AEW President Tony Khan has defended the company’s use of blood by saying that his media partners have no problem with it.
While WWE has a no-blood policy, AEW allows for the use of blood with Britt Baker Vs. Thunder Rosa from the March 17, 2021, Dynamite and Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley from AEW Revolution 2021 being two of their bloodiest bouts.
This has led to criticism, with Vince McMahon saying in 2019 that TNT will not tolerate “blood and guts” on their programming.
After AEW used the “blood and guts” term for their May 2021 show, a member of WWE management claimed that the show’s main event “just set the business back 30 years.”
Addressing the critics this week in an interview with News 12 Long Island, Khan said that bloody matches have generally been well-received (h/t Fightful).
“It’s certainly not every week, you don’t see it on a weekly basis… For the most part, you see a focus on the in-ring action, but every once and a while, when things have gotten out of hand, it’s been old-school pro wrestling in a way that has been very healthy and has been well-received by our media partners and fans.“
WWE’s History With Blood
While WWE is staunchly against the use of blood, some of the company’s most iconic moments have featured blading.
In 2008, WWE scrapped blood as part of their newly introduced PG rating but has used blood sparingly ever since.
At their most recent event in Madison Square Garden, Brock Lesnar was busted open by Roman Reigns in the build to their WrestleMania 38 title-unification match.
