In 1998, the WWE embarked on a risky venture into legitimate shoot-fighting with the Brawl For All tournament. The tournament, which lasted from June 29 to August 24, 1998, resulted in numerous injuries and disrupted several wrestlers’ momentum, ultimately proving to be a catastrophic idea, a statement that former WCW booker Kevin Sullivan firmly agrees with.
Kevin Sullivan, in a recent episode of Tuesday with the Taskmaster, labelled the tournament as “one of the stupidest ideas ever” in wrestling. He emphasised that the tournament ruined the momentum of all the wrestlers involved, highlighting its detrimental impact on the participants.
That thing was one of the stupidest ideas ever. These matches are gonna be real, and the rest of it is bullshit? I mean, no one looked good.
Despite emerging as the unlikely winner of the tournament, Bart Gunn’s victory was short-lived. He faced the renowned boxer Butterbean in a losing effort at WrestleMania 15, which effectively nullified any momentum he had gained from the event. The initial plan was for “Dr. Death” Steve Williams to win the tournament, with officials believing he would have an easy path to the top. However, Williams’s unexpected knockout by Gunn led to a significant loss of credibility, ultimately derailing his career.
Butterbean, reflecting on his fight with Gunn, indicated that Vince McMahon brought him in as punishment for Gunn, positioning him for failure. Similarly, Marc Mero stated that Gunn’s boxing match with Butterbean had a detrimental impact on his career. In the Brawl for All, Gunn notably knocked out The Godfather and Bradshaw in the finals and engaged in a close contest with Bob Holly, ultimately securing victory by referee decision. The tournament, despite its intentions, resulted in a series of disastrous consequences for the wrestlers involved.
What Was WCW’s Original Plan To End Goldberg’s Streak According To Kevin Sullivan?
According to Kevin Sullivan, the original plan to end Goldberg’s steak in WCW was to have been beaten clean by Kevin Nash. Sullivan stated that he thought the shock defeat would have a similar effect as Mike Tyson’s shock loss to Buster Douglas.
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