The 2024 Bad Blood, also promoted as Bad Blood: Atlanta, was a professional wrestling premium live event (PLE) produced by WWE, held for wrestlers from the promotion's main roster brands, Raw and SmackDown. It was the fourth Bad Blood and took place on October 5, 2024, at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, which was the 27-year anniversary of the first event that also featured the first Hell in a Cell match. WWE wrestlers Naomi and reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill served as hosts of the event.
This was the first Bad Blood to feature multiple brands, as the 2003 and 2004 events were both held exclusively for Raw, the first Bad Blood to be held since 2004, the first to air on WWE's livestreaming platforms, and the first to be broadcast in high definition. This was also the first WWE event to take place on the same night as an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) PPV after the two companies merged to form TKO Group Holdings in September 2023. As a result, Bad Blood had a start time of 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time to avoid counter programming against UFC 307. The official theme song for the event was GTA by Future and Metro Boomin.
Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, which was the main match from SmackDown, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns defeated The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu) in a tag team match. In the opening bout, which was Raw's main match, CM Punk defeated Drew McIntyre in a Hell in a Cell match. The event marked the returns of Raquel Rodriguez, Jimmy Uso, and The Rock, as well as appearances by former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia, former multiple-time WWE Women's Champion Mickie James, and WWE Hall of Famers Booker T, Jacqueline, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and Goldberg.
The event received generally positive reviews, with the Hell in a Cell match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre receiving acclaim for its brutality and as the culmination of their ten-month feud.
Production Background
Bad Blood is a professional wrestling event produced by the American promotion WWE. It was first held as the 18th In Your House pay-per-view (PPV) event on October 5, 1997. After six years, Bad Blood returned as its own PPV event, with both the 2003 and 2004 editions taking place in June and held exclusively for wrestlers of the Raw brand. In 2005, Bad Blood was doubly replaced by One Night Stand and Vengeance, which were both held in June that year. Bad Blood was originally to be revived in July 2017, but these plans were scrapped in favor of an event titled Great Balls of Fire. The original Bad Blood also introduced the Hell in a Cell match, a 20-foot-high roofed cell structure that surrounds the ring and ringside area, and it was featured as the main event of all three prior events.
On July 6, 2024, WWE uploaded a YouTube video featuring Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and American record producer Metro Boomin, both residents of Atlanta, Georgia, where they officially announced the return of Bad Blood after 20 years; Metro and Future's song "GTA" (featuring Young Thug), from the 2024 album We Don't Trust You, would be announced as the official theme song of the event on September 27. The fourth Bad Blood was scheduled for Atlanta's State Farm Arena on Saturday, October 5, 2024, the 27-year anniversary of the first Bad Blood, marking the first Bad Blood held on a Saturday. Tickets went on sale on July 19 via Ticketmaster. The event featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions and was co-hosted by SmackDown wrestlers Naomi and reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill.
This was the first Bad Blood to be branded as a "premium live event", a term the company introduced on January 1, 2022, to refer to its events that are available on PPV and via livestreaming. As a result, it was the first Bad Blood to air on WWE's livestreaming platforms, Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network in most international markets, the latter of which was the company's first streaming platform that launched in 2014. This would subsequently be the only Bad Blood to air live on the standalone WWE Network in most territories, as it ceased operations in most markets when Netflix gained the rights in January 2025; a select few territories maintained the standalone WWE Network until early 2026 due to pre-existing contracts before they also merged under Netflix when those contracts expired.
To avoid counter programming against UFC 307, which took place the same night at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, Bad Blood had an earlier start time of 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). This was subsequently be the first time that both WWE and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) held an event on the same night since the two companies merged to form TKO Group Holdings in September 2023.
Storylines The event included five matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.
At SummerSlam, Liv Morgan defeated Rhea Ripley to retain the Women's World Championship after seemingly accidental interference from Ripley's on-screen love interest and Judgment Day stablemate, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio. Following the match, however, Mysterio turned on Ripley and kissed Morgan, ending their partnership. Later that night, fellow Judgment Day member Damian Priest lost the World Heavyweight Championship after he was betrayed by fellow stablemate Finn Bálor. Bálor subsequently excommunicated Priest and Ripley from the group, with the faction now consisting of Bálor, Mysterio, Morgan, JD McDonagh, and Carlito. A mixed tag team match between the Terror Twins (Priest and Ripley) and Judgment Day (Mysterio and Morgan) then occurred at Bash in Berlin, which The Terror Twins won with Ripley pinning Morgan, despite interference from the rest of The Judgment Day. On the following episode of Raw, Morgan attacked Ripley and injured her leg, while later that night, Priest and Jey Uso teamed up to defeat The Judgment Day (Bálor and McDonagh). The following week, it was announced that Morgan would defend her championship against Ripley in a rematch at Bad Blood, while Priest and Bálor also agreed to a match at the event. On the September 23 episode, it was announced that Mysterio would be locked in a shark cage suspended above the ring during Ripley and Morgan's match.
