 'Taker's streak. Michaels has made a point to make the stipulation stick, though he still appears for WWE from time to time.

* Wrestling/JimmyJacobs and Jack Evans sent Wrestling/LondonAndKendrick out of Wrestling/DragonGate with a victory in one of these types of matches. Jacobs also sent Sal, The Man Of A Thousand Gimmicks, out of Wrestling/JuggaloChampionshipWrestling after a best of three series.
* Given pink slips count, Wrestling/{{TNA}}'s infamous "Feast Or Fired" matches can result in the ''winner'' leaving town. Most famous victim being Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels.

* Wrestling/TheUndertaker lost one to Wrestling/{{Edge}} at One Night Stand 2008. This removal was for the purposes of recovering from injuries. He returned less than three months later when Vickie Guerrero needed him to kick Edge's butt.

In fact, the "three-month rule" often came into effect for another variant of the "Loser Leaves Town" match. Sometimes, the defeated wrestler – almost always a face – wouldn't actually "leave town," but rather he'd return wearing a mask, come up with a crazy name, and often cause trouble for his villainous foe on the defeated wrestler's behalf. Invariably, the heel would complain that the masked wrestler was actually the face he defeated and that he was circumventing the rules, but the authority figures would plead ignorance and say the heel had no proof of who was causing the trouble. Finally, the heel and a few associates would corner the masked wrestler, beat him down to a bloody pulp, and pull off the mask. The "fired" wrestler would be reinstated and one final battle would take place. This storyline was most famously used for the Wrestling/DustyRhodes vs. Wrestling/KevinSullivan feud of the early 1980s.

* Sports championship tournaments can end up this way (if "town" is defined as "still alive for the championship") depending on how the system is set up; likely the organizers set it up that way to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this trope for the drama, among other reasons. For example, a given [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]] team is scehduled face a team no more than once in the regular season (except against the other three teams in its division, which a team will play twice). If a team were to play another team a second time (third in the case of a division rival), it will be in the playoffs where the stakes are almost certainly higher (i.e., the loser's done for the year). The trope is not limited to the playoffs themselves, either. In recent years the NFL has scheduled all Week 17 (the final week of the regular season) games between division rivals[[note]]the stated reason was to prevent poor-quality games between teams either resting their starters for the playoffs or just playing out the string by having divisonal rivalry play into it; the jury's out on how much this switch has countered it[[/note]] - this combined with flex-scheduling (which allows TV networks to pick the most interesting games to broadcast nationally in prime-time just one or two weeks before) and some luck has meant that Week 17 Sunday Night Football matchups the past few years have all been games where the winner earns the division title (and automatic playoff spot) and the loser goes home for the season, a huge boon for TV ratings.

* At the climax of [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes "Bugs Bunny Rides Again"]], Bugs suggests to Yosemite Sam that they play a game of gin rummy with the losers having to leave town. Bugs wins (through a typical KarmicTrickster move), but it's Bugs who leaves town voluntarily when the departing train is filled with a bevy of bathing beauties.

* William Regal also lost this kind of match. Regal failed a drug test and WWE needed a kayfabe explanation for his suspension that followed said test.

* One particularly egregious example from [=WCW=] featured Curt Hennig losing to Buff Bagwell in a Retirement Match, only to return to the ring THE NEXT DAY. Needless to say, this was booked by Wrestling/VinceRusso.

* ''VideoGame/{{DefJam|Series}}: Fight For NY'' has [[Music/SnoopDogg Crow]] challenge [[Creator/ChristoperJudge D-Mob]] to one of these, with the stipulation [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments "Loser goes to Jersey"]].

So, why have a Loser Leaves Town match? Sometimes, it's to explain the absence of a wrestler who's left the promotion. Other times, it's to give a wrestler time off to heal an injury, film a movie, or spend time with his family. Still others, it can be used to set up a CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown angle. And yet still other times, it's simply the only way to end a feud that's just gone on entirely too long and consumed the characters of both wrestlers. In the Wrestling/{{WWE}} world, with its three separate "brand" rosters, it can be used to move a wrestler from one brand to another. Rarely, if ever, does a LoserLeavesTown match result in the loser actually quitting wrestling; however, Gorilla Monsoon's last wrestling match was a LoserLeavesTown match that he lost.

** It is also worth noting that after losing a LoserLeavesTown match to [[Wrestling/CurtHennig Mr. Perfect]] in 1993, Flair did not return to WWE until 2001 - and then only because he had ({{kayfabe}}) bought a 50% share in the company.

* Wrestling/MercedesMartinez beat [[AtrociousAlias Pune Tang]] in a loser gets ''deported'' match. Two years later, [[YouLookFamiliar Sumie Sakai would make her debut on the same program.]]

** Trixie's demand to Twilight Sparkle in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E5MagicDuel Magic Duel]]". And Twilight actually gets kicked out! In the best spirit of the show Twilight uses lies, trickery and deceit to return and beat Trixie in a rematch.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop'' had wrestling champion "The Incredible Bulk Brogan" declare one of these. It turned out the reason why is that he didn't want to wrestle anymore and needed a way to bow out.

[[folder:Everything else]]

* VideoGame Example: VideoGame/{{DefJam|Series}}: Fight For NY has [[Music/SnoopDogg Crow]] challenge [[ChristoperJudge D-Mob]] to one of these, with the stipulation [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments "Loser goes to Jersey"]].
* Another video game Example: Mac's Last Stand in VideoGame/PunchOut (Wii version). Except that Mac needs to lose three matches to end his career. (This was actually the standard in Punch-Out for the NES.)

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' a witch that loses a duel will generally leave town. Being publicly defeated makes it hard to maintain authority, and most witches are proud enough not to want to stick around people who've seen them lose.

** This trope becomes more appropriate in sports leagues around the world that have a system of promotion and relegation, in which the worst-performing team(s) are sent to a lower-tiered league in exchange for the best-performing team(s) in the league below. Thus, some late-season matchups between two relegation-threatened teams might have a Loser Leaves Town feel to them. This system is standard in European [[UsefulNotes/FootyLeagues football leagues]] and most other team sports in Europe.
*** Uniquely among individual sports, sumo wrestling in Japan uses promotion and relegation, with the exception that any sumo wrestler who achieves the highest rank of Yokozuna can never be relegated out of the top level no matter what. Instead, a Yokozuna is supposed to as a matter of honor retire when he can no longer compete at the highest level.

* Wrestling/ShawnMichaels was so desperate to end The Undertaker's Wrestlemania win streak, he agreed to put his career on the line at ''Wrestlemania XXVI''. Unfortunately for him, he failed to end 'Taker's streak. Michaels has made a point to make the stipulation stick, though he still appears for WWE from time to time.

** This trope becomes more appropriate in sports leagues around the world that have a system of promotion and relegation, in which the worst-performing team(s) are sent to a lower-tiered league in exchange for the best-performing team(s) in the league below. Thus, some late-season matchups between two relegation-threatened teams might have a Loser Leaves Town feel to them. This system is standard in European [[FootyLeagues football leagues]] and most other team sports in Europe.

* Trixie's demand to Twilight Sparkle in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E5MagicDuel Magic Duel]]" on ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic]]''.

A Loser Leaves Town match originated in the old "territory" days of wrestling, where a common tactic would be to bring in a new wrestler, establish him as a MonsterHeel through [[SquashMatch Squash Matches]], then put him in a series of matches against the promotion's top {{face}}. After the heel had served his purpose, the face would cap off the feud by defeating him in a Loser Leaves Town match. The heel would disappear forever (usually just to one of the many other wrestling territories that existed in that day) and the face would move on to the next contender.