WWE television used to featured blood a lot more often, but the PG era took that away. That is why fans were so surprised to see Cody Rhodes rock a crimson mask on RAW this week with The Rock’s beatdown.
WrestleMania 40 will see The Rock and Roman Reigns team up to face Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. Due to Dwayne Johnson’s involvement in the angle, they are getting a lot more leeway.
After Cody Rhodes’ bloody segment that concluded RAW this week, the company’s stance on bleeding on camera has been called into question. WWE still has a policy against blood, so don’t expect to see it on a regular basis.
WWE’s Stance On Blood
Cody Rhodes bled on television this week during RAW, but don’t expect to see that kind of angle every week. Rhodes bladed on WWE RAW this week, and the blood was planned.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that blood on WWE television is still going to be a very rare occurrence. They will not start featuring it all the time, and nowhere close to how often AEW lets their talent bleed on screen.
With blood, the key is that this is no longer Vince McMahon’s company. We were told that going forward it will be used very rarely. There are no plans to turn it into AEW where it’s used more liberally. But if Johnson wants it in his angle, he’s like Lesnar in the Vince administration, and has more power than Lesnar had then, and he’s going to be able to do what he wants in his angles and matches.
WWE’s No Blading Policy
The WWE shifted its approach to bleeding on screen in 2008 to reach more sponsors and clean up the image for younger viewers.
Cody Rhodes used a blade during his segment, a practice that in the past led to notable fines under Vince McMahon’s leadership. One instance was when Dave Bautista was fined $100,000.
Brock Lesnar has featured blood in his matches in the past, but those were mostly spots where his opponent bled the hard way. He even made himself bleed by cracking his head off the ring post. Of course, that is not a safe alternative at all, but it was somehow looked at more favorably than blading.
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