15 Wrestlers That Got BANNED From WWE
3. Chris Benoit
VICE's 'Dark Side Of The Ring' series was made for grim tales like the one involving Chris Benoit. Their deep dive on the gritty details of his final few days will leave you shocked even if you've read extensively about what happened. That 2007 incident forced Benoit out of the general WWE conversation for good. Today, he's never mentioned. He probably never will be again.
Benoit wrestled some of the greatest WWE matches ever, but it's understandable that the company has banned him from official streams. The ins and outs of what happened inside his family home in June '07 would make everyone's toes curl. There's just no way Triple H, like Vince McMahon before him, could be seen to celebrate the technical excellence of Chris's matches.
There's no need to. If fans want to watch some of his stuff, then it's still out there and is readily available. WWE just refuse to shout from the rooftops about how high quality it is, which is fine. Nobody can blame them for that at all.
Over 18 years have passed at time of writing, and there's still a gnawing sense of dread whenever Benoit's name is mentioned. Initially, without knowing the details, WWE ran a tribute episode in honour of the Canadian. Then, news dropped about what had gone down and everything changed. His matches didn't get the bubble treatment on the WWE Network when it launched, and he's been stricken from the records.
Again, no-one can blame WWE for how they've handled any of this. They didn't see it coming either.