As more and more time passes, I’m trying to remain cognizant of the changing of the times and how it impacts the institutions that manage to survive the years. I don’t necessarily mean those that manage to be everlasting like WrestleMania, Royal Rumble or even shows that don’t exist anymore but had that legendary feeling like Starrcade. I’m referring to the events that go away and return for no real reason.
Take the Great American Bash as a perfect example. It was a yearly show that made for classic moments and the perfect counterpart to WWF’s SummerSlam. Why it went away for three years is anybody’s guess. Sometimes, these shows disappear because it’s time to try something fresh. Other times, it’s to hide the mistakes of the past.
For the Great American Bash, I’m out of ideas. Sure, the 1991 version is still in our bottom five worst shows ever and the 1992 version was a dullard. Let’s not forget the awesome 80s version, however. Nobody really buys a show for its name and the Great American Bash felt like it had earned its seat at the table.
Can it earn it back?
PAY PER VIEW NUMBER 87: WCW GREAT AMERICAN BASH 1995
Written on 10/24/21
THE FIRST THING YOU SEE: American flags, fake pyro and a warning that we are in Dayton, Ohio. The U.S. Title final, TV Title atrocity, Tag Title clash of styles and main event are all previewed with an annoying voiceover guy. Tony Schiavone is back and welcomes us to the summer with Bobby Heenan in weird glasses. It’s Father’s Day and a hot lady in the front row is prominently shown. Bobby thinks Randy Savage should have beaten up his dad years ago. A skirmish between Vader and Hulk Hogan on the Main Event prior to the PPV is discussed.
-Gary Michael Cappetta is finally gone! I’m sad. The Dave Penzer era begins with the return on PPV of Flyin’ Brian to a very 80s song called “Boys Have More Fun.” It was probably blondes. More hot ladies are ogled by Tony. Bobby’s headset isn’t working properly. It’s been a rough start. In other words, Alex Wright walks out all fire and smiles.
MATCH NUMBER ONE: Flyin’ Brian vs Alex Wright
-Handshake and chain wrestling to start. AWESOME chain wrestling, I should say. They are so good that they shake hands again. I think I recognize the guy wearing the bright pink shirt in the front row.
-Brian is back, baby! He’s our first MVP and Bobby mentions he’s the hometown boy. He’s definitely the favorite between the two.
-Lots of head scissors and dropkicks. Pillman recovers an Alex botch by selling his head and then grounding Alex.
-Wright is the first LVP with another odd botch, totally screwing up a surfboard. Brian calls the next few spots immediately AKA chopping the SHIT outta him.
-God, I hate those steps at the aisle. Brian almost ate shit on them, then pulls Alex out when invoked back in and chops him once more.
-Gnarly titl-a-whirl gutbuster to wake the crowd up. Heenan has some good lines about liking Tony, but claiming Mean Gene doesn’t while putting Mike Tenay over.
-SNAP suplex by Alex on Pillman from the apron to the floor followed by a sloppy dive over the ropes.
-Pillman hits a dive of his own, plays to the crowd and takes a HARD landing on the rail from the second rope. He is working his ass off.
-Good nearfall from a top rope crossbody by Alex. Brian plays possum on some whip attempts to set up a mid-air dropkick he catches Wright FLUSH on.
-Snug crotching on the top rope by Alex pressing Pillman off.
-Good series of reversals leads to the youngster pulling it out.
WINNER: Alex Wright in 15:26 with a sunset flip sitdown pin
-The faces handshake and hug afterwards and Bobby hates it. The crowd is cool with it after booing Alex winning.
FINAL WORD: Awesome opener that it is quite the prelude to the cruiserweight era
-DDP is back on PPV and he’s talking about arm wrestling in clips with his Diamond Doll, Kimberly. He’s beating people quickly and carries an obnoxious trophy. My god, 1995 Kimberly…is a great lady. Maxx Muscle looks like a doer at Sun Gym (and I begin my Pain and Gain reference challenge). Taking Kim out on a date is the reward for beating Page. A contest with Van Hammer is shown and Muscle helps DDP cheat to win. Poor Gordon Solie and Dusty Rhodes call commentary on that. Speaking of poor, I feel bad for this fucking rabbit that is held by Evad Sullivan. The bunny is called Ralph. Mean Gene does his best with a live interview, but man does Evad blow. He gets LVP consideration just by sweating as he HOLD A RABBIT. The animal is the collateral he’s putting up in the match. This dummy keeps looking off-camera for a cue or something. Once again, LVP.
