10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Jan 18)

6. The Original Vision For 'Dr. Death' Steve Williams

'Dr. Death' Steve Williams was a bonafide bad ass when he joined the WWF in 1998, and plans were immediately put in place to make the ex-All Japan stalwart a main-eventer who could rival Steve Austin. A combo of the WWF's own stupidity with the 'Brawl For All' concept and Williams' injuries killed that.

Things could've been much, much worse.

Bruce Prichard told on his 'Something To Wrestling With' show that Vince McMahon envisioned a different kind of gimmick for Death than a grizzled veteran. He wanted to put Bruce in as his manager, albeit with a painted face, hokey Japanese accent and new name. That name? Kabuki. Yes, as in The Great Kabuki.

The general idea was that Williams had been in Japan so long he'd turned against his All-American roots, and the company even tried the gimmick out in a dark match spot before the 16 February 1998 Raw. It was reportedly so awful that Vince scrapped the idea that night.