Former WWE Writer Names Brawl For All As Wrestling’s Worst-Ever Moment
The Brawl For All tournament that WWE did in 1998 is apparently the worst ever moment in pro wrestling, according to a former WWE writer.
From June 29, 1998, to August 24, 1998, WWE decided to run the Brawl For All boxing tournament on Monday Night Raw. It was a boxing tournament featuring WWE superstars including Hall of Famers like John Bradshaw Layfield and The Godfather.
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.
If you’re wondering who came up with the Brawl for All concept, 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, former WWE Champion Vince McMahon liked the concept enough to greenlight it and that’s why it made it onto television.
When WWE did the tournament, they wanted to see “Dr. Death” Steve Williams do well to try to build him up as a potential opponent for WWE Champion “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. That didn’t go well because Williams got hurt during the tournament and never got a big push after that.
On his Wrestling With Freddie podcast, actor and former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr. trashed the Brawl For All concept, which is not a new thing for fans of pro wrestling or anybody that worked in the business.
“It is the single worst moment in professional wrestling. The idea is completely asinine, that on the same show where you have choreographed fights, you’re going to have a real one just to show that the bigger stars aren’t as tough as the lesser stars, which is stupid.”
As he continued, Prinze talked about why he hated every minute of the Brawl For All.
“I’m gonna make The Godfather look tougher than ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. Why would you do that if ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin is supposed to be the toughest son of a b***h in the business? But he didn’t have the guts to join the Brawl for All? ‘Cause he’s not a real man? This idea was horrible; I hated every minute of it.”
The wrestling series Dark Side of the Ring did a full episode dedicated to the disaster known as Brawl For All.