10 Bloodiest WWE Matches

On the day of this article's publication, it will be seventeen years to the day since Judgement Day 2004.

A humdrum pay-per-view with no real standout matches on the undercard, it was saved by a dramatic main event WWE Title match between champion Eddie Guerrero and unlikely challenger JBL.

The match was going along fine until about midway through when, with the referee down, the former Acolyte rocked Latino Heat with a sickening chair shot that resulted in Eddie bleeding profusely.

It completely changed the tone of the contest and certainly made it linger long in the memory.

Eddie had cut himself too deep and hit an artery, causing blood to squirt out of him in an unpleasant sight. The two soldiered on and finished their match, with Bradshaw also bleeding at the match's conclusion.

When they returned backstage, Guerrero actually went into shock due to the massive blood loss, with doctors urging him to undergo a transfusion (he declined but did allow them to stitch his head up). It's no exaggeration to say that things could have gone much, much worse.

There have been many incredibly bloody matches in WWE history, but I'm not sure there are any that compare with what went down on May 16, 2004.

The following ten come pretty close, though.

So pop an aspirin, tape your wrists, hide that blade and read on to relive the carnage.

10. Triple H Vs. Kevin Nash - Bad Blood 2003

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The World Heavyweight Title feud between champion Triple H and challenger Kevin Nash in the spring of 2003 was far from inspiring stuff.

Their bout at Judgment Day was a washout, as was their meeting at Insurrextion (and I had the pleasure of being there to witness that one in person).

Thankfully, the Kliq pals ended their series on a high note, inside the Hell in a Cell at Bad Blood. Focusing on hate and brutality, the two beat the tar out of each other and used novel weapons, such as a wooden pallet, barbed wire 2x4 and the contents of a toolbox (as well as the toolbox itself).

Fittingly for a big blowoff grudge match, both men were busted open thanks to their smorgasbord of sadistic toys, with The Game in particular springing a gusher and sporting the proverbial 'crimson mask' for the second half of the match.

But they weren't the only ones to shed some claret, because special guest referee Mick Foley got in on the act, too.

I mean, why not? Foley probably put himself through the dinner table every night for a laugh, so this was just another day in the life.

It's no surprise that all three ended up with colour. The show was called 'Bad Blood' after all, not 'Nobody Gets Hurt'.

9. Mr. McMahon Vs. Hulk Hogan - WrestleMania XIX

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When Vince McMahon met Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania in 2003, you knew there was going to be plenty of smoke and mirrors involved, to both make the match a memorable spectacle and make up for any athletic shortcomings.

Nobody was expecting German suplexes and flying headscissors in their street fight, but they did expect to see plenty of aggression and violence given the personal nature of the rivalry.

The CEO was the first to get busted open, courtesy of an unprotected steel chair to the forehead. The red stuff was coming out as if from a faucet, but the Hulkster kindly helped it along by punching him squarely in the wound.

Hogan wasn't the next to get colour, but rather Spanish announce team member Hugo Savinovich, a former wrestler and manager in his own right, who got sliced open by a chair when McMahon ducked Hulk's wild swing.

Hogan, ever the babyface, looked as if he cared more about that night's food order than braining the announcer.

He was busted open himself soon enough anyway, when Vince got a receipt with another wicked chairshot.

The blood really added to the contest and helped give it the epic feel that it deserved, the best moment of the match not being a move or stunt, but the shot of Vince, grinning like the devil and plasma covering his face, slowly emerged from beneath the ring apron in an incredible, lasting visual.

8. Triple H Vs. Shawn Michaels - Royal Rumble 2004

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The World Heavyweight Title Last Man Standing match between Triple H and Shawn Michaels at the 2004 Royal Rumble was, supposedly, going to be the last in an epic series that had begun when The Heartbreak Kid returned at SummerSlam 2002.