-This arm-wrestling contest has a title card and everything. DDP enters with an obnoxious fur coat. Schiavone says he recently won $13 million. A bad animated sign is shown for Dave as he comes down to an instrumental loop of “I Want to Be a Hulkamaniac.” It’s somehow more annoying that everything else about him. Dallas gets mic time and gives his opponent a chance to leave while insulting Ohio. Apparently, the rabbit was a present from Kimberly as Evad recovered from an injury. The typical arm-wrestling schtick of stalling begins and I can’t believe I’ve wasted this much ink on this. The lock up is broken twice and a small “Evad” chant starts. This finally starts.
MATCH NUMBER TWO: ARM WRESTLING CONTEST- Diamond Dallas Page w/Maxx Muscle and Kimberly vs Evad Sullivan w/Ralph
-Maxx helps quietly again and Nick Patrick catches him.
-What a stupid backwards hat.
WINNER: Dave Sullivan at 0:42
-Apparently, the Doll bumped into DDP and cost him the match. Maxx and DDP push each other, but make up quickly. They turn their attention to yelling at Kimberly. The replay shows the Doll bumping into Muscle and he bumped Dallas to cause the loss.
FINAL WORD: I didn’t know that a 42 second “match” could be that long and painful.
-Mean Gene interview DDP at the top of the aisle and screams for a do-over. Even Maxx Muscle talks and he’s as exciting as you’d expect considering his future in the business. Good, angry heel work for Page.
-The commentators recap Sgt. Craig Pittman wrestling earlier in the evening already and his scheduled match against Marcus Bagwell being cancelled and replaced with a bout against Jim Duggan. Oh JOY. Hacksaw enters to a pop that enrages me. Bobby is funny talking about Jim getting kicked out of Cub Scouts when it got time to tie the knots. Pittman enters in his PPV debut. He has a solid background, but I really don’t know anything else about him. I had his action figure, though. He has a good, deep voice as Gomer Pyle comes up a bunch. He broke the arm of his opponent earlier in the night.
MATCH NUMBER THREE: Jim Duggan vs Sgt. Craig Pittman
-Shouting and roughing up the ref between some scrapping starts this one. On the first lock up, Duggan breaks and starts a USA chant. He’s just stupid. Pittman does some push-ups.
-Atrocious hip toss by Duggan. As a juxtaposition, Craig does an amazing dive by missing a shot and clearing the steps. He somehow lands on his feet, then bumps. I wish I had a GIF of this. It was literally more impressive than anything Duggan has ever done.
-Bobby is an MVP threat by claiming Duggan has cauliflower face. His kneepad gets ripped off and hit into the post. Good intensity and selling by both men. It’s followed up by rolling around like an ECW catfight.
-Bad punches by Craig followed by a good diving punch by Hacksaw. Pittman responds with a stiff spinebuster. This is almost a shoot.
-Good comeback by Duggan while selling the leg. Pittman no sells Duggan’s finish and grounds him to attempt his submission, but they are right in the ropes. He doesn’t let it go and the bell is rung.
WINNER: Jim Duggan in 8:12 by DQ
-Jim screams in agony as Craig finally breaks the hold and stalks his prey. Duggan gets bored and swings his board at his opponent and the ref.
FINAL WORD: I’ll take a mess of a Jim Duggan match if it has stiffness and some semblance of legitimacy.
-Mean Gene interviews the Blue Bloods. Lord Steven Regal doesn’t like Sir Robert Eaton talk (probably for the best) and tells a story about Hitler regarding the Nasty Boys. Despite that, it’s a very good promo.
-Schiavone talks about the added match of Harlem Heat versus the Stud Stable. It’s because of an argument between Sister Sherri and Col. Parker on the Main Event. Parker grossly forces himself on Sherri and she knocks him out with a slap. The colonel leads Bunkhouse Buck and Dirty Dick Slater to the ring. Sure, bring Dick back. He was our first ever MVP! This is an odd face spot for Booker T and Stevie Ray and they get a good pop. Stevie is wearing some kind of long sleeve shirt under his gear.
MATCH NUMBER FOUR: The Stud Stable w/Col. Parker vs Harlem Heat w/Sister Sherri
-A brawl to start and Heat gets the advantage. Stevie and Dick officially begin the match, but it’s Buck vs Booker soon after. The former champs are in full control. Booker hits some crazy kicks.
