10 Most Bizarre WWE WrestleMania Matches Ever

9. Butterbean Vs. Bart Gunn – WrestleMania XV

The Brawl for All – a shoot style tough-man tournament between mostly WWE midcarders – is universally recognised as a terribly stupid idea. 

Ostensibly created to give underused guys some TV time during the ultra-competitive Attitude Era, it led to a slew of injuries, some of which could have been career ending. 

The career of Steve ‘Dr. Death’ Williams, one of the favourites to win the whole thing and pegged as a future opponent for the red-hot Stone Cold Steve Austin, was effectively ended when he was knocked clean out by Bart Gunn in the second round, shattering his tough-man aura and tearing his hamstring in the process. 

WWE officials couldn’t believe that Williams had been so easily dispatched by Gunn, who was not seen as a top prospect but went on to win the tournament, dishing out further KOs to Charles ‘The Godfather’ Wright and bully boy Bradshaw, pocketing $75,000 for his efforts. 

Bombastic Bart was not rewarded for his punching power with a renewed push and more television time, however. He would actually leave the company to tour with All-Japan Pro Wrestling and work various independent shows, before WWE recalled him for a special role at WrestleMania XV. 

That role was as the challenger of Butterbean in a boxing match. For those unfamiliar with Butterbean, Eric Esch was a successful heavyweight boxer that was known for finishing opponents early and had developed a strong cult following.

He may have won his share of bar fights and been able to overcome his untrained co-workers, but Bart was not a trained fighter, regardless of how tough he was. The little bit of boxing training that he did undertake didn’t prevent the inevitable: A Butterbean KO victory in around thirty seconds.

Was this punishment for knocking out Jim Ross’s golden boy, Steve Williams, and scuppering a potential Austin/Williams match? Or did WWE really think that Bart had a chance against a man who retired with 77 professional boxing wins to his name? 

Whatever the thought process, the fight itself was weird and felt out of place on a wrestling show during a time when business was booming and WWE practically sold itself.