Unpopular Opinion: WWE Should Bring Back Blading

Now I'm going to start this match with a small disclaimer. Blading can be incredibly dangerous and should only be used sparingly. Cutting yourself open to create blood for a match is a risky business and many people will say that it should not happen at all. To an extent, I agree. However, in this post, I will break down why I think it should be brought back.

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Source: wwe.com

WWE have had a very PG product for a long time, moving away from the need for blood to increase drama in matches. However, with the rise of All Elite Wrestling as "The Wrestling Fans' Wrestling Show", it has become apparent that certain uses of old tropes can definitely create a buzz. Cody's unprotected chair shot to the head from Shawn Spears in AEW's early days was one of their bigger talking points. Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley put forth one of the most violent nationally televised matches in decades. These things were both incredibly divisive but they got people talking and engaging with the product. WWE have had to sit up and take notice of the fact that people want variety in their wrestling and don't necessarily want to watch a vanilla product aimed at selling merch to children.

There have been some instances of WWE using blood in matches in recent years, but they have always decided that drawing colour the hard way was the way to go. Brock Lesnar has been the main proponent of this, adding heat to his matches and rivalries by going to a level of brutality that WWE doesn't really see any more. His vicious fights against Randy Orton (Summerslam 2016), John Cena (Extreme Rules 2012) and Roman Reigns (Wrestlemania 34) all benefited from the elbow strikes to the head that split his opponents open but his opponents were left worse for wear. Randy Orton came off the worst, gaining a concussion for his troubles but none of these men came out unscathed.

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Source: wwe.com

There are many examples of blood helping a feud - whether hard way or accidental - and it can be a powerful visual stimulator. The fancy flips and dominant power moves we see these days are great to watch but it has become increasingly difficult to take wrestling seriously as people getting in a ring to fight. The brutality of MMA and boxing has been lost over time, with athleticism taking the front seat. Blood in matches remind us that the risks are real and matches like Samoa Joe v Finn Balor at Take:Over Dallas and Jon Moxley v Juice Robinson at NJPW's Best of the Super Juniors last year both got an extra level of drama and investment from the crimson masks but these were both drawn hard way and the men involved ended up legitimately hurt.

Blading would help solve this issue, as the wrestler doing the blade job would be able to control the damage, rather than taking unprotected shots to the head which can lead to stitches, concussions and beyond. AEW have had blading in some of their bigger matches and we all know that Cody is a fan of a bit of colour in his matches. It's probably part of why he now sports Ric Flair-esque bleached blonde hair these days. Dustin's blade job in his match against his brother may have produced a bit too much of the red stuff for some people's taste, but it added a lot to the match and all Dustin really had to deal with after the fact was a cut on his head.

Blading has obviously gone too far sometimes, with Eddie Guerrero's gruesome encounter with JBL being the prime example. Guerrero cut himself too deep with the razor he was using and ended up bleeding out massively all over the arena. He lost a lot of blood but still only had to deal with a cut as his worst injury, recovering from the effects of the blood loss fairly quickly.

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Source: wwe.com

The main reason that I believe blading should be brought back is to protect the wrestlers. WWE have seen fit to start bringing blood into their product again and it will not do to keep having people intentionally bust each other open with hard strikes to the head and face. Concussions are a serious business and protecting wrestlers from them should be a huge priority for WWE officials, so finding a way to keep with the creative vision of the company while also protecting the performers seems to lead to blading. I don't think it should be used all the time - or even often - but sometimes blood will be used and so the safest way should be the only way. The people who will be blading need to be trained on how to do it safely, have someone overseeing them at all times and the matches need to be heavily policed and bring the blood in towards the end so that the performer spends as little time as possible bleeding in the ring.

Do you think WWE should bring back blading? Do you think hard way blood should continue? Do you think blood should be removed from the product all together? Let us know your thoughts!

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