7 Shocking Times WWE Revived Banned Moves
1. Blood (2.0)
Vince McMahon knew red equalled green when he lifted a ban on blood at some point during the hedonistic Attitude Era, but only he could have gotten away with the damage inflicted by Kevin Owens nearly two decades later to close a dramatic edition of SmackDown Live!
Blood, theoretically, has no place on WWE television in the modern age. Wrestlers have been fired and suspended for less, thanks to a hugely profitable licensing deal with Mattel and the tightrope WWE walks maintaining a credible PG rating on all of their output. The act of blading was once referred to as 'barbaric' in a letter from McMahon to Ted Turner during their 1990s 'War', and it's as problematic again during these child-friendly times.
The Chairman has free reign to bend and break his own rules though, and did both in order to elevate his son Shane's rivalry with 'KO' to the literal next level. Bleeding hardway from a heavy duty headbutt, the visual of a bludgeoned and beaten McMahon was powerful enough to require a Hell In A Cell payoff for such a gruesome act.
He'd likely not want talent mirroring the act, but those with any confidence/power/both can now realistically point to the grisly tête-à-tête as an example of its potency.