Boxing, like MMA, has always served as something of a companion sport to pro wrestling. The list of combatants who have crossed over from one sport to another (usually on a cameo basis) is extensive, albeit more in favour of boxers in the wrestling ring rather than the other way around. Floyd Mayweather, who broke Big Show’s nose at Wrestlemania 24, Tyson Fury, and Mike Tyson, who the WWE were still chasing for appearances in August 2021, are several examples.
Brawl for All
For marketing reasons, it makes sense. Big boxing bouts are always heavily discussed in all sorts of places. The fight between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk, for example, has stirred the media’s speculative cauldron ahead of the September 25th fight, attracting comment on the fighters’ physiques, training, diet, and the industry friends they keep in their respective pockets.
Joshua is currently the favourite for the win at 4/11 in the latest Usyk vs Joshua odds but plenty of boxing predictions are eying a Usyk victory by KO/TKO with odds of 15/2. The latter would be a surprise given the difference between the two boxers’ physical attributes (Joshua has three inches on Usyk’s 6-ft-3in stature and four more reach inches) but the Ukrainian has added 14lbs of muscle specifically for his meeting with Joshua.
Of course, only time will tell as to which of these pugilists will wind up in the squared circle, and whether that will be in the WWE or with one of Vince McMahon’s growing number of rivals. For now, then, let’s take a look at one of the stranger episodes in the annals of the WWE, namely, the outcome of the shootfighting competition Brawl for All. Mercifully, there’s a strong chance that it will never happen again.
Esch vs Gunn
Brawl for All was one of McMahon’s more asinine ideas – and there have been a few. The tournament pitted 16 wrestlers against each other in a series of elimination-style boxing matches. The winner, Bart Gunn, was ultimately rewarded with an appearance at that year’s Wrestlemania, in a final contest against the giant flesh slab that is Eric “Butterbean” Esch, a notorious one-punch brawler.
Fans of the TV show Jackass will perhaps remember Butterbean’s brief encounter with Johnny Knoxville in a US department store.
Esch vs Gunn was over in under a minute, a result that ultimately resulted in the end of both mens’ respective WWE careers, though the latter would return briefly in 2003 and 2007. Gunn had been unpopular with WWE booker Vince Russo for some time by that point and his defeat of company beau Steve Williams in the Brawl for All match almost certainly had a hand in his departure. Esch was simply the personification of the WWE creatives’ ire.
Esch’s only other appearance in the WWE (then WWF) was in 1997 in another boxing match against Marc Mero. This time, though, it was a worked match and Butterbean won by disqualification. Esch’s one-time opponent, Gunn, attempted to break into the MMA scene in 2006 but ultimately retired after two matches with a 1-1 record.
