The PG era, in its essence, saw the inclusion of a very young age demographic as fans of the product that the WWE put out. Along with this, came a few inevitable changes – John Cena as the staple protagonist, kid-friendly storylines and a stringent ban on blading.
Blood had always been used to highlight the realism of a pro-wrestling contest in the past, and despite it being wiped off the table after the PG era, we still remember matches that involved bleeding vividly. They were realistic and sometimes even bordered on the barbaric, but mostly, they were just downright badass.
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Some Superstars, however, took the liberty to bleed too often – so often that it almost became an unhealthy obsession to cleave open one’s forehead and clear their eyelids of copious amounts of blood while working a match.
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This article lists down 5 such performers. Performers, who despite putting on a great show for the fans, just enjoyed the bloodbath a little too much.
Ric Flair
A legendary worker, perhaps the greatest of all time, Ric Flair was also known to be a tremendous bleeder.
He would bust himself open barely minutes into a match and from then on, the storytelling about how he would endure immense amounts of punishment as a heel or make a comeback against the odds as a babyface would often captivate the audience.
His pale complexion and beach blonde hair would only accentuate the effect of blood on his face, and let’s be honest here, the Naitch was quite a liberal blader. The sight of him bashing open the wound on his head using the microphone, halfway through a passionate rant about Triple H is stuff of legend.
You really didn’t need to give Ric Flair an excuse to bleed, did you?
Abdullah The Butcher
Easily the most notorious bleeder on this list, Abdullah The Butcher was named quite appropriately. for his violent proclivities and penchant for...well, for unrestrained bleeding. He bled, profusely, and he made sure that his opponent did so too.
It was also strongly rumoured that he had hepatitis C, but that didn’t stop him from using the same blade on his co-workers. Abby as he is fondly referred to (the irony of bearing such an innocuous nickname does not escape us) usually put on matches that had one general formula.
Bleed.
And here’s an example. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.
Terry Funk
The original hardcore legend, Terry Funk is widely considered to be an authority on hardcore matches in the pro-wrestling fraternity. His matches against the likes of Mick Foley and Sabu are well documented for being grizzly, gory affairs that have gone down as capstone encounters that lend identity to the ECW brand.
It was once during one such barbed wired match against Sabu at the Born to be Wired PPV that Terry Funk sustained a gruesome injury, tearing open his biceps on the wire. Instead of going for medical attention, Funk rolled out of the ring and proceeded to secure his arm with athletic tape, before continuing working the match.
Hardcore indeed.
Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes related with the common man with how normal he looked.
He had a generous tummy and a genial smile but when he got down to wrestling, boy did he push the limits. Everyone generally associates Rhodes with his mic skill – and with good reason – but some of his hardcore matches against the likes of Ric Flair, Terry Funk and Abdullah the Butcher were quite intense and definitely worth mentioning in this list.
He may have looked like a regular person as opposed to a greek god, but the deep scar tissue on his forehead tell a tale of their own. Dusty Rhodes was one of the best bleeders in the business, and that ‘distinction’ should be mentioned in the same breath as the rest of his accomplishments.
Mick Foley
At least in WWE history, you would be hard-pressed to think of another man who willingly put himself through as much physical torture just for the entertainment of the fans as Mick Foley – or the Hardcore Legend as he’s known – did.
Be it taking an insane dive off the top of the demonic Hell in a Cell structure, or taking a spear through a flaming table, Mick Foley has done it all. He is truly one of the men whose mentality was as hardcore as his approach, and if you thought his WWE matches were anything to go by, do check out his legendary matches against Terry Funk in Japan.
Oscillating between his Mankind and Cactus Jack personas, Foley found new levels of punishment that he willingly embraced in order to put over other WWE Superstars like Triple H, The Rock, Edge and Randy Orton, to name a few.
And when he bled, more often that not, it was legitimately through the punishment he endured, rather than through blading.
