To Bleed Or Not To Bleed? That Is The Question.

One of my favorite Wrestlemania matches of all time is the submission match between Bret Hart and Steve Austin from Wrestlemania 13.

The finish of the match had a bloodied and battered Austin locked into the Sharpshooter, refusing to submit before finally passing out from the loss of blood.

It was an epic match and that finish helped turn Austin into the biggest draw in wrestling for the better part of the next five years. His refusal to quit spoke volumes of his character and the image of him screaming in pain as the blood dripped out of his bald head and down his face is one that many fans of that era will never forget.

Wrestling fans will also never forget the sight of blood all over Eddie Guerrero at Judgment Day 2004 after one of the most brutal chair shots of all time by JBL.

Guerrero literally bled buckets and continued wrestling for over ten minutes despite losing so much blood that he had to be rushed to the hospital after the match. If anything, it gave fans a whole new reason to appreciate the heart and tenacity of Latino Heat for giving such a performance even though he was clearly in a very bad way.

Over the years, many wrestlers have donned the proverbial crimson mask and shed blood. This often happens when a wrestler cuts themselves with a hidden razor blade, though from time to time it happens the hard way.

Unfortunately, it happens far less than ever before these days thanks to the WWE's blood policy, which outright bans blading and frowns upon accidental bleeding. More or less, since going PG the WWE wants nothing to do with blood.

It's a shame. Common sense dictates that blood and wrestling go hand-in-hand.

You put two or more guys in a ring together, often times allowing weapons like steel chairs, and chances are eventually someone is going to get busted open at least once in a while. The probability only increases when you surround said ring with things like the Hell in a Cell or Elimination Chamber structure.

Last year the WWE debuted a Hell in a Cell themed PPV event which saw three different matches take place inside of the demonic structure. Not a single drop of blood was shed. But at the same event, Shawn Michaels was trapped inside of the cell with Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes and basically beaten and tortured for the majority of the match.

How is it ok to show that to kids, yet blood is an absolute no-no?

TNA, on the other hand, seems to want everyone to bleed all of the time. That may be stretching it, but we've seen more bloodshed on Impact since Hogan took over than we have in the past few years of WWE programming.

Hogan wants TNA to be edgy and push boundaries and he isn't afraid to cut himself wide open if that is what it takes. Sadly, he doesn't need to be doing these things.

The same can be said for Ric Flair, who cut himself so badly that the next week when he punched his stitches he began to bleed like a stuck pig during a promo. These men are legends in the business and at their age, no one needs to see them gushing blood every week.

One of the best things TNA is going right now is the feud between Mr. Anderson and Kurt Angle, Their hatred for each other began when Angle was cut open by Anderson with his own medal during the 8-Card Stud tournament at Against All Odds.

It goes to show that when done right, a little bit of red can help create a good storyline. Unfortunately, now these two are bleeding every single time they get into the ring against each other.

There is a fine line to blood in professional wrestling. When it is not overdone it can be a great way to add that little something extra to a match or a story. Far too often though, as we see these days in TNA, it can be overdone and that is when it begins to lose significance. Do we really need to see a Knockout's First Blood Match?

Despite the cries of fans like myself, we probably will not be seeing blood in the WWE anytime soon. The reasons behind the ban are understandable and no blood isn't going to keep fans from watching wrestling, but it would be nice to see every once in a while at least.

It's too bad we won't get moments like the Austin vs. Hart finish ever again.