10 Things You Need To Know About WWE Bad Blood

2017's show will mark almost 20 years since the original...

By Jamie Kennedy /

WWE.com

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.

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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.

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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

WWE

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.

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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.

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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.