10 Infamous Shoot Moments When WWE Got Real
5. Brawl For All
Perhaps the most well-documented instance of the WWE “getting
real” was with its infamous Brawl For All competition, a series of matches that
the company openly admitted were in no way scripted, with its participants
fighting for real.
That might sound quite exciting on paper, but in practice it was a bit of a disaster.
Bart Gunn would be the eventual winner, outlasting the likes of Steve Blackman, Dan Severn, JBL, and Bob Holly. The real loser was the company itself though, as various legitimate injuries were sustained by the combatants along the way. Which really shouldn’t have come as a surprise, given that the fights were real and all…
Plus, the whole aim of the tournament had been to put over 'Dr. Death' Steve Williams, with one eye on an eventual pay-per-view meeting with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Of course, the entire nature of a shoot competition is that you don’t get to select who you put over. By the end of it, they were left with a winner they didn’t want, and a lengthy queue for the treatment room.
There’s a reason pro wrestling is predetermined, and the Brawl For All proved that the hard way.