Jim Ross Admits When He Knew WWE “Brawl For All” Would Fail
Jim Ross felt that WWE’s Brawl For All tournament would be a failure and he recently revealed his feelings on the concept.
The WWE Brawl For All tournament took place in the summer of 1998 featuring eight WWE superstars having legitimate boxing matches to see who was the best boxer at the time.
At the time, Jim Ross was WWE’s main television announcer calling the action in the ring and he was also the Head of WWE Talent Relations meaning he was the guy that put together the talent roster.
While speaking about Brawl for All on his Grilling JR podcast recently, Jim Ross was asked when he knew the concept would fail.
“During the first fight. It looked awkward. Looked like something was amiss, and maybe that was the booking, maybe that was the pairing. I don’t know, but it just didn’t seem like a good fit, and I think that concept, that theory, that idea, that sentiment was proven very clearly as this tournament proceeded.”
What Wrestlers Were In The Brawl For All Tournament?
The Brawl For All tournament took place from June 29, 1998, to August 24, 1998 on Monday Night Raw. There were 16 wrestlers in the tournament including “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, Steve Blackman, Bob “Hardcore” Holly and Hawk from Legion of Doom among others.
The final four men in the tournament were Bart Gunn, Bradshaw, The Godfather and Droz with Bart beating Bradshaw in the finals. Bart won $75,000 for winning the tournament while Bradshaw received $25,000 as the runner up.
Former WWE writer Vince Russo takes credit for it saying that he did it because he didn’t like Bradshaw and wanted to see how he would do in a real fight. Apparently, WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon liked the concept enough to greenlight it and that’s why it made it onto television.