Last night's house show in Toronto died a quiet death.
I understand the policy's logic, but man ... shyt like this gotta be bad for business.
WWE blood policy ends Toronto main event early
By JOHN POWELL - SLAM! Wrestling
It was deja vu for Samoa Joe. As it did during his match against Finn Balor at NXT TakeOver Dallas in 2016, an accidental cut has caused controversy and frustrated Samoan Submission Machine.
Just minutes into his main event, Intercontinental Title match against champion Roman Reigns, Joe was busted open the "hard way" (legitimately) after either taking a boot to the face or falling out of the ring to the floor.
When Reigns followed him outside Joe threw him into the steel steps and the official spotted Joe bleeding profusely. The official gave the "X" sign with his arms, used to signify a legitimate injury to the production crew in the back, and medical personal came to the ring.
Once it was determined that the bleeding couldn't be stopped the official called for the bell. Joe seemed aggravated by the call, wanting to continue. He returned to the ring to receive a Superman Punch and a Spear to put a close to the match and the evening.
Some fans though were not impressed by the production call and expressed their disappointment leaving the event and on Twitter afterwards.
"Wtf was that ending of the main event???? #WWEToronto ??? #bulls--t ...the tag match stole the show," wrote JBooth (@redbuck17) on Twitter.
"All that money for a 5 minute main event with no finish. Great job #WWEToronto #CanIHaveMyMoneyBack?" wrote Brian Joyce (@BrianJoystick).
Harlan Tsosie (@htsosie2010) Tweeted: "You know WWE is too kid n family friendly when a match has to be stopped cause a sign of Blood! lol #FirstBloodmatch."
In a city whose rich wrestling history goes back some 80 years, blood (blading) has been routinely featured and continues to this day in the matches of many local independent promotions. Older fans remember Ric Flair, Angelo Mosca and a host of others wearing their fair share of "crimson masks" at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens without so much as a whimper from the fans or promoters.
When it comes to "blading", more recently Chris Jericho "busted open" Kenny Omega pretty badly during his now infamous attack on him in NJPW, even smearing Omega's blood on his own face.
After approving of it for years it appears blood is off the WWE menu in some circumstances.
I understand the policy's logic, but man ... shyt like this gotta be bad for business.
WWE blood policy ends Toronto main event early
By JOHN POWELL - SLAM! Wrestling
It was deja vu for Samoa Joe. As it did during his match against Finn Balor at NXT TakeOver Dallas in 2016, an accidental cut has caused controversy and frustrated Samoan Submission Machine.
Just minutes into his main event, Intercontinental Title match against champion Roman Reigns, Joe was busted open the "hard way" (legitimately) after either taking a boot to the face or falling out of the ring to the floor.
When Reigns followed him outside Joe threw him into the steel steps and the official spotted Joe bleeding profusely. The official gave the "X" sign with his arms, used to signify a legitimate injury to the production crew in the back, and medical personal came to the ring.
Once it was determined that the bleeding couldn't be stopped the official called for the bell. Joe seemed aggravated by the call, wanting to continue. He returned to the ring to receive a Superman Punch and a Spear to put a close to the match and the evening.
Some fans though were not impressed by the production call and expressed their disappointment leaving the event and on Twitter afterwards.
"Wtf was that ending of the main event???? #WWEToronto ??? #bulls--t ...the tag match stole the show," wrote JBooth (@redbuck17) on Twitter.
"All that money for a 5 minute main event with no finish. Great job #WWEToronto #CanIHaveMyMoneyBack?" wrote Brian Joyce (@BrianJoystick).
Harlan Tsosie (@htsosie2010) Tweeted: "You know WWE is too kid n family friendly when a match has to be stopped cause a sign of Blood! lol #FirstBloodmatch."
In a city whose rich wrestling history goes back some 80 years, blood (blading) has been routinely featured and continues to this day in the matches of many local independent promotions. Older fans remember Ric Flair, Angelo Mosca and a host of others wearing their fair share of "crimson masks" at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens without so much as a whimper from the fans or promoters.
When it comes to "blading", more recently Chris Jericho "busted open" Kenny Omega pretty badly during his now infamous attack on him in NJPW, even smearing Omega's blood on his own face.
After approving of it for years it appears blood is off the WWE menu in some circumstances.
