WWF Brawl for All
This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2007) |
Bart Gunn , winner of Brawl for All | |
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Sport | |
Location | United States |
Dates | June 29, 1998–August 24, 1998 |
Tournament format(s) | Bart Gunn |
Runner-up | Bradshaw |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 15 |
WWF Brawl for All was a
Inception
Throughout 1998, the WWF experienced a growth in roster size, but due to limited amount of television time a number of their more genuine "tough guys" were left without much to do. As a result, the idea for a
According to John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Vince Russo came up with the idea when Layfield wanted to create a hardcore wrestling division in the WWF. Russo said he devised the tournament as a consequence of Bradshaw claiming he could beat anyone on the roster in a bar fight.[3] Jim Cornette also reported that it was Russo's idea.[4] Participation in the tournament was strictly voluntary.
Bruce Prichard stated on his podcast, Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, that when he was presented with the idea, he thought it was "the stupidest, worst idea he had ever heard". He was later reprimanded for being so negative to the Brawl for All concept.
Tournament events and injuries
Each match consisted of three one-minute rounds. Whichever wrestler connected with the most punches per round scored 5 points. In addition, a clean takedown scored 5 points and a knockdown was worth 10. If a wrestler was knocked out (decided by an eight-count rather than a ten-count), the match ended. The matches were scored by ringside judges including Gorilla Monsoon.
According to
The WWF roster at the time had two well-known former
Along with Williams, a number of other wrestlers sustained legitimate injuries during the tournament. These included the Godfather, Steve Blackman, Road Warrior Hawk, Savio Vega, Droz and Brakkus.[4][8]
Reception
Fans in attendance immediately voiced their disapproval of the tournament with chants of "Boring!" and "We want wrestling!"[9] Josh Nason of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter wrote that Brawl for All was "regarded as a terrible idea".[10] Then-WWF official Jim Cornette has described the tournament as "the stupidest thing that the WWF has ever done", at least on television. He argued that the WWF misjudged the appeal that legitimate fighting would have to their audience, considering that the WWF had promoted the idea that their matches were merely entertainment. Furthermore, because the fighters were trained to work professional wrestling matches and not to fight, they risked both injury and the possibility that a defeat would hurt their marketability. Cornette also criticized the WWF for failing to use the tournament to promote Bart Gunn as a new star wrestler.[4]
In the WWE documentary The Attitude Era, Jim Ross stated that it was "one of those ideas that looked really cool on paper", but John "Bradshaw" Layfield added that the execution was "a bad idea". Layfield also stated that "nobody knew Bart Gunn was that good."[11] Ross later remarked that "No one got over".[10] Sean Waltman called it "the dumbest fucking idea in WWE history", and felt the company educated its audience that "These guys are fighting for real, and everything else you're watching is bullshit."[12]
Documentary series Dark Side of the Ring covered the tournament in the fourth episode of its second season.
In comparison to the North American audience, the Brawl for All had better reception in Japan, as it resulted in Bart Gunn's All Japan Pro Wrestling signing (Gunn became a successful mainstay for the company) and further advanced Steve Williams's character development on their shows.
Aftermath
Immediately prior to the Brawl for All, Holly (as "Bombastic Bob") and Gunn (as "Bodacious Bart") had been performing as a new version of The Midnight Express with Jim Cornette as their manager and had won the NWA World Tag Team Championship after defeating The Headbangers on an episode of Raw. After winning the tournament, Bart Gunn, while still under contract with the WWF, was offered an All Japan Pro Wrestling contract from owner Giant Baba, who took interest in hiring Gunn due in part to his knockout of Steve Williams. In Japan, Williams was a longtime main-eventer and held a strong reputation for his toughness, and Giant Baba sought to integrate the Brawl for All results into his storylines. After signing with All Japan in October 1998, Gunn's debut would be announced on the November 1, 1998 edition of AJPW TV, making his in-ring debut that month.[13]
In February 1999, Gunn would return to the WWF to fulfill his contract obligations. Gunn feuded with both Bob Holly, now known as Hardcore Holly,[14] and Steve Williams, both angry at having been beaten in the tournament, the latter masking himself and pushing Gunn off a stage.
Gunn was later matched against professional boxer Butterbean at WrestleMania XV in a boxing match; Gunn was knocked out 35 seconds into the bout and was fired by the WWF afterward. Jim Cornette was critical of Gunn being placed in a match with a pro boxer.[4] Bob Holly claimed that Gunn's inevitable loss to Butterbean was a punishment for defeating the company's desired winner, Steve Williams.[5] After the loss to Butterbean, Gunn returned to All Japan in May 1999, changing his ring name to Mike Barton that summer.
After the tournament,
Mike Barton vs. Steve Williams
In January 2000, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where Bart Gunn was wrestling under the name Mike Barton as a full-time competitor during Williams's absence. On the January 17, 2000 edition of AJPW TV, Williams defeated Barton in an unexpected squash match,[15] with the feud continuing for a week in the house show circuit before being postponed.
