Dragon Ball: Ranking Vegeta's Biggest Wins

It has become a running joke in the Dragon Ball franchise that the Prince of the Saiyans will enter into a fight, destined to lose. Vegeta hasn’t just had a difficult time keeping up with Goku’s pace, the former villain turned Z-Fighter has been struggling to score wins when facing more powerful opponents across the shonen franchise. Surprisingly, Vegeta might have won more fights than you expect, and we’re here to rank the best wins that the Saiyan Prince has netted during his anime career.

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10.) Nappa (The Saiyan Saga)

You can’t even really qualify the confrontation between Vegeta and Nappa during the Saiyan Saga as a fight, but you sure can qualify it as a victory for the Saiyan Prince. Once Nappa finds himself losing his fight against Kakarot during their one-on-one battle, Vegeta finds that his bald partner’s usefulness has come to an end. Not even feeling the need to let loose with a Galick Gun, Vegeta simply flexes and unleashes an energy wave that atomizes his fellow Saiyan. Hilariously, Nappa would return during the events of Dragon Ball GT’s Super 17 Saga and would die by Vegeta’s hands once again.

9.) Frieza’s Forces on Namek (Frieza Saga)

This might be a bit of a cheat, but seeing Vegeta tear his way through scores of Frieza’s forces should count as one giant campaign for the Prince of all Saiyans. Defeating the likes of Cui, Dodoria, and Zarbon, Vegeta makes up for his loss on Earth by taking down many of his comrades who had been disparaging him behind his back. Beginning his reign of terror amongst the Frieza Force, he lost his initial fight against Zarbon but would go on to tear through him in the same vein as Dodoria and Cui. This campaign made for a cathartic tirade for Vegeta, if nothing else.

8.) Second-Form Cell (Cell Saga)

If there was ever a bigger example of “fumbling the bag” than Vegeta’s fight against Semi-Perfect Cell in Dragon Ball Z, we’d love to hear it. The Saiyan Prince claimed victory in record time against the creation of Dr. Gero, but threw his victory away when he learned that Cell was one step away from perfection. With Cell tearing his way through the Androids, Piccolo, and Tenshinhan, Vegeta had the perfect chance to become the savior of the Earth, even beating Son Goku to the punch. Like many other times in Vegeta’s life, his victory was undone thanks to his pride as he allowed the biological terror to attain his ultimate form.

7.) Frost (Universe 6 Saga)

The Universe 6 Saga might get lost in the Dragon Ball Super shuffle thanks to arcs like the Goku Black Arc and the Tournament of Power, but this storyline was quite big when it hit the sequel series. While the arc did introduce the likes of Cabba and Hit, the arrival of Frost turned quite a few heads, presenting a being who was, seemingly, a heroic version of Frieza. Of course, this turned out not to be true as he used an ace up his sleeve to defeat Piccolo. In a fairly decisive victory, Vegeta knocks Frost out of the ring and in a way, claims the victory against Frieza that he was never able to during the Frieza Saga.

6.) Tamigami #2 (Dragon Ball Daima)

During the events of Dragon Ball Daima, the camera was mostly focused on Goku and his eventual unveiling of Super Saiyan 4 to cap off the spin-off series. Luckily, the anime series gave Vegeta a moment that fans had been waiting to see for decades. In fighting against a keeper of the Demon Realm’s Dragon Balls, the Saiyan Prince finally transforms into a Super Saiyan 3, noting that he had done some off-screen training to achieve the form. While the Prince of all Saiyans overpowers Tamigami #2, the riddle at the end to attain the dragon ball was almost much more difficult than the fight itself.

5.) Toppo (Tournament of Power)

Toppo became a force of nature during the Tournament of Power, as the Universe 11 resident was always a powerhouse when he fought the likes of Goku and Frieza in the past. Once the Pride Trooper revealed that he was a “God of Destruction in Training,” he made mincemeat of Frieza and had a one-on-one fight against Vegeta. Rather than losing in the same way as the alien despot did, the Saiyan Prince unleashed a new iteration of Super Saiyan Blue, utilizing his “self-sacrifice move” to put a nail in Toppo’s coffin. Luckily for Vegeta, this time around, he didn’t kill himself when unleashing his power in the same way he had against Majin Buu. With this being one of the last fights for Vegeta in the Dragon Ball Super television series, what a way to put a pin in the Z-fighter’s Tournament of Power run.

4.) Pui Pui (Majin Buu Saga)

When Babidi unleashed his forces to drain energy from the Z-Fighters to awaken Majin Buu, not even the Supreme Kai saw the Saiyans’ strength coming. While Goku showed his stuff while fighting against Yakon, the Saiyan Prince completely trounced Pui Pui in a way that almost made you feel bad for the alien henchman. Pui Pui might hold the title for the most humiliating defeat in series history, believing that upping the gravity to ten times would be enough to net him victory. With a few blows and an energy blast that atomized the Majin Buu enthusiast, this made for a big cathartic moment for Vegeta.

3.) Goku (Saiyan Saga)

This will be a controversial take, but Vegeta scored the win during his first fight with Son Goku. If he hadn’t toyed with Goku, the Saiyan Prince would have, quite possibly, destroyed the Earth and killed the other Z-Fighters in rapid succession. You might think that Vegeta using his “Oozaru transformation” might be cheating but how is it any more of a cheat than Goku’s Kaioken and/or his Spirit Bomb attack? If a fighter can utilize a transformation or technique, that should be fair game. Vegeta scores a definitive victory against Goku, and if Son didn’t have some serious back-up, we can’t imagine that this one-on-one fight would end any other way aside from the former villain winning it all.

2.) Android 19 (Android Saga)

Vegeta’s fight against Android 19 is arguably the most cathartic victory the Saiyan Prince had in Dragon Ball Z history, arriving on the scene immediately after Goku loses and revealing that he attained the Super Saiyan transformation. The energy-absorbing android went from on top of the world to immediately quaking in fear, with Vegeta basking in the glow of his own aura and his coming victory. Unveiling his “Big Bang Attack”, Android 19 is completely eradicated and gives shonen fans what is arguably Vegeta’s biggest win, if not for one.

1.) Babidi And Majin Buu (Majin Buu Saga)

While Vegeta wasn’t able to put the nail in Majin Buu’s coffin, his victory against Babidi’s magic and the pink powerhouse represented the Saiyan Prince’s biggest victory. Not only did it prove Vegeta’s mettle, but it was also a major victory that he won against his inner demons, putting aside his hatred of Goku and his past as a destroyer. His speech, focusing on his “pride”, is routinely thought of as one of the best moments focusing on Vegeta in history, and it’s well-earned.