The only time when WWE(then WWF) went beyond the script orchestrating real fights on live TV was when they introduced the most vicious of tournaments ever seen on WWE TV, Brawl For All.
As fans of pro wrestling, we know that everything that happens on screen is scripted and pre-determined. The job description of a wrestler is to maintain kayfabe on camera and make it seem real. However, amidst all the drama, there was a time when things got brutally real.
In 1998, a new tournament was coined in the WWE named “Brawl For All”. The tournament featured wrestlers engaging in dirty boxing in the wrestling ring. Bob Holly’s elucidation on the event in his autobiography “The Hardcore Truth” succinctly details how vicious the tournament was. According to Holly, some wrestlers who participated in the event had prior martial arts backgrounds.
In his book, Bob explains how the tournament came to be. He said, “As usual, time was passing, I wasn’t making any real money, and I wasn’t going anywhere. Austin was taking off, and a few of the other guys at the top of the card were doing well, but there was a load of the mid-card guys floating around doing nothing. Then somebody had an idea about a shootfighting competition, which ended up becoming the Brawl for All.
At that time, the competition was cutthroat and there wasn’t room for many guys to be featured on the top of the card which rendered a lot of guys redundant. WWF was battling neck and neck with WCW in terms of ratings. However, Vince, being the ambitious owner that he is, thought outside the box and decided to employ 16 men from the roster who were idle and put them in the shootfighting tournament.
In attempts to shoot up the ratings, wrestlers were made to don the boxing gloves and fight legitimately on live TV. The ultimate motive was to introduce a wrestler who went by the name “Dr. Death” Steve Williams as the man of the tournament so that he was eventually put up against Steve Austin in a wrestling match.
Steve Williams had the reputation of a genuine “Badass”. He wrestled in Japan for most of his career and his dominance resonated enough for him to sideline every other guy he locked horns with. JR was the man hyping Steve Williams in the tournament to the degree that resulted in other guys taking a dislike to him and hoping he’d get knocked out.
After the tournament was set and the names of the top 16 guys were on the cards, Bob Holly was surprised to learn that his name didn’t make it on the card. Naturally, This pi**d Holly off as Holly is one of the meanest and the toughest wrestlers ever to step foot between the ropes.
Interestingly, one of the wrestlers named Tiger Ali Singh backed out and a spot was open. Bradshaw urged Bruce Prichard who was one of the organizers of the event to add Holly’s name to the list.
So let’s set the scene, the rules were laid out and the pay was enormous regardless of winning or losing. For each match, the participants were awarded a staggering $5000. Bob Holly was first up against his tag team partner Bart Gunn. Bart was also the man who rode till the end. Unfortunately, Holly couldn’t survive due to the disparity in their size. Bart Gunn was also the man who went ahead and knocked out the star of the show, Steve Williams.
Who won the Tournament?
Unsurprisingly, Bart Gunn won the tournament scoring three knockouts over Steve Williams, Bradshaw, and The Godfather.
Bradshaw was the runner-up.
What happened to Bart Gunn?
After winning the tournament, he was brainwashed into facing a legitimate boxer, Butterbean. The two men faced each other at Wrestlemania XV in 1999.
Bart may have overestimated himself before saying yes to the match and heavily paid the price. That was the end of his career on live TV.
Why wasn’t the Tournament never introduced again?
Since it was real-fighting, the injuries sustained by the wrestlers were grave. Bob Holly said he had a black eye for a solid week. The head injuries caused by the matches resulted in superstars having concussions and other severities.
