While many wrestling fans were surprised to hear news of TNA allegedly banning intentional blood in matches last week, TNA's president is now denying the claim.
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While many wrestling fans were surprised to hear news of TNA allegedly banning intentional blood in matches last week, TNA's president is now denying the claim.
Over the past month, TNA has had a couple of bloody encounters, including a barbed wire brawl between Sami Callihan and Mance Warner, alongside a vicious dog collar match between Steve Maclin and Eric Young. Both bouts received attention for their brutality, especially for a company trying to find a new media rights deal.
On May 2, Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported that TNA officials told talent in a meeting that intentional bleeding would no longer be allowed. The report indicated that unintentional bleeding was allowed and understandable, but "purposeful, heavy bloodletting" would no longer occur.
In the days following the report, several TNA sources, both talent and officials, reached out to The Takedown on SI to indicate the edict from the meeting was misrepresented, and that intentional bleeding was in fact not outlawed in the promotion. On Wednesday, TNA President Carlos Silva told The Takedown on SI that there is no such ban in place.
Silva did confirm an element of PWInsider's report, acknowledging the company is being cognizant of potential advertisers and partners, alongside confirming The Takedown's note on shopping for a new media rights deal. However, Silva said when addressing talent in the meeting, it was instead done to encourage the locker room to utilize brutality and intentional bleeding more sparingly, coming off of two extreme instances in a short period of time.
Silva noted other members of the TNA creative team, including Tommy Dreamer, were in full support of the motion and have been on board with making sure violence is used in a "more impactful" way. He told The Takedown on SI that if creative or the talent feel intentional blood or heavy violence is earned for their story or the stakes of the match, it is "absolutely" something TNA is open to exploring using.
The TNA president also mentioned how the heavy blood or mass violence can lead to logistical challenges in batch tapings, such as the canvas being damaged or stained. TNA routinely tapes several weeks of TV over the course of a weekend or even a single night. He said there is also the obvious area of concern for talent who engage in that level of violence, and Maclin's situation in particular prompted worry after he suffered a "gusher" in his match with Young.
Silva said he was in communication with Maclin all night after he went to the hospital, and everything ended up being okay.
Though viewers can expect to see less intentional blood on TNA TV, Silva made clear to The Takedown on SI that there is no ban on it, and they are open to using it if the situation calls for it and it is not being overused.
Silva was named TNA president after several major names exited the company in March.
