WCW Great American Bash 1996 (Version II)

Original Airdate: June 16, 1996

From Baltimore, Maryland; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Dusty Rhodes

Opening Match: The Steiner Brothers v Fire & Ice: Scott Steiner and Ice Train start off, feeling each other out. Train is making some unintentionally hilarious faces here. He hits a shoulderblock for two, but Scott fires back with a hiptoss, so Scott Norton runs in - only to get cut off by Rick Steiner as the Brothers clean house. The dust settles on Rick and Norton next, and Flash pounds him in the corner, but misses a charge, and Steiner schoolboys him. Norton no-sells to the point where it doesn't even warrant a one count, however, and he drills Rick with a few clotheslines before unloading some chops. Cross corner whip backfires when Steiner rebounds with a clothesline, and an overhead suplex gets two. Tag to Scott for a dropkick, but Norton manages a Samoan drop as they criss cross, and Steiner wisely bails. Back in, Norton turnbuckle smashes him on the way to tagging Train for a snap suplex, and Ice adds a belly-to-belly version for two. Train with an avalanche, but a charge misses, and Scott belly-to-belly suplexes him. He adds a clothesline, but Train manages to tag out, so Steiner drops Norton with a nasty suplex instead. Dropped him right on his head there. Norton bails out after that, so Scott dives off the apron with an axehandle, then rolls Norton in for a flying bodypress - only to get caught in a slam for two! Impressive power display there! Norton with a short-clothesline, and Train comes in to chinlock him some. Norton hits him with an inverted shoulderbreaker, and he starts wrenching on a fujiwara armbar, so Rick comes in and starts straight up kicking him in the face until he lets go! Wild! Norton gives Scott another shoulderbreaker, so Rick comes back in with a clothesline, and adds a German suplex this time. That draws Train in, but Rick is ready with a backdrop, and Roseanne Barr the door! Fire & Ice go for the kill on Rick with a powerbomb/2^nd rope flying splash combo, but Scott saves at two. They dump him so they can try another combo, but Scott breaks it up, and Rick is able to DDT Norton. Scott lifts Norton up for the flying bulldog combo, but Train saves at two, so Rick starts pounding him as Scott hits Norton with a sloppy Frankensteiner for the pin at 10:29. Of all the guys in the world to try a Frankensteiner on, SCOTT NORTON?! Good opener, that unbelievably didn't leave anyone a cripple, frankly. *** (Original rating: * ¼)

WCW United States Title Match: Konnan v El Gato: This whole period really devalued the US title to a point where it never really recovered from. Not just that they stuck it on Konnan before the audience even had a chance to get acquainted with him, but then they followed that up with terrible challengers. I get that the reign was supposedly part of the deal for Konnan to help bring in a lot of talent from south of the border, but they could have at least tried to make it interesting. His reign felt like little more than perfunctory duty to honor a contract. Also, why bother making Gato a Mexican character if he's going to look and act like an Asian one? It's not like anyone had any set expectations for this challenger going into this. If you're not going to use an actual Mexican wrestler in the role, why not give him an Asian name to go with his look and move set? They spar a little to start, with Gato getting some strikes in, but falling prey to Konnan's speed, and eating a clothesline for two. Konnan goes after the arm, but a criss cross allows Gato a superkick for two, and he grounds the champion in a crucifix hold. Gato with a sitout-powerbomb for two, and he goes to a wristlock, as this thing continues to putter along with no engagement from the crowd. Konnan counters to a grapevine, and a cross corner whip into a bulldog gets two. Rolling clothesline gets two, so Gato dumps him to the outside, but Konnan dodges a baseball slide, and hits a sunsetbomb on the floor. Konnan's got all the flashy moves, but his execution is just so far short of a lot of his peers. Back in, Konnan with a whiplash into a somersault cradle to retain at 6:02. This felt like an assortment of stuff rather than a coherent piece. ½* (Original rating: ¼*)

