Don't care about some reputation. Seriously, don't.
Interesting idea, but I don't see how any of this would keep Liu Kang from being blindsided by Quan Chi so that Shang could snap his neck. Liu Kang would still be seen as a tremendous obstacle and Raiden would most likely have to stop the Deadly Alliance from forming to keep his death from occurring.
If Liu Kang didn't win any of the tournaments, though, Shang and Quan Chi would really have no reason to want to kill him.