As a professional wrestler, you must behave in a professional manner. When this does not happen, you might end up on the WWE blacklist! Here are some of the wrestlers who were (or still are) on the WWE blacklist.
Jeff Jarrett
Many believe that the main reason why Jeff Jarrett has been blacklisted by the WWE is that he is one of the founders of Impact Wrestling. However, another reason is alleged to be the cause of his blacklisted status.
When Jarrett still worked for the WWE, it is claimed that Jarrett and Russo were delaying his title defense to the No Mercy pay-per-view and squeeze some money out of Vince; this is the pay-per-view were Jarrett would drop the title to Chyna. Unfortunately for Vince, Jarrett could get an extra $300,000 before his departure. Naturally, Vince was more than happy to lay the firing on Jarrett on-screen. Jarrett was blacklisted until being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.
Randy Savage
The following story is considered a bit of an urban myth at this point, but many believe that this is the cause of the relationship between Vince McMahon and Randy Savage souring.
During 1993, it is believed there was a romantic relationship between Vince’s daughter Stephanie McMahon and Randy Savage. Considering Stephanie was 17 and Savage 40, this was quite the shock for poor Vince.
Even though officials have denied the claim for years, Randy Savage left the WWE abruptly in 1994 and was blackballed by the company since his departure. Whatever happened, it must have been serious for the WWE to have such a serious response. Decades later, and after Savage’s death, his family and WWE made amends and the legend made it to the WWE Hall of Fame.
This next wrestler will be banned from WWE forever. And that’s the way it should be.
Chris Benoit
The story of Chris Benoit is quite tragic, and certainly does not require repeating again. However, because of his actions leading up to his death, Vince McMahon decided to blacklist the former champion. Now, wrestlers are forbidden to mention Chris Benoit’s name in WWE programming. Expect it to be that for a while.
Chyna
The reasons why my favorite female wrestler of all time got blacklisted by the WWE are incredibly complicated. The WWE never spoke out much about why Chyna was treated the way she was, despite being one of the biggest people on their roster. However, Chyna did explain things on her social media, claiming that Stephanie McMahon stealing her then-boyfriend Triple H gave the company cause to get rid of her.
Unfortunately, things went downhill for Chyna after her departure. Many believe the betrayal led to her untimely death. The sad thing? This amazing athlete is still not in the Hall of Fame, but still on the blacklist at the time of this article. I am certainly one of those people who will try to get Chyna the spot she deserves more than some people in the Hall of Fame!
What Is the Impact of Blacklisting in My Opinion?
Aside from the wrestlers I’ve already mentioned, there are more that received a blacklisted status from the WWE; this includes Madusa, CM Punk, Teddy Hart, Hulk Hogan, and more.
Blacklisting nowadays has less of an effect than it used to since wrestlers now have many indies where they can work and earn a similar amount of money. However, blacklisting could show a lack of professionalism and cause potential employers to turn the wrestler in question away.
Of course, the WWE has used blacklisting as a weapon to cover their own dirty laundry, just think about CM Punk and Chyna. So, is it a matter of the company being unfair? Or genuine reasons for blacklisting? Who knows!
Do you believe the WWE is using the blacklisting system fairly? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.