Do WWE superstars really bleed? Why did WWE ban blading in 2008?

WWE superstars have been entertaining the wrestling community with their unparalleled stunts and in-ring strategies since its inception in the 1950s. While most of the things displayed in the sport are fabricated, WWE wrestlers take a lot of risk in performing those deadly stunts. From crashing against metal objects to banding heads over glass lights, the WWE universe has witnessed it all.

However, the biggest wrestling organisation of the world has eliminated the portrayal of blood from their storylines with time. Before 2008, WWE has had numerous bloody fights, where contenders have gone on to drain a pool of blood. Yet, WWE officials decided to rule it out from their storylines post-2008.

Not only in WWE, but blood has always been a part of professional wrestling since the early 1990s. Do WWE superstars really bleed? The answer would depend on the time and era taken into consideration but the ‘WWE blood real or fake?’ query has been an inevitable one amongst wrestling fans. However, blood has been used and portrayed in the wrestling community for various motives and with time, it had been called off.

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WWE Anti-Blood policy: Is WWE blood real or fake? Do WWE superstars really bleed?

In the early 1990s, before the concept of ‘blading’ emerged, a gang of con-men inducted the gambling community in the wrestling world and they used to fix fights applying fake blood. According to reports, wrestlers were instructed to bite down on a small bladder filled with chicken blood at the end of the bout to rule it as an injury stoppage. Although the police finally tracked down this illegal work after years, but the blood didn’t sweep away.

In the 1930s, Kirby Watkins reportedly brought the concept of ‘blading’ in the wrestling world. Watkins would go on to use teeth, sharpened fingernails, metal tips of his boot laces and sometimes small blades to draw blood. The technique was popularly billed as ‘blading’ or ‘hard way’. The concept of blading instantly became familiar amongst wrestlers and drawing blood got a new way-out. However, WWE later went on to rule out blood from their segment after Vince McMahon reportedly had “enough” of it (blood).

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Do WWE superstars really bleed? WWE Anti-Blood Policy

Throughout the years, WWE has had a lot of contests where fighters have shredded enormous blood. Be it John Cena vs JBL, or Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho, WWE fans were seemingly shocked after witnessing such horrific in-ring contests. According to reports, ‘blading’ was also a popular concept in WWE but taking the violent nature of the sport into consideration, WWE superstars have often experienced accidental bloodsheds.

In 2015, Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels discussed the WWE Anti-Blood policy and blading on the Talk is Jericho podcast. During the interaction, Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho discussed about the query ‘Do WWE superstars really bleed?” and the reason behind blood bath taken away from WWE storylines post 2018. According to HBK, WWE CEO Vince McMahon decided to rule out blood from WWE storylines after the Great American Bash in 2008.

Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels locked horns against each other in an epic fight and the former DX member went onto shred a lot of blood in the fight. Post the fight Vince McMahon claimed that there won’t be any blood-shed in WWE further, ruling out ‘blading’ and other violent concepts from the promotion. The WWE Anti-Blood policy was also taken into action after the fight.

“Yeah, they’re no longer allowed to have blood because I got too much that night, before the match, I begged Vince and told him ‘I have to bleed for this angle. You gotta let me get some colour 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.” said Shawn Michaels in 2015.

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Image courtesy: WWE