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WWE is the biggest professional wrestling company in the world, and like every other big corporation, it is surrounded by controversies occasionally, too.
The Stamford-based promotion has employed many wrestlers in its rich history who have landed in hot water over the years. If the controversy a star is involved in sheds a bad light on the company, it tries to avoid mentioning that specific individual on its programming and sometimes removes all mentions of them from its content.
In this article, we will look at ten superstars WWE has tried to erase from its history.
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#10 Brock Lesnar after his name was allegedly associated with the Vince McMahon sex trafficking scandal
The latest name that is seemingly being erased from WWE's history is Brock Lesnar.
Last month, Janel Grant, a former employee of the company, filed a lawsuit against Vince McMahon. Grant seemingly claimed that McMahon gave her phone number to a former WWE and UFC Champion, who demanded inappropriate things from her. Many believe the star referenced in the lawsuit is Lesnar.
The Beast Incarnate was reportedly set to return to the promotion in the 2024 men's Royal Rumble match and face "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio at Elimination Chamber later this month. However, plans for his potential comeback were scrapped after details of the lawsuit surfaced online.
The multi-time world champion was removed from the WWE Supercard Digital Collectible game and WWE 2K24's "Forty Years of WrestleMania" showcase cover.
The company reportedly plans to avoid referencing him until the lawsuit is settled.
#9 Jon Moxley after he debuted in AEW
Jon Moxley, formerly known as Dean Ambrose in WWE, parted ways with the Stamford-based promotion in 2019 after his contract expired. He showed up in AEW in May of that year.
Although the company still acknowledges him sometimes, it tries to avoid mentioning him as much as possible. Before the 2023 Money in the Bank Premium Live Event, the promotion released a video that featured the Money in the Bank Ladder match's history.
The company noted in the video that five stars in its history have cashed in the Money in the Bank contract the same night they won it. Kane, Alexa Bliss, Bayley, and Liv Morgan were featured in it, but Moxley, who cashed in his contract the same night he won it in 2016, was excluded from the package.
In 2022, the company celebrated The Shield's tenth anniversary, and they tried to put very little focus on Moxley.
In an article titled "WWE celebrates a decade of Roman Reigns and Seth "Freakin" Rollins throughout November," posted on its website, the company wrote:
"Ten years ago this month, the WWE Universe was first introduced to two superstars who would go on to change the face of sports entertainment, Roman Reigns and Seth “Freakin” Rollins."
Although the promotion briefly mentioned Moxley, it did not highlight the star's contributions to the iconic faction:
"Alongside their Shield teammate Dean Ambrose, Reigns and Rollins emerged from the crowd on Nov. 18, 2012, to interrupt the main event of that year’s Survivor Series, setting in motion two careers that have forever since been intertwined."
#8 CM Punk after he walked out of WWE
After being unhappy with his creative direction in WWE for a while, CM Punk finally walked out of the company following Royal Rumble 2014. The Best in the World and World Wrestling Entertainment kept taking shots at each other occasionally. The company even tried to erase him from its history.
The company avoided acknowledging anything related to him for a long time, including his historic 434-day-long WWE Championship reign. Before last year's Money in the Bank Premium Live Event, WWE only acknowledged Edge and The Miz as the two stars who successfully cashed in their MITB contracts twice. They made no reference to Punk, who achieved the same feat in 2008 and 2009.
The multi-time world champion returned to the promotion at Survivor Series last year, which is why he is again a part of the Stamford-based promotion's history.
#7 AJ Lee after she left WWE
AJ Lee, the wife of CM Punk, retired from pro wrestling after teaming up with Paige and Naomi against The Bella Twins and Natalya for a six-woman tag team match on the RAW after WrestleMania 31.
After the former Divas Champion left WWE, the company tried to erase her from its history, probably due to her relationship with Punk.
They booked Nikki Bella to win the Divas Championship in 2014. She held the title for 301 days to become the longest-reigning Divas Champion in history, surpassing Lee's record of 295 days as champion.
Booking Bella to drop the title to Charlotte Flair at Night of Champions 2015 immediately after she broke Lee's record made many fans think that they just gave the title to the WWE Hall of Famer in an attempt to erase the latter's name from the history books.
