It may have been wholly accidental, but what an absolute gusher Dolph Ziggler pulled in the opening bout at Payback. Blood is obviously a rarity in WWE nowadays, and it's fascinating to see the looks on people's faces once they see a performer busted open - even adults react with a grim expression, mainly because fans have been conditioned not to expect it. After a headbutt to Sheamus that went somewhat awry, Ziggler was caked in claret, and it looked awesome. In fact, this was a throwback to the glory days of Ric Flair, when his bleach-blonde hair was soaked in the red stuff. The whole idea of Sheamus and Dolph having a stipulation match at Extreme Rules, then a straight one-on-one meeting here is a little baffling, but the bout still turned out well. The moral of the story is this - if you're going to pull a gusher, even accidentally, make it this kind of gusher! It'll never happen, given the saccharine nature of WWE programming in 2015, but a 'First Blood' match between Ziggler and Sheamus could be interesting, although flip-flopping between stipulations and gimmicks might not be advisable.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
