Jim Ross always has a unique insight to provide on the backstage running of WWE and everything that went on behind the curtains, and now we get the same content from him with respect to AEW. 

The commentator has a crucial say in the creative decision made by AEW and one of the topics he touched upon speaking on the latest edition of Grilling JR was the use of blood in matches. 

A few weeks ago, AEW featured a bloody battle between Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa, a match that involved every brutality and really brought viewers to the edge of their seats. The two stars battled through the pain to deliver a masterpiece for AEW. 

Jim Ross made it very clear that fans were not going to see such matches as frequently as they’d like, mostly due to the fact that it would wear out the ‘surprise’ element of the show.

“The match we had on AEW, several weeks ago now, with Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa, that the use of blood in that women’s match was a shock, and got people talking and mostly in a good way. It exhibited and demonstrated the violence and the aggression that both women had. If we did that every week it would mean nothing,” he explained. 

Jim Ross claims WWE faced a similar situation back in 2006

JR also explained that WWE was in a similar position after the end of the Attitude Era and the expectations during the Ruthless Aggression era.

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“We’re in a position that we’re not going to use it every week, but I know WWE was in that mindset too about this time. It was anything we could do to keep this show edgy but not the Attitude Era-ish,” he said. “There was still blood, don’t get me wrong, but it was very selective. It had to be the right place, right time for it to work because everything was about the sponsors. And you can’t blame them for that.” (h/t Inside The Ropes)

WWE did put a hold on matches that saw men like Mick Foley bleed profusely due to the PG restrictions to which it was slowly being chained. The more viewer-friendly content molded its product into a softer breed, and WWE hasn’t really featured blood in matches for a long time unless absolutely necessary. 

AEW has no such restrictions on its product, but for the sake of uniqueness, we won’t see bloody matches every week. Although, whenever they do happen they certainly bring fans to the edge.