The Great American Bash

The Great American Bash was an annual summer professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions and then by World Championship Wrestling. It is now produced by World Wrestling Entertainment. According to Ric Flair in his autobiography, To Be the Man, Dusty Rhodes invented the concept of The Great American Bash.

After the final Great American Bash was held by World Championship Wrestling on June 11, 2000, the event would not be held again due to the acquisition of the WCW by World Wrestling Entertainment. After a four year hiatus, however, the event was revived by WWE in 2004 until 2009. The Great American Bash was the only former WCW pay-per-view event to be revived by WWE.

The Great American Bash dates and venues

Event Date City Venue
National Wrestling Alliance
The Great American Bash (1985) July 6, 1985 Charlotte, North Carolina American Legion Memorial Stadium
The Great American Bash (1986) July 1986 A tour of 14 shows around the south and eastern parts of the country
The Great American Bash (1987) July 1987 A tour of several shows around the south and eastern parts of the country
The Great American Bash (1988) July 10, 1988 Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore Arena
The Great American Bash (1989) July 23, 1989 Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore Arena
The Great American Bash (1990) July 7, 1990 Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore Arena
World Championship Wrestling
The Great American Bash (1991) July 14, 1991 Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore Arena
The Great American Bash (1992) July 12, 1992 Albany, Georgia Gray Civic Center
The Great American Bash (1995) June 18, 1995 Dayton, Ohio Hara Arena
The Great American Bash (1996) June 16, 1996 Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore Arena
The Great American Bash (1997) June 15, 1997 Moline, Illinois The MARK of the Quad Cities
The Great American Bash (1998) June 14, 1998 Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore Arena
The Great American Bash (1999) June 13, 1999 Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore Arena
The Great American Bash (2000) June 11, 2000 Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore Arena

Results

National Wrestling Alliance (Jim Crockett Promotions)

1985

The Great American Bash 1985
Information
Promotion Jim Crockett Promotions
Date July 16, 1985
Attendance 27,000
Venue American Legion Memorial Stadium
City Charlotte, North Carolina
The Great American Bash chronology
N/A The Great American Bash 1985 The Great American Bash (1986)

The Great American Bash (1985) took place on July 6, 1985 at the American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.


1986

Jim Crockett Promotions used "The Great American Bash" as the name for a tour that had several PPV caliber shows around the country. In 1986, there were 13 Great American Bashes and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair defended his title at each one against Ricky Morton, Road Warrior Hawk, Ron Garvin, Nikita Koloff, Robert Gibson, Road Warrior Animal, Magnum T.A., Wahoo McDaniel and Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes defeated him for the title at the July 26 Bash. Flair challenged for it on the last Bash on August 2. Nikita Koloff and Magnum T.A. were involved in a best of seven title match series throughout the Bash for the U.S. Title. The cities toured in 1986 were in order as follows: July 1 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 3 in Washington, D.C., July 4 in Memphis, Tennessee, July 5 in Charlotte, North Carolina, July 9 in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 10 in Charleston, West Virginia, July 12 in Jacksonville, Florida, July 18 in Richmond, Virginia, July 21 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, July 23 in Johnson City, Tennessee, July 25 in Norfolk, Virginia, July 26 in Greensboro, North Carolina and August 2 in Atlanta, Georgia.

July 5, 1986 in Charlotte, NC (Memorial Stadium)

July 26, 1986 in Greensboro, NC (Greensboro Coliseum)


1987

The Great American Bash 1987
Information
Promotion Jim Crockett Promotions
Date 1987
Venue The Omni
Memorial Stadium
Orange Bowl
City Atlanta, Georgia
Charlotte, North Carolina
Miami, Florida

This was the first use of the WarGames: The Match Beyond match conceived by Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes was on the winning side in both events along with the Road Warriors, Nikita Koloff and Paul Ellering. Koloff, Rhodes and J.J. Dillon sustained serious injuries in the first encounter. The Bash series took place in numerous venues all July long, starting in Landover, Maryland at the Capital Centre on July 2.

July 4, 1987 in Atlanta, GA (The Omni)

July 18, 1987 in Charlotte, NC (Memorial Stadium)

July 31, 1987 in Miami, Florida (Orange Bowl)

1988

Main article: The Great American Bash (1988)

National Wrestling Alliance (World Championship Wrestling)

1989

Main article: The Great American Bash (1989)

1990

The Great American Bash 1990

VHS Cover Featuring Sting and Ric Flair
Tagline(s) The New Revolution
Information
Promotion National Wrestling Alliance
Date July 7, 1990
Attendance 10,000
Venue Baltimore Arena
City Baltimore, Maryland
Pay-per-view chronology
Capital Combat The Great American Bash 1990 Halloween Havoc 1990
The Great American Bash chronology
The Great American Bash (1989) The Great American Bash 1990 The Great American Bash (1991)

The Great American Bash (1990) took place on July 7, 1990 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.


