10 Most Shocking Appearances Of Blood In The PG Era

9. Daniel Bryan (SmackdDown, April 2nd 2015)

Enzo Amore
WWE Network

Daniel Bryan possibly should have known better.

After injuries forced him out of action for nearly all of 2014's post-WrestleMania calendar, he returned to a demotion the following year, losing conclusively to Roman Reigns at February's Fastlane pay-per-view to confirm his new home in the midcard. It would be equally short-lived, with Bryan's new Intercontinental Title reign punctuated by the head injury that would end his WWE career.

In his penultimate televised match ever, the 'Yes Man' utilised a new addition to his offence - a flurry of headbutts. The move had aided his Intercontinental Ladder Match victory at WrestleMania 31, but brought his title defence against Sheamus to an abrupt halt after he bludgeoned himself in the spot.

Tumbling to the floor following the assault, Bryan then took another blow to the head from ringside commentator Bad News Barrett, with the show going off the air to the sight of the Champion's convulsions. The finish fed into a storyline the company could never complete before the reality mirrored the fantasy.

Teaming with John Cena to defeat Tyson Kidd and Cesaro a fortnight later, Bryan would never again step between the ropes for the organisation.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett