Who really knows what the WWF would have done in that situation? Maybe they would have gone big as Jim Ross had likely hoped they would, or maybe they would have let the memory of the tournament mutate into the caricature of terrible decision making that it exists as today.
I'm branching out pretty far into eyebrow raising lunacy here, but bear with me.
So, prior to the tournament, Jim meets with Steve and rightfully predicts that the rules of the tournament will change as the tournament progresses to a more "stand up and fight" style of combat. Steve trains hard in kick-boxing with a focus on endurance, and in doing so he exercises his joints and cardio to a point where he can easily endure 5 rounds of fighting without breaking a sweat.
Dr. Death easily obliterates Pierre in Dr. Death's first match of the tournament, knocking out his opponent in 15 seconds. In doing so, Jim has another epiphany. Jim calls up Terry Gordy and Stan Hansen, and asks them simply to be Dr. Death's cornermen in the next rounds of the tournament.
Dr. Death cuts documentary style promos indicating that he's a regular family man, until he enters the ring. He explains that something bad takes over, and that Steve Williams truly becomes Dr. Death. Steve is shown sparring and training with Terry and Stan. At one point Terry says "Miracle Violence baby, Miracle Violence." while encouraging Steve to show no mercy against an unfortunate unnamed sparring partner. Stan explains that Steve is the toughest son of a bitch he's ever seen, and that he says a prayer for Steve's opponents before every match.
Steve enters his match with Bart Gunn, and it's one for the ages. Bart throws precise haymakers, with a few connecting which results in a first round knockdown of Steve just before the bell. Steve is in his corner, and Stan (on camera) screams at him "YOU'RE GOING TO LET A GREENHORN GEEK BEAT YOU UP!?" before slapping his face hard. Terry massages Steve's shoulders saying "Miracle Violence baby!" repeatedly. Steve focuses, and begins to fight more carefully and defensively. The entire second round consists of Steve baiting Bart into gassing himself by dodging and blocking everything that's thrown, with ten seconds left in the round Steve is able to grab Bart by the waist and slam him down to the mat hard on his ribs. The round ends, and Stan gets back in Steve's face to scream more motivational ideas at him. In the third round, Steve rightfully expects a flurry of wild punches from Bart and backtracks strategically before throwing a wild but precise punch of his own, landing an overhead right that makes direct contact with Bart's head and knocks his lifeless body to the mat. Bart is able to recover as Dr. Death is being celebrated for his impressive performance and big win, and he hugs his opponent to show good sportsmanship. During the celebration, Terry Gordy takes the mic and shouts "WE ARE THE BEST IN THIS ENTIRE BUSINESS, US THREE RIGHT HERE! WE ARE THE MIRACLE VIOLENCE CONNECTION!"
Promos are run hyping up the reimagined Miracle Violence Connection in the WWF, with clips of matches from Japan depicting the former tag team. Godfather is treated by the bookers as a sacrificial lamb of sorts. He's not allowed the same level of hype going into his tournament match with Dr. Death. Prior to the match, Godfather cuts a promo (at the encouragement of Vince Russo and Jim Ross) where he'd be willing to let Dr. Death forfeit the match and take one of his lovely "hoes" for a good time. Steve looks enraged, and he takes a mic before saying "My wife and six year old son are at home watching this, they look me in the eyes knowing that I'm a good husband and father. You want to exploit women? I'm going to love every second that I get to beat your ass!". The match starts, and Dr. Death fakes a hook and throws a hard uppercut that has Godfather wobble backward into the ropes. Dr. Death pursues Godfather, and knocks him senseless with hard rights and lefts until Godfather is unable to respond while lying on the mat with a dazed look. Stan and Terry calm Dr. Death down, and Stan cuts a promo in the ring. Stan says "Do you see now what we mean? This man is a man who loves his country, his profession, but most importantly he loves his family. He doesn't spend a dime on himself, and if you get between this man and his morals by acting like a damn fool then you're going to find out what the Miracle Violence Connection is all about!" Terry then leans over the mic saying "We got some bad bad boys in our way, and Bradshaw, this man is going to take you to the damn woodshed!"
Backstage, Vince and Jim meet with Bradshaw to encourage him to stay in the tournament. Bradshaw is noticibly shaken, but agrees to remain in the tournament so that it won't be undermined by a forfeit from a finals participant. Both men are promised a huge pay day simply for participating, and the match is held on the main card of Summerslam 1998. Documentary promos are granted to both men, with interviews from wrestlers indicating why they support either man. Undertaker talks up Bradshaw's toughness and tenacity, while Stan Hansen tells stories of how Dr. Death ruled Japan during his time wrestling overseas. Judges are introduced, consisting of Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, and Bas Rutten. The two men are introduced with large pageantry, Marc Mero, Bart Gunn, and Dan Severn are now in Bradshaw's corner to even the star power of the cornermen. When the match begins, Dr. Death and Bradshaw put on an absolute clinic. Both men display strong cardio and defensive skills. Dr. Death is unable to take down Bradshaw, as Bradshaw had made it a point of learning good take down defenses. Bradshaw is unable to score a knock-out punch as Dr. Death has become very elusive and extremely tough even if a punch does land. Five rounds are fought, and in the end both men are standing. The judges decision is announced, that the match is considered a draw as both men have been found by all three judges to have earned a draw. Vince McMahon comes out and congradulates both men, to very loud boos from the audience. Vince, still holding the mic, spontaneously announces "This tournament will have a clear and decisive winner! This is the Brawl for All, and if you really want it all, you've got to take it! These two men will fight one more round under sudden death rules! That round doesn't end, until only one man is conscious!"
Bradshaw fights wildly, falsely assuming that Dr. Death is gassed. Dr. Death manages to snatch Bradshaw in a keylock submission, and snaps Bradshaw's arm as Bradshaw fights hard to escape the hold. Dr. Death is declared the winner, and welcome controversy follows due to the grizzly nature of Bradshaw's injury.
Dr. Death is now regarded as the absolute most dangerous man in professional wrestling, and Bradshaw is granted a huge payoff for his part which motivates him to remain in professional wrestling.
Dr. Death is granted an angle where he and his stable feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin, where Dr. Death and Steve Austin wrestle in the climax of that angle in the main event of Wrestlemania 15.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Spidercanrana
