TNA Wrestling will no longer allow its talent to blade or heavily bleed on purpose.
The move, which will be enforced with immediate effect, was announced during a talent meeting yesterday, per PWInsider. Accidental bleeding during matches, such as through a busted nose or by ‘hardway’ hits, is an exception due to it being part of the nature of competing.
The final match to feature heavy bleeding before the edict comes into effect will be a Dog Collar match between Eric Young and International Champion Steve Maclin which was taped for a future episode of TNA iMPACT earlier this week.
The outlet reports that the reason behind the move is twofold: On top of wanting to protect the health and safety of its in-ring talents, the promotion wants to be mindful of its current partners and advertisers as well as potential others in future.
WWE Hall Of Famer Claims TNA “Needs To Get More” In WWE Partnership
During a recent edition of Busted Open Radio, Mark Henry shared some criticism of TNA’s ongoing working relationship with WWE. The WWE Hall of Famer admitted he wants to see the former IMPACT get more out of the partnership as he feels it’s one-sided towards WWE as things stand.
I think that TNA needs to get more and I think that can happen. You see a match with Moose and Oba Femi, it’s going to be Oba Femi. You see a match with Joe Hendry, he’s the only one that’s getting the love. It’s got to go back and forth, ‘you win one, I win one, let’s have the rubber match.’
In the days that followed, more information has been provided on the rumoured TNA blood ban.