Cobra Kai’s All Valley Tournament will return in season 4, And there’s a good chance that Tory Nichols will rise up as its new champion. Over the course of the Netflix’s show’s first three seasons, the ensemble of young karate practitioners has grown substantially, which means that any number of characters have a shot at winning Cobra Kai season 4’s All Valley Tournament. However, a victory for Tory would fit particularly well with her arc on the show so far.
Tory was first introduced in Cobra Kai season 2 as a foil to Sam LaRusso. She joined the Cobra Kai dojo because she wanted to get tougher, and she quickly became one of its absolute best students. Along the way, however, Tory fell gradually to the dark side, aligning with Kreese of Johnny after their split and building more and more resentment for Sam and her friends. Going into Cobra Kai season 4, Tory is one of the two fiercest fighters remaining in Kreese’s dojo, alongside Robby Keene.
Just because Tory has fallen far doesn’t mean she can’t still find redemption, and that’s exactly a victory at the All Valley Tournament could provide. It’s unlikely that Kreese’s students will prevail while still adhering to his dangerous doctrine of violence and vengeance. However, there is a way for Tory to win on her own terms instead of Kreese’s. Here’s how, and why it would be a perfect direction for Cobra Kai season 4 to go.
Tory Is One Of Cobra Kai’s Best Fighters
When looking at the competition for Cobra Kai season 4’s All-Valley, five competitors quickly rise to the top: Tory, Robby, Miguel, Sam, and Hawk. It seems almost certain that one of those five will claim the trophy, and Tory is just as skilled and strong as the others. It’s true that Tory’s lost multiple times to Sam in the past, but that doesn’t mean she’s a worse fighter. In the school brawl, Tory was overwhelmed with rage, which clearly affected her decision making in the moment. Later, during the brawl at the LaRusso house, Tory was scared off when all of Sam’s friends came to back her up, leaving Tory outnumbered.
Beyond those losses, Tory’s record is one of the most impressive in the entire show. She’s beaten Miguel in sparring matches, gone toe-to-toe with Robby and even taught him some things, and quickly became Kreese’s prodigy once he assumed full control of the Cobra Kai dojo. The only thing holding Tory back is her anger, which, if brought under control and channeled in a more positive direction, could make her nearly unbeatable.
Tory Is The Biggest Underdog In Cobra Kai
The Karate Kid franchise is, at its barest foundation, an underdog story. It’s a story about someone with no prospects, no hope, and no initial skill, climbing to the top and triumphing over their demons. Cobra Kai is no different, as season 1 begins with Johnny at absolute rock bottom and Miguel facing severe bullying at school. The two join forces, learn from each other, and begin the journey that becomes Cobra Kai.
With that in mind, some narrative preference must go to the underdog when it comes to who wins the next All Valley. Miguel has already claimed victory in the tournament once, Sam has just about everything going for her in life, and Hawk, while an underdog, is not a character whose arc revolves around winning the All Valley Tournament. That leaves Robby and Tory, and though Robby’s certainly had some incredibly low points in Cobra Kai, Tory might be the biggest underdog in the whole show. While still a high school student, she has to take care of her bedridden mother and younger brother, work full time, pay rent, deal with gross and disgusting landlords, and still try to eke out some semblance of a positive social life. It’s a truly crushing amount of stress and responsibility for a teenager, and if Tory overcame all of those odds to win the All Valley in Cobra Kai season 4, it would be the ultimate Karate Kid story.
Sam And Tory’s Rivalry Is Far From Over
Season 4’s All-Valley Championship will be a major climax moment for Cobra Kai, which means that the two characters who enter the final match will be just as important to the story as the one who wins. It would be easy to have rivals Miguel and Robby have a rematch of their season 1 battle, but it would also be a big missed opportunity to put some other storylines in the spotlight. Miguel and Robby have already had their tournament moment, and the story of their rivalry would be better wrapped up outside the boundaries of the All Valley. Hawk, too, has already found his redemption by the end of Cobra Kai season 3, leaving him with less to prove in the tournament.
Sam and Tory’s rivalry, on the other hand, is exactly the kind of story that would be perfect for the All Valley final. The two need to settle their feud in a proper fight, where no one can run away and no one else can interfere. It’s unlikely that Sam and Tory will mend their relationship before battling again, and the All Valley Tournament might just be the right place to hash it out once and for all. In short, there’s a good chance that Tory will at least be one of the two fighters left for the championship match.
How Tory Could Win Cobra Kai Season 4’s All Valley Tournament
The biggest reason to think Tory won’t win Cobra Kai season 4’s All-Valley is that she is still, at the moment, a bad guy. She seems to have completely bought into Kreese’s brutal dogma, and with Kreese promising to leave town if Cobra Kai is defeated in the tournament, it would be pretty dark if one of his students actually took home the trophy. That’s why for Tory to win, she’ll first have to sever her close ties with her sensei and claim victory on her own terms.
As shown in Cobra Kai, Tory’s had a hard life, and Kreese is one of the few people in it who’s actually shown himself to be on her side. But at some point, she must realize that his methods are too extreme. If she reaches that point in season 4, she could enter the All Valley as an independent competitor, just as Robby did in season 1. That would allow her to win the title without getting a trophy for Kreese, and it would allow her to prove that she’s better than she was when she let her anger control her. Cobra Kai is a show about redemption, and Tory could earn hers with a victory at the season 4 All Valley Tournament.
