WCW Great American Bash 1991

After the failed start of the Sting-era to carry the promotion into the 1990s a year earlier, WCW decided to give it another try with their second choice – headlining the Great American Bash with Lex Luger’s long awaited clean victory over longtime rival Ric Flair to win the World Title.

Unfortunately for WCW, world champion Ric Flair (the most reliable draw in the promotion) was in the middle of heated contract negotiations with Turner executive Jim Herd – with whom Flair had a notoriously contentious relationship. Herd’s strategy of lowballing (as well as his feeling that Flair was past his prime, and needed to be put out to pasture jobbing for guys in the midcard) led to Ric balking, and walking out on the promotion – the physical title belt in tow.

What resulted is one of the most legendarily bad shows of all time. With Flair’s bailing two weeks before the card killing the main event (and Luger’s planned torch-passing world title win moment), WCW was left quickly scrambling to elevate non-contender Barry Windham to main event level for Luger to win the vacant title from – all while they trying to lure Flair back. The fans didn’t buy it one bit, however, and the Bash turned into a sit-in – the crowd firmly behind Flair in the dispute, and chanting for him through the entire show in protest.

From Baltimore, Maryland; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone – both of whom waste no time in burying Ric Flair.


Opening Scaffold Match: Steve Austin and Terrance Taylor v Bobby Eaton and PN News: This is 'capture the flag' rules - a stipulation added the day of the show, as no one wanted to risk serious injury for such a meaningless, throwaway match. As always with Scaffold Matches, there's literally very little that can be done - four large men up on a narrow, rickety, railingless scaffold twenty feet above the ring. Most versions at least have the 'well, guys are gonna fall off of it' excitement going for them, but since this is capture the flag rules, the match consists of them crawling around, occasionally getting a shot off (or doing 'please don't let me die' hand holding spots disguised as 'tests of strength') before hitting the deck to relative safety again. News finally uses his size to corner Austin and Taylor, and Eaton captures the flag to put everyone out of their misery at 7:23. Really bad, heatless match - though not at the fault of the wrestlers. There was just no realistically safe way to work this match, and they did their best. Austin had won the Television Title from Eaton a few weeks before this. Why they didn't just do a straight-up rematch here is beyond me. Really terrible way to start the show, as this was a popcorn break match if I've ever seen one. -* ½

Z-Man v The Diamond Studd: Studd is Scott Hall, basically fine tuning the Razor Ramon character before jumping to the WWF to actually make money with it. Z-Man (Tom Zenk) charges in to get things started, but gets pulled to the floor by Studd manager Diamond Dallas Page, and Studd throws him into the rail out there. Inside, Studd works him over, and hooks a rope-assisted abdominal stretch, but can't get the submission. Slugfest goes Z-Man's way, but he gets chokeslammed out of a criss cross, but rallies with a missile dropkick for two, so Page runs interference, and Studd side suplexes him for the pin at 6:57. Really, really dull, punchy-kicky stuff that didn't belong on pay per view. -½*

Ron Simmons v Oz: It's been over twenty years, but I still can't watch Oz's entrance without getting a headache from trying to figure out how it was supposed to get Kevin Nash over/draw money from literally anyone. Oz powers Simmons into the corner out of the first couple of tie-ups before grabbing a side-headlock. Simmons tries a sloppy droptoe-hold to take Oz down, but gets his eyes raked, and clobbered with a big boot. Blind charge misses, however, and Simmons starts firing off clotheslines to knock the big man to the floor. Oz calls for a test-of-strength in response, so Simmons suplexes him - only to miss a dropkick, and get clotheslined. Sidewalk slam gets two, and Oz hugs him like a bear - only to get dropkicked. Pair of 3-Point Stances set up a diving shoulderblock, and Simmons gets the pinfall at 7:56. Not that this was worth getting pumped up about, but this crowd is like they deliberately flew in everyone that fell asleep at WrestleMania IV, then pumped them full of 'ludes - making dull outright bad. DUD

