10 Things You Need To Know About WWE Bad Blood
2017's show will mark almost 20 years since the original...
On July 9, 2017, WWE will once again rehash an old pay-per-view name for use on the current calendar, and it's one older fans will remember with misty-eyed fondness.
Originally under the In Your House banner (and with an added 'd' for bonus late-1990s cool points), Badd Blood was a seemingly innocuous pay-per-view that would eventually become known as one of WWE's most important nights; complete with deaths, debuts and first-time matches, Badd Blood has become an essential piece of WWE's history.
Dropping the unnecessary extra letter, Bad Blood returned in 2003 as a Raw-exclusive pay-per-view. That would be the case in 2004 too, and such a trend will continue now WWE have revived the abolished event name for 2017.
Right now, red brand exclusivity is all we know about this coming July's Bad Blood, but looking back to the previous trio of shows reveals a fascinating amount of interesting facts and stories...
10. Hell In A Cell Debuted At Badd Blood
To date, there have been 36 Hell In A Cell matches promoted under the WWF/WWE banner, the latest of which took place at the titular pay-per-view last October between Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks.
The very first was actually held on October 5, 1997. There, a heel Shawn Michaels (mere months into his tenure as leader of D-Generation X) faced The Undertaker inside the steel structure; a refreshing twist on the age-old Steel Cage formula, Hell In A Cell actually surrounded the ring and enabled those involved to brawl around ringside as well as inside the squared circle.
A sign that Vince McMahon was willing to push the envelope further in order to reclaim top spot from WCW, the barbaric Hell In A Cell debuted in WWE close to 20 years ago and has been a stalwart ever since.
Violent bumps - like Shawn Michaels falling from the side of the cage - and blood became hallmarks of Hell In A Cell, but it's interesting to note that the original match had a decidedly old-school flavour; even when HBK was taking dramatic falls, the gritty brawling favoured by he and 'Taker sets the first Cell bout apart from many to come.