View source for Beach Brawl

{{short description|1991 Universal Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event}}
{{Infobox Wrestling event
|name       = Beach Brawl
|image      = BeachBrawl.jpg
|promotion  = [[Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams)|Universal Wrestling Federation]]
|date       = June 9, 1991
|venue      = [[Bradenton Area Convention Center|Manatee Civic Center]]
|city       = [[Palmetto, Florida]]
|attendance = 550
|lastevent = N/A
|nextevent = N/A
}}
'''Beach Brawl''' was the only live [[professional wrestling]] [[pay-per-view]] event produced by [[Herb Abrams]]' [[Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams)|Universal Wrestling Federation]] (UWF). The event took place on June 9, 1991 at the [[Bradenton Area Convention Center|Manatee Civic Center]] in [[Palmetto, Florida]].

Eight [[Mock combat|professional wrestling matches]] were contested at the event. In the [[Card (sports)#Main event|main event]], [["Dr. Death" Steve Williams|Steve Williams]] defeated [[Bam Bam Bigelow]] to become the inaugural [[Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams) championships#UWF SportsChannel Television Championship|SportsChannel Television Champion]] in the finals of a sixteen-man tournament. The inaugural [[Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams) championships#UWF Women's World Championship|Women's World Champion]] was also crowned at the event as [[Rockin' Robin (wrestler)|Rockin' Robin]] defeated [[Candi Devine]] to become the inaugural women's champion of the company. The event was widely considered a failure because of its extremely low attendance and pay-per-view buyrate of 0.10.

==Event==
Before the event aired live on pay-per-view, [[Boris Zhukov]] defeated Paul Samson in a [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Dark match|dark match]].
===Preliminary matches===
{|class=wikitable style="font-size:90%; margin: 0.5em 0 0.5em 1em; float: right; clear: right;"
|+'''Other on-screen personnel'''
!Role
!Name
|-
|rowspan=2|Commentators
|[[Craig Minervini|Craig DeGeorge]]
|-
|[[Bruno Sammartino]]
|-
|Interviewer
|Brian Ricco
|}
The opening match of the event was a tag team match pitting The Blackhearts (Apocalypse and [[Gangrel (wrestler)|Destruction]]) against [[Brady Boone|Fire Cat]] and Jim Cooper. Blackhearts performed a [[Professional wrestling double-team maneuvers#Bearhug hold, diving leg drop combination|bearhug and diving leg drop combination]] on Cooper for the win while [[Luna Vachon]] strangled [[Brady Boone|Fire Cat]].

A [[Professional wrestling match types#Hardcore-based variations|Street Fight]] was scheduled to take place between [[Don Muraco]] and [[Terry Gordy]] but Muraco suffered an injury and [[John Laurinaitis|Johnny Ace]] substituted for him. The match ended in a double count-out after both men brawled with each other throughout the crowd.

[[The Killer Bees (professional wrestling)|Masked Confusion]] ([[Brian Blair]] and [[Jim Brunzell]]) took on The Power Twins (Larry and David Power). Near the end of the match, Brunzell tried to perform a [[Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Sunset flip|sunset flip]] on David but David prevented it by holding the ropes and then Blair performed a sunset flip on David for the win.

[[Rockin' Robin (wrestler)|Rockin' Robin]] took on [[Candi Devine]] for the inaugural [[Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams) championships#UWF Women's World Championship|Women's World Championship]]. Near the end of the match, Devine missed a charge at Robin in the corner and Robin rolled up Devine to pin her and win the title.

[[Paul Orndorff]] took on [[Colonel DeBeers]] in a [[Professional wrestling match types#Texas Bullrope match|Strap match]]. Near the end of the match, DeBeers tried to release himself by getting out of the strap wrangled around his neck by a [[Professional wrestling throws#Back body drop|back body drop]] but Orndoff countered that with a [[Piledriver (professional wrestling)#Jumping piledriver|spike piledriver]] for the win. The match was followed by a Captain Lou's Corner interview segment hosted by [[Lou Albano|Captain Lou Albano]] featuring The Blackhearts and [[Luna Vachon]] as his guests, but Albano said he disliked his guests, dropped the mic and left.

[[Bob Backlund]] took on [[Ivan Koloff]]. Backlund pinned Koloff with a roll-up for the win after hitting a back body drop to a charging Koloff.

