Mick Foley On The Role Blood Has In Pro Wrestling Matches

Mick Foley knows a thing or two about whether or not a match should have blood.

Bleeding, whether done via blading or hardway (i.e. unintentionally or by actually breaking skin) has been an integral part of pro-wrestling for decades.

However, some companies like WWE have tried to reduce the presence of blood whenever and however possible.

Blading has long been banned in WWE and several matches have had to be stopped temporarily to clean and close-up a sudden and unexpected open wound.

But according to Mick Foley, these sanitary directions don’t take into account the effects blood has on a wrestling match.

On his Foley is Pod podcast, Mick Foley used his firsthand experience to explain the importance of blood. He recalled wrestling in matches and promotions in which blood was overused and also in the opposite where it was discouraged.

And to Foley, the key is to use it sparingly so that, when it does come into the picture, it elevates the match into something greater.

“Of all the big matches — up until I had my comeback matches, where the blood was more frequent — I think I was only in four or five bloody matches, in my four years in WWE. Less is more. So that when Steve and Bret had their legendary match [at WrestleMania] it really meant something because it wasn’t overdone.

I’m sure there were times when I was involved in bloody matches that didn’t need to be bloody. I was in some others where the blood would have taken a good match and made it great, or taken a great match and made it legendary.”

h/t SEScoops for the transcription