Wrestling Observer:
The show also saw featured what was absolutely a planned blood spot in the final segment where HHH smashed Roman Reigns’ head into the announcers table over and over again, and Reigns’ face was covered in blood. Even though the company has for years had a strict no blood policy (although obviously in some recent main events that has been relaxed to a degree), this was planned. We were told it was expected, but that they were surprised that it looked as graphic as it was and they didn’t shoot close-ups of it.
The belief is that when HHH was on camera and walked away from Reigns, with the camera on him and taking the attention of the crowd with him, announcer Byron Saxton handed Reigns a blood packet. Reigns then presumably bit it and the blood went all over his face. Videotape footage clearly shows Saxton passing something to Reigns right before he came up bloody. The WWE web site the next day had a vague story about him undergoing surgery in Tampa for a shattered nose. He was not injured in the angle. Whether the surgery was legit and there was a pre-existing condition that led to the angle, we’ve heard conflicting stories about. At the Smackdown tapings in Indianapolis, the word going around among talent was that there was a pre-existing condition with his nose that needed to be taken care of and the surgery was legitimate. There were plenty of rumors before the show that Reigns was injured, although friends of Reigns denied them at the time, but it does seem like that was the case.