10 Wrestlers Who Were Cut From Video Games
2. WWE SmackDown Vs. Raw 2008 – Chris Benoit
The unique selling point of SVR 2008 was its inclusion of the resurrected ECW brand. Though WWE took everything we loved about the original Extreme Championship Wrestling and turned it into a glorified Sunday Night Heat, with its inclusion came CM Punk and ECW Originals Sabu and The Sandman.
The most justified cut on the list, Chris Benoit was fully developed and rendered in the game that was released in November 2007, mere months after the Benoit Family tragedy. No more needs to be added to the discussion of Benoit's twisted and heinous actions against his wife and son. Whatever your opinion on where blame lies, we can all agree it was a tragedy.
Although he was not the moves' inventor, the cross-face and diving headbutt moves were also removed from the game due to their close relation to Benoit. These cuts were consistent across all console ports.
With distance from the crime and some fans being able to separate the wrestling from the wrestler in a way the art world is often compelled to do, there are fan-made Create-A-Wrestler Chris Benoits filling this void. He will never officially appear in future releases.