Ep 4. The Brawl for All

In season 2 episode 4 of Dark Side of the Ring, titled The Brawl for All, viewers are taken back to the late 1990s when the professional wrestling industry was booming with the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and The Rock. The episode delves into the little-known story of WWE's Brawl for All tournament, an attempt by the company to create a new type of wrestling that blended real-life fighting with scripted entertainment.

The Brawl for All was a tournament that pitted real-life tough guys, wrestlers typically known for their brute strength and intense training, against each other in a boxing-style competition. Fans speculated that the tournament was created to build up wrestler Dr. Death Steve Williams as the next big star, but what followed was sheer chaos and an unmitigated disaster for many wrestlers' careers.

This episode features interviews with former WWE wrestler and commentator Jim Ross, wrestler Savio Vega, and several of the wrestlers who participated in the Brawl for All, including one of the few men to make it through the tournament unscathed, Bart Gunn.

Throughout the episode, viewers learn the details of the tournament's creation, how it was executed, and the aftermath as competitors suffered injuries that derailed their careers. Additionally, the episode explores the ethics of creating a competition that mixed real violence with predetermined outcomes, as well as the psychological effects of competing in such a tournament.

The Brawl for All episode of Dark Side of the Ring is a look inside the workings of the professional wrestling industry during the late 1990s, a time when the WWE was at the height of its popularity but also beginning to display signs of recklessness. The episode raises important questions about the ethics of creating a violent, unscripted competition that led to numerous injuries, and offers a sobering reminder of the human toll that comes with the entertainment industry.