-This is the best I’ve ever seen Ray look. The crowd has settled into quietness.
-The spinaroonie gets respectful applause. I’ve always loved the sound of a WCW ring.
-Stevie takes the heat on the floor and Slater gets some stiff boot kicks in. Buck hits his own awkward boots.
-Lukewarm tag to Book and he hits both heels. Bobby points out the crowd’s lack of stakes.
-What a ludicrous ending featuring the longest small package of all time and each manager reverses the hold. The crowd likes it for some reason.
WINNERS: Harlem Heat in 8:41 when Booker T pins Bunkhouse Buck with a small package
FINAL WORD: Heel vs heel matches are never easy, but it was mostly fine in execution.
-The lame finish is replayed prior to a replay of Nick Bockwinkel’s Main Event announcement being interrupted by Vader. He pushes the commissioner around a lot, grabs Eric Bischoff’s hair and says shit on accident. Hulk Hogan comes out and beats Vader down. Babyfaces pull them apart. Bockwinkel is with the commentators with a very verbose announcement complete with forgetting the name of the next PPV. He announces Vader vs Hogan in a cage at Bash at the Beach. He’s past his verbal prime.
-Mean Gene interviews Ric Flair about that match and his battle with Randy Savage later on. He brings up taking Elizabeth in 1992 and what he did to Angelo Poffo last month. He gets really crazy and ends his promo dancing and prancing. It’s a legendary, MVP-worthy promo.
-Oh god, it’s TV Title time. Jimmy Hart leads the Renegade out with a ton of fucking pyro. He bashes his head and shakes like an asshole. I’m sure this fucking guy was signing up for Rob Cordry’s competition after he misused his notary (and we have one more reference to go). Arn Anderson comes out looking like he has the task of his life coming up. Bobby puts him over beautifully and Nick Patrick’s look during the face-off says it all.
MATCH NUMBER FIVE: TV TITLE MATCH- The Renegade w/Jimmy Hart vs Arn Anderson (Champ)
-The idiot turns his back and takes strikes right away. There’s been an awful clothesline botch already, so Arn clobbers him in the corner. It’s no sold and Renegade hits his own sloppy clothesline over the top.
-Some yelling before a really loose headlock is applied. It took two minutes for him to be bad enough to earn the LVP distinction. Heenan is funny as he’s caught talking about selling people between himself and Jimmy Hart back in the day.
-A long abdominal stretch spot bores everyone. Arn hits an enziguiri and it’s totally ignored, so Anderson just leaves the ring.
-Another bad exchange, so the Enforcer locks in a sleeper. Renegade applies his own seconds later.
-Jimmy gets the crowd to come alive to help Renegade out of a headlock. He almost screws the spinebuster up, but Arn knows how to do it so well that he forces in through for a two count.
-Bad double down with both men’s heads colliding. Arn ends up getting dropped on the top rope and takes an awkward Samoan drop. One decent enough splash from the top later and this is asinine beyond belief.
WINNER: The Renegade at 9:11 to win the title with a top rope splash
-Pyro shoots off and the crowd pops for the result. The Giant is shown in all leather sitting in the front row. His presence stops Bobby’s hard sell of the finish in its tracks. The new champ locks in LVP with his bad “POWER OF THE RENEGADE” shriek in the camera. Giant reaches for Hart and makes a goofy face.
FINAL WORD: Out of respect for Arn and the dead, I’ll move on without shitting on this beyond pointing out the fact that it’s appropriate it lasted 9:11.
-The tag title feud is recapped with the previous matches between the teams and the Blue Bloods attacking the new champs prior to their title win. Dusty Rhodes talks about Sags whipping Eaton with an extension cord in a hilarious way. Harlem Heat were involved in another battle later on. Mean Gene interviews the Nasty Boys. God, can I get a PCO-like resurgence for Sags? Knobbs dedicates this match to his “Nasty dad” and calls the Bloods geeks a bunch.
-The baller Blue Bloods music plays for the challengers. I’ve missed Regal and Eaton separately, so I’ll take them together. It’s a great idea. The faces enter to fanfare and Bobby claims their pyro is “something they ate.” A brawl breaks out before the bell. Knobbs and Eaton are slinging and Sags smacks the shit out of his Lordship with his leather jacket.
