Bringing Back Some Blood - Yes or No?

[Twocenter]

I am going to express my opinions in two ways.

Yes, I want blood: I think blood should be brought back for big gimmick matches which resembles the culmination of a big feud. It just adds the intensity to a feud and the match. Two men beating each other to a bloody pulp in their path to be the better man. I think feuds like Triple H vs Undertaker needs some sort of blading because these feuds needs to culminate in an effective way. It should be done indicating that it will never happen again. So I think blading should be allowed once in a blue moon just to culminate a great storyline and a gimmick match.

No, I don't want blood: This is the PG-Era. Shows are especially made kid-friendly. I see kids idolizing the wrestlers and wrestling even though they're suggested not to try. Don't you think this affects their thinking? Who knows if some kids try and attack each others with weapons for a so called match? Who will be responsible? Being a global company WWE knows what is better and they will not allow this to happen. But they can always put up a parental guide message for this. Similarly, if the bleeding is legitimate, there are a lot of chances of an infection or even transmission of some. HCV is highly likable to be transmitted if both the wrestlers are legitimately bleeding which is unlikely. Fake blading is effective so I think fake blading can be done but god forbid if they bleed legitimately.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Xumer]

I think the opinion on this is a result of not having blood for awhile. If this question were asked in the 80s where bloody cage matches were the norm, the overwhelming opinion would be "of course you need blood in a cage match". The diseases issue is way overblown. With proper testing and precautions, the risk becomes extremely small. The same issue comes up with MMA and Boxing and probably other sports as well but they deal with it and keep it as safe as possible. Also keep in mind that NO ONE is saying every wrestler has to bleed in every match. It should be reserved for special occasions and used rarely. I don't think we need blood constantly but to ban it altogether is bullshit.

 

[Shotaro]

I think WWE currently have the right idea, if a guy gets busted open he gets busted open. In most other combat sports they don't clean up blood until there is an appropriate break in the action (end of the round etc) I don't think wrestling should be any different. Blading is dangerous though and when it goes wrong it can cause all kinds of problems (Eddy Guerro's chair shot from JBL for example, or the guys who have caught hep B or C because of blading) do in general blood yes, blading no...

 

[Fear&Loathing]

Yes but only in certain events where something is really brutal or in an attack where it needs extra emphasis. Not stupidly take the piss bleeding like Ric Flair

 

[Starchild]

With the spread of diseases in the last few decades, it was only a matter of time until blood in wrestling was phased out due to safety concerns for the wrestlers. I enjoyed the Attitude Era as much as anyone and there are some iconic images and matches that just would not have been the same without the use of blood. Still though, it got to where it was every PPV and most weekly shows which was just too much, nullifying the effect it once had.

Still though, time has passed to where now someone bleeding in WWE seems like a big deal, even if it is on accident. I also like what some people have mentioned where they got away from basically pausing a match to clean up blood from someone that got busted open...that was totally ridiculous. If it happens now, it happens and that's ok it seems.

I will agree with other posters that some matches, every now and again, could be enhanced by the use of blood. Most notably I think are HIAC matches which are made to be brutal. I'm not saying all 2-3 cell matches at the PPV need to have blood...in fact, I wish they'd just get rid of the PPV altogether. But a match like Triple H vs Undertaker in HIAC at Wrestlemania, especially coming off their brawl last year...yea, that I would like to see both men busted open to get across how these two HIAC legends are giving it everything they have. As a matter of fact, I'll go on record right now and say that one way or another, we will be seeing someone bleeding pretty heavily in that match come April 1.

 

[JBK2008]

There will be a time when blood will be back in the WWE, but right now for the PG era's sake and bringing in the kids there can't be any or not a lot. Blood being spilled is a big deal and should be treated as such and when it does come back, because it will as the new youth grows up, it should be in only the most brutal of matches and situations.

 

[Xumer]

At no other time in history would it be safer disease wise to blade. Wrestlers tend to live a more healthy life in 2012 than they did in the "rock star" days of drugs and sex. Not saying everyone is clean or virgins but the lifestyle is certainly much more healthier than it was in the 70s/80s/90s. Couple that with the health and drug screens and I think you'd have to agree the chances of getting infected with something through blading is extremely small compared to what they did in the past. And even then in the wild wild west days of little to no testing, there wasn't a HUGE epidemic of infections through blading.