Diamond Dallas Page v Marcus Alexander Bagwell: Apparently Bagwell won a coin toss with Scotty Riggs to decide who'd get this match. That answers so many questions I've had about WCW booking. Page attacks from behind and dumps him over the top right away, but Marcus pulls him out after him when Dallas tries to go after him. Nice bump from DDP there. Bagwell whips him into the guardrail and dumps him into the first row out there, as Page gets his oversell on. Watching Page grow as an act from week to week has been a lot of fun, and has given my a new level of admiration for him as a worker that doesn't come through if you only watch the pay per views. And I was watching WCW back in 1996, but not nearly as religiously as the WWF, and I don't remember really getting into Page until the face turn later on. Inside, Bagwell hits a bodypress for two, and takes Page to the mat for an armbar. He tries to toss Dallas, but Page lands in the ropes, so Bagwell dropkicks him the rest of the way, then dives with a plancha. Marcus heads up on the way back in, but Page dives into the ropes to crotch him on the top, and he rips Bagwell to the mat for some booting. DDP works him over, and there's a funny bit where he uses the ropes for leverage while doing an abdominal stretch, and the smarks in the front row help him avoid getting caught. Ha! DDP with a tombstone powerslam for two, but Bagwell fights him off with an inverted atomic drop, then gives him the standard version for good measure. Marcus mounts a comeback, and hits a slingshot clothesline for two, but hits elbow as he tries a corner charge, and Page hooks a leveraged pin for two. Tilt-a-whirl, but Bagwell counters with a headscissors. That looks to segue into a fisherman suplex, but Page counters to the Diamond Cutter at 9:40. That move is really getting over, he might have something there. ** (Original rating: *)

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Dean Malenko v Rey Mysterio Jr: This is Mysterio's WCW debut, and Mike Tenay sits in on commentary for it. Dean towers Rey here, which makes it all the more shocking that Mysterio would eventually go on to become world heavyweight champion. And in the most size obsessed promotion in the world, no less. Feeling out process to start, with Rey doing all the kinds of stuff Konnan was doing earlier, only with crisp execution. Mysterio dumps him to the outside and keeps him there with a springboard dropkick, so Dean takes a minute to cool off before coming back in and grabbing a double knucklelock. I love how methodical Malenko is. Rey starts to escape, so Dean sends him over the top with a catapult, but Mysterio dodges a baseball slide, and a frustrated Malenko stops to regroup. Back in, he goes back to the knucklelock, and this time shoots at the elbow before Mysterio can start flipping around. Dean stomps the arm and hits a hammerlock-slam, then wrenches on a wristlock as he tries to hyperextend it. Mysterio bails to the outside upon escaping, but Dean is right on his tail, and wrenches the arm around the rail for some abuse. Back in, Malenko keeps working the part, but Mysterio fights him off with a nice springboard dropkick. Dean fights back with a powerbomb, so Mysterio tries countering with a rana, but Malenko blocks, and drills him with a clothesline for two. To the mat for an armbreaker, and a nice standing dropkick to the arm in the corner follows. Dean pounds the part on the apron, then drops his challenger with a hammerlock-suplex for two. Back to the mat for a short-armscissors, but Rey won't quit, so Dean punishes him with a hammerlock-northern lights suplex for two. Malenko is busting out some really unique arm abuse tonight. Rey tries to fight back with some springboarding, and manages to stick a dropkick, but Malenko traps him in another hold to keep cranking on that arm. Malenko surfboards him next, then releases directly into a bridging cradle for two. That transition was so glass smooth that even the referee wasn't expecting a pin attempt, and was way out of position on the count. Dean keeps cranking on the arm, but Rey just won't give, so Malenko gets violent again with a saito suplex for two. Butterfly suplex is worth two, and he wrenches the arm into a pin attempt to try and beat him that way, but Mysterio keeps his shoulders up. There's some really great psychology going on here. Mysterio manages to dump Dean to the outside while escaping another hold, and a pair of baseball slides set up a springboard somersault senton on the floor! Mysterio with a springboard dropkick for two on the way back in, so Dean tries a powerbomb, but Rey counters with a seated senton for two. That triggers a pinfall reversal sequence, and Mysterio tries a springboard rana into a cradle, but it only gets two. Up again, but this time Dean tries his exploding gutbuster, but Mysterio has it scouted, and counters with a rana off the top! Malenko tries a tilt-a-whirl, but Mysterio topples him for two. Back to the rana, but this time Malenko manages to counter with a powerbomb, and hooks a leveraged cradle to make sure it gets three at 17:50. A lot of the later battles that would be had over this title were more spot oriented, but this one was just a clinic in terms of psychology and sheer execution. This is also the point when the Cruiserweight title went from 'that belt for the little guys,' to something to keep you eye on, and unlike in 1991/1992, this time they had a deep enough bench to make it work. *** ½ (Original rating: ***)

