10 Times WWE Tried To Be Edgy (And Failed Miserably)
1. The Brawl For All
And now the one we've all been waiting for.
Created by writer Vince Russo, WWE's 1998 Brawl for All was a shootfighting tournament designed to showcase some of the company's legitimate tough guys, partially in response to the rise of mixed martial arts promotions like UFC.
Although imagined as a way of launching favourite Steve Williams towards a big money showdown with Stone Cold Steve Austin, the resulting tournament was a catastrophe of regrettable injuries and upset victories. Fighting actually hurts people. Big shocker, we know.
Bart Gunn frustrated WWE's plans for Steve Williams by winning the entire tournament in shocking fashion. His reward? Losing in seconds to professional boxer Butterbean at WrestleMania XV, proving that no good deed goes unpunished in WWE.
Plus, fans hated the slow-paced Brawl for All, which stood in stark contrast to sports entertainment's usual bells and whistles. Maybe some pyro would've helped - then again, probably not.
As revealed in Vice's Dark Side of the Ring series, the entire tournament seemed more about Russo punishing a boastful John "Bradshaw" Layfield than elevating the eventual winner. Bradshaw did lose to Gunn in the finals, so at least Russo got something out of the Brawl for All. Here is your real winner...