With the Rumble itself scheduled to go around an hour right after them, The Cerebral Assassin and HBK were allotted more time than the four matches that came before them - combined - and also given more leeway when it came to the bells and whistles they were able to employ.

That included blood. Lots and lots of blood.

Michaels and Triple H are two of the very best bleeders in WWE history and routinely got colour to help add drama to their matches. Putting the two together, in an alleged blowoff, on a major pay-per-view, with Last Man Standing Rules, for the World Heavyweight Title, there was almost a guarantee of gore.

Shawn went first, followed by Hunter, the true extent of the bloodshed on full display when Michaels had The Game in a sleeper, the camera focusing in on their barely-visible faces.

Both men really had to be out there for a while (almost 25 minutes) and get colour, since the finish was a draw when neither man could answer the ten count.

Just don't tell that to Bob Holly, who had his big WWE Title match with Brock Lesnar reduced to six-and-a-half minutes in order to placate the DX boys.

7. Steve Austin Vs. Bret Hart - WrestleMania 13

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The perfect example of blood enhancing a match and playing into the finish, Bret Hart and Steve Austin's WrestleMania classic may not have been the seismic happening it turned out to be, had Stone Cold not gotten some serious juice.

It was a great match, no doubt, but the lasting visual is Austin fighting valliantly, blood pouring down his face, refusing to give up while locked in The Hitman's Sharpshooter.

It helped to turn Austin into a megastar, and also helped facilitate a double turn, as he became a babyface and Hart a hated heel in the match's aftermath.

It was actually Bret's suggestion that The Texas Rattlesnake bleed in order to really sell it and protect him in defeat. WWE had a strict no blading policy at the time, so Hart offered to both do the deed for him during the match and take any heat that came their way, should they be detected in the act.

They weren't, and I'm sure Vince would've forgiven them anyway, since it was such a brilliant piece of business.

Truly iconic.

6. Six-Man Hell In A Cell - Armageddon 2000

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Armageddon 2000 was a one-match show, but what a match it was.

The first-ever six-man WWE Title Hell in a Cell match was quite the marquee attraction as five of the biggest stars in the business (and Rikishi) battled for WWE's top prize.

The build to the match had stressed the brutality of the structure and highlighted the career-changing impact it had had on the likes of The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Mick Foley.

The Deadman didn't get colour on the night, and nor did Rikishi, but Triple H, The Rock, Steve Austin and, for the first time in his career, Kurt Angle did. Most of it happened when the contestants got out of the cage and made their way to the show's set, which resembled an apocalyptic car scrapyard.

None of the blade jobs were grotesque, but the sight of four of the six men in the match being busted open hammered home the barbaric nature of the Cell and made it, by sheer volume of the amount of people getting cut, one of the bloodies matches in WWE history.

5. DX Vs. Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon & The Big Show - Unforgiven 2006

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The 2006 feud between those dastardly DX boys and the McMahons was mostly comedic in nature, but on occasion they put aside the 'cock' jokes and got serious.

The culmination of the rivalry took place inside the Cell, with Vince and Shane recruiting ECW Champion Big Show in an attempt to stop the scoundrels for good.

It marked the first appearance of the super-duper, shiny new, extra-tall Cell structure and it didn't take too long for it to work its magic, with father and son both shedding buckets just minutes into the match.

The degenerates followed soon after, with the World's Largest Athlete completing the set right before the finish.

Ah yes, the finish.

It may have been a serious, pay-per-view blowoff match, but there was still time for some (rather disgusting) sophomoric shenanigans.

Show, lying prone over the top rope, had his singlet pulled down, exposing the World's Largest Backside, as Shawn and Hunter proceeded to take the Chairman and throw his face right into it.

Not just his face. His bloody face. Into Big Show's crevice.

Not just funny, but also incredibly hygienic.

4. John Cena Vs. JBL - Judgment Day 2005

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Defending the WWE Title against JBL at Judgment Day? John Cena really ought to have known better, since he was in the building for Eddie's bloodbath a year prior.

