Report: Vince McMahon Talked Out Of Doing ‘Brawl 4 All’ During Original NXT Format

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon once considered a “Brawl For All” tournament for up & coming WWE NXT talents. This week’s “Dark Side of the Ring” episode from Vice TV covered the story of the controversial “Brawl For All” tournament and the career-ending injuries that came out of it. Former WWE creative writer John Piermarini took to Twitter to congratulate the producers who worked on the show, and also revealed what Vince had in mind for the original NXT several years ago.

Piermarini noted that Vince wanted to do a second “Brawl For All” tournament with the wrestlers that were participating in the original NXT format on TV, before NXT became the WWE developmental territory in Florida. It was noted that Vince had to be talked out of the idea. “Brawl For All” ran from June 29 to August 24, 1998 and was an idea from former WWE creative writer Vince Russo. The shoot tournament resulted in injuries to several wrestlers, and was criticized by fans and people in the business. The tournament finals saw Bart Gunn defeat 2020 WWE Hall of Famer JBL by KO.