10 Times Wrestlers Couldn’t Hide What They Were Doing

6. Ric Flair Blades - WrestleMania VIII

Stone Cold Steve Austin
WWE

Wrestling's old "red equals green" idiom was turned in on Ric Flair when the 'Nature Boy' was forced to pay through his considerable hooter after bleeding at WrestleMania VIII.

And it wasn't just that he broke one of the company's golden rules by dragging the blade across his forehead in clear view of Vince McMahon (and everybody else in the Indianapolis Hoosier Dome) - it was that he did it an hour after Bret Hart managed to obscure the very same act.

Blood had been as good as invisible from WWE's family-friendly product ahead of the 1992 'Show Of Shows'. One year earlier, only Hulk Hogan himself had been permitted to juice in his own headliner against Sgt Slaughter, but little claret had been seen on screen ever since.

Leaning on his NWA instincts, Flair felt like his clash with Randy Savage needed the famous staining of his blonde mane, but Hart and Roddy Piper's own use of the gimmick earlier in the night had been as much as The Chairman was willing to tolerate. The two went unpunished (Hart claimed McMahon believed that it had been a legitimate gash), but Flair ate a hefty fine.

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