Recently, the WWE announced the return of one of its older pay per views – Bad Blood – to their 2017 PPV schedule as an event exclusive to the Raw brand. In a surprising move, Vince McMahon and his creative team have decided to resurrect an event that hasn’t been seen on WWE programming for more than a decade.
Bad Blood played host to some significant moments for the WWE during the Attitude Era and during the original Brand Split. The timing of Bad Blood’s return makes for some exciting speculation when you look at the pay per view’s historical importance to the company.
Bad Blood originally debuted in 1997 as Badd Blood: In Your House, and then went on a five-year hiatus until it made a return as a Raw-exclusive PPV in 2003. It would reprise its role in 2004 after which it was shelved. Everyone assumed we would never see the event again till the surprise announcement of its second return.
As we look ahead in anticipation, the time is also right for us to look back upon those moments, which made Bad Blood a pretty exciting event in the late 90s and early noughties. So, without any further ado, here are five things you have forgotten about WWE Bad Blood.
#1 It marked the debut of Kane
If there was a prize for most explosive debut in the history of the WWE, it would have to go to Kane. The Big Red Machine had been hyped for weeks as a ferocious monster who had beef with The Undertaker.
In a world where reality very rarely lives up to the hype, the Kane debut blew everyone away. A true monster in appearance, he cemented himself in wrestling folklore forever when he tore down the entrance to Hell in a Cell and dismantled The Deadman, allowing Shawn Michaels to pick up the victory.
Looking back – nearly two decades later – on the career of Kane and what an integral member of the WWE roster he has become, it is easy to forget that he made his explosive debut on a pay per view called Badd Blood: In Your House.
The first ever Bad Blood PPV was aptly named as it was the perfect stage for the bad blood between The Brothers of Destruction.
#2 All three Bad Blood main events were Hell in a Cell matches
Here is a lesser-known fact about the three Bad Blood pay per views – The main events of all three cards were contested inside Hell in a Cell. This is definitely a surprising piece of information, considering this is Bad Blood we’re talking about and not the Hell in a Cell pay per view.
Badd Blood: In Your House featured, as we mentioned in our last slide, The Undertaker facing off against Shawn Michaels in the match which ended with the debuting Kane taking out The Phenom, allowing The Heartbreak Kid to pick up the victory and become the Number 1 Contender for the then-WWF Championship.
When Bad Blood made its return in 2003, Triple H entered the Cell to face off against Kliq buddy, Kevin Nash, in a match which also featured the recently fired RAW General Manager, Mick Foley, as a Special Guest Referee. The Game would defeat Big Sexy to retain his World Heavyweight Championship.
In Bad Blood’s final appearance in 2004, Triple H and Shawn Michaels both stepped into the Cell once again to do battle in a non-title match which saw HBK fall short in a grudge match against his best friend.
It seems crazy that an event which featured a hat trick of Hell in a Cell matches was discarded so readily by Vince McMahon.
#3 Badd Blood: In Your House featured the WWE’s last five-star match for 13 years
In case you don’t know about the five-star rating system, I’ll just give you a quick explanation about it. Dave Meltzer – a highly respected wrestling journalist – has a rating system where he rates wrestling matches out of five stars. Getting a five-star rating from Meltzer is one of the most coveted things in the world of professional wrestling.
The WWE doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to putting on matches which Meltzer considers five-star worthy. The last WWE match to receive the honour was John Cena vs. CM Punk at Money in the Bank 2011 when The Cult of Personality won the WWE Title in his hometown of Chicago.
But, before this classic match, the last time the WWE put on a Meltzer five-star match was all the way back in 1998 during Badd Blood: In Your House when the aforementioned Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels was rated five stars.
#4 Bad Blood 2004 featured a zero-star match
Another respected rating system for pro-wrestling matches is the one provided by The Canadian Online Explorer. While Badd Blood in 1998 was home to a superb five-star encounter, the final edition of Bad Blood was home to a desolate zero-star match.
Eugene and Jonathan Coachman engaged in a nonsensical match which for some reason went on for seven minutes! It was a travesty which was ultimately won by Eugene, if anyone cares about the result.
#5 Stone Cold Steve Austin faced off against Eric Bischoff in a Redneck Triathlon
In one of the sillier angles to hit Bad Blood, the 2003-edition saw Stone Cold Steve Austin face Eric Bischoff in a Redneck Triathlon, which the Texas Rattlesnake won by a score of 2-1.
The first challenge was a burping contest won by Austin. Bischoff won the second challenge – a pie-eating contest – when Austin forfeited. The final challenge was originally supposed to be a singing contest but was changed to a pigpen challenge after both men agreed to the change.
The objective of the challenge was to throw your opponent into a pigpen. A contest that Austin won, as you would expect.
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