5 Matches WWE Needs to Book at Bad Blood 2024

WWE has completely overhauled the way they book their pay-per-views, and the returning Bad Blood will be no exception.

The days of marathon 10+ match events are over. Instead, WWE has typically booked five to seven matches for most of its 2024 pay-per-views. According to Fighting selection (h/t Inside The Ropes) WWE’s PPVs—or PLEs—are expected to continue following this format: “WWE is happy with how the shorter PLEs are performing… A shorter PLE helps them stack the match cards on RAW and SmackDown, especially when the blue branded show is in the same city as the PLE.”

The formula seems to be working, too. Last month’s Bash in Berlin event generated the highest live gate in WWE history, and WWE’s shorter, more focused PPVs have resulted in better events overall. What’s more, both Raw and SmackDown have improved in quality, largely because they now more often feature high-stakes matches that would traditionally be held on pay-per-views.

WWE has found the right balance for its big shows and if the company continues with its five-match format at the upcoming (and returning) Bad Blood event in Atlanta, these five matches should complete the bill.

ForbesWWE Bash In Berlin 2024 Results: Gunther Puts Randy Orton to SleepBy means of Blake Oestriecher

Bron Breakker vs. Jey Uso for the Intercontinental Title

Jey Uso is still one of WWE’s best-selling merchandise items, despite his inconsistent bookings. Since leaving The Bloodline, he hasn’t had a storyline to really delve into.

Even with an expected reunion with Roman Reigns and his brother Jimmy, Uso deserves better in the short term. Rikishi, the former WWE star and Jey’s father, recently voiced his opinion that Jey is poorly booked and underpaid, and there is certainly some truth to that.

Jey is a predator in front of a live audience, but his character lacks the depth he had when he was involved with Reigns and The Bloodline. That could change on this week’s Raw, when Jey competes in a Fatal 4-Way to determine the #1 contender for Bron Breakker’s Intercontinental Championship.

Jey is the heavy favorite to win the match and should definitely come out on top, setting up a Bad Blood match against Breakker that will put him in the spotlight for the first time in months.

World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther vs. Sami Zayn

In last week’s episode of Monday Night RawSami Zayn has declared himself the next challenger for Gunther’s World Heavyweight Championship.

It’s a natural, ready-made rivalry for Gunther, who appears to have moved on from Randy Orton and has a long history with Zayn. The two stars faced off at WrestleMania 40 in April, with Zayn defeating Gunther to end his historic 666-day Intercontinental Championship reign and hand him his first major singles defeat on the main roster.

If anyone can claim to be able to beat Gunther, it’s Zayn. And after the two stars put on perhaps the best outright wrestling match at WrestleMania, this is an easy match to book at the returning Bad Blood event. Zayn remains one of WWE’s most beloved stars, while Gunther is one of the most hated, making them ideal opponents for each other.

While the two technicians put on a masterpiece in the ring in their last encounter, this is a great temporary rivalry for Gunther heading into a potential match with CM Punk at Survivor Series.

Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu

Roman Reigns returns to WWE this week on SmackDown, the blue brand’s debut episode on USA Network and the same episode that sees Cody Rhodes once again defend the WWE Championship against Solo Sikoa.

This certainly smells like a set-up for Reigns and Rhodes to become unlikely allies. Remember, it was Reigns who helped Rhodes defeat Sikoa at SummerSlam last month, and WWE reportedly has no plans to do Rhodes vs. Sikoa again at Bad Blood, despite that seeming like the obvious direction.

Considering that Rhodes is busy with The Bloodine but will be defending the WWE Championship in a rare televised title defense on SmackDown, that certainly lends credence to the possibility that Rhodes will not be defending his belt at all when Bad Blood comes around. While Rhodes has teased that he would be putting his belt on the line against Jacob Fatu, it’s unlikely that Rhodes will lose the title just yet or that Fatu will lose his first-ever WWE singles bout.

That’s a lose-lose situation for WWE, making a Rhodes-Reigns alliance (albeit short-lived and only to unite against a common enemy) a win-win.

Last Woman Standing: Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan

WWE struck gold with Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan, which drew huge viewership on social media and was also seen on Raw in recent months.

One of the most intense and heated feuds the women’s division has ever seen, Ripley vs. Morgan deserves to culminate in epic fashion at the aptly named Bad Blood event. If anyone in WWE has bad blood right now, it’s Morgan and Ripley, two all-stars set to settle the score in a rarely seen gimmick match.

In the ideal scenario, this would be a Last Woman Standing match, a bout where the two top stars can fight instead of wrestle. Additionally, this would give WWE a logical way to book outside interference, which is inevitable since Damian Priest and The Judgment Day remain key figures in this feud.

Even if WWE opts for a different stipulation, such as a Street Fight or No DQ match, the basic framework remains the same: Ripley and Morgan have a brawl that provides a fitting end to their red-hot feud.

CM Punk vs Drew McIntyre in Hell in a Cell

If Ripley vs. Morgan isn’t WWE’s best rivalry in 2024, that honor goes to Punk vs. Drew McIntyre.

A feud of epic proportions that has made Raw the greatest show in professional wrestling, Punk vs. McIntyre has only one potential ending: Hell in a Cell. That’s actually exactly what WWE reportedly has planned for the two former world champions, who are tied at 1-1 after McIntyre won at SummerSlam and Punk prevailed at Bash in Berlin.

The rubber match for such an emotional rivalry has to finally conclude with a vicious stipulation match. No match fits that picture better than Hell in a Cell. Once an overused gimmick match, there have only been two HIAC matches since 2021, the most notable being Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins at the June 2022 Hell in a Cell event.

McIntyre vs. Punk isn’t a matter of forcing a gimmick match because there’s a PPV named after it. No, it’s the best way to end a historically great rivalry that has elevated both Punk and McIntyre in ways no one could have imagined.