The penultimate match of the event was a tag team match pitting Wet'N'Wild ([[Steve Ray (wrestler)|Steve Ray]] and [[Sunny Beach (wrestler)|Sunny Beach]]) against [[Mick Foley|Cactus Jack]] and [[Bob Orton, Jr.]] [[John Tolos]] was tossed into a shark cage suspended above the ring by Ray and Beach. Near the end of the match, Tolos interfered by throwing brass knuckles from the cage but they knocked out Jack, allowing Ray to pin him for the win.

===Main event match===
The main event was the final round match of a tournament for the inaugural [[Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams) championships#UWF SportsChannel Television Championship|SportsChannel Television Championship]] between [["Dr. Death" Steve Williams|Steve Williams]] and [[Bam Bam Bigelow]]. Williams [[powerslam]]med Bigelow to win the match and become the inaugural SportsChannel Television Champion.

==Reception==
''Beach Brawl'' was a major failure as it was only able to generate a crowd of 500 people at the 4000-seat [[Manatee Civic Center]] with a low buyrate of 0.10. The event also received negative reviews from critics. Arnold Furious of ''411Mania'' gave the event a 5.0 rating out of 10, stating "most of the undercard is relatively inoffensive. I say “relatively” because the UWF was so bad at times that a passable show would be good by their standards. There were some UWF-isms creeping onto show though. The count out in the street fight is an obvious one but there are several completely non-competitive matches and their titles mean nothing. The booking never makes any sense."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://411mania.com/wrestling/the-furious-flashbacks-uwf-beach-brawl/|title=The Furious Flashbacks – UWF Beach Brawl|author=Arnold Furious|date=May 31, 2012|work=411Mania|accessdate=26 December 2018}}</ref>

Adam Nedeff of ''411Mania'' gave a rating of 2.5 out of 10, citing "Underwhelming finishes (Tolos in the shark cage), nonsensical booking (Captain's Corner, the street fight, a seven-minute main event, Backlund squashing Koloff), and just-plain-disappointing matches."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://411mania.com/wrestling/the-name-on-the-marquee-uwf-beach-brawl-06-09-1991/|title=The Name on the Marquee: UWF Beach Brawl (06.09.1991)|author=Adam Nedeff|date=September 25, 2010|work=411Mania|accessdate=26 December 2018}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
UWF did not produce any other pay-per-view events due to ''Beach Brawl'' being a massive failure, but they produced a major television special called [[UWF Blackjack Brawl|Blackjack Brawl]] in 1994 that served as the promotion's final show.

==Results==
{{Pro Wrestling results table
|note1=dark
|match1=[[Boris Zhukov]] defeated Paul Samson
|stip1=[[Professional wrestling match types#Singles match|Singles match]]
|time1=

|match2=The Blackhearts (Apocalypse and [[Gangrel (wrestler)|Destruction]]) (with [[Luna Vachon]]) defeated [[Brady Boone|Fire Cat]] and Jim Cooper
|stip2=[[Professional wrestling tag team match types|Tag team match]]
|time2=07:45

|match3=[[Terry Gordy]] vs. [[John Laurinaitis|Johnny Ace]] ended in a double countout
|stip3=[[Professional wrestling match types#Hardcore-based variations|Street Fight]]
|time3=06:08

|match4=[[The Killer Bees (professional wrestling)|Masked Confusion]] ([[Brian Blair]] and [[Jim Brunzell]]) defeated The Power Twins (Larry and David Power)
|stip4=Tag team match
|time4=12:23

|match5=[[Rockin' Robin (wrestler)|Rockin' Robin]] defeated [[Candi Devine]]
|stip5=Singles match for the inaugural [[Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams) championships|UWF Women's World Championship]]
|time5=06:05

|match6=[[Paul Orndorff]] defeated [[Colonel DeBeers]]
|stip6=[[Professional wrestling match types#Texas Bullrope match|Strap match]]
|time6=04:15

|match7=[[Bob Backlund]] defeated [[Ivan Koloff]] (with Mr. Red)
|stip7=Singles match
|time7=02:23

|match8=Wet'N'Wild ([[Steve Ray (wrestler)|Steve Ray]] and [[Sunny Beach (wrestler)|Sunny Beach]]) defeated [[Mick Foley|Cactus Jack]] and [[Bob Orton, Jr.]] (with [[John Tolos]])
|stip8=Tag team match
|time8=04:02

|match9=[["Dr. Death" Steve Williams|Steve Williams]] defeated [[Bam Bam Bigelow]]
|stip9=Tournament final for the inaugural [[Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams) championships#UWF SportsChannel Television Championship|UWF SportsChannel Television Championship]] 
|time9=07:11
}}

