10 Creepy Wrestling Curses

3. The SmackDown Vs. RAW Curse

Brutus Beefcake mask
THQ/WWE.com

Death once haunted professional wrestling with such totality that it was impossible to escape even in a virtual reality.

Obviously a grim coincidence doubling, unintentionally, as eerie prescience, for two years in the 2000s even WWE's video game series was cursed with the grim energy that pervaded the industry.

In SmackDown Vs. RAW 2006, chapter two of the game's story mode ('Urning Your Respect') involves Eddie Guerrero stealing the Undertaker's urn and controlling him with it. Eventually, the player assists Undertaker in returning it before 'Taker, as vengeance, slams Guerrero onto a casket with a chokeslam. The game was released on 11 November, 2005 - just two days prior to Guerrero's tragic death.

Moreover, in SmackDown Vs. RAW 2007, in the first story mode chapter 'The Rabid Wolverine and the Dead Man', the Undertaker in a backstage cut scene makes what is retrospectively a very unsettling reference to Chris Benoit's death - one more explicit than his trademark catchphrase and morbid spiel.

Again, this is less a wrestling curse, more that the machinations of professional wrestling curse so many of those who enter its domain - tragedy, almost literally, was hardcoded into the programme.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!