Cena had beaten JBL for the title at WrestleMania 21 and this was his big rematch, under I Quit rules.

The Doctor of Thuganomics had enjoyed a meteoric rise up the card and was about to have the rocket strapped to him, so to speak, but he had yet to have a proper, brutal match during his time in WWE.

As the top babyface on the blue brand, he needed to show his toughness and overcome a serious challenge where it looked like he was in real jeopardy. To rise above hate and never give up, if you will.

In a mirror image from the year before, the Texan was thrown over the announce table, grabbed a steel chair and rocked his opponent's skull with it.

And just like Latino Heat in '04, Big Match John's head began pouring, the champ resembling a horror movie victim as much as a wrestler.

Bradshaw, not to be totally outdone, also cut deep later on and was wearing the crimson mask for the brutal and brilliant finale, but it paled in comparison to Cena, whos entire body was a distinct shade of Elmo.

3. Batista Vs. Triple H - Vengeance 2005

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A month after the Cena/JBL massacre, Raw's Batista and Triple H ended their rivalry (at least for that year) inside Hell in a Cell, themselves delivering plenty of bloody mayhem.

Matches inside the Cell had become like trips to the dentist for Triple H, but this was the first time The Animal would have to fend for himself inside the cage.

The Game had bled in their match at WrestleMania 21, but both that and the rematch at Backlash were minor disappointments.

Vengeance was difference, as they upped the ante and delivered a minor classic. Similar to Cena in the JBL match, big Dave really needed this sort of performance to establish himself as a true fighting champion, pushing through the pain barrier and gutting it out to overcome his nemesis.

Again, the blood was plentiful without being gratuitous and was warranted given the stipulation and circumstances.

And really, how cool did Batista look, his face the colour of strawberries, his white gear stained red, holding the World Heavyweight Title after what was, essentially, his coming-out party?

2. Ric Flair Vs. Triple H - Taboo Tuesday 2005

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Look, Triple H liked to bleed. A lot. Especially if it was a pay-per-view in 2005, or so it would seem.

And he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to get some colour while sharing the ring with his hero and mentor, Ric Flair, inside a steel cage, which he did at Taboo Tuesday.

The Nature Boy - whose forehead skin must have been so thin that a light breeze resulted in it leaking like crazy - is another of wrestling's great bleeders, helped tremendously by his bleached-blonde locks.

He had the honour of gashing his scalp first after being sent into the cage wall. Triple H targeted the laceration, hammering away at it and making sure the flow didn't stop.

Turnabout would be fair play (or Flair play) a little while after, when The Game himself was busted open.

It was a cracking match, a real old-school throwback to the NWA bloodbaths of old. It was also a damn fine Intercontinental Title bout and one of the best of Flair's latter-day WWE career.

1. Brock Lesnar Vs. The Undertaker - No Mercy 2002

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And back to the Hell in a Cell one final time, as one of WWE's best gimmick matches offers up another gorefest.

At No Mercy 2002, Lesnar went into the cage with The Undertaker as the then-youngest WWE Champion ever, looking to cement his place at the top of the food chain, having previously fought to an unsatisfying double disqualification at Unforgiven.

A breakout performance for the Next Big Thing, Brock was made to earn it against The Phenom in one of his signature matches. That meant bleeding, the cut happening when 'Taker used not the cell or any other weapon lying under the ring, but the hard cast he was sporting after Brock (kayfabe) broke his hand.

Paul Heyman was the next to juice, 'Taker booting the cage into his walrus face after the agent got too close to the action.

The biggest blade job was reserved for last, Big Evil getting popped with the steel stairs and turning into 'Booger Red' for real (that nickname never caught on despite JR's persistence).

The blood was coming out of his face as if someone was switching on a tap, covering the ringisde area and the canvas. It helped make 'Taker look suitably weakened, so that his loss wasn't a big shock, while Brock came out of the defense looking like a killer.