Richard Morton v Robert Gibson: The Rock 'n' Roll Express had broken up the month before this (Morton turning heel, and joining the York Foundation) to set this up. And Gibson's pissed - jumping him in the aisle during the entrances, and slugging their way to the ring - but Morton quickly bails to the floor to regroup. For a while. He finally comes back in to whip Gibson into the corner, and takes the opportunity to supermarket sweep him, and post the knee. He keeps working it (Gibson selling wonderfully) - even tearing the tights at the joint to get the most direct, unprotected shots in. Figure four, but Gibson cradles him for two - so Morton keeps stomping it to wear him down. Leglock manages to wear him down enough for the figure four, but Gibson manages to reverse, so Morton grabs the ropes. Gibson can't sway the momentum, though, and Richard fires off another series of shots at the leg. Meanwhile, you can actually see entire groups in the crowd huddling together to chat - completely disinterested with the match/show. Another leglock, as some dude in the front row is literally rubbing his face and chugging soda in an effort to stay awake. When you've lost the front row, you know you're fucked. Might as well just wrap it up, and try again another day. Gibson gets a fluke DDT to slow Morton's assault down, but a desperation dropkick misses, and Richard goes right back after the leg. To the top rope, but Gibson slams him off, and hits an enzuigiri - but still can't properly capitalize, so Morton whacks him with manager Alexandra York's laptop (for 1991 - that's an especially expensive way to get your point across when there are literally thousands of empty chairs in the building that could have done the job just as well) for the pin at 17:23. Not actively bad (it was psychologically sound, at the very least), just extremely disappointing, and dull for what should have been an intense, spot-filled brawl. Morton looked to be having trouble adjusting to working heel (and likely also as a single), and this came off really awkwardly. ¼*

Six-Man Tag Team Elimination Match: Badstreet and The Fabulous Freebirds v Dustin Rhodes and The Young Pistols: Michael Hayes starts with Dustin Rhodes, and literally nothing happens for the first two minutes. That's not exaggeration or editorializing - I mean, literally: nothing happens. They just stare at each other. Rhodes eventually catches him with a dropkick, but that just triggers more stalling from Hayes on the floor. Though, to his credit, he's getting this otherwise dead crowd going - if only to tell him how much he sucks. Jimmy Garvin and Tracy Smothers tag in - but the Freebirds keep playing to the crowd instead of that 'wrestling' thing. Smothers with a dropkick, but a second misses - though he has no trouble getting the tag off to Steve Armstrong, since Garvin helpfully throws him right into his home corner. The heels work Smothers over with some triple-teaming, until Tracy backdrops Hayes out of a bulldog attempt, and tags Steve. Six-way brawl quickly breaks out, and the Freebirds double-DDT Armstrong out at 13:43. Smothers charges in, so Hayes instinctually backdrops him over the top - but that's a disqualification at 13:54 to even things up. Badstreet (Brad Armstrong, under a mask) tries to keep it going on Smothers, and another double-DDT sends Tracy home at 15:20. Dustin charges right in with a diving forearm, and that's enough for Garvin at 15:28, so Badstreet hits a flying axehandle. Another gets him gut-punched, and Rhodes with a lariat for two. Bulldog finishes at 17:03. As is the case with most Freebirds matches, this was stalling, with a couple of spots thrown in to mix things up. Unfortunately, most of the work was on the sloppy side (outside of some nice stuff from Badstreet), though Smothers took the long heat section well - amid strange, machine gun booking that came off badly. ¾*

