Cobra Kai Stars Reveal Their Pick to Win in Real-Life Tournament

The fifth season of Cobra Kai hits Netflix later this week and is set to find Daniel and Johnny in their most vulnerable position to date with Terry Silver’s Cobra Kai empire having rapidly expanded across town, and his victory at the tournament forcing Miyagi-Do to close its doors. But when it comes to who would win in a real-life tournament among the cast, the stars of the fan favorite series have some pretty interesting ideas about who among them would be victorious.

Speaking with ComicBook.com, the cast of Cobra Kai largely was in agreement that Tanner Buchanan, who plays Robby Keene, would be the ultimate victor though William Zabka and Ralph Macchio had a somewhat differing opinion.

“Stingray,” Zabka said, referring to Paul Walter Houser’s character.

“Stingray all the way,” Macchio added. “He evolves and gets better every season.

The rest of the cast, however, felt pretty strongly that it would be Buchanan, though Donna O’Brien did suggest that Xolo Maridueña could be a contender as well. Mary Mouser, who plays Samantha LaRusso, also suggested that Jacob Bertrand could also be a contender, though she thought Tanner would get her vote.

“I would vote Tanner or Jacob,” Mouser said.

As for Season 5 of Cobra Kai, the final scene of Season 4 showed Daniel reuniting with Chozen, his former rival, hoping that together the could take down Silver and his dojo. Following the debut of Season 4, series co-creator Hayden Schlossberg told ComicBook.com that that surprise cameo could have important meaning in Season 5.

“When Daniel went to Okinawa [in Cobra Kai Season 3], we saw that Chozen had lived this life of shame, coming off the events of Karate Kid II,” explained Cobra Kai co-creator Hayden Schlossberg. “And that Daniel coming to Okinawa gave him an opportunity to redeem himself in his eyes. And we always felt that he showed him a couple moves, but he’s always going to feel that responsibility to help Daniel.”

“And so, the fact that at the end of Season 4, things are worse than they’ve ever been,” he continued. “Cobra Kai is more popular than it’s ever been, with Terry Silver relishing it and in full force and Daniel supposedly having to shut down Miyagi Do. That when you think about it from Daniel’s perspective, what does he have to come back from this?”

Cobra Kai Season 5 is set to debut on Netflix on September 9th.