Top five mistakes WWE made in build up to Bad Blood 2024

WWE made some mistakes as they head for Bad Blood PPV

With WWE Bad Blood just days away from making its momentous return to the WWE after a hiatus of 20 long years, anticipation and excitement among fans are at an all-time high. The match card for Bad Blood is stacked with solid matches supported by long-term storylines.

The PLE will also mark the return of Roman Reigns to in-ring action after WrestleMania 40, where he will team up with WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes to take on Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu from the rogue Bloodline.

Also, how can we forget the baddest blood rivalry in the match card? CM Punk will take on Drew McIntyre inside Hell in a Cell in an attempt to finish what has probably been the best rivalry in pro wrestling in 2024. However, at the same time, the build-up to WWE Bad Blood has not been perfect.

Even though the matches and storylines have been spot on, because they have been mostly built over such long periods of time, we are talking strictly about the build-up to Bad Blood in this article.

Here are 5 mistakes that have been made in the build-up to Bad Blood 2024:

The WWE Undisputed Championship is losing its significance

One of the biggest cons of having Cody Rhodes involved in the Bloodline business all the time is that the WWE Undisputed Championship loses its value, while the Ula Fala looks like the most prized possession in the company. This was never the case when Roman Reigns was champion because he had his own rivalries.

While it is okay not to defend the championship at every PLE, the championship shouldn’t look like a secondary aspect of a rivalry. And that is the main problem, not just with Bad Blood, but the entirety of Cody Rhodes’ title reign.

From SummerSlam to Bad Blood, even when he was defending the championship, it was never about him and his story, but Roman Reigns and his highly awaited return. This hurts the credibility and importance of the most prized possession in all of WWE: The WWE Championship.

Finn Balor needs to be presented better

After Finn Balor turned on Damian Priest at SummerSlam, I expected a much more serious side from him. He had good reasons to turn on Damian, and the turn was executed perfectly. So, when it came time for the two brothers to finally battle each other, Finn Balor is portrayed as one of those sleazy heels who are always scared to pick a fight and try to run away from it. It does not suit Finn.

This is the same guy who defeated Seth Rollins at SummerSlam to become the first Universal Champion. He has a Demon persona to him, and he was the number one guy in Judgment Day for almost 2 years, taking part in all the marquee rivalries against the likes of Edge and Cody Rhodes.

From there, they are just giving the character traits of a heel Miz to him. Running away and sneaking in wins once in a while, only Miz can pull that off and still be a Grand Slam Champion. As for Finn Balor, his presentation needs to change. He needs to get more serious and intimidating.

This rivalry between Finn and Damian should look a lot more important, but it isn’t because WWE has fumbled Finn’s presentation.

Lack of Stipulations

The lack of stipulations is another issue. While I am all in for having stipulations in only those matches that need it, it feels WWE has underutilized that opportunity at Bad Blood. CM Punk and Drew McIntyre needed that cell to conclude their rivalry; however, Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley needed one too.

Yes, Dominic Mysterio locked in a shark cage at the top of the ring sounds fun, but Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan’s rivalry is nothing short of a blood feud. So, WWE could have at least made it into a no-disqualification match or a street fight.

The same can be said about Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor. This rivalry should really feel a lot bigger considering the story that is being told spanning almost two years. This is a brother turning on a brother. This match is exactly what Bad Blood stands for, and even if they are saving a cell for a future bout between the two, they could have at least made this a street fight or a steel cage match.

None of the Men’s Championships are being defended

As of right now, both of the Women’s World Championships are set to be defended at Bad Blood, but none of the men’s mid-card or World Championship are being advertised for the show. Cody Rhodes will obviously not defend his championship as he is teaming up with Roman Reigns to take on the Rogue Bloodline.

At the same time, it’s practically guaranteed that Gunther vs. Sami Zayn will also take place at Bad Blood for the World Heavyweight Championship, but even that match didn’t really need to happen this soon. Also, none of the mid-card championships are being defended on the show.

While I understand that as a PLE, Bad Blood is more suitable to cater to grudge matches, you still need to throw in at least some of those championship matches to make the PLE more memorable.

Uneffective segments have been another issue

In the build-up to Bad Blood, CM Punk and Drew McIntyre haven’t faced off in the same ring once after the Hell in a Cell match between the two was announced. They appeared on different episodes, cutting otherwise passionate promos.

The build-up between Sami Zayn and Gunther too has been just okay, it has been funny, that’s for sure, but I can’t help but point out how they wasted Bret Hart and his involvement in the rivalry.

Similarly, Roman Reigns hasn’t shown up on SmackDown after the SmackDown premiere on the USA Network. We got a pre-taped segment between him and Cody, which was great, but yeah, nothing more.

Also, Solo Sikoa was absent for one of the episodes of SmackDown, and Randy Orton also didn’t show up on weekly television after the season premiere, before last week’s SmackDown. So, a lot of top talents who could have been used to book a lot of intriguing segments in the build-up to Bad Blood haven’t been utilized that well.

Despite all that, Bad Blood is still looking great, and fans are very much engrossed in the product. A lot of it has to do with the powerful long-term stories that are told in the Triple H era. So, even if the build-up is not up to the mark for a certain PLE, the stature of the bigger story being told compensates for it.

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