15 WWE Pushes That IMMEDIATELY Backfired
2. ‘Dr. Death’ Steve Williams (1998)
In 1998, someone had the not-so-bright idea to sign known grappling hard man 'Dr. Death' Steve Williams and prepare him for Steve Austin by putting him in a shoot-fighting/boxing tournament against a collection of ragtag WWF midcarders. What a ‘Brawl For All’ inspired nightmare poor 'Doc' suffered. He needed to be protected, not laid bare as an aging veteran with knackered knees who was past his best.
Choosing to mire your new signing (one you've got grand plans for) in a dreadful shoot tournament that became infamous in 1998-1999 for hurting talent and boring fans senseless was some decision. Williams beat Quebecer Pierre via TKO in the first round, but then got knocked spark out by surprise package Bart Gunn on the 27 July ’98 edition of Raw in the quarter final. That was the end of his push.
Gunn went on to win the tourney, but was bizarrely punished for beating ‘Dr. Death’ and derailing creative plans. Man, if only WWF television was scripted and they had the power to create any outcome they wanted, eh? It was entirely possible to book Williams as a thuggish monster who'd be a threat to 'Stone Cold' without having one of the bloody Smoking Gunns make him look like a loser nobody should pay attention to.
It really cannot be overstayed just how stupid the 'Brawl For All' was. Others like Steve Blackman have revealed how restrictive it was (Blackman wasn't allowed to throw kicks), and the whole thing was total trash from start to end. On top of that, it egregiously nuked a possible main event program.
Bonkers creative.