Brock Lesnar completely ruined Randy Orton’s Sunday night at the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view. The former WWE and UFC champion caught Orton flush with a pair of hellacious elbows and split him wide open, ending the match via TKO and leaving Orton to need 10 staples in his head. There was blood all over the mat, a once-every-other-year sort of rarity for WWE these days.
That match got us considering the other times we were left stunned by the amount of blood in the ring and on the wrestlers when a PPV came to a close. So here are the bloodiest WWE PPV endings we can think of.
(An important note: we’re only including matches that actually ended pay-per-views. A lot of the most memorably gory matches surprisingly happened on the undercard. So we won’t be including Vince McMahon vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 19, with a bloody-as-hell Vince peeking over the ring apron. We also won’t include Vince vs. Undertaker at Survivor Series 2003, or … uh, pretty much any Vince McMahon match ever, really. We won’t be listing Joey Mercury’s face exploding at Armageddon 2006. And sadly, arguably the most famously bloody match ever won’t be included here, because Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart was tragically not the main event of WrestleMania 13.)
With all that said, here are the bloodiest of the bloody. Hopefully you’re not eating when you read this. Spoiler: there’s a lot of Triple H and Shawn Michaels here.
Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit, WrestleMania XX
The main event of WrestleMania XX is a tricky memory for many fans to navigate. Most who were watching at the time were elated by Benoit’s victory, but as with everything involving Benoit, those happy memories are very hard to reconcile now.
But regardless of what you feel about the match, you probably don’t remember it being super bloody. And it was. Both Triple H and Shawn Michaels bled (because that’s pretty much what they did from the years 2000 to 2007), and in the case of Michaels, it was up there with his most gnarly crimson masks ever — which is really saying something.
Triple H vs. Kevin Nash, Bad Blood 2003
You probably didn’t expect to see Kevin Nash on this list! Triple H’s more famous Bad Blood match is arguably against Shawn Michaels from 2004, and while that one was plenty bloody, this one was even bloodier.
If you doubt that this was a bloody frigging match, let’s just say this: this is what the referee in the match looked like by the end of it:
THAT IS THE REFEREE. A ref wearing the crimson mask to end a PPV? Yeah, that’s gonna make our list.
Hulk Hogan vs. Shawn Michaels, SummerSlam 2005
Hogan vs. Michaels at SummerSlam is one of the most infamous matches in WWE history, due to Michaels being pissed off at Hogan and overselling throughout the entire match, making a mockery of Hogan just for his own delight. (Okay, and the delight of us lucky, lucky fans as well.) But it’s also one of Hogan’s craziest blade jobs, which makes the spectacle even more surreal. A dude just bleeding all over himself, the ring, and his opponent, doing backflips off of punches. Sadly, Michaels did not bump just for getting Hogan’s blood on him.
And of course, this is obligatory, because there is never, ever a bad time to watch this video:
John Cena vs. JBL, Judgment Day 2005
Unlike the other JBL Judgment Day match on this list, the millionaire Texan and self-proclaimed wrestling god actually got in on the bleeding act here, although the bout is best remembered for Cena getting covered in his own blood and displaying some serious ruthless aggression throughout. The crowd would soon hate his guts for the next decade, but this match got people thinking that Cena wasn’t such a wimp after all.
Personally, all those muscles would have tipped me off, but what do I know?
Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker, No Mercy 2002
Lesnar vs. Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell. It happened, and it was glorious. Brock tried to get some color in this match, but perhaps a diet consisting solely of Jimmy John’s doesn’t lend itself well to bleeding a whole lot. But that’s okay: Undertaker made up for Lesnar’s lack of plasma. Lesnar hit Undertaker with the steel stairs twice, and then Undertaker just started POURING blood.
It’s always a queasy, uneasy thing when you just see a stream of blood hitting the floor mats. But that’s also why we love wrestling. Man, we are super weird.
Triple H vs. Cactus Jack, No Way Out 2000
This is a beloved match for a lot of people, and for good reason. While their Royal Rumble match from earlier in 2000 might be the better (and probably bloodier) match, it doesn’t make this list due to not closing out the PPV. That said, it’s not like this one was lacking in gore. Cactus bled from his arm as well as his head, which is sort of his “thing” (and borrowed from his buddy Terry Funk), but Triple H was in his prime early-2000s gusher form. Plus, fire and a backdrop through the cell and the ring. If you’re going to have a retirement match, do it in style!
(Mick Foley would un-retire shortly thereafter.)
Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker, Badd Blood 1997
BLOOD SO BADD THEY NEEDED AN EXTRA “D.” This was, of course, the debut of Kane, who has now been Kane (more or less) for almost 20 years. Incredible. But the match is just as famous for being a five-star affair featuring the most wondrous mid-air blade job of Shawn’s career. This was the first time that the fans (and likely Michaels himself) realized just how adept he was at bleeding a whole bunch all over everything. He would leave the business for several years shortly after WrestleMania in 1998, but as this list shows, it was off to the races for Michaels in the bleeding department when he returned. And it all started here. So quaint!
JBL vs. Eddie Guerrero, Judgment Day 2004
And of course, this is the big one. If Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13 isn’t the most famous bloody match ever (non-Muta division), this one is. Guerrero had the year of his life in 2004, winning his only world title, having the most memorable matches of his career, and bleeding almost every drop of blood in his body at Judgment Day.
In addition to being one of the most sickening things you’ll ever see, this is essentially a flawless match with a perfect ending. Guerrero refuses to quit, but JBL makes it personal, leading to Guerrero getting pissed off and caring more about hurting his opponent than regaining the title. Eddie is deeply missed, and we miss him a little more each time we watch any of his matches. (Especially this one.)
Did we forget any? Let us know in the comments below.
