8 Wrestling Shows With EMBARRASSING Attendances

6. UWF Blackjack Brawl

The wrestling world has seen its fair share of hucksters, duping marks out of their money by spinning their straw hat on a cane before hightailing it to the next town. On the grift scale, they pretty much all pale in comparison to Herb Abrams, whose barmy exploits within his version of the Universal Wrestling Federation could and probably should fill an entire book.

When he wasn't stiffing talent on pay, stuffing copies of the Wrestling Observer into the mouths of jobbers called 'Davey Meltzer', or dying in bizarre circumstances, covered in baby oil and bank notes, Abrams was attempting to bring 'Hollywood glitz' back to wrestling. Besides Hollywood itself, where better to find schmaltzy stardust than Las Vegas? Ambitiously, Abrams secured the 17,000 seat MGM Grand Garden Arena - the same which hosted AEW's All Out - fully expecting a, ahem, full house, for UWF's similarly high-stakes Blackjack Brawl.

Despite boasting such luminaries as Sid Vicious, Steve Williams and Ludvig 'Finland Hellraiser Thor' Borga (!) and no fewer than nine bouts for newly created championships, only 228 punters veered off the Strip to take a gamble on the spectacle. That was only ten times as many wrestlers as were on the card.

 
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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.