Big Bubba Rogers v John Tenta: Bubba's fashion choices were getting more and more questionable by the week during this period. Brawl on the outside to start, and Bubba tries going to the top rope, but Tenta knocks him off, with Rogers taking a bump all the way to the floor. John whips him into the steps out there, and pounds Rogers down in the corner as they head in. After years and years of gimmicky names, it's weird typing 'John' to refer to Tenta. It just seems too basic. Bubba loads his fist and bops Tenta to turn the tide for two, and he throws a leg-feed enzuigiri to set up a trio of straddling ropechokes for two. Rogers argues the count, allowing Tenta to recover with a bodyslam, but Bubba topples him for two. Rogers bootchokes him and hits a side suplex, but takes too long getting to the top rope, and Tenta powerslams for three at 5:24. Not 'good,' but also not as bad as it could have been. Afterwards, Tenta trims off Bubba's goatee in response to the haircut Rogers gave him on Nitro. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

Falls Count Anywhere Match: Kevin Sullivan v Chris Benoit: Benoit charges him in the aisle before Sullivan even makes it to the ring, and the brawl is on! Chris fires off with chops, so Kevin goes to the eyes, and he tosses the Crippler over the rail and into the crowd. Sullivan follows for a brawl right into the stands, and the older ladies in he crowd really aren't accustomed to this sort of thing, and look absolutely flabbergasted by what's going on. They make it up into the upper levels, and end up brawl in the men's room, where Sullivan slams Benoit's head in a stall door a couple of times, and hits a double stomp in there. Apparently, none of this was especially planned out, so WCW didn't even get the area cordoned off like in later versions of this type of match, and there's fans hanging around, and going crazy as they trade shots. It really gives it a unique and out of control feeling. I mean, this isn't like those concession stands they sometimes set up where the fans aren't even allowed, this is dudes popping out of stalls while they're trading shots. And Dusty is just positively gleeful in his commentary here. Sullivan beats on him with some cleaning supplies and a trash can, and they head back out onto the concourse, which by now has filled up with rowdy fans trying to catch a glimpse of the action. They give them a show with a slugfest, then start brawling back into the arena, where Sullivan sends Benoit tumbling down the steps in a vicious bump! And then he does it again for good measure! This isn't a padded area either, I'm talking about the actual jagged concrete steps in the arena that people climb to get to their seats. Back at ringside, Sullivan drops him crotch-first across the rail, and he lobs a chair right at the Crippler's head! Chris responds by dropping Kevin's balls across the rail, then dumping him into the first row to buy himself time to find a table. He nails an incoming Kevin with it, and they head into the ring for the first time, where Chris props the table up in the corner. Both guys take bumps into it, and the table ends up planked across the top turnbuckle, with Benoit sprawled out on it. Sullivan follows him up for a double stomp on the plank, but ends up getting vertical superplexed down for three at 10:15. Benoit wants to continue the beating afterwards, but Arn Anderson runs out to pull him off... so that he can kick the crap out of Sullivan himself! Awesome! This one doesn't really hold up to modern standards, as we've seen this sort of thing done many times in the years since (hell, both top promotions had entire divisions devoted to it), but it still retains some of its uniqueness for the unchoreographed presentation. Earlier and later versions of these hardcore matches felt more sterilized (even great ones, like the tag match from Slamboree '94), but this one felt completely out of control. While it was wildly influential, and though it remains memorable, and though a lot of the bumps are still absolutely insane (like Benoit's spills down the steps), it definitely feels dated now. Not the 'must see' it once was, but it still has merit. ** ½ (Original rating: ***)

