NWA (WCW) Great American Bash 1990 (Version II)

Original Airdate: July 7, 1990

From Baltimore, Maryland; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Bob Caudle

Opening Match: Brian Pillman v Buddy Landel: Landel tries to corner him with chops at the bell, but Brian turns the tables, and hits a 2^nd rope bodypress for two. Hiptoss and a pair of dropkicks send Buddy to the outside, and Pillman works an armbar on the way back in. Sunset flip, but Landel punches him in the face to block, so Pillman tries another 2^nd rope bodypress, but this time Buddy catches him in a backbreaker to take control. It's funny looking out at the crowd from a modern fans perspective, and seeing mostly senior citizens filling up the first few rows. I just can't picture them starting a 'this is awesome' or 'you deserve it' chant, you know? Landel works Pillman over with mostly restholds, until Brian starts mounting a comeback in the corner with a ten-punch. Bodypress gets rolled through for two, and Landel blocks a rollup - only to get cocky, and caught with a flying bodypress at 9:45. A little longish for what Landel brought to the table during the heat segment, but a decent opener. * (Original rating: ½*)

Mike Rotunda v Iron Sheik: Ah yes, from that brief period when WCW actually remembered that they were paying Sheik. Sheik jumps him before the bell, and chokes him down. Wow, Sheik's gut is enormous here. That goes on for a while, in fact. Clothesline hits, but Mike fires back with a sunset flip for two, and a bodyslam sets up a dropkick to send Sheik to the outside. Sheik stalls out there, then back in he gets Mike with an eyerake. Listening to JR try to call Iron Sheik matches is entertaining enough on its own. Sheik with a sloppy gutwrench suplex for two, and he works an abdominal stretch. HOW'S IT FEEL, MIKE? Rotunda quickly escapes with a hiptoss, but an elbowdrop misses, and Sheik side suplexes him for two. Vertical suplex, but Rotunda reverses for two, so Sheik rakes the eyes again, and tosses Rotunda to the outside. Vertical suplex back in gets two, but Mike counters a double-underhook suplex with a backslide at 6:48. Total junk, but it was energetic enough, at least. ¼* (Original rating: ½*)

Doug Furnas v Dutch Mantel: Mantel looks so repulsive here, that he either was getting tons of pussy, or was completely celibate, with no middle ground. Furnas dominates in the early going, and he press-slams Dutch before delivering a gorgeous dropkick to send Mantel to the floor. The weird thing about that dropkick was that it was clearly mistimed, but actually seemed to be better off for it. Doug with a bodypress for two, and he works an armbar, but Dutch rakes the eyes to escape. Man, the upper and midcards are going to have to be really great to make up for this shitty excuse of a lowercard. Furnas misses a flying splash to allow Mantel to firmly take control of the bout, and a vertical suplex gets two. He works an armbar, but Doug escapes with a schoolboy for two, and he shoulderblocks him down. Powerslam gets two, so Mantel makes a last ditch effort with another eyerake, but walks into a belly-to-belly suplex at 11:19. Way too long, and painfully dull. ½* (Original rating: ½*)

Tommy Rich v Harley Race: This is Race's return. Who'd Rich blow to get this spot? It's weird that when he joined the WWF everyone was laughing about how they'd 'degrade' him with the king gimmick, and now here he is back in the NWA... still doing the king gimmick. Though it's a lot less overt here, pretty much limited to just a crown logo on the tights. Feeling out process to start, and Race takes control with a piledriver, then takes Tommy to the outside for a vertical suplex on the elevated aisle way. Race leaves him out there for die, but Rich beats the count, and clotheslines Harley over the top upon re-entering! Slugfest on the floor goes Tommy's way with a bodyslam, and a vertical suplex back in sets up a 2^nd rope fistdrop for two. Race fires back with a kneelift and a belly-to-belly suplex for two, and a swinging neckbreaker follows. Rich slugs back and delivers a swinging kneelift, and both men go tumbling over the top for another slugfest. Tommy with a flying bodypress on the way back in, but Harley rolls through for the pin at 6:33. Good stuff, which didn't overstay its welcome. *** (Original rating: ¾*)

NWA United States Tag Team Title Match: The Midnight Express v The Southern Boys: The Midnight's attack before the bell, but get fought off by the challengers on the floor. They double-up on Bobby Eaton on the way back in, and the dust settles on Bobby with Steve Armstrong. Feeling out process to start, and Steve slams Bobby down off the top rope. Criss cross ends in Steve executing a monkeyflip, and he follows with a dropkick, then a well executed flying clothesline to send Eaton to the outside! That has the announcers basically declaring that the challengers are luchadores. Or, in 1990 terms, proficient in the 'Mexican style.' Tag to Tracy Smothers, and the challengers continue to dominate Eaton with stick-and-move offense. A superkick knocks Bobby into a tag to Stan Lane, and he gets into a martial arts showdown with Smothers. Tracy dominates, bringing Eaton in for a cheap shot, but Armstrong cuts him off, and the Southern Boys clean house again. Dust settles back on Lane and Smothers, and a reversal sequence goes Tracy's way. Tag to Eaton, but Smothers quickly grounds him with an armdrag, and he sends Bobby to the floor for a baseball slide. Man, the Midnight's are just going totally out of their way to make this newbie team into stars tonight. Another brawl breaks out, and poor Roseanne has had to Barr the door so many times that she's already dropped twenty pounds! Dust settles on Eaton and Smothers, and Tracy tries a rollup, but a well timed cheap shot from Lane ends with Smothers laid out on the floor! The Express get right to cutting the ring in half, but he manages to fight off a double-team long enough to get the hot tag to Steve! Armstrong is a plantation of fire, and they go for the kill on Lane with a bearhug/missile dropkick combo, but interference from Eaton delays the count. Armstrong keeps coming, but gets shoved down off the top by Eaton, and the Rocket Launcher hits for a dramatic two! That brings Smothers back in to trade places with Steve, but an inside cradle on Eaton only gets two! Eaton hooks one of his own following a kick from Lane, and that's enough at 18:14. I think that first cradle was supposed to get reversed for the pin, but even if so, the eventual finish was fine. The Midnight's seems downright determined to make stars out of Smothers and Armstrong here, and they plugged them right into their usual Rock 'n' Roll Express formula match with great results. The last couple of minutes were especially wild. *** ¾ (Original rating: ** ½)

Big Van Vader v Tom Zenk: This is Vader's WCW debut. It's the battle of kids whose names were called last for attendance! Zenk stupidly tries to attack before the bell, and it doesn't go well for him. Shocking, I know. Vader unloads in the corner, and hits an avalanche, then takes his head off with a short-clothesline. Tom wisely bails, but Vader dead lifts him back in from the ramp, then press-slams him to setup an elbowdrop. Vertical suplex and a splash finish at 2:15. Just a complete, total, and unapologetic squash. As I noted in my original review, it's poetic that on the same show that Sting finally won the world title, Vader debuted. ½* (Original rating: DUD)

The Steiner Brothers v The Fabulous Freebirds: The Freebirds' outfit tonight includes eye shadow, lipstick, sequins, body glitter, and ponytails. It's a wonder they didn't get stabbed in some of the less progressive towns WCW ran in the early 90s. They try jumping the Steiner's before the bell, but get fought off in short order. Much stalling commences, until Rick Steiner whips Jimmy Garvin into the corner for a backdrop, then drives a Steinerline for two. Tag to Michael Hayes, and the stalling resumes. Hey, he has to get his turn in. Be fair. In fact, that's ALL he does with his turn, as he tags back to Garvin after doing nothing but stall. Scott Steiner tags in as well, and he throws both Freebirds around with backdrops and dropkicks. More stalling. Lots more. Things finally settle into the heat segment with the Freebirds cutting the ring in half on Rick. It takes a special kind of suck to drag the Steiner Brothers down to a bad match in 1990. The Freebirds have that suck. Garvin misses a flying axehandle to allow Rick a 2^nd rope flying bulldog, and there's the hot tag to Scott - Roseanne Barr the door! Frankensteiner looks to finish Hayes, but Garvin saves with a DDT - only for the referee to actually notice that he isn't the legal man for once! That allows Rick to plow Hayes with a belly-to-belly suplex, and Scotty pins him at 13:43. Stalling in a Freebirds match is a given, but they're known to have decent enough matches when they keep it to a minimum - like a pretty good one against the Steiner's at Clash VIII. This one was literally half stalling, though. ¾* (Original rating: ½*)

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, and Sid Vicious v Junkyard Dog, Paul Orndorff, and El Gigante: Poor Paul Orndorff is going to have his work cutout for him tonight. Sid is wearing his weird singlet tonight, which is a look I never liked on him, that also made it onto his action figure. The crowd just loves him, too. He starts with Paul, and tosses him around, but Orndorff ends up fighting off all three Horsemen, and hooking Sid in a backslide for two. Guys like Sid should not be wearing singlets or taking backslides. Over to JYD to get his turn bouncing the Horsemen around like three jobbers. I wonder if Arn at all regretted deciding to jump back from the WWF for this shit? He no-sells a DDT from Windham, then reverses a vertical suplex before tagging back to Paul. The Horsemen finally get some traction with a cheap shot, and they cut the ring in half on Orndorff. He fights Barry off long enough to get the tag to JYD, and he's a doghouse of fire, but quickly gets put out by the Horsemen. They triple-team, and the referee disqualifies them for throwing Dog over the top at 8:48. Wow, bad ending, bad booking, bad everything. This was surprisingly short, given the sheer amount of guys in it, and the fact that even the most pedestrian of undercard junk was getting ten minutes. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

NWA United States Title Match: Lex Luger v Mark Callous: They appear to be having issues with the lighting over the last couple of matches, and it's getting really distracting. Feeling out process to start, with Luger in control. Criss cross ends in Callous hammering him, and a big boot puts the champion down for some choking. He works a hammerlock, and the ropewalk forearm hits. Lex starts slugging to try and mount a comeback, but a charge misses, and Luger goes flying out of the ring. Callous follows him for some abuse out there, but Lex manages a sunset flip for two on the way back in. Slugfest goes Callous' way, and a vertical suplex follows, but Luger no-sells. He starts throwing running clotheslines, and the Torture Rack looks to finish, but the referee gets bumped in the process. That allows Paul E. Dangerously to run in and bash Luger with the cell phone, but it only gets two. Mark goes for the Heart Punch, but Lex blocks, and another clothesline finishes at 12:08. * (Original rating: DUD)

NWA World Tag Team Title Match: Doom v The Rock 'n' Roll Express: There are a lot of fucking matches tonight. And yet, they still managed to keep this show under three hours, unlike most WWE pay per views today. Ron Simmons starts with Robert Gibson, and don't ya know it, Robert wants to step to Ron! He manages to dodge Simmons in the corner to hook a schoolboy for two, and Ron passes out to Butch Reed. The Express continue to stick-and-move, but Ricky Morton runs into a few shoulderblocks from Reed - Butch absolutely steamrolling him with each one. They try sticking and moving again, and Robert stupidly tries to hiptoss Reed, and pays the price. Doom cut the ring in half on Gibson, as I guess no one passed them the memo on how to work against the Rock 'n' Roll Express. Robert fights Reed off during a backdrop attempt to allow the tag to Ricky, and he rolls Butch up for two - only to get crushed with a lariat by Simmons. Ah, that's better. Doom cut the ring in half on Morton, and they just keep cutting him off again and again and again. He finally manages to fight Reed off long enough to get the tag, and Gibson comes in hot - Roseanne Barr the door! He manages to hit Butch with an enzuigiri, but gets caught up with manager Teddy Long, and Reed hits a flying shoulderblock to retain at 15:38. After seeing Doom do power matches with the Steiner's for months on end, it was nice to see them get a chance to cut loose with a smaller team. *** (Original rating: ½*)

Main Event: NWA World Title No Disqualification Match: Ric Flair v Sting: They forgo the feeling out process, and Sting knocks him onto the ramp with a dropkick early on. Flair tries chopping at him out there, but Sting no-sells, and hiptosses him on the ramp before clotheslining him back in. Ric goes to the eyes to slow down the assault, and a kneedrop hurts the challenger. Hanging vertical suplex is no-sold, however, and Sting blasts him with a pair of running clotheslines. Flying bodypress gets two, and Ric wisely bails to break the momentum. Back in, Flair suckers him into trying a test-of-strength, and swipes at the bad knee. Well, you knew that was coming. Sting tries to brush it off, but Flair zeroes in. Figure Four, but Sting blocks, and both guys back off to size each other up. Flair controls with chops before sending Sting flying out onto the ramp (he absolutely LAUNCHED him there), then back in for more abuse to the knee. Sting again tries to shrug it off with a hiptoss, but a dropkick misses, and Flair punishes the knee. Given that this is no DQ, Flair should have just stabbed him in the chest, and called it a night. Kneedrop misses, and Sting applies his own figure four, but Ric's in the ropes. They spill to the outside for Ric to whip him into the rail, but Sting no-sells. Okay, that's getting annoying now. Back in, the challenger unloads with mounted punches, and he slams Flair down off the top. Ric keeps coming, but a hiptoss is countered with a backslide for two, so Flair clips the knee again. Take the hint, Stinger. Ric works the leg, but Sting blocks the Figure Four, so Flair starts wailing on him with chops until his chest is visibly bruised up. Damn. I feel like those sacrifices to the craft weren’t full appreciated in the pre-HD era. Sting fires back with a press-slam for two, and a cross corner whip flips Flair onto the apron. Sting brings him back in with a vertical suplex for two, and he's totally ignoring the knee as he hits the Stinger Splash. Scorpion Deathlock applied, but here come the Horsemen! They get cutoff by the Dudes with Attitude, but Ric gets into the ropes to escape anyway. Would it have killed them to simply have Sting's knee give out? Ric tries a leveraged pin, but Scott Steiner breaks it up, and a reversal sequence ends in Sting hooking a backslide for two. Desperate, Ric goes back to the chops, but Sting no-sells. Stinger Splash, but Flair dodges, and Sting hits his knee on the turnbuckles. Ric goes for the kill with the Figure Four, but Sting counters to an inside cradle to win his first world title at 16:05. Who'd have thought the Ultimate Warrior's crowning moment over Hulk Hogan would have yielded a better match than Sting's big win over Flair? This was good, but Sting’s selling was really annoying throughout (either too much blatant no-selling, or simply forgetting to sell), and the whole thing felt rushed. *** ¼ (Original rating: * ¼)

BUExperience: A couple of good matches in the two tag title bouts (one really good), and an entertaining main event, but overall the show suffers from taking place beneath the pall of Ole Anderson’s petty, shortsighted booking

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