10 Wrestling Messages Hidden In Plain Sight
2. Blood
Still the preserve of much debate after AEW effectively reintroduced it to mainstream North American wrestling at Double Or Nothing 2019, blood via the blade was deemed unsafe by Vince McMahon right around the time the company went in PG in 2008.
Dave Batista, Chris Jericho and others were fined heavily for not adhering to a company policy set out by a man that then went on to approve Brock Lesnar stopping just short of scooping brains out with his elbow every now and then.
Nigel McGuinness advocated against blood long before he made it to the company, having watched his in-ring dreams go up in smoke thanks to a Hepatitis C diagnosis. Claret hadn't ever felt more pointless in the 2010s, but the occasional glimpses of it on wrestler's heads sent it elsewhere amongst much of the fanbase.
In WWE, the message if delivered by Brock Lesnar is that what you're watching has been agreed to between all parties, diluting the danger and impact. If not, the medics are there to remind you that what you're seeing is an interruption in the intended match. From mouths, it's likely to still be some of the 'ol viscous acidic liquid pre-prepared for a spot. In AEW it's a blade unless Cody is cracking himself open on dives gone wrong.
We know these things now. McGuinness was probably right - wrestling could and should move on from an archaic red-equals-green mentality.