MATCH NUMBER SIX: TAG TITLE MATCH- The Blue Bloods vs The Nasty Boys (Champs)
-It’s all champs all over the building at the jump. Tony talks about “clubbering” per Dusty Rhodes while Regal takes the Pit Stop. His face is naturally priceless. Eaton takes it as well and sells his mouth like he’s going to vomit.
-Regal is reaching MVP levels with his expressions alone. Watching Sags run around and eating a punch are all amazing facials. More brawling and Sags grabs something from the crowd and slams Regal (almost) in the face with it.
-Knobbs atomic drops Eaton onto an open chair. Ouch!
-Knobbs takes a rumble and the heels take over. Sags interrupts a couple times before getting the tag.
-After a throw over the top rope, the heels double team behind the ref’s back to slow the pace.
-A top rope knee drop can’t do it. Heenan talks England stuff and makes fun of a gut dressed like Hogan.
-Regal misses a roll and Knobbs gets the hot tag. Bobby predicts 100,000 people for Bash at the Beach. Yikes. Amidst another brawl, Stevie Ray and Sister Sherri run out.
-Booker T sneaks up and hits the Harlem Hangover, but he causes Eaton to fall off the top when he exits. The ref is all distracted and Sags gets his shot in.
WINNERS: The Nasty Boys in 15:02 to retain the titles when Brian Knobbs pins Sir Robert Eaton after a Sags top rope elbow
-The replay shows Booker almost botching the exit and remembered to jump over the top to cause the fall.
FINAL WORD: That clash of styles worked for me.
-The United States Title tournament gets a full recap. The bracket is shown and all matches are recapped. Sting makes Arn Anderson tap out (the poor guy), Steve Austin finally gets his win back on Duggan, Meng destroyed Bagwell, Johnny B Badd shockingly lost to Mr. Wonderful and Bubba gets DQ’ed with a hard throw over the top on Wright for the first-round highlights. Round two shows Savage vs Austin in a match I’m going to seek out. The semifinal of Flair vs Savage never happened because of their brawl all over the building. That makes Sting vs Meng the final as it was the other semifinal. Parker and Meng are interviewed by Okerlund. The manager cuts a very rambling promo while his charge grunts and kicks. This is a LONG promo that eventually winds down.
-The commentators talk about the upcoming cage match and Heenan embarrasses himself again with his attendance prediction. A hokey beach commercial plays and it reminds me of an MTV Sports ad. Gene interviews Sting and he talks about paying his dues? He previews his previous title wins before leaving. Blah promo.
-Meng enters with Parker. His theme seems to be constantly tweaked. Sting’s theme and entrance gets the pop of the night. His pyro creates a ton of smoke. The commentators do a good job of setting the stage as an important match.
MATCH NUMBER SEVEN: VACANT US TITLE TOURNAMENT FINALS- Meng w/Col. Parker vs Sting
-Meng punches and chokes early. Sting finally rallies with a weird jumping kick and other strikes, but Meng is unfazed.
-There’s not a lot of cohesion to this early. Loud chops by Meng puts him back on top and Sting launches a familiar comeback. He’s caught with an elbow to quell that on the apron.
-Out of nowhere, Meng hits a killer sitout powerbomb! Where has that been? He settles quick enough with a nerve hold.
-Parker gets some cheap shots on the floor and the heel is still on top throughout.
-Tony mentions that Vader was stripped of the US Title because of his attack on Evad. Bobby echoes my sentiment by claiming he should have been given a title for that. A botch before a backslide and weird second rope “elbow” attack by Sting. Meng still gets up first and hits a headbutt from the second rope.
-BIG leaping clothesline to finally down Meng. Another one sends both men over the top rope and Meng lands hard. He might have caught his face on the apron. It’s odd to see him almost human. Parker is beat up to give his boy time to recover and he does, flying head first into the post on a missed attack.
-The Scorpion Death Lock is applied and Bobby says he won’t give up in a year. He powers out and Sting sells it in rightful shock. A top rope splash and clothesline can’t do it. A new move finally does.
WINNER: Sting in 13:36 to win the title with a leaping DDT
-Meng is on his knees immediately. Sting celebrates while Parker complains.
FINAL WORD: It had its rough moments, but it settled into a decent little bout.
