The Cobra Kai Character Who’s Won The Most Fights In Every Rivalry

Cobra Kai is a powerful story of trust, determination, and, very often, bitter rivalries between members of different dojos. Cobra Kai began streaming on Netflix in 2018. The series is a spin-off from the early The Karate Kid movies starring Ralph Macchio as a young man, Daniel LaRusso, who struggles to fit in at a new school. Through the friendship and training he received from a karate master, Mr. Miyagi. The show carried the legacy forward with LaRusso going on to achieve great things in his life.

He started a beautiful family, became a successful businessman, and led a good life. However, his past comes back to haunt him in the form of his old karate rival, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), reopens his old dojo, Cobra Kai. The events that follow feature several rivalries between the two grown men who are in some ways stuck in their past, with Johnny grieving his loss in the All-Valley, and LaRusso struggling to accept the loss of the now deceased Mr. Miyagi, and other karate prodigies who latch on to a rival.

7
Samantha LaRusso Vs. Tory Nichols

Most Wins: Tory Nichols

One of the most intense rivalries on the show is between Sam LaRusso, and Tory Nichols. The two girls hail from two different dojos, with Sam studying in her fathers Miyagi-do, and Tory being a devout Cobra Kai, but their differences run much deeper. Sam has been fortunate enough to be born into a wealthy family, and when it comes to money, Sam wants for nothing. Tory on the other hand is in the complete opposite boat, with a sick mother, younger siblings to care for, and her working multiple jobs despite her young age to keep the family afloat.

Adding to the pressure that causes their rivalry, both girls have dated and harbored strong feelings for Miguel, before eventually switching, and Tory began dating Robby, while Sam rekindled her close relationship with Miguel. The girls have had some savage fights, at school, in the LaRusso home, the arcades, and in the All-Valley tournament. For most of these fights, Tory has managed to get the advantage, with Sam developing crippling anxiety that stopped her from effectively fighting back. In addition, their latest fight at the All-Valley should have been Sam’s win, but Silver bribed the coach to rig the match.

6
Daniel LaRusso Vs. Johnny Lawrence

Most Wins: Daniel LaRusso

Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence have been mortal enemies since 1984’s The Karate Kid. While Johnny studied under the brutal and aggressive tutelage of sensei Kreese, Daniel was the original underdog. Johnny grew up wealthy, and he had his dream girlfriend in high school. However, things changed entirely when his sensei encouraged him to break Daniel’s leg in the All-Valley, in order to cheat his way to the top. Johnny followed the advice, and still lost.

Since then, Johnny resents Daniel for ruining his life. He began the Cobra Kai series as a drunk, who frequently got into fights and had no relationship with his own son. However, Johnny has cleaned up his act a lot, and become a worthy adversary, and occasionally ally to Daniel and their joint dojo. Despite this, the pair have had more than a few fights, and in most cases, the fight is interrupted before they go too far. However, Daniel is currently in the lead between his All-Valley win, and their more minor scuffles.

5
Robby Keene Vs. Miguel Diaz

Most Wins: Robby Keene

Robby and Miguel have a complicated history in Cobra Kai. Robby is the estranged son of Johnny Lawrence, while Miguel, is the kid next door, who is being raised by his single mother and his grandmother. Miguel discovers that the old drunk neighbor, Lawrence, is actually a talented fighter, and seeks out his coaching to learn to defend himself. The pair develop a strong bond, similar to that between a father and son, and when Robby is on a major low, he discovers his absent father is dedicating his time and attention to this random kid.

At the same time, Miguel is dating Daniel LaRusso’s daughter Sam, and finds out that Robby is actually living in her home and being trained in karate by her father in private sessions with Sam. Understandably, both boys take offense, and based on their limited knowledge, they develop strong disdain toward each other. The pair have fought in the All-Valley, which Robby won, and in more informal settings, but the most damning fight saw Robby win in the most dishonorable way, kicking Miguel over a staircase and causing him to temporarily lose the ability to walk.

