10 WWE Superstars Who Went AWOL After WrestleMania

9. Bart Gunn

The Undertaker Jake Roberts WrestleMania VIII
WWE.com

The former WWE Tag Team Champion had shocked the wrestling world in 1998, when his stinging left hook knocked known industry hard-cases Dr Death Steve Williams and Bradshaw en route to winning the first and only 'Brawl for All' tournament.

The hybrid boxing/wrestling tournament was a catastrophe for the company at large, legitimately injuring several midcard talents. Most notably shelved was Williams, who was expected to blitz the tournament and move into an eventual angle with Stone Cold Steve Austin.

As the unexpected winner, Bart Gunn gained little traction as a wrestler again in the aftermath, instead being kept off television in-part to train for a proposed WrestleMania 15 'Brawl for All' with a to-be-determined professional fighter.

With the right level of boxing acumen, mainstream appeal and prior investment from WWE fans, Butterbean was an ideal candidate for just about everybody other than Gunn himself.

Bart was destroyed in a 35-second pummelling that could have been called earlier. The barrage of strikes from real boxer Butterbean were way too strong for Bart, who looked dazed from the first punch.

It killed what little momentum Gunn had gained from his 1998 tournament victory, and he was released almost immediately afterwards.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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