10 Wrestlers Punished For Trying To Steal The Limelight

4. Bart Gunn

Butterbean Knocks Out Bart Gunn
WWE.com

The Brawl For All was a f*cking stupid idea based on a f*cking stupid premise. Bradshaw talked the talk in the locker room, so Vince Russo came up with a way to make him walk it. Hours and hours of precious 1998 television time were subsequently dedicated to a shoot-boxing tournament that resulted in several significant plan-changing injuries and a success story for but one man - Bart Gunn.

The former tag star had bolstered his hard-man credentials tenfold by getting past Bob Holly, Dr Death Steve Williams, The Godfather and Bradshaw himself to win the tournament, but his success wasn't figured in by the company at the time. He was instead left to rot in preparation for a legitimate WrestleMania fight with Butterbean that resembled CM Punk's own foray into a world he also didn't belong in 15 years later.

In a a short and oh-so-sharp shock, Gunn's face and credibility took a hammering, and he was released by the company soon after.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett