Do WWE Wrestlers Actually Bleed Real Blood?
It’s hard to trust anything you see during WWE events. The majority of every show is scripted out beforehand and carried out to perfection by trained actors (sorry if that was a ‘Santa isn’t real’ moment for you). It’s entertaining, sure. Almost everything that happens in WWE is fabricated, but what about the blood? Because of its G rating, WWE doesn’t want wrestlers to bleed on air. But obviously, mistakes happen in such a violent sport. So, do the wrestlers actually bleed real blood and how does WWE handle bloody situations?
The history of blood in WWE
Fake blood in professional wrestling can be traced back to the early 1900s. At this time, a group of con-men ran the gambling world in wrestling, and they were able to fix races using fake blood.
Wrestlers would bite down on a small bladder full of chicken blood at the end of the fight to ensure they would lose by injury stoppage. The police finally cracked down on the illegal fixing years later, but the blood didn’t go away.
In the 1930s, Kirby Watkins brought a new strategy to the wrestling world. Watkins would use his teeth, sharpened fingernails, and metal tips of his boot laces to draw blood. The technique was known as drawing “hardway” blood.
Since WWE went to a G rating, they’ve been forced to edit blood out of pictures and cut out blood from matches in general.
There have been numerous techniques used by wrestlers over the years to draw blood. WWE allowed blood in the ring until 2008. That’s when Shawn Michaels changed the sport forever.
WWE banned blood in 2008 because of Shawn Michaels
Before a few years ago, it was largely a mystery why WWE banned blood in 2008. However, Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho revealed the reason why.
In 2015, Jericho and Michaels hopped on the “Talk is Jericho” podcast to reminisce on the glory days of pro wrestling. During their conversation, Michaels told the story about why WWE chairman Vince McMahon banned blood during events.
It all started with Jericho and Michaels’ match during The Great American Bash in 2008. Jericho was named the winner after Michaels started bleeding heavily. After the match, McMahon made the announcement that blood is no longer allowed.
“Yeah, they’re no longer allowed to have blood because I got too much that night,” Michaels said. “Before the match, I begged Vince and told him ‘I have to bleed for this angle. You gotta let me get some color up over my eye,’ and he said ‘Okay, just get a little.’ For the record, I sincerely only meant to get a little. But I did it, and I hit that bad boy, and it was so awesome.”
WWE Friday Night SmackDown returns tonight
Tonight, Friday, May 29, Friday Night SmackDown returns on Fox. Jeff Hardy and Daniel Bryan will face off in one of the semifinal matches, while AJ Styles and Elias match up in the other.
Unfortunately for the fans of violence, there won’t be any blood in the ring, real or fake.