Sting v Lord Steven Regal: Sting comes at him in fiery fashion at the bell, and Regal takes a bump to the outside in short order. Sting follows for a backdrop on the floor, and Regal is actively begging off on the way back in, suckering Sting into an eyerake. That allows Regal to unload some uppercuts, and a snapmare sets up a kneedrop for two. He cranks on a headlock, but Sting escapes and hits an overhead armdrag, as the announcers hype up the Bash tour with promises of Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales making appearances. Boy, they really had their fingers on the pulse of the youth market, didn't they? Regal stalls, and manages a takedown as Sting comes for him, working a double-knucklelock. Sting reverses, so Regal shifts to a cobra clutch instead, and starts drilling the Stinger with those European uppercuts. Full-nelson is applied, but Sting escapes, and tries a sunset flip for two. Regal quickly drops an elbow for two to cut him off though, and he takes him back to the mat for a stretch. Regal seems to be channeling Hugh Grant tonight. Like, a badass version of Hugh Grant. Steven with a dropkick for two, and he keeps cranking and wailing on Sting. Sting manages to fight back with a side suplex, but fails to capitalize, and Regal grounds him again. Sting manages an abdominal stretch, but Regal gets the ropes, and grounds him in a headscissors. He tries a 2^nd rope bodypress, but Sting knocks him out of the air with a dropkick, and fires up with a pair of clotheslines for two. Finally, some life in this thing. Sting goes up, but Regal brings him down with a butterfly superplex for two, and he slaps on an STF. Sting won't quit, so Regal lets off to start pounding him in the corner instead, but that triggers a no-sell, and Sting turns the tables on his Lordship! Stinger Splash, but Regal gets his knees up to block. He charges, but Sting is ready with a backdrop, and the Scorpion Deathlock finishes up at 16:31. I dunno, I found this one to be really slow and boring. Like, it started off hot, but once it settled into Regal working him over, it was just so dull before picking up again at the end. This could have stood to lose five minutes, easy. * ¾ (Original rating: * ¼)

Ric Flair and Arn Anderson v Steve McMichael and Kevin Greene: McMichael has his woman in his corner. Greene has his woman. Flair has two women. Including one named Woman. Anderson has no woman. Arn and Steve start us off, with the Enforcer toying with him. McMichael turns the tables by challenging Arn to a 3-point stance and knocking him around, but he goes to the well once too often, and gets dropped with a drop-toehold. Arn pounces in the corner, but runs into a boot, and Steve dives off the middle rope with a flying shoulderblock. Arn decides to get dirty, but makes the mistake of trying to go after them both in their own home corner, and pays a big price for it - including a beating from Randy Savage for good measure. This has been really basic and simple thus far, but everyone is playing their characters so perfectly that it's fantastic. Greene tags in, but he wants Flair not Anderson, and Ric is happy to oblige. He struts his stuff for their girls, but Greene stays focused, and wants a 3-point stance, so Ric just kicks him in the face when he bends down for it. That's tremendous. As is the smirk on Flair's face when he does it. Unfortunately for him, Greene gets control, and blitzes the Nature Boy until Flair bails up the aisle. Savage drags him back, where Greene is ready with a backdrop, and a pair of clotheslines. The crowd is loving this. Tag to Mongo, and Flair begs off, but Steve's spent enough time at the commentary desk to know better than to fall for it. He knocks Flair around, but gets into trouble in the corner, and Ric throws the chops. McMichael starts no-selling like he's Hulk Hogan, and throws his own chops ahead of a hiptoss. Whoever laid this match out is a genius, as it's Flair and Anderson doing literally all the work, with McMichael and Greene just positioning themselves around them. And nothing wrong with that. Flair goes to the eyes, but a trip to the top rope ends in McMichael slamming him off, and Steve slaps on a figure four! Arn runs in to save, but Greene cuts him off with his own figure four, so Woman goes to the eyes to make the save. That draws the wives in, but Woman and Elizabeth chase them off, and the damage is done anyway, allowing the Horsemen to go to work on McMichael. Mongo fights off a double team to get the hot tag to Greene! Kevin comes in slamming everything in sight, and a corner whip flips Flair onto the apron, where McMichael is ready with a big boot! Greene vertical superplexes Ric back in from the apron, but his touchdown dance is cut short when Anderson clips his leg! Arn goes to work on it from the floor until Savage can save, but again, the damage has been done, and Kevin is in trouble. The Horsemen cut the ring in half as they target the leg, and Flair goes for the Figure Four, but Greene counters with a cradle for two. Ric responds with a kneebreaker into the Figure Four, and he gets it locked on this time - complete with leverage from Anderson for good measure. Savage is just losing his mind here, and it's fantastic! That brings Chris Benoit out to put a stop to the Macho Madness, and once he's out of the picture, suddenly Liz and Woman return... with Debra McMichael at their side. She marches over to husband Steve with a briefcase filled with cash and a Horsemen shirt, and Steve gets the message loud and clear: taking the case, and bashing Greene over the head with it as Kevin reaches for the tag! Flair covers, and that's the pin at 20:30! Afterwards, Macho loses his shit and goes after Flair, but McMichael pulls him off to cement the turn for the people in the cheