WCW Bash at the Beach 1997

With the WWE Network finally (finally!) here, I can finally (finally!) go back and fill in some blanks on missing reviews, as well as cover hours of additional content. Plus, it’s all available with closed captioning (another ‘finally’), so I can actually cover a lot of the segments in between the matches as well. New day!

From Daytona Beach, Florida; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes, and Bobby Heenan.

Opening Match: Glacier and Ernest Miller v Mortis and Wrath: Big brawl to start, with the dust settling on Glacier and Mortis - Glacier taking control with a series of right hands. Into the corner, Glacier unloads lightning kicks, and tags Miller in for a kick display of his own. A roundhouse kick gets two, and Wrath tags in. He unloads, but Miller starts another kick exhibition - only to talk into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Wrath follows with a 2^nd rope elbowdrop, but Miller dodges, and tags. He and Glacier hit a double-team dropkick for two, but Glacier gets overwhelmed in a double-team and ends up out on the floor. Mortis gives him a shot into the rail out there, and Wrath punctuates it with a somersault bodyblock off of the apron. He holds a chair over Glacier's face for Mortis to superkick, and inside, they cut the ring in half - cheating at will. A neat Wrath sitout powerbomb/Mortis neckbreaker combo gets two, and they follow with an equally cool Wrath inverted Boston crab/Mortis 2^nd rope legdrop combo for two. Mortis misses a flying moonsault though, and Miller's in with roundhouse kicks for everyone. That triggers a full-on four-way brawl, and Glacier finishes Mortis with a DDT, but manager James Vandenberg puts his foot on the ropes. He also puts a steel chain on his boot while he's there, and Mortis superkicks Glacier for the pin at 9:47. Nothing special, but everyone worked hard, and it was well paced. Well booked, too, to allow Glacier to work most of the match, with Miller (whose offense mostly consisted of kicks) to be use sparingly. Fine for an opener. *

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Chris Jericho v Ultimo Dragon: Jericho is rocking some awesome RVD meets Randy Savage style tights here, and I'm digging it. He tries to outwrestle Dragon at the bell, but a waistlock is broken with the ropes. Dragon tries to take him down, but ends up in a standing hammerlock for his troubles. He tries countering with a side-headlock, but Chris counters with a headscissors, and goes back to the waistlock. A couple of stalemate sequences (monkeyflips, armdrags, dropkicks) end in Dragon hitting his headstand dropkick, and he follows with a series of lightning kicks to take control. Nervehold, but Jericho isn't quitting, so Dragon shifts into a mat-based headscissors - wrenching it on. Chris won't give, so Dragon tries a rana, but gets blocked with a two-alarm no-release powerbomb for two. Hanging vertical suplex is worth two, and a backbreaker shifts into a backbreaker submission. Criss cross goes Chris' way with a sleeper, but the challenger quickly counters with a side suplex - only to take a moonsault off of a missed charge into the corner. Jericho with a double-underhook powerbomb for two, but Dragon blocks a superplex attempt, so Jericho simply dropkicks him off the top turnbuckle to the floor. The crowd didn't appreciate it, but that was pretty awesome. Jericho follows with a springboard bodypress to the outside, and a bodyslam on the way back in sets up a 2^nd rope elbow - which misses. Dragon quickly capitalizes by taking him to the top, but Jericho shoves him off to the floor to block a superplex. He dives out after him from up there, but Dragon is ready with a dropkick to block - only to have a suplex attempt reversed. Jericho tries another springboard, but Dragon dodges this time, and hits a springboard moonsault on the floor. Both men are down, but make it in to beat the count, and Dragon hits a rana for two. Handspring moonsault, but Jericho blocks with a magistral cradle - only for Dragon to reverse for two! Dragon blocks a backdrop, and a they trade cradles, but both end up back out on the floor - Dragon nailing him with an enzuigiri out there. Suplex back in, but Jericho dodges, and hits the Lionsault for two. Cradle for two, and a bodyslam sets up another Lionsault - Dragon dropkicking him as he flips. Dragon suplex to finish, but Jericho blocks with the ropes, so he tries the Dragon Sleeper - Jericho blocking again. Flying moonsault works, but Jericho manages to hit a double-underhook powerbomb - only for Dragon to counter into a rana, which Jericho counters into a sunset cradle for the pin at 12:55. Great little match here. Not a psychological masterpiece, but loaded with great counter filled sequences, exciting spots, and great bumps. *** ½

#1 Contender's Match: The Steiner Brothers v Great Muta and Masahiro Chono: The heels try jumping the Steiner's at the bell, but end up getting creamed with stereo flying clotheslines, and dumped to the outside. The dust settles on Scott Steiner and Muta to get us started - though only in theory, as it's mostly stalling. Scott controls with forearms and kneelifts, but eats boot off of a cross corner charge. A sloppy criss cross sequence (Scott could barely get the elevation for a leapfrog) ends in Muta hitting a spinkick, but Scott quickly regroups with a butterfly powerbomb and a press slam. Both guys tag, and Rick Steiner overpowers Chono with shoulderblocks. Test-of-strength goes Chono's way with an eyerake, but he walks into an overhead suplex as he tries to follow-up. Chono takes a breather as Rick tags, and follows suit by tagging Muta on the way back in. Chono hits an electric chair before going out to the apron, and Muta capitalizes with a handspring elbow. They cut the ring in half on Scott, but Steiner manages to overhead superplex Chono, and he makes the tag. Rick is a doghouse of fire, and it's suplexes all around! Four-way brawl, and the Steiner's finish Muta with an elevated DDT at 11:37. This would have likely been awesome in 1990, but by 1997, not so much. Not offensively bad, or anything, just dull. ½*

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Juventud Guerrera, Hector Garza, and Lizmark Jr v Psychosis, La Parka, and Villano IV: Let the spots begin! Lizmark starts with Psychosis, but ends up in a side-headlock right away. He belly-to-belly suplexes his way into a reversal, but Psychosis counters into a headscissors - which Lizmark flips his way out of. Garza charges in with a missile dropkick, and Psychosis trades off with Villano (they don't really bother with formal tags in these multi-Lucha matches). He and Garza trade somersault counters, and Villano ends up on the floor to take a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. That signals Juvi and La Parka to takeover, and Guerrera takes him with a corkscrew rana. He follows with a headscissors takedown on the floor, and inside we're back to Lizmark and Psychosis. The heels triple-team Lizmark, but Garza and Guerrera save with springboards, and knock all three to the floor - all three following with simultaneous tope suicadas. Inside, Guerrera tries a springboard bodypress, but Psychosis blocks with a dropkick, and hits an insane somersault powerbomb off of the top for two. Everyone's in again to trade springboard moonsaults, and it all ends in a neat sequence where everyone tries flying splashes - and all miss. Lizmark with a standing moonsault on Villano for two, and he dumps him to the floor for a flying bodypress. Parka responds with a corkscrew plancha onto Lizmark, and everyone follows for a big dog pile on the floor. That draws Villano V out to illegally switch with IV, and he goes to work on Garza - only for it to backfire, and Hector to blast him with a missile dropkick and add a standing moonsault for the pin at 10:08. What you'd expect: little/no psychology, little/no selling, lots and lots of eye-popping spots. Fun for what it was. **

No Disqualification Retirement Match: Kevin Sullivan v Chris Benoit: Sullivan looks like he spent the day sunbathing on the beach here, looking darker than Hulk Hogan. Slugfest to start, and Kevin quickly suplexes him over-the-top to take the action to the outside. He whips Benoit into the guardrail, and they brawl up the aisle to the entrance set - Sullivan's valet Jacqueline beating on Benoit the whole way. At the beach themed entrance sets, Sullivan uses surfboards and beach chairs as weapons, and even manages to use Jacqueline as a weapon: throwing her at Benoit. Chris tips over a lifeguard tower to comeback, but Jacqueline is there with a chairshot to stop the effort. Sullivan bashes him into the rail, and they brawl back to ringside for Sullivan manager Jimmy Hart to get his licks in. Kevin with a double-stomp on the floor, and he rams Benoit's nuts into the ringpost, then onto the rail. Inside, Benoit returns the favor by crotching him across the top rope, and he hits a snap suplex for two. Sullivan bites him to comeback, but Benoit responds in kind, and chops Kevin in the corner. Crippler Crossface, but Sullivan manages to make the rope to stay in the game. Chris drags him back to center ring to reapply the hold, as I wonder why Jimmy Hart and Jacqueline don't just run in and break it up, considering the stakes and that it's no DQ. Instead, they force Sullivan to inch to the ropes again to break, so Benoit decides to chop him instead. Blind charge misses, however, and Sullivan hangs him in a tree of woe to set up a pair of running kneesmashes. Jacqueline slides in with a balsa wood chair, but ends up turning on Sullivan by breaking it over his head, and Benoit finishes with a flying headbutt at 13:11. I was totally over the 'brawl around the arena' shit, but unfortunately for me, they were just getting started, as it would become a staple of WWF main events for the duration of the Attitude Era. Not bad, but nothing they hadn't done a dozen times before. Though, this is one retirement stipulation that actually stuck (especially by wrestling standards), as this was effectively the end of Sullivan's in-ring career. ½*

WCW United States Title Match: Jeff Jarrett v Steve McMichael: Shockingly, Jarrett stalls as the bell sounds - doing everything from posing to threatening to walk about. Down to business, but first: Jarrett stalls some more! They trade go-behinds, but McMichael gets the best of it with a scrapbuster, and a 3-point stance sends the champ back out to the floor for more stalling. Inside, Jarrett stupidly engages in a test-of-strength, and gets dumped so he can stall some more. He manages to sweep a overzealous McMichael out to the floor for a shot into the steps, but a whip into the rail gets reversed, and Steve drops an elbow on the floor. Inside, the challenger botches a press slam, but manages a powerslam for two. Blind charge misses though, and Jarrett hits a 3-point stance of his own. Another hits, and Jeff grabs the bad leg for the Figure Four. That draws McMichael's wife Debra onto the apron, but Jeff steals her steel briefcase, and bops Mongo for the pin at 6:56. Thankfully kept short, but it was about two minutes of wrestling and five of stalling. DUD

Diamond Dallas Page and Curt Hennig v Randy Savage and Scott Hall: Hennig is Page's mystery partner, this his WCW debut, though WCW totally undersells the significance - which is ironic considering Hennig has never undersold anything in his life. Page starts with Savage, and knocks the Macho Man to the floor almost immediately - Savage regrouping by threatening random fans with a chair. Tag to Hall, but he wants Hennig, and Page obliges. Hall gets right to taunting Hennig's significant belly (he can't even pull his singlet straps up because of it - yet we have to listen to the commentary team talk about him being in the 'best shape of his life' anyway. I guess if that shape is 'round,' then, yeah, sure. Curt dominates Hall with a kneelift and both versions of the atomic drop (complete with Hall doing a Hennig-level oversell job), and Curt hits the somersault necksnap. Tag back to Dallas, but a cross corner clothesline backfires, and Savage tags in with a flying axehandle. The nWo cut the ring in half on DDP, but he manages an inverted atomic drop on Savage, and makes the tag. Hennig comes in hot, but a miscommunication with Page sees him go flying over the top, so he nails DDP on the floor and walks out - leaving Dallas alone to take an Outsiders Edge and the Flying Elbowdrop at 9:35. Pretty disappointing, but then pretty much everyone had it in low gear here - completely missing the boat on Hennig right out of the dock. ¼*