4
Demetri Vs. Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz

Most Wins: Eli “Hawk Moskowitz

Demetri and Eli Moskowitz started the series as inseparable best friends. Both boys are nerdy, and share passions for pop culture like Star Wars, comic books, and video games. However, when Eli became fed up of others bullying him for his appearance, he shaved his head, and styled it into a mohawk, before giving himself a new nickname, and by extension, a new identity, as “Hawk.” In the weeks and months that followed this change, Hawk distanced himself from his friend, and Demetri struggled to learn karate at the Miyagi-do.

With both boys studying in opposing dojos, their was an inherent air of competition, but Hawk and Cobra Kai took that to extremes. On more than one occasion, Hawk actively bullied, and beat his former best friend, even breaking his arm at one point. Hawk eventually saw the error in his ways and chose to turn away from Cobra Kai, a short time after Demetri finally managed to refine his karate skills to the point of winning a fight. However, Hawk is still in the lead as the superior fighter, both with and without dirty methods.

3
Daniel LaRusso Vs. Terry Silver

Most Wins: Daniel LaRusso

While LaRusso initially had a rivalry with Johnny Lawrence, he came to see that Lawrence was being led down a darker path by men like John Kreese. As LaRusso and Lawrence teamed up to face Kreese and hopefully send him packing, Kreese brought in an old army friend, Terry Silver to help him whip Cobra Kai into shape. However, Silver proved to be even worse, and more aggressive than Kreese, choosing to frame Kreese for a brutal crime that he staged to look like Kreese was to blame.

Silver had no issues with beating students, and trying to truly sabotage and destroy others personal lives, all in order to pursue his passion project of expanding Cobra Kai. Fortunately, LaRusso and his friends found ways to prove Silver was a criminal, but not before LaRusso and Silver locked into an intense battle, where Silver actually tried to kill LaRusso. However, LaRusso was able to use his learning of Miyagi-do, and Cobra Kai karate to defeat Silver, and remain mostly unharmed.

2
Anthony LaRusso Vs. Kenny Payne

Most Wins: Kenny Payne

Kenny first joined Cobra Kai in season 4, before becoming a more central character in the series. Kenny is an army kid, who has moved from school to school, and when he arrives at the same school where Daniel LaRusso’s son Anthony is a student, he hopes to make friends. However, Anthony and his friends take an instant and intense dislike toward Kenny, and they relentlessly bully him. This leads Kenny to studying martial arts at Cobra Kai.

In a short span of time, Kenny learns to master Cobra Kai techniques, and he actively adopts the teachings to “Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy.” Kenny returns to school with more confidence, and prepared to face his bullies, before unleashing his skills and proving that he is no pushover. However, Kenny may be at risk of taking things too far, as despite his bullies backing off, and having embarrassed and beaten Anthony on multiple occasions, the Cobra Kai teachings are leading Kenny on a dark path toward more revenge, pain and suffering.

1
Mitch Vs. Chris

Most Wins: Chris

Finally, the last rivalry of the series may be one of the most underrated, but also one of the most shocking. Mitch and Chris both joined Cobra Kai at the same time, and the pair were initially best friends before and during their time there. However, Chris felt uncomfortable with how intense and aggressive the Cobra Kai teachings were, so he left to join Miyagi-do. Sometime later, when Cobra Kai was taken over by Kreese, Mitch was forced to fight an athletic newcomer, and he lost.

Kreese kicked Mitch out, and Mitch went to train with his old sensei, Johnny Lawrence, in the newly formed Eagle Fang dojo. A part of the Eagle Fang dojo was some hazing from others in the group, which meant that Mitch was given less flattering nicknames. In a shock twist during Cobra Kai season 5, Mitch reveals that he grew tired of the nicknames, and chose to work as a spy for Cobra Kai, and against his friends, like Chris. The former friends battle after this revelation for the third time, where Chris manages to win for a third time.