-A Father’s Day lookalike contest winner is shown and he’s a dead ringer for Big Bubba Rogers. Bobby calls him an unmade bed before feigning enthusiasm over it all. The main event story is recapped all the way back to SuperBrawl. Macho requested Flair’s reinstatement for the Uncensored attack and his dad’s attack is shown once again. He explains to Alex Wright why he cost him the tournament match with Flair and the same brawl as the last recap is shown again. Savage plays the emotional family shit so well.
-Gene interviews Macho in black-and-white gear and he congratulates the faces who won titles tonight. He talks inspiration on Father’s Day in a cliché, but solid, promo. Gene sets the score with zero hotline shilling. Color me surprised.
-Penzer, not Michael Buffer, announces the main event. Ric Flair enters to fanfare. Macho Man follows to continue the classical music train. He doesn’t come out initially, but finally appears. He sort of gets startled by his own fireworks. He calls Angelo out from the back and he emerges with a cane. Nice rhinestones on your jacket, dude. It looks like he owns a Schlotzsky’s and none of his employees like him (and my reference challenge is done). Randy sits his dad down and gives chase to stat.
MATCH NUMBER EIGHT: Ric Flair vs Randy Savage w/Angelo Poffo
-Punches, backdrops, clotheslines over the top and an axe handle to the floor all in the first 45 seconds. How is Ric still so good? He takes a backdrop on the floor even!
-Randy is thrown into the post before he’s whipped into the rail, gets chopped and takes his own axe handle off the apron.
-It seems like Flair punches and chops Savage just a little harder than everyone else. Good back-and-forth strikes while Bobby puts this event over the Houston Rockets in terms of importance.
-A dangerous strike to Flair’s back that he wasn’t expecting on the floor almost causes him to get brained on the rail.
-Off the top rope, Flair is CAUGHT into a press slam. He flops on the floor and grabs Angelo. Macho goes nuts, but gets clipped on the knee to change the complexion of the match.
-Macho’s knee is slammed into the rail and Tony calls it out as the first time he’s seen Ric do that.
-Randy is still fighting with punches and counters while on his back, but the Figure Four is still applied. He cheats on the ropes for a long time on multiple occasions.
-It’s finally turned over, but it’s broken soon. On one leg, Savage hops around on his attacks. Flair goes back to the top and flies off, but misses a splash. In my rules, it counts as a success for him. His third time finds him getting caught with a clothesline in mid-air. I regret tracking this in the way that I am.
-Savage has a bloody eye, but hits the top rope elbow. He pulls Flair up for the pin and retrieves the ring bell. The ref admonishes him and removes the weapon. He tries a top rope axe handle to the floor, but hits the rail INCREDIBLY HARD.
-Flair goes after Poffo again and gets choked by the old man with the cane. A back elbow downs Angelo and Randy goes berserk once more. Inside the ring, the cane is used UNPROTECTED to the face. It made no noise, but it still worked.
WINNER: Ric Flair in 14:41 with a cane shot to the face
FINAL WORD: What else do you expect from these two legends?
-The Nature Boy bolts quickly as Macho reaches for his dad while being helped from the ring. The replay shows Savage selling the shot wonderfully as a KO. Angelo helps his son to the back as Tony and Bobby analyze. Brain’s messed up tie is called out and the cage match next month is discussed again. Heenan talks the gate and Bischoff probably gave away the tickets for free. Schiavone tells his partner to wrap it up, so Bobby just leaves. He was probably legit mad. Tony signs off.
THE LAST IMAGE: Tony Schiavone
THE WRAP UP
FINAL MVP of PPV: Ric Flair gave it a late challenge, but the opening match stole the show despite the green Wunderkind and Brian Pillman gets all of the credit in the world for it. It’s good to have him back.
FINAL LVP of PPV: You can’t help but feel immense sympathy at this point for The Renegade. However, facts are facts and you are in deep trouble if Arn Anderson can’t carry you to a passable match.
MY FAVORITE MATCH: Brian Pillman vs Alex Wright
MY LEAST FAVORITE MATCH: Dave Sullivan vs DDP
FINAL THOUGHTS: We are on a nice little spree of decent shows here! Color me surprised! There were a few stinky matches, but the majority of this event was solid. Some things were good and a couple were even great. It was focused and promoted the next PPV successfully (if not over exaggeratedly). I missed the special feel that comes with the Great American Bash and this show had it. MULLET RECOMMENDS
NEXT TIME: The spree…is over. It’s the 1995 King of the Ring. Talk about an institution hurt over time.