 

[jason420]

There will be a time when blood will be back in the WWE, but right now for the PG era's sake and bringing in the kids there can't be any or not a lot. Blood being spilled is a big deal and should be treated as such and when it does come back, because it will as the new youth grows up, it should be in only the most brutal of matches and situations.

Here's an idea: Fuck the Kids.

In the attitude era, when wwe was making money and putting seats to asses, they didnt give a shit about kids, and thats why kids (like me) loved it. Young boys want nothing more than the things they're not supposed to have.

Also there is no such thing as Sports Entertainment or the "PG era". There is only good, fun, crazy Professional Wrestling (nowadays thats ROH or Chikara) or there is the half-ass phone-it-in kiddyland crap you're being ordered to like.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Here's an idea: Fuck the Kids.

In the attitude era, when wwe was making money and putting seats to asses, they didnt give a shit about kids, and thats why kids (like me) loved it. Young boys want nothing more than the things they're not supposed to have.

Also there is no such thing as Sports Entertainment or the "PG era". There is only good, fun, crazy Professional Wrestling (nowadays thats ROH or Chikara) or there is the half-ass phone-it-in kiddyland crap you're being ordered to like.

Yea, then parental groups get set up to take you down, you lose sponsors, your wrestlers die or get hurt and have to end their careers early, Harley Race opens a company that openly voices his disdain for your product, and people in all media outlets bury you at every chance they get. Trash TV is awesome in the short run, but not in the long run. You have to escalate it. First it's just unprotected chairshots to the head (that lead to your workers murdering their family), pretty soon guys are hitting each other with barbed wire wrapped flaming 2x4s and taking 40 bumps a night, many of them high angle and they have to be fired for their own protection.

ROH fucking sucks right now BTW. This is coming from someone who has the first show on VHS.....VHS. Davey Richards is a puro mark doing puro shit, no one tells a story. At ROH's peak, they were still storytellers, that's what sells wrestling.


They don't need blood. I think for HHH vs Undertaker HIAC, blood should be used. It's that kind of match. Austin vs Hart was a big deal, in large part, because of the blood. People didn't see it very often, so the image meant more.

I say have 1 or 2 matches a year with blood. That's it. It makes more sense from a business and a storytelling perspective.

 

[jason420]

Yea, then parental groups get set up to take you down, you lose sponsors, your wrestlers die or get hurt and have to end their careers early, Harley Race opens a company that openly voices his disdain for your product, and people in all media outlets bury you at every chance they get. Trash TV is awesome in the short run, but not in the long run. You have to escalate it. First it's just unprotected chairshots to the head (that lead to your workers murdering their family), pretty soon guys are hitting each other with barbed wire wrapped flaming 2x4s and taking 40 bumps a night, many of them high angle and they have to be fired for their own protection.

ROH fucking sucks right now BTW. This is coming from someone who has the first show on VHS.....VHS. Davey Richards is a puro mark doing puro shit, no one tells a story. At ROH's peak, they were still storytellers, that's what sells wrestling.


They don't need blood. I think for HHH vs Undertaker HIAC, blood should be used. It's that kind of match. Austin vs Hart was a big deal, in large part, because of the blood. People didn't see it very often, so the image meant more.

I say have 1 or 2 matches a year with blood. That's it. It makes more sense from a business and a storytelling perspective.

I'd be happy to address your points but most of my comments get censored by the mods anyway. The mods in this forum fear freethought.

 

[Charlesworth]

Yes, bring back blood. But only in special matches. Cage matches/Hell in a Cell matches. At most one man blades per every 3rd PPV. I dont want to see crazy bloodbaths, nor do i want wrestlers in danger. Just a simple crimson mask every so often.

 

[The Crock]

There is absolutely no need for blood in the WWE. None. Blood is unnecessary, it's a crutch. I've thoroughly enjoyed the WWE product since they eliminated blood and will continue to do so; blood has no bearing on my enjoyment of the product. I'll never understand why there are so many people clamoring for something as trivial as blood. What does blood honestly offer that two performers with good knowledge of in-ring psychology can't offer? It is just as believable -- as blood -- that in a match like a Last Man Standing Match, a competitor will go after an opponent's leg and try to "break it," or something of the sort. Blood won't convince me he's any more hurt than that.

