Hey Scott,
I recently interviewed Nigel McGuinness on blading and life after wrestling, but he bestowed some fascinating wisdom for college students and athletes whose careers are curtailed.
I absolutely agree on one hand that blading is barbaric and I don't even miss it with it gone. But on the other hand, I really wish they would stop doing HIAC and building up the false hope that someone was gonna tap an artery to sell the brutality. It's just not the same anymore and the PPV doesn't sell any more tickets on the name, so they might as well drop it completely and save it for super-special occasions.
And yeah, guys like Nigel and Chris Nowinski are doing amazing work and are directly to thank for all the safety precautions now built into the WWE training system.
Did anyone see Nowinski on the Frontline docu about head injuries in the NFL? The guy is going to be a national figure soon. He said that while he was wrestling, he had a headache that didn't stop for five years. Unreal ...
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with blading. I have a problem with untested guys bleeding all over each other. I have a problem with dudes like Abby and New Jack blading some much their foreheads look like taffy.
ReplyDeleteI miss blood, even just plain jane hardways, but that's the monster in me.
I have to agree. I miss blood and think it really helps sell the drama of a match. I don't even care if guys do it so much that their foreheads look like shredded cabbage b/c it's their choice. Now that being said, like you I have a problem with guys not getting tested and putting their opponents at risk.
ReplyDeletewhen i was younger, the more blood the better. it was exciting to see.
ReplyDeletenow i understand more about wrestling, blood should be used sparingly.
people like Edge hardly bladed throughout their wwe career, he turned out fine.
while it certainly adds to a match, if you got two "hold for hold" guys in the ring, theres no need for blood.
but... cage matches, to me, should always have blood.
Eh, I can't explain why it bothers me to see such carved up foreheads. At least Abby made a fuck-ton of money from his.
ReplyDeleteBut shit like (desperately tryng to remember) was it Bob Orton bleeding on Taker? Even though he has hep, or something? Now that's fucked up.
He's already something of a national figure. He's been holding the NFL's feet to the fire about concussions for a couple years now.
ReplyDeleteSamoa Joe got a staph infection in ROH. There's quite a few diseases that can be transferred via cuts and open wounds. In addition to being 'barbaric' it can be very dangerous to wrestlers.
ReplyDeleteThe story (don't know if it's true) is that Bob Orton has Hep C, told Johnny Ace about it, but the WWE didn't take it seriously and still had him get involved in in a match where he, Taker, and Randy were all bleeding (I think it was a HIAC). Luckily, neither Taker nor Randy caught it.
ReplyDeleteRight. And if we're to believe they're legitimately punching each other in the face, guess what? In real life, that results in blood. Just watch any Nick Diaz fight.
ReplyDeleteAre we not far along enough nowadays with props/make up/whatever you want to call it, that fake blood can be used without it looking ridiculous? Genuine question, I have no idea.
ReplyDeleteI never liked blading; even growing up when it was more commonplace, I think that everything causing a laceration to the forehead always looked silly (esp. if it was something like a title belt or chair). Most times where I felt blood felt genuinely "business is picking up" were hardway blood being drawn, because it WAS genuine and unexpected. There were times where the juice added a little something (Austin/Bret, Brock/Taker HIAC), but to me, those were exceptions rather than the rule, and in the early 2000s, it was used too much as a crutch in place of actual in-ring storytelling. I especially felt nauseous when I was at ringside for Judgment Day 2004 and Eddie's blood was all over the place right in front of me. Im glad to see it phased out and don't miss it.
ReplyDeleteCheck out the movie doc "Head Games" based on his book. It's from the director of "Hoop Dreams" and is quite excellent. And Nowinski is already the face of the concussion fight IMO, he's pretty much been at the forefront of expertise when a national outlet wants to talk about it. Good for him.
ReplyDeletedidnt nigel get the curable form of hep?
ReplyDeleteOne of the legitimate laugh-out-loud moments for me in the Austin podcast was when he interviewed Ric Flair and Austin was talking about how disgusting the ring was and Flair just completely earnest says, "we should be dead".
ReplyDeleteNo. Making a fake wound would work BEFORE the match but we haven't moved too far past the classics.
ReplyDeleteLance Storm once said that most indie ring mats are disgusting, but that he would eat off of a WWE one. I think that's a big difference people overlook -- a dirty mat really can be a major health hazard.
ReplyDeleteI remember that. Seems like there should be a way to keep the mats at least somewhat sanitary.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to see the guys be like Dusty or Abdullah where you are juicing ever match, but dammit a cage match or a street fight needs it. They just need to take more precautions. All wrestlers should be tested frequently and the rings need to be heavily cleaned after every show and before and after a match with blood. It would sell the danger of the match even more anyway.
ReplyDeleteI dunno, it just seems ludicrous to suggest that someone should intentionally cut themselves with a blade in the context of an acknowledged pretend fight.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid sure, it was cool, but that just doesn't sound right when I say it out loud. "This would be so much cooler if these guys would just slice open their heads with a razor blade."
Is there any other form of mainstream entertainment where people intentionally butcher themselves? That's not rhetorical.
When is blood acceptable/necessary? It should only be used, IMO, for "bloodfeuds" or "dangerous matches" (HIAC, Cage, etc...).
ReplyDeleteIt should NOT be in matches other than the main event (with the RARE exception), and definitely not in matches involving lower card guys.
The days of Abdullah/Dusty/Ric/etc... getting the crimson mask nightly are over, and rightfully so. But NO blood at all is going too far in the other direction.
(At least they don't stop the damn match for a papercut/turn the screen black and white/pan out to arena level like multiple promotions used to.)
Edge is a wreck physically. Just saying.
ReplyDeleteI don't particularly mourn blading falling by the wayside (OK, I kind of do), but gigging your forehead is way safer than falling off a ladder.
ReplyDeleteIs that from blading?
ReplyDeleteDoes he has known Hep or Staph Infection?
Any blood related illness? Thats what Im referring to.
Neck injuries.
ReplyDeleteI don't think blading caused that.
Johnny Ace is a such a fucking bonehead.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, who the hell did he blow to get the prominent position he got?
No point to a steel cage match without blood. Unless you are doing insane spots (i.e. Angle-Benoit 2001) there is no point to it.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure Nigel is against head shots/drops too (He hates fun?).
ReplyDeleteThat's my point. Edge would've been better off if he had spent his career blading rather than falling off ladders.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that sounds about right. Man, that's fucked up.
ReplyDeleteHell, i'd say that 95% of the time, it's safer than most big moves.
ReplyDelete