The
In December 2000, the storyline animosity between Barton and Williams resumed, where Williams crossed paths with Barton in a tag-team television match during the World's Strongest Tag Determination League 2000 tournament. They were on opposite teams and Williams sought to get even with Barton for his loss in the Brawl For All in a definitive match in the Tokyo Dome.[18]
The feud with Williams would culminate into a revenge match on a January 28, 2001 for the Giant Baba Memorial Spectacular pay-per-view, which Williams won. The match itself was the third-to-last match on the card, but on the initial broadcast and on AJPW TV was promoted and portrayed as a main event to the viewer.[19]
After this, Barton and Williams would regularly wrestle against each other throughout the first half of 2001, before the two would eventually team with each other later that year in October. Jim Steele and Mike Rotunda would join them in three-way or four-way tag team matches whenever the need arose.[20]
By late 2001, Williams would be a friend of Bart Gunn, often being by his side and taking part in both backstage and in-ring skits, as well as Williams rooting for Barton in his matches. Most notably, in January 2002 the pair celebrated
Brawl for All tournament bracket
KO - knockout; TKO - technical knockout; Pts - points; Dec - referee's/judge's decision
First round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||
Raw | Steve Blackman 1 | Dec | |||||||||||||||||
6/29 | Marc Mero | ||||||||||||||||||
Raw | Marc Mero | ||||||||||||||||||
8/10 | Bradshaw | Pts | |||||||||||||||||
Raw | Mark Canterbury
| ||||||||||||||||||
6/29 | Bradshaw | Pts | |||||||||||||||||
Raw | Bradshaw | Pts | |||||||||||||||||
8/17 | Darren "Droz" Drozdov | ||||||||||||||||||
Raw | Brakkus | ||||||||||||||||||
7/6 | Savio Vega | Pts | |||||||||||||||||
Raw | Savio Vega | ||||||||||||||||||
8/10 | Darren "Droz" Drozdov | Pts | |||||||||||||||||
Raw | Darren "Droz" Drozdov 2
| Draw | |||||||||||||||||
7/6 | Road Warrior Hawk | Draw | |||||||||||||||||
Raw | Bradshaw | ||||||||||||||||||
8/24 | Bart Gunn | KO | |||||||||||||||||
Raw | Bart Gunn
| Dec | |||||||||||||||||
7/13 | Bob Holly
| ||||||||||||||||||
Raw | Bart Gunn | KO | |||||||||||||||||
7/27 | Steve Williams | ||||||||||||||||||
Raw | Quebecer Pierre
| ||||||||||||||||||
7/20 | Steve Williams
| TKO | |||||||||||||||||
Raw | Bart Gunn | KO | |||||||||||||||||
8/17 | The Godfather | ||||||||||||||||||
Raw | The Godfather
| ||||||||||||||||||
7/13 | Dan Severn 3 | Pts | |||||||||||||||||
Raw | The Godfather | Pts | |||||||||||||||||
8/3 | Scorpio | ||||||||||||||||||
Raw | 8-Ball | ||||||||||||||||||
7/20 | Scorpio | Pts |
1 Steve Blackman won the bout, but was forced to withdraw due to an injury sustained in training. Mero was advanced to the next round.
2 Drozdov advanced as Road Warrior Hawk was injured during the bout.
3 Dan Severn won the bout, but he withdrew, saying he had nothing to prove. The Godfather was advanced to the next round.
References
- ^ "Dark Side Of The Ring - The Brawl For All FULL RECAP". The Signature Spot. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
- ^ "Dark Side of the Ring" The Brawl For All (TV Episode 2020) - IMDb, retrieved 2023-03-21
- ^ Oliver, Sean (director) (2016). Timeline: History of WCW – 1998 – As told by Vince Russo (DVD). Kayfabe Commentaries.
[John 'Bradshaw' Layfield] started carrying on that he could take anybody in the company, or in the locker room, in a real bar fight... I pitched the whole idea of the Brawl for All.
- ^ a b c d e f "Jim Cornette". Who's Slamming Who. March 16, 2009.
- ^ a b Holly, Bob. The Hardcore Truth: The Bob Holly Story. p. 121.
- ^ "Dan Severn reveals Crazy Mexican underground fight he was offered". Submission Radio. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
- ^ Steve Williams, How Dr. Death Became Dr. Life
- ^ Arvedon, Jon (April 1, 2020). "Dark Side of the Ring Tackles WrestleMania's Biggest Botch". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ Martin, Fin (July 1998). "What's Going Down". Power Slam. SW Publishing: 5.
- ^ a b Nason, Joesh (April 19, 2020). "Vice's 'Brawl For All': A stretch of substance with strange diversions". Wrestling Observer. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
- ^ WWE: The Attitude Era (DVD). WWE Home Video. May 22, 2013.
- ^ Coleman, Joe (May 30, 2020). "Vince McMahon let wrestlers fight for real at 'Brawl for All' – but it was known as 'the dumbest f****** idea in WWE history'". Talksport. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "All Japan November 1998 from AJPW TV (Bart Gunn debut under WWF contract, Brawl For All angle)". YouTube.
- ^ "WWF Raw is War--February 15, 1999".
- ^ "Bart Gunn vs. Dr. Death Steve Williams (AJPW All Japan TV 01 17 2000) WWF Brawl for All". YouTube.
- ^ "Matches - Bart Gunn". Retrieved 2023-09-16.
- ^ "AJPW October Giant Series 2000 - Tag 4". Retrieved 2023-09-16.
- ^ Bart Gunn and Dr. Death Steve Williams, TV fight buildup for revenge match (12 02 2000 AJPW TV). Al Balog. June 15, 2021. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ AJPW All Japan PPV 01 28 2001. Al Balog. March 21, 2020. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Bart Gunn: Profile & Match Listing - Internet Wrestling Database (IWD)".
- ^ AJPW Champion Carnival 2002 - Tag 15 CageMatch
- ^ "Bart Gunn (Mike Barton) career compilation Part #3 (AJPW All Japan TV thru 2002) more Dr. Death era". YouTube.