A year after Bella broke Lee's record, a WWE 24 documentary about the Women's Revolution was released on the WWE Network, and it made no references to Lee, who undoubtedly played a significant role in the positive change.
Big E also hinted at the end of 2015 that he was not allowed to name Lee while recalling his team with Dolph Ziggler and the former Divas Champion:
"What the hell am I supposed to do now!?! Can't go back to @HEELZiggler & the woman who's name is not to be uttered."
#6 Hulk Hogan after his racist comments leaked online
Hulk Hogan is considered one of the most influential names in pro wrestling, but even he was erased from WWE's history at one point.
In 2015, an audio from 2007 in which he was using racial slurs leaked online, which led to WWE immediately firing him.
The Hulkster was excluded from the company's Hall of Fame, and all references to him were removed from the official website. He was also replaced by The Miz as the judge of Tough Enough that year.
It was not until 2018 that the Vince McMahon-led management decided to reinstate him into the Hall of Fame. Since then, he has made several appearances on television.
#5 Sasha Banks after she walked out of RAW
Sasha Banks (now Mercedes Moné) was one of the biggest stars in WWE at one point. She had a magnificent run with the company until May 2022, when she walked out after an alleged disagreement over creative plans for her and her then-tag team partner, Naomi.
The Boss main evented night one of WrestleMania 37, where she dropped the SmackDown Women's Championship to Bianca Belair. She then captured the Women's Tag Team Championship alongside Naomi at WrestleMania 38.
After Banks walked out, the Stamford-based promotion confiscated signs fans brought to events to show support for her. After her release was confirmed, the company avoided mentioning her on any of its programming.
A couple of days after she was spotted in the crowd at AEW All In last year, WWE Network's Twitter account shared a video of Bayley's heel turn in which Banks was cropped out.
It does not look like Banks will be acknowledged much by her former employer in the foreseeable future, as she is rumored to debut in AEW soon.
#4 Jimmy Snuka after he was accused of murdering his girlfriend
The late Jimmy Snuka is mainly known for being The Undertaker's first victim at The Show of Shows.
He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996 and was removed from it in 2015 after he was charged with involuntary manslaughter and third-degree murder of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino.
The company has avoided mentioning him since then and even took away his daughter Tamina's last name from her. The Superfly passed away due to stomach cancer at the start of 2017.
#3 Chyna after she joined the adult entertainment industry
Chyna was arguably the most influential female wrestler to enter the squared circle. To this day, she remains the only woman to hold the Intercontinental Championship.
The Ninth Wonder of the World seemingly parted ways with the Stamford-based promotion due to her complicated relationship with Triple H, who was dating Stephanie McMahon then.
After hanging up her boots, Chyna decided to join the adult entertainment industry, which led to WWE blackballing her from the company. She was not acknowledged by the company until her passing in 2016.
#2 Chris Benoit after his death
One of the most successful pro wrestlers to be erased from WWE's history is Chris Benoit. He is someone who will most likely never be acknowledged by the company ever again.
Two decades ago, The Rabbid Wolverine defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels in the main event of WrestleMania 20 to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Three years after standing tall at the end of one of the most iconic WrestleMania events ever, Benoit committed suicide after allegedly killing his wife and son.
After details of the tragic incident came out, WWE never mentioned the former World Heavyweight Champion again.
#1 Roman Reigns after he pulled out of WrestleMania 36
Roman Reigns has been one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling over the past decade. He has won multiple championships and headlined seven WrestleMania events so far and is on his way to headlining his eighth Show of Shows this year.
The Tribal Chief was slated to challenge Goldberg for the Universal Championship in the main event of the first night of WrestleMania 36 back in 2020, but he pulled out from the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After already being immunocompromised due to his battle against leukemia in the past, The Head of the Table chose not to participate in the event.
The company replaced him in the match with Braun Strowman and did not give any proper explanation for Reigns' sudden disappearance on television. They avoided mentioning him on their programming until he returned at SummerSlam 2020.
They edited him out of certain footage, like his involvement in the main event of WrestleMania 31 when showing Seth Rollins' cash-in at the event on an episode of RAW in May 2020.