Ric Flair v Roddy Piper: Piper gets Flair on the mat almost immediately for a series of closed fists, and the Nature Boy bails to the floor to regroup out in the aisle. Inside, Flair tries begging off and suckering Piper into a series of chops, but Roddy fires back and unloads a ten punch count. Flair flips to the floor, and Piper follows him out this time with a backdrop. Shot into the post and chops follow before Roddy rolls him back in - only for Flair to clip the knees as he does. Flair goes to work and slaps on the Figure Four, but Piper reverses, and hits a swinging neckbreaker for two. Flair with a low blow to turn the tide (complete with great facial expressions from Piper), and he goes back after the knee again. Piper keeps coming though, and he dominates Ric in a proper slugfest. Backdrop and a clothesline put Flair on the floor, and Roddy follows with a series of chops. Back in, he slaps on the Sleeper, but Flair uses a quick stunner to break, and covers for two. He tries using the ropes for leverage, but Piper just keeps kicking out anyway, so Flair chops him, and heads to the top. Roddy is there with a slam, however, and he hooks on his own Figure Four! Flair makes the ropes, and pulls out a set of knux from his kneepads - only for Piper to block the shot, and use the knux himself. That draws Chris Benoit and Steve McMichael out for the assist, and Steve manages to hit a tombstone on Piper for Flair to cover - for two! Desperate, Flair starts unloading on the Hot Rod, but Piper powers into a Sleeper, and Ric is done at 13:26. Like a lot of WCW matches from this period, this had name value, but the guys just couldn't (or wouldn't, in many cases) back it up in the ring anymore. This was sadly bordering on self-parody, but it was well booked for what it was. ½*

Main Event: Hollywood Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman v Lex Luger and The Giant: Though WCW would eventually go too far with their celebrity pay per view matches the next year, it was inspired by the success they found with this, which drew tons of mainstream attention. I remember being on summer vacation from school, and waking up to the Today Show the next morning and seeing highlights of it to open the show, which was almost unheard of for wrestling in 1997. The announcers do a good job of hyping everything up, and Hogan starts with Luger - though nothing of note happens as they run though the usual barrage of shoulderblocks and headlocks for a couple of minutes, until Hulk takes control and hits a bodyslam. Tag to Rodman, but he messes with Luger: taunting him by dodging lockups. He finally locks up, and hits a basic armdrag - everyone having a complete fit over it (as if he'd just hit a Steiner Screwdriver), and Hogan and Randy Savage both running in to congratulate him. Man, there's 'kid gloves' and then there's that, I guess. Luger responds with an armdrag of his own, and Rodman bails into Hogan's loving arms on the floor - selling it like death. Back inside, Rodman manages a leapfrog to the crowds delight, and Luger is STUNNED! Stunned, I tell you, that a seven foot tall basketball player can jump. He does it a couple more times, but Lex plants a clothesline on him this time, and both guys tag. Hogan unloads on him with rights and hits a cross corner clothesline, but Giant no-sells and growls at him. Giant with an atomic drop to trigger a tag to Rodman, but his leapfrog attempts are blocked with a bearhug, and Giant spanks him. Literally. Chokeslam, but Hogan runs in with a cheap shot to break it up, and he holds Rodman's hand through a series of double-teams as they cut the ring in half. Giant manages to kick out of a dog pile cover though, and tags Luger - only for Lex to get double-teamed to put out his house of fire. Hulk with a bodyslam, and the Legdrop hits - but it only gets two. Rodman with a pair of elbowsmashes in the corner, and a bootchoke follows, but he fails to cut the ring in half, and Lex tags. Rodman responds by chuckling, but Giant plants big boots on both he and Hogan. Headbutts, but out comes 'Sting' (though about a foot taller, and able to casually step over the top rope) to whack him with a bat. That was Kevin Nash, in case that wasn't obvious. That triggers a four-way brawl, and a heel miscommunication allows Luger to get Hogan in the Torture Rack for the submission at 22:19. Cookie cutter stuff, but it was a celebrity match, and as noted earlier, it got them some much welcomed media attention, so fine. Still, as a match, it was overlong, and lazily worked. DUD

BUExperience: Though reviews were horrible at the time, this is actually not as bad as I remember it – especially for this period of WCW. That’s not to say that it’s good, but it’s harmless, and you could do worse. Of course, there's still a heaping helping of WCW missed potential (Curt Hennig's debut jumps right out), and the WWF was running shows the caliber of Canadian Stampede the same month, but hey, it is what it is. *