Last weekend at WWE's inaugural edition of their May Pay-Per-View offering, Over the Limit, CM Punk was inadvertently busted open in his match with Rey Mysterio, necessitating thirteen staples to close the cut. The real story is how the WWE once again brought a high-profile PPV bout to a screeching halt to medically attend to an open, bleeding wound. Punk's gash was re-opened slightly after the contest was stopped to fix him up, so it ended up being for nothing. Later on during the John Cena/Batista "I Quit" Match, Cena suffered a cut, and again, a match was paused for several moments.

From the fan perspective, it's hard to stay emotionally invested in a match when elements outside of the wrestling purview come into play. Whether it's an injury, a power outage, or a stupid fan running into the ring, once your focus is broken, the performer has to struggle to get it back. Most die-hard wrestling fans that were raised seeing stuff like Wahoo McDaniel's blading scars, The Sheik's stabbing pencil, or Terry Funk wrapped up in a barbed wire cocoon...a little blood is not going to faze us.

But let's face it -- as "die-hards," the WWE could really care less what we think. I say that because the freak-outs over blood have more to do with the color green than red. You see those kids in the audience? You know, the ones with the Day-Glo Cena shirts & Rey Mysterio masks on? That's who "the E" cares about right now. And I could care less if the WWE contradicts itself on their PG direction; it's bound to happen. Vince McMahon is first & foremost a businessman and will do whatever he sees fit...even if it makes him a hypocrite. But as long as the TV is good and doesn't bore me, I'll watch it...and so will all of you. You have to accept that it's the parents who are bringing the kids to the live events & buying the Pay-Per-Views. Folks of varied economic statuses are shelling out $45 a pop so "Little Johnny Goober" could invite his Pee-Wee League buddies over for some grappling & microwave pizza rolls. If "Big Jimmy America," who knows the wrestling product better than he knows how to jerk off, if he just happens to purchase Over the Limit, even better. "The E" wasn't worried as to whether or not he was dropping a chunk of his paycheck to watch the PPV alone.

If "Mom & Pop Goober" are respectable citizens, they're not letting their kid watch blood, sex, & assorted adult themes (at least not on purpose). I don't want to get overly preachy here, but with stories in the news about teenagers & grade-school kids committing acts of violence & treachery against one another, you could place some of the blame on what they watch on television. Honestly, kids are idiots all over the world; idiots are naïve and easily swayed to be even bigger idiots when they see something simple that they can mimic -- like making friends bleed with a barbed wire baseball bat, or God forbid, hitting women indiscriminately, because they perceive them as sex objects with no intrinsic value. Kids are dumb, and you can be damn sure that Vince is not going to be held directly responsible for inciting such behavior.

And really, let's be honest -- Has the shift to PG programming been that bad? Are you able to not watch wrestling because you can't see women in lingerie rolling around in pudding or John Cena shred Batista to ribbons by throwing him through a plate-glass window in some meaningless gimmick match that you'll probably forget about in a month? They do their best, and if it's lame, well then it's lame. It's safe as far as "the E" is concerned, and "safe" equals family dollars...and just maybe some high-class sponsors. The average wrestling fan doesn't realize the magnitude of the recent Mattel deal that the WWE has for its action figures. Mattel is the world's largest toy company by revenue, with a wholesome, far-reaching brand of products. The new WWE toys are awesome in terms of quality & appearance; any wrestling kid would be an idiot to not want a John Cena or Rey Mysterio figure for Christmas or his birthday. If you think for a second that they WWE is going to jeopardize its relationship with the world's leading toy brand just so they can show bloody dudes on television, you are sadly mistaken.

Think about what the WWE portrays itself as: sports-entertainment. It is, for all intensive purposes, live theatre that goes non-stop for two hours every Monday night. Imagine if you were in the theatre: A prop smacks an actor in the head, and at that point, he starts bleeding all over his costume...there's a good chance that the play is going to be stopped. If the play kept going and the actor ended up looking like Bill Alfonso after his match with Beulah McGillicutty, I would feel uncomfortable. My perception of the actor or director or even the theatre company could take a slightly negative turn, regardless of whether or not they didn't stop because they had to "keep it real" or "do their job." The term "wrestling" is & always has been a cover for what professional wrestling really is: entertainment. CM Punk is a darn good wrestler, but an even better entertainer. Whether or not he can withstand the pain of a laceration for another twenty minutes of action is inconsequential to what his "director" thinks is best for those that are paying to see him perform.

Don't get me wrong -- I love bloody matches. The art of blading is like no other in the sense that you can't really think of another profession where you purposely jab yourself with a razor to benefit your performance. But if a little kid thinks it's okay to make his little brother bleed in a mock wrestling match because it will give him fighting spirit, well that's just a message you can't risk sending if you're a company the caliber of the WWE. So if you want blood, buy a Bruiser Brody DVD or a Dario Argento movie. If you want to watch wrestling for free on TV on Monday or Friday nights, support the current direction, because in this case, red does not equal green.

While enjoying the Memorial Day holiday weekend/the beginning of June, be sure to check out my blog at www.FutureEndeavored.tumblr.com. As you get ready to start off "The Summer of Mayhem 2010," be sure to remember: Above all things -- be a man!