At the Royal Rumble in January, CM Punk eliminated Drew McIntyre in the men's Royal Rumble match. During the match, McIntyre legitimately injured Punk's triceps after a botched landing of the Future Shock DDT. Over the next few months, McIntyre taunted Punk on social media for causing his injury. Punk retaliated by costing McIntyre the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XL in April, at Clash at the Castle: Scotland in McIntyre's home country in June, and at Money in the Bank in McIntyre's namesake cash-in match in July. At SummerSlam, McIntyre defeated Punk, which featured Seth "Freakin" Rollins as the special guest referee. This led to a rematch at Bash in Berlin, which was contested as a strap match, which Punk won. During the climax of the match, Punk retrieved the bracelet that McIntyre had stolen some weeks ago. This bracelet was a gift to Punk which was adorned with his wife (AJ Lee) and dog's (Larry) names. On the following episode of Raw, McIntyre brutally attacked Punk and snapped the bracelet. On the next episode, McIntyre claimed that he ended Punk's career, only for Raw General Manager Adam Pearce to inform McIntyre that he would be facing Punk in a Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood.
At King and Queen of the Ring in May, SmackDown's Nia Jax won the Queen of the Ring tournament, earning a match for her brand's WWE Women's Championship at SummerSlam, where she defeated Bayley to win the title after interference from her ally, Tiffany Stratton. On the August 30 episode of SmackDown, Stratton interfered in Jax's title defense, however, Stratton was impeded by a returning Bayley. On the September 13 episode, Jax stated that SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis informed her that she would defend her title at Bad Blood. Bayley appeared and stated that she wanted a rematch. This prompted Naomi to come out and declare that she also wanted a title match. Jax then proposed a tag team match with herself and Stratton against Bayley and Naomi for the following week, albeit with two stipulations: if Bayley and Naomi won, the woman who scored the pinfall would face Jax for the title at Bad Blood; however, if Jax and Stratton won, the woman who was pinned would be forced to leave the SmackDown brand. Bayley and Naomi accepted. On September 20, Aldis announced that the match would be contested as a tornado tag team match, and on SmackDown that night, Bayley and Naomi were declared co-winners as they simultaneously pinned Jax. Aldis then scheduled a match between Bayley and Naomi for the following week where the winner would face Jax for the title at Bad Blood, which was won by Bayley.
On Night 2 of WrestleMania XL in April, Cody Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns to win the Undisputed WWE Championship in a Bloodline Rules match, ending Reigns' historic title reign at 1,316 days. After the event, Reigns took an extended hiatus while Solo Sikoa appointed himself as the new leader of The Bloodline, removing Jimmy Uso and manager Paul Heyman from the group while adding Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and Jacob Fatu. Sikoa would also begin referring to himself as the new Tribal Chief of the group. Rhodes subsequently began a rivalry with this new iteration of The Bloodline. At SummerSlam, Rhodes defeated Sikoa in a Bloodline Rules match to retain the title after interference from a returning Reigns. On the September 13 episode of SmackDown, Rhodes successfully defended the title against Sikoa once again, this time in a steel cage match. Following the match, Rhodes was attacked by The Bloodline which prompted Reigns to come out and assist Rhodes. Later that night, Sikoa proposed a tag team match with himself and Fatu against Rhodes and Reigns at Bad Blood. Rhodes initially declined, stating that his feud with The Bloodline was over. Later, Reigns addressed the fans and stated that he did not need Rhodes's help as it was family business. Rhodes appeared, seemingly teasing a title rematch between himself and Reigns, however, both were ambushed by The Bloodline. Rhodes and Reigns then reluctantly signed the contract, thus making the tag team match official for Bad Blood.
Event + Other on-screen personnelRole:Name:HostsBianca BelairJade CargillNaomiEnglish commentatorsMichael ColeCorey GravesSpanish commentatorsMarcelo RodríguezJerry SotoRing announcerSamantha IrvinRefereesJason AyersShawn BennettJessika CarrDan EnglerDaphanie LaShaunnInterviewersCathy KelleyJackie RedmondPre-show panelMegan MorantSam RobertsPre-show correspondentPeter Rosenberg
The Countdown to Bad Blood took place at WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.
Preliminary matches