Not only do I feel blood is unnecessary, but it's unsafe -- as has been evidenced by the plethora of health risks involved in blading. I'm not just talking about transmittable diseases like AIDS or hepatitis; what about a simple mistake while blading? Eddie Guerrero sliced too deep and caught an artery back in '04, that could very easily happen to any performer trying to blade. After all, Guerrero was a veteran who had done it plenty of times before then. Look at Mass Transit, New Jack sliced TWO of that kid's arteries! A simple mistake in blading can be very, very detrimental to your health, it's as simple as that. Why would you want your performers -- who already go out and task their bodies beyond what most people can do -- to add blood loss into that equation?

I just don't see the benefit of bringing blood back into the equation and I'm sure the wrestlers will agree with me. I'm sure that if they could have had a choice, guys like Devon Dudley and Dusty Rhodes wouldn't have bladed as much (or at all), they would much rather not have those huge scars on their foreheads. Blood just plain illogical.

 

[DirtyD79]

Yes, bring back blood. But only in special matches. Cage matches/Hell in a Cell matches. At most one man blades per every 3rd PPV. I dont want to see crazy bloodbaths, nor do i want wrestlers in danger. Just a simple crimson mask every so often.

I agree it loses something if it's an all the time thing. If you see it every so often though it looks impressive and help sell that this wrestler took a real asswhoopin'. I would say bring it back but on a limited basis.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

Its only a matter of time until the WWE becomes edgier. I'm pretty sure the main reason for the attitude era was that WWE's kid audience from the 80's/early 90's were now teens and in their 20's. So to accomidate them we had a more realistic/sadistic WWE.

Now we have been in this PG era for close to 5 years. Pretty soon these kids who are all Cena and Mysterio fans are going to grow up and want a different product. Once that time comes it will be attitude era 2.0.

So once this happens we will get blood and all the other goodies of the attitude era back on RAW. Blood is a nessessary evil as you cant have steel cage and other matches like that and have your wrestlers look no worse then when the match started.

But don't be suprised to see HHH and Taker all bloody at Mania. You can't end an era without showcasing elements of said era.

 

[jason420]

Its only a matter of time until the WWE becomes edgier. I'm pretty sure the main reason for the attitude era was that WWE's kid audience from the 80's/early 90's were now teens and in their 20's. So to accomidate them we had a more realistic/sadistic WWE.

Now we have been in this PG era for close to 5 years. Pretty soon these kids who are all Cena and Mysterio fans are going to grow up and want a different product. Once that time comes it will be attitude era 2.0.

So once this happens we will get blood and all the other goodies of the attitude era back on RAW. Blood is a nessessary evil as you cant have steel cage and other matches like that and have your wrestlers look no worse then when the match started.

But don't be suprised to see HHH and Taker all bloody at Mania. You can't end an era without showcasing elements of said era.

I've thought this before too. Really hope to see it happen. I miss Tuesday being the worst day of the week because it was the furthest day from the next Raw.

 

[Jessie Lynn DivaGirl]

I wouldn't mind if they brought back blood, but I don't think it'll happen anytime soon.

I figure when they've got baby-face midcarders like Evan Bourne, Justin Gabriel, Trent Barretta, ect., they're not going to seriouslly beat these guys up until they bleed. Hell, save for Evan (ankle injury) the only on screen serious damage was some sort of neck thing.

I can see them making Cena, Punk, Jericho, ect., bloody every now and then but it won't become a reular thing until the mid-carders can be taken as serious talent.

Plus the WWE is still currently going somewhat for the younger audience and they're afriad the kids'll get "scared" if they see someone break skin. If that's the case, I have bad news for thenm. With the teenagers influencing children more and more everyday, these tykes are tough as hell. The boys will probably just cheer louder.

 

[Buds Bundy]

i dont know about everyone else but i have a strong feeling we will see blood at WM in the HIAC match just the way that promo went down a couple weeks ago between triple h and undertaker
maybe cause i was high

but my answer is yes

 

[Marv95]

Plus the WWE is still currently going somewhat for the younger audience and they're afriad the kids'll get "scared" if they see someone break skin. If that's the case, I have bad news for thenm. With the teenagers influencing children more and more everyday, these tykes are tough as hell. The boys will probably just cheer louder.

Yep. It's not the WWE's job to play babysitter or parental figure. It's their job to entertain us. So yeah, bring back some blood, even "blood tablets". Especially at ppvs or certain matches where the situation is right for blood(HIAC, Chamber, cage matches, No DQ, No Holds Barred, etc.).

 

[The Animal Batista]

I'd like to see blood return as long as it doesn't drain out or potentially hurt any performer, as a sports fan the number one thing you want is to see your athletes safe. I'd love to see it return, though. It adds realism and drama to it, makes the match look more important.