WWF Brawl for All was a shootfighting tournament held in the then World Wrestling Federation (now, WWE) lasting from June 29, 1998, to August 24, 1998.

The promotion resulted in a number of legitimate injuries for WWF performers, was negatively received by fans, and has garnered harsh criticism of its conception and execution.

[1][2] Throughout 1998, the WWF experienced a growth in roster size, but due to limited amount of television time a number of their more genuine "tough guys" were left without much to do.

As a result, the idea for a legitimate tough guy tournament was bandied about as a way to both utilize some of these men and capitalize on the recent interest in Toughman Contests around the country.

Shamrock declined the opportunity to take part, while Severn defeated The Godfather in the first round, but then withdrew from the tournament, stating he had nothing to prove.

[6] However, Steve Williams recalls Shamrock "backing out" and Severn withdrawing because of his "frustration at the rules and the idea of having to wear boxing gloves".

These included the Godfather, Steve Blackman, Road Warrior Hawk, Savio Vega, Droz and Brakkus.

Furthermore, because the fighters were trained to work professional wrestling matches and not to fight, they risked both injury and the possibility that a defeat would hurt their marketability.

[10] Sean Waltman called it "the dumbest fucking idea in WWE history", and felt the company educated its audience that "These guys are fighting for real, and everything else you're watching is bullshit.

In comparison to the North American audience, the Brawl for All had better reception in Japan due to the rise of shootfighting and mixed martial arts, as it resulted in Bart Gunn's All Japan Pro Wrestling signing (Gunn became a successful mainstay for the company) and further advanced Steve Williams's character development on their shows.

Immediately prior to the Brawl for All, Holly (as "Bombastic Bob") and Gunn (as "Bodacious Bart") had been performing as a new version of The Midnight Express with Jim Cornette as their manager and had won the NWA World Tag Team Championship after defeating The Headbangers on an episode of Raw.

In Japan, Williams was a longtime main-eventer and held a strong reputation for his toughness, and Giant Baba sought to integrate the Brawl for All results into his storylines.

Barton would ultimately defeat Kawada in tag-team action, but come short against Tenryu in the first round of the Triple Crown Tournament.

Jim Steele and Mike Rotunda would join them in three-way or four-way tag team matches whenever the need arose.

Most notably, in January 2002 the pair celebrated Abdullah The Butcher's birthday together in the ring singing and telling jokes, as well as Williams cheering Barton on when he was facing Genichiro Tenryu in the Champion Carnival 2002 tournament.