Johnny B. Badd v Yellow Dog: 'Dog' is Brian Pillman under a mask (a yellow mask!) - as he'd lost a Loser Leaves Town match to Barry Windham, and returned as the 'mysterious' masked newcomer. So mysterious, that Jim Ross outright tells you it's Pillman, and refers to him as such throughout the match. Badd, meanwhile, is so 'flamboyant,' he makes the Freebirds looks conservative by comparison. Dog tries to slap him around to start (well, he looks like a bitch...), and Badd bails to the floor before Dog can muss up his hair. Psychology! Inside, Dog with a sloppy sunset flip for two, and a dropkick - but Badd manager Teddy Long lures Dog to the floor for Johnny to jump. Back in, Badd with a flying sunset flip for two, but get gets caught with a fluke German suplex, and a spinheel kick. Flying bodypress, but Long runs in to break up the pin, and that's a disqualification at 6:00. This sounds better on paper, but Badd hadn't really developed as a worker yet in mid-1991, and this time period was probably the low point of Pillman's career - giving a really sloppy performance. DUD

Lumberjack Match: Black Blood v Big Josh: Black Blood is Billy Jack Haynes during his short run through the promotion, under a hood. He jumps Josh at the bell, and immediately dumps him to the floor for the heel lumberjacks to abuse. Back in, Josh wins a slugfest, and returns the favor by spilling Blood to the floor - though he knocks him onto the heel side, so they just help him back in. Josh wins another slugfest, but gets stungunned this time, and Blood plods around until they just jump to the finish - with the lumberjacks brawling, and lumberjack Dustin Rhodes hitting Blood with an axehandle (like, a literal axehandle - not the wrestling move) for Josh to cradle at 5:39. All punch-kick, and loaded with bad transitions. Thankfully short, though. -½*

One Man Gang v El Gigante: The hits just keep on coming! And now we have One Man Gang and manager Kevin Sullivan - who have somehow managed to make Johnny B. Badd look tasteful by comparison. Was there a contest going on, or something? Gigante brings a literal gang of midgets with him - all of whom look bigger than Sullivan - and the intimidation factor allows him to 'chase' (see: leisurely walk) Gang around the ring, with Jim Ross actually putting Gigante over as a star on the same broadcast he spends burying Ric Flair. Gigante finally 'catches' him in the ring for some plodding forearm shots, but a blind charge misses (though he took the polar opposite of Bret Hart's 'chest first corner bump' there - looking almost like he blocked running into the corner), and Gang takes his turn to plod - going after the knee with a wrench. He goes to the top, but Gigante 'catches' him with a slam, moving so slowly, Gang had to just wait there - looking absurd in the process - as why wouldn't he just do the fucking move if Gigante hasn't caught him yet? Gigante with a suplex, so Gang grabs a fistful of powder - only to have Gigante kick it in his face for the pin at 6:14. This was on track to be one of the worst matches I've ever seen (unrealistic looking punch-kick stuff done at half speed, all super loose, and with horrible selling all around), but luckily was kept short enough to only 'hit' -*** ½

Russian Chain Match: Sting v Nikita Koloff: Koloff had been attacking Sting with a chain (a RUSSIAN CHAIN!) for months to set this up. 'Touch all four corners' rules here - as apparently the fall of the Soviet Union necessitated a change. Opening tug of war ends in a stalemate, so they do a staredown instead. Sting literally kicks things off by kicking Koloff to the floor for a few shots into the rail, and they wander around out there for a bit under the guise of 'brawling.' Inside, Sting touches two corners, but gets nailed on the way to the third, and back to the floor they go for Koloff to beat him with the chain. In, Koloff with more chain-oriented offense (Chain Elbowdrop! Chain Punch! Chain Choke!), but much like Hulkamania, Chainamania eventually gets to popular, it backlashes - in this case, right into Koloff's nuts. Also much like Hulkamania, though, just when you think it's gone, it'll hit you in the nuts again - this time Sting getting whacked. Koloff drags him to three corners, so Sting makes the brilliant decision to Stinger Splash him on the way into the fourth at 11:46 - another match lost because of math. See, that's why I never made the whole 'when are we gonna use this' argument. You never know when you might be involved in a chain match, and will literally not know how many things you've touched in the process. Match was a dull assortment of punches and kicks (and chain shots, of course), with a stupid ending to really go the extra mile. If any match was going to save this show, this was it - so especially disappointing. -*

