Brawl For All

Hazardous

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Back in 1998, the WWF put on a shootfighting tournament called "Brawl For All" where they would give TV time to anyone who entered the tournament (was voluntary for anyone who did) with the winner getting $75,000, and a boxing match against Butterbean at Wrestlemania.

while it looked like a great idea on paper, and was used as their way of pushing legit tough guy Dr.Death Steve Williams (funny enough knocked out early).

But. the issue with it was not only did it result in some serious injuries for a few superstars, but the crowd hated it, often chanting "this is boring" or "we want wrestling" i personally kinda liked it, because it gave a chance to see if some of these guys were really actually the good fighters they played the role of on TV.

so what do you think? could it have been done differently to appeal more to the fans? would something like that work today?
 
Rather simple questions garner simple answers. First: There really wasn't anything that could be done to help it along. The fans wanted wrestling not boxing and there wasn't going to be anything to change that. Second: It MIGHT work today given the influence of MMA but I still think that it would garner "we want wrestling" chants. Remember AJ/Frank Trigg in a MMA-style match at a TNA PPV? It was a nice concept on paper but most fans didn't go for it. I watch wrestling for WRESTLING.
 
i think it would of worked properly if it had its own timeslot like saturday night. it was a good concept but it was on the wrong show.
 
Plus I think it makes wrestling on a whole look fake. So your saying these guys are fighting for real but what does that mean about the matches that happened earlier?
Kayfabe is completly lost.
 
TNA tried that when they had Aj Styles taking on Frank Trigg(UFC fighter).In a kayfabe mma match and the fans hated it.They chanted "this is bullshit" and "we want wrestling".I say no it makes the pro wrestler look weak.WWE did with Bam Bam Bigelow vs that NFL player(who's a dick).And he treated Bigelow like shit in the ring and thought he was better than him the entire time.But WWE still does it away with Big Show's sumo match at mania and they also got away with Floyd Mayweather vs Big show boxing match.All made the pro wrestler look like a fool.
 
No they won't bring it back. Fans got bored with the no storylines. They where confused with the rules and with this pg era they can't use blood which oddly enough would happen in most if not all of the matches if they brought it back
 
LT didn't treat Bigelow like shit. They had a good match considering LT's limits. From all accounts LT was very respectful of wrestling and loved being a part of it.

The problem with shoot fighting on wrestling is that you can't fake the results you want. Bart Gunn might've proved he was the real knock out man but Austin was still the toughest sob in the world and undertaker the best pure striker in the WWE. Brawl For All would never work in wrestling now because the toughest guys aren't always the most marketable (poor Bart)
 
As a fan of MMA and boxing I like the idea, but as for a wrestling fan it was fucking stupid. Wrestling is a lot faster paced and filled with excitement whereas fighting can be boring at times since it is more calculating. I can completely understand why wrestling fans would hate the brawl for all since the wrestlers aren't real fighters and were hesitant about hurting their opponent and getting hurt, not that you can't get hurt wrestling. But, wrestlers are not trained fighters and wouldn't have that sort of killer instinct per say.

However, I wouldn't be against the idea of a future brawl for all, the problem is of course, wrestlers getting hurt since they would be literally hitting one another and that the fans would not be exactly welcoming to a shootfight which could be boring, as we witness in MMA not every fight is Forrest vs. Bonnar.
 
I"m on the nay side of this arguement. It's the square peg in a round hole thing. Real competitive combat sport and pro wrestling are just two completely different things. Can either utilize aspect of the other? Fuck yeah, but they're still apples and oranges. I don't want a fucking fruit salad. Leave shoot fighting out of the pro wrestling ring. It just doesn't have a place there.
 
Well considering how badly Bart Gunn got knocked out on Wrestlemania, I doubt Vince will ever do something like this again.

He got MESSED up and he was the toughest guy WWE had.
 
well it really wasnt THAT bad to watch, im watching it over again, and the crowd actually was pretty into the Bart Gunn VS Godfather fight. which was a great knockout by Bart Gunn. they went nuts when he landed it. but yes i think it did take away the acting part of the show.
 
I remember that and actually being excited to watch it week after week. I actually became a fan of Bart Gunn after that but I don't remember if anything ever came from him winning other than getting knocked the fuck out by Butterbean. It would at least be entertaining if they did it today, but so many people would rip on it, not just the IWC but the mainstream media might get on it too, I can just picture guys at ESPN making fun of it or putting it in there Not Top Ten, which is the last thing wrestling needs to gain its respect back. But I remember loving it at the time but wouldn't work at all today.
 
i thought it was great. we hadnt really got to see bart gunn do much after the smoking gunns split up. billy was doing great with road dogg and bart wasnt doing anything, and he truelly showed his toughness. then came wrestlemania 15 lol hahahaha BOOM
 
I think it's a great idea, but as you say, on paper.
They should just do it on a different show, which represents problem in itself I guess because WWE have loads of shows already and launching an proven draw probably isn't good business sense.
I don't see why it couldn't work though, if kept separate from the "sports entertainment" side of things. No points system, MMA style rules, keep it to knockouts, submissions etc
It's a shame that the Brawl For All was only for jobbers trying to make a name for themselves, rather than top stars (I read somewhere they had the option if they wished, but who'd give up main event status for legitimate fighting? - Which would also be the problem if it was relaunched).
Who wouldn't wanna see a guy like Steve Austin in a real fight against Goldberg?
It'd be great to finally see behind the personas to see who can back it up and who can't.
Something like that is a huge risk though, imagine if Cena was entered and got his ass handed to him by some no name jobber? That would ruin whatever shreds of credibility the WWE might try to weld onto him...
I think it would be an awesome idea IF it could be done properly, but it never would be and so it remains merely a "what might have been" kinda idea.
 

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