WWE Vs UFC: When Vince McMahon Disastrously Let Wrestlers Fight For Real

It genuinely made sense, in the weirdest way possible. Fans always argue over who the REAL tough guys in professional wrestling are. Plus the dawn of mainstream MMA in 1998 meant WWE had a legitimate combat sport challenging for its audience.

Say hello to Brawl For All. It was a total goddamn shambles.

Even Vince wasn't crazy enough to put his top headliners in it, for a start. Nobody backstage wanted to risk Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock or the Undertaker getting legit pummelled by some Doink The Clown-style goon.

Also, the WWE's real-life hard men - such as UFC pioneer Ken Shamrock - proved disinterested. "I respectfully declined," Shamrock explained. "They were gonna pay me $50,000 to fight for real when I make over $1 million to fight in something like that."

The end result: a bunch of mid-carders fighting in three-minute bouts with a baffling set of rules. It wasn't even full-blooded MMA, as kicks and submissions were banned.

Fans - who'd paid to see pro-wrestling, not mulleted bodybuilders gas out after 30 seconds - booed the hell out of it.

Chants of "We want wrestling!" and "Boring!" punctuated early fights.

Bouts were generally ugly - and the injury rate was spectacular. The Godfather, Road Warrior Hawk and Steve Blackman got put on the shelf with real-life injuries, while Savio Vega never wrestled again after damaging his neck.

Reputations were also ruined. As well as being an attempt to grab a piece of the UFC's new land, many wrestlers believed the tournament had been secretly built to create a new star.

'Dr Death' Steve Williams arrived in the WWE from a stint in Japan boasting a reputation as a legitimate tough guy, with a strong amateur wrestling background.

The WWE plan was allegedly that Williams