Main Event: WCW World Title Cage Match: Lex Luger v Barry Windham: As noted, Ric Flair bailed on the promotion two weeks before the show, so this essentially has no back-story. It’s just Barry Windham being trotted out as the sacrificial lamb for Luger to slaughter and get his world title win over with – not exactly the definitive torch passing moment they were building towards. And, speaking of ‘world titles’ – when Flair left the promotion he was immediately stripped of the WCW Title (established earlier that year, as Turner’s organization began distancing itself from the NWA), but was still recognized as the NWA Champion until months later – therefore destroying the lineage of the unified title once and for all. Oh, and to really rub it in, he took the actual Big Gold Belt that represented both titles with him – even showing up on WWF TV with it the next month – and leaving WCW without a physical title belt ready in time for Luger to win in this sham of a main event.  So, instead, they grab one Dusty Rhodes had collecting dust at home, and literally tape 'World Championship Wrestling' over the old logos (which they stupidly give the home audience a close-up of) - the only appearance of the belt before they switched to a new, non-Big Gold Belt design for a few years. They come out ready to rumble, but crowd gives them nothing - instead tearing into this just mercilessly right out the gate with loud 'We Want Flair' chants. Windham tries a suplex early, but Luger wrestles free, and a criss cross ends with Luger hiptossing him. Back to sizing each other up for a while, both hitting single spots, then circling each other a couple of times before following up. That goes on until Luger decides to spice things up with a sleeper - possibly a commentary on this performance. DDT gets two, so Luger goes to the top rope - only to get slammed off for two. Windham tries a flying elbowdrop to capitalize, but Lex rolls out of the way, and backdrops him, before firing off a series of clotheslines for two. Backelbow for two, and a powerslam sets up the Torture Rack - but Windham kicks off the ropes to escape, and side suplexes Luger. He can't sway the momentum, though, so Luger goes for a superplex - only to get tossed off, and hit with a flying clothesline from Windham. Backdrop and a lariat level Luger, and a bodyslam gets two. That draws out Harley Race, distracting Windham while yelling 'now is the time' at Luger like he's Michael in Mean Streets - which acts as some sort of code word that triggers him to pop over, piledriver Windham, and win the title at 12:24 - making Luger a heel, despite this show supposed to have been his big crowning moment of triumph as a babyface champion. Match started off brutally bad, and while it picked up towards the end, the lack of flow and general apathy of both men (amidst a booking nightmare, and an illogical heel turn) made for really dull stuff. DUD

Cage Match: Arn Anderson and Paul E. Dangerously v Rick Steiner and Missy Hyatt: Before Steiner and Hyatt can even get into the cage, Dick Slater and Dick Murdoch show up, and abduct her - dragging her to the locker room kicking and screaming. That leaves Steiner alone, but he doesn't seem to care much - he's already mentally handicapped, after all – and finishes Paul with a clothesline at 2:09. This was a huge mess before it even got started, as it was originally scheduled as Missy and The Steiner Brothers against Dangerously, Anderson, and Windham - but Barry got shuffled into the main event, and local law prohibited a mixed match, so the result was... this. Which is all the worse because WCW knew Missy wouldn't be able to compete well enough before the show, yet still promoted it - which somehow makes it the perfect ending to this show. DUD

BUExperience: Holy God. I mean, there are worse shows if you’re just looking at the wrestling itself (WCW Uncensored 1995 jumps to mind), but this is probably the most obnoxiously intelligence insulting presentation – with bad wrestling up and down, to boot. Easily among the worst major pay per views of all time, it falls under ‘so bad it’s good’ at points – but mostly, it’s just plain bad.

What made it worse is that no one really tried. Though it certainly wasn’t a pleasant working environment to coax great matches out of the roster, guys like Sting, Nikita Koloff, and Brian Pillman were especially disappointing – taking a bad situation, and making it worse.

Not surprisingly, Jim Herd couldn’t weather the shit-storm he was in for long after, and would be released by the end of the year – though the long term effects of the situation (both on the value of the WCW Title, the spurned fans, and the general direction of the product) would be evident for years to come.  DUD