10 WWE Wrestlers Released In The Middle Of A Push

3. Bart Gunn

Aleister Black Tales
WWE.com

Did WWE ever intend for Bart Gunn to even be featured at all at WrestleMania XV? In all reality, likely not.

For the former Smoking Gunn, he found himself in the biggest bout of his life, at the biggest event of the year, in a match that transcended pro wrestling and pierced the mainstream. Yes, it was at WrestleMania XV where the three-time WWE Tag Team Champion found himself up against famed knockout artist Butterbean in a boxing match.

That 'Mania contest came about after Bart won the Brawl for All shoot tournament. As has been told over the years, the hope was that 'Dr. Death' Steve Williams would win that tourney and then become embroiled in a rivalry against 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin.

Any hopes of Williams vs. Austin were dashed at the literal hands of Bart Gunn, as Gunn battered Dr. Death in a way few had predicted. Winning the entire tournament, Bart was placed up against the hammer fists of Butterbean rather than getting even a sniff of a feud with Austin.

Even though WWE pulled Gunn from TV shortly after Brawl for All, he was brought back in time for that huge WrestleMania match and given a spotlight the likes of which he'd never seen. If Bart would have somehow managed to best Butterbean, Vince McMahon's promotion would have had to push him to the moon.

Instead, Gunn was KO'd in less than a minute and was handed his walking papers immediately after WrestleMania XV.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.