===SportsChannel Television Championship tournament brackets===
The tournament to determine the inaugural SportsChannel Television Champion began on April 7, 1991 and concluded with the tournament final at Beach Brawl.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/indy/uwf/uwfindex.html|title=UWF Sportschannel TV Title Tournament 1991|work=Pro Wrestling History|accessdate=26 December 2018}}</ref>
<onlyinclude><small>Pin-Pinfall; Sub-Submission; CO-Countout; DCO-Double countout; DQ-Disqualification; Ref-Referee's decision</small>
{{16TeamBracket  | RD2=Quarterfinals
| RD1-seed01= | RD1-seed02= | RD1-seed03= | RD1-seed04= | RD1-seed05= | RD1-seed06= | RD1-seed07= | RD1-seed08= | RD1-seed09= | RD1-seed10= | RD1-seed11= | RD1-seed12= | RD1-seed13= | RD1-seed14= | RD1-seed15= | RD1-seed16= | RD2-seed01= | RD2-seed02= | RD2-seed03= | RD2-seed04= | RD2-seed05= | RD2-seed06= | RD2-seed07= | RD2-seed08= | RD3-seed01= | RD3-seed02= | RD3-seed03= | RD3-seed04= | RD4-seed01= | RD4-seed02=
|RD1-team01='''[["Dr. Death" Steve Williams|Steve Williams]]'''
|RD1-team02=[[Nikolai Volkoff]]
|RD1-team03='''[[Steve Ray (wrestler)|Steve Ray]]'''
|RD1-team04=[[Samu (wrestler)|Samu]]
|RD1-team05='''[[Terry Gordy]]'''
|RD1-team06=[[S. D. Jones]]
|RD1-team07='''[[Don Muraco]]'''
|RD1-team08=[[Afa Anoa'i|Wild Samoan Afa]]
|RD1-team09='''[[Mick Foley|Cactus Jack]]'''
|RD1-team10=[[Sunny Beach (wrestler)|Sunny Beach]]
|RD1-team11=[[Bob Orton Jr.]]
|RD1-team12='''[[B. Brian Blair]]'''
|RD1-team13='''[[Colonel DeBeers]]'''
|RD1-team14=[[King Parsons|Iceman Parsons]]
|RD1-team15=[[Ivan Koloff]]
|RD1-team16='''[[Bam Bam Bigelow]]'''
|RD2-team01='''Steve Williams'''
|RD2-team02=Steve Ray
|RD2-team03=Terry Gordy
|RD2-team04=Don Muraco
|RD1-score03=DDQ
|RD1-score04=
|RD2-team05='''Cactus Jack'''
|RD2-team06=B. Brian Blair
|RD2-team07=Colonel DeBeers
|RD2-team08='''Bam Bam Bigelow'''
|RD3-team01='''Steve Williams'''
|RD3-team02=BYE
|RD3-team03=Cactus Jack
|RD3-team04='''Bam Bam Bigelow'''
|RD4-team01='''Steve Williams'''
|RD4-team02=Bam Bam Bigelow
|RD4-score01=Pin
|RD4-score02=07:11
}}

==See also==
*[[UWF Blackjack Brawl]]
*''[[UWF Fury Hour]]''

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.cagematch.net//?id=1&nr=5215 UWF Beach Brawl] on Cagematch
*{{IMDb title|tt0357259|UWF Beach Brawl}}
*[http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/indy/uwf/uwfcards.html#060991 UWF Beach Brawl] on Pro Wrestling History

{{Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams)}}

[[Category:1991 in professional wrestling]]
[[Category:1991 in sports in Florida]]
[[Category:Professional wrestling shows in Florida]]
[[Category:June 1991 in the United States]]
[[Category:Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams)]]