It Took Cobra Kai 6 Seasons To Acknowledge The Obvious Truth About Daniel's Karate Kid Win

By Daniel Bibby

Published May 6, 2025

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1984's characters in Cobra Kai consisted of new and old faces, so the show quite often referenced the movies to inform the larger narrative while also introducing original storylines. Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and his loss to Ralph Macchio's Daniel LaRusso in the 1984 movie haunted Cobra Kai throughout, but it was finally resolved near the end.

Cobra Kai was proving Johnny had always been the show's main character, despite the sometimes erratic focus on other characters within the franchise. However, such attention being paid to Johnny's redemption wouldn't have made much sense if it hadn't been for Daniel's underdog story in 1984, and Cobra Kai managed to it something about that fight just before it ended.

Cobra Kai Season 6 Acknowledged Johnny Was The Better Fighter In The Karate Kid

Johnny's Monologue Makes So Much Sense

Ahead of Miguel's fight with Axel (Patrick Luwis) in Cobra Kai's penultimate episode, Zabka's character can be seen recounting the events of the 1984 All Valley to his student and surrogate son, Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña). Johnny says during his speech to Miguel that he knows he was the better fighter when he first fought Daniel in a competitive setting. Johnny goes on to it that a big reason for his loss was due to psychological factors. In other words, Daniel knew exactly what he was fighting for, and Johnny's motivations for winning were scattered.

"You can't go into this fight thinking like that. I should know, I used to go into every fight thinking like that. It's also how I lost to LaRusso in '84. I was a way better fighter. And yeah, sure, maybe he's caught up since then...almost...but he only trained for six weeks. I should've destroyed him. I was too hell-bent on revenge for all the sh*t he'd pulled. And even though I pulled a lot of sh*t on him too, he didn't fight for revenge. He fought to honor everything he'd learned. To show guys like me that we couldn't get the best of him."

- Johnny to Miguel in Cobra Kai season 6, episode 14, "Strike Last."

Daniel, in short, was standing up for himself and his new ideals. He'd been bullied by Johnny throughout The Karate Kid and wanted to prove he wasn't a pushover. On the other hand, Johnny just seemed to want to win for the sake of winning and to save himself the embarrassment of being defeated by someone he had thought was beneath him. While Johnny was battling to avoid shame, and presumably the harsh discipline of Martin Kove's Sensei Kreese, Daniel was fighting for something that meant far more to him, which is why he came out on top.

Daniel Won, But He Was Nowhere Near Johnny's Level During The Karate Kid

Ralph Macchio's Character Was Also A Little Lucky In His 1984 Victory Over Johnny

If things had gone even slightly differently at the end of The Karate Kid, Johnny would have easily won the All Valley matchup. Daniel had barely dipped his toe into Miyagi-Do karate at that point, and had been training for a matter of weeks in preparation for the All-Valley. Inversely, Johnny was already a long-serving student of the Cobra Kai dojo. So, Johnny was understandably the favorite in 1984, which made it all the more surprising when he lost to a severely injured Daniel.

Daniel won by using Johnny's aggression against him, and also got a little bit lucky.

Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi essentially gave Daniel a crash course in what he needed to beat Johnny, and by extension, everyone else he needed to beat to get to the final. Daniel's rapid improvement over a short space of time certainly displayed a natural aptitude for martial arts, but it doesn't mean he was actually more technically proficient than Johnny in 1984. Instead, Daniel won by using Johnny's aggression against him, and also got a little bit lucky.

Daniel Eventually Caught Up With Johnny Throughout The Karate Kid Trilogy

Mr. Miyagi Continued To Train Daniel After His First All Valley Win

Cobra Kai was Zabka's proper return to the franchise, as Johnny barely featured in the original movie sequels. As such, it was tricky to tell how a rematch with Daniel would have gone during that era. Johnny was arguably always in front of Daniel in of progress within their respective forms of karate, but improvement can quickly plateau in disciplines like the martial arts. So, although Johnny doesn't arrive back on the scene until Cobra Kai, it's reasonable to assume that Daniel's continued training with Mr. Miyagi allowed him to catch up with Johnny.

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By the time of Cobra Kai's premiere, Daniel's progress hadn't been witnessed for decades, nor had Johnny's. However, it quickly became apparent that the two enemies (and eventual friends) had become equal in skill when it came to karate. Even when there was still animosity between them, there was a mutual respect that existed that proved Daniel and Johnny knew any rematches wouldn't be the same as the fight in 1984. Seeing this growth from the end of Karate Kid to the beginning of Cobra Kai is one of the franchise's most rewarding elements.