World Championship Wrestling

1991

The Great American Bash (1991)

VHS Cover Featuring Barry Windham and Lex Luger
Information
Promotion World Championship Wrestling
Date July 14, 1991
Attendance 7,000
Venue Baltimore Arena
City Baltimore, Maryland
Pay-per-view chronology
SuperBrawl I The Great American Bash (1991) Halloween Havoc (1991)
The Great American Bash chronology
The Great American Bash (1990) The Great American Bash (1991) The Great American Bash (1992)

The Great American Bash (1991) took place on July 14, 1991 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

The card was originally to be highlighted by a Steel cage match between Ric Flair and Lex Luger for the WCW World Championship, and this match was heavily promoted on WCW TV. However, two weeks before the show, then-WCW Executive Vice President Jim Herd fired Flair over a contract dispute, stripping him of the title in the process. At the time, champions left a $25,000 security deposit that would be refunded to them (along with any accumulated interest on the deposit) once they lost the title and Flair was expecting to get his back as he was no longer employed by WCW. The company did not give Flair back his deposit, and he took possession of the belt and later brought it to the World Wrestling Federation with him and appeared with it on television.

Meanwhile, WCW had to commission a new world championship belt. However, the new belt could not be readied in time for the event, so the company was forced to improvise. A Championship Wrestling from Florida title belt that was in the possession of Dusty Rhodes was used and a metal plate with "WCW World Heavyweight Champion" was attached to the front.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

1992

The Great American Bash (1992)

VHS cover featuring Sting and Big Van Vader
Information
Promotion World Championship Wrestling
Date July 12, 1992
Attendance 8,000
Venue Gray Civic Center
City Albany, Georgia
Pay-per-view chronology
Beach Blast (1992) The Great American Bash (1992) Halloween Havoc (1992)
The Great American Bash chronology
The Great American Bash (1991) The Great American Bash (1992) The Great American Bash (1995)

The Great American Bash (1992) took place on July 12, 1992 at the Gray Civic Center in Albany, Georgia.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.


1995

The Great American Bash (1995)

VHS cover featuring Randy Savage and Big Bubba Rogers
Information
Promotion World Championship Wrestling
Date June 18, 1995
Attendance 6,000
Venue Hara Arena
City Dayton, Ohio
Pay-per-view chronology
Slamboree (1995) The Great American Bash (1995) Bash at the Beach (1995)
The Great American Bash chronology
The Great American Bash (1992) The Great American Bash (1995) The Great American Bash (1996)

The Great American Bash (1995) took place on June 18, 1995 at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.


1996

The Great American Bash (1996)

VHS Cover Featuring Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Steve McMichael and Kevin Greene
Information
Promotion World Championship Wrestling
Date June 16, 1996
Attendance 9,000
Venue Baltimore Arena
City Baltimore, Maryland
Pay-per-view chronology
Slamboree (1996) The Great American Bash (1996) Bash at the Beach (1996)
The Great American Bash chronology
The Great American Bash (1995) The Great American Bash (1996) The Great American Bash (1997)

The Great American Bash (1996) took place on June 16, 1996 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.


1997

The Great American Bash (1997)

VHS Cover Featuring Roddy Piper and Scott Hall
Tagline(s) Savage/Page II
Information
Promotion World Championship Wrestling
Date June 15, 1997
Attendance 9,613
Venue The MARK of the Quad Cities
City Moline, Illinois
Pay-per-view chronology
Slamboree (1997) The Great American Bash (1997) Bash at the Beach (1997)
The Great American Bash chronology
The Great American Bash (1996) The Great American Bash (1997) The Great American Bash (1998)

The Great American Bash (1997) took place on June 15, 1997 at The MARK of the Quad Cities in Moline, Illinois.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.


1998

The Great American Bash (1998)
Information
Promotion World Championship Wrestling
Date June 14, 1998
Attendance 12,810
Venue Baltimore Arena
City Baltimore, Maryland
Pay-per-view chronology
Slamboree (1998) The Great American Bash (1998) Bash at the Beach (1998)
The Great American Bash chronology
The Great American Bash (1997) The Great American Bash (1998) The Great American Bash (1999)

The Great American Bash (1998) took place on June 14, 1998 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.[2]

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

1999

The Great American Bash (1999)
Information
Promotion World Championship Wrestling
Date June 13, 1999
Attendance 11,672
Venue Baltimore Arena
City Baltimore, Maryland
Pay-per-view chronology
Slamboree (1999) The Great American Bash (1999) Bash at the Beach (1999)
The Great American Bash chronology
The Great American Bash (1998) The Great American Bash (1999) The Great American Bash (2000)

The Great American Bash (1999) took place on June 13, 1999 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

2000

The Great American Bash (2000)

VHS cover featuring Sting and Vampiro
Information
Promotion World Championship Wrestling
Date June 11, 2000
Attendance 7,031
Venue Baltimore Arena
City Baltimore, Maryland
Pay-per-view chronology
Slamboree (2000) The Great American Bash (2000) Bash at the Beach (2000)
The Great American Bash chronology
The Great American Bash (1999) The Great American Bash (2000) The Great American Bash (2004)

The Great American Bash (2000) took place on June 11, 2000 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the final Great American Bash produced by World Championship Wrestling due to the acquisition of the WCW by the World Wrestling Federation the following March.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.


References

  1. ^ a b "WCW Main Event". WCW Main Event. 1995-06-18.
  2. ^ Martin, Finn (1998-07-21). "Power Slam Magazine, issue 49". Down and Out (Great American Bash 1998) (SW Publishing): pp. 19–21. 

External links

See also