Professional wrestling has seen the use of blood throughout its history, including in WWE, in which both blading and fake blood have been used over the years to add suspense, violence, and realism to a game. However, in 2008, the common use of blood in WWE came to an abrupt end, and it was all down to Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels, who, during their incredible feud in 2008, had a match that led to WWE being banned. the blood in the company. Blood in WWE has arisen from time to time, but only in special circumstances or due to an accident.
Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels developed a personal and physical rivalry
In 2008, Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels began a rivalry that began in 2003, when the pair squared off in a classic match at WrestleMania 19. It began on fairly friendly terms, when Jericho became involved in a rivalry between Michaels and Batista. During a match that had Jericho as the guest referee, Michaels faked an injury to gain an advantage. Jericho felt that this betrayed the trust and respect he had for his hero.
This led to a heel turn for Jericho, who would smash Michaels head through the jerithron 6000 in an edition of the Highlight Reel, in what was an iconic moment. During this, Jericho had injured Michaels’ eye, causing a true cut. Their bad blood led to a match at the Great American Bash PPV, where the pair squared off in what was a tremendously violent, physical, and bloody affair, one that was so gory that it would have huge ramifications for WWE’s future going forward. .
A gruesome match between Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels caused WWE to ban Blood
During the match, Jericho would attack Michaels’ already injured eye in a physical attack, causing it to be cut open and bled. Blood in matches had always been something in professional wrestling that helped elevate matches, with classic WWE examples including Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 and a gruesome battle between Eddie Guerrero and JBL. However, when Michaels and Jericho squared off, WWE was in the midst of transitioning into the PG Era, with the Great American Bash being the last official PPV of the Ruthless Aggression Era.
Due to WWE switching to a more family-friendly, kid-friendly product, this match was pretty bad in Vince McMahon’s case. Michaels was absolutely drenched in his own blood in a hard to see sight. On the Talk is Jericho podcast, Jericho explained that it was this match that led WWE to decide to remove the blood and ban it. “It’s very much the reason we’re moving away from blood. Shawn got a lot of blood in that first match of the series, just a normal match where he got color. I think it was in Omaha or something. Or somewhere in Kansas, Wichita, maybe. So much blood that Vince said, ‘We’re done. No more blood.’”
From there, the entire WWE landscape would change, as there was less “attitude” and “ruthless aggression”, and the stories were much simpler and more familiar. However, WWE still found ways to make the matches intense and physical, for example the additional matches in the series between Jericho and Michaels. At the Unforgiven pay-per-view, the pair wrestled in an Unsanctioned match, and then again at the No Mercy pay-per-view in a ladder match. The quality of these matchups showed that matches don’t necessarily need color to be successful and evoke emotions.
WWE became very strict on the use of blood
WWE put their foot firmly on the ground from this point on, with an example later that same year once again involving Chris Jericho. During a Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship between Jericho and Batista, the latter would open up to try and make the match more physical and brutal. However, due to Vince McMahon’s blood ban, Batista was allegedly fined between $100,000 and $150,000, which was a huge sum, but it showed how strict the company had become on the issue.
Since 2008, there have been countless bloodless classics, though when it comes to the truly personal rivalries and matches that take place in the Hell in a Cell structure, the Crimson Masks are sorely missed, even if it’s definitely safer for the performers, and the content is undoubtedly more inclusive. The blood ban probably would have happened somewhere along the way, even without this match, but Michaels’ bloodied and battered performance at the Great American Bash accelerated this process and forced WWE into a corner in terms of making a decision at once. for all. for all.