TNA President Clarifies Company’s New Rules On Blood Usage

TNA President Carlos Silva has given some clarification on the company’s new rules around bloodletting. It was reported earlier this month that TNA executives told the roster that excessive blood and blading would not be utilized going forward. Silva spoke with Sports Illustrated’s The Takedown and acknowledges that the company is being cognizant about the impact of blood on potential partners and advertisers. However, he said that the use of intentional bleeding was not outlawed and that addressing the situation with talent in a meeting was done in order to encourage the locker room to use intentional bleeding and brutality in a more sparing manner, as they were coming off the Barbed Wire Massacre match at TNA Unbreakable and the Dog Collar Match on Impact last week.

Silva added that other people on the TNA creative team including Tommy Dreamer fully support the motion, and have agreed with making sure that violence is used in a “more impactful” manner. He added that if creative or the talent feel that intentional blood or heavy violence is appropriate and earne3d for their story or a match’s stakes, they are “absolutely” open to exploring the possibility.

He went on to note that the heavy blood use has caused logistical challenges in tapings by damaging or staining the ring canvas, which is an issue when they tape several weeks of TV over a night or two. He also noted the matter of concern for the health of talent who engage in that level of violence and that there was concern about Steve Maclin’s health after he suffered a “gusher” in the Dog Collar match with Eric Young.