The WWF Brawl for All was a shootfighting tournament held in the World Wrestling Federation that lasted from June 29, 1998 to August 24, 1998.
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Throughout 1998, the WWF experienced a growth in roster size but due to limited amount of TV time a number of their more genuine "tough guys" were left without much to do. As a result, the idea for a legit tough guy tournament was bandied about as a way to both utilize some of these men and capitalize on the recent interest in Toughman Contests around the country.
Participation in the tournament was strictly voluntary.
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.
WWF audiences grew impatient with the relatively complicated rules, lack of explosive scripted-style finishes and generally slower action (in the first week, crowds chanted, "We want wrestling").
The tournament also resulted in a number of legitimate injuries -- Steve Blackman and Road Warrior Hawk were unable to work in usual WWF capacities for a while after. Savio Vega aggravated an old arm injury and would never work for WWF again.
UFC veteran Dan "The Beast" Severn was pulled from the tournament after it was believed a loss would harm his MMA career.
Jim Cornette has described the tournament as "the stupidest thing that the WWF has ever done".[1] He argues that the WWF misjudged the appeal that legitimate fighting would have to their audience, considering that the WWF had aggressively promoted the idea that their matches were "sports entertainment" with scripted finishes. Futhermore, 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.
WWF management's favorite, "Doctor Death" Steve Williams, got knocked out by Bart Gunn in the third round of his match, which lessened the tough-guy mystique being built for his character, effectively ending his push.
Bart Gunn defeated Bradshaw by TKO on the August 24, 1998 episode of Raw is War to win the tournament and $75,000. Bradshaw received $25,000. During this bout, Shawn Michaels provided guest commentary alongside Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross.
A follow-up to the tournament had the winner, Bart Gunn, matched against pro boxer Eric "Butterbean" Esch at WrestleMania XV. Gunn was knocked out approximately 30 seconds into the bout and soon after was out of the WWF. Though Gunn's legitimate knockout of Williams did not bring him success in the WWF, he was seen with great mystique in Japan where Williams is highly regarded. He tours the independent circuit and Japan under the name Mike Barton.
KO - knockout; TKO - technical knockout; Pts - points; Dec - referee's/judge's decision
| First round | Second round | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||||||
| RAW | Steve Blackman | 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 | Draw | ||||||||||||||||
| 7/6 | Road Warrior Hawk | Draw | ||||||||||||||||
| RAW | Bradshaw | |||||||||||||||||
| 8/24 | Bart Gunn | TKO | ||||||||||||||||
| 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 | Pts | ||||||||||||||||
| RAW | The Godfather | Pts | ||||||||||||||||
| 8/3 | Scorpio | |||||||||||||||||
| RAW | 8-Ball | |||||||||||||||||
| 7/20 | Scorpio | Pts | ||||||||||||||||
NOTE: Steve Blackman defeated Marc Mero but was unable to compete in the next round, permitting re-entry into the tournament for Mero.
NOTE: Dan Severn defeated The Godfather but withdrew from the tournament, citing he had nothing to prove and permitting re-entry for The Godfather.
NOTE: Quote from Dan Severn off of Sherdog radio. Him and Ken Shamrock were not allowed to participate. Then Dan Severn was asked to participate. After defeating The Godfather he was told he was no longer allowed to continue.
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