10 Things WWE Are Seriously Neglecting In 2017
2. The Colour Of Money
There's an old saying in the wrestling business that "red equals green", meaning that blood can heighten drama and lead more fans to invest in the product. In shying away from blood, WWE have effectively robbed themselves of a huge drawing technique.
While it's understandable that WWE has cut back on its use of blood in light of the PG rating and increased knowledge of infections, it can't be argued that the restriction has hurt the storytelling aspect of the product. Vicious feuds that involve no blood naturally seem less personal and less physical, while matches that fans have become preconditioned to expect blood from (e.g. Hell in a Cell) seem anticlimactic without the claret.
What's even worse is that WWE have occasionally allowed blood in matches, yet incredibly moved from the relatively safe method of blading to seemingly allowing hard way bloodshed instead. The most obvious example of this was SummerSlam 2016, where Randy Orton took a brutal elbow to the head from Brock Lesnar in order to get colour.
In taking the legit shot to the head, Orton needed ten staples to close the wound and missed the following month's PPV due to a suspected concussion. All of which is a serious endorsement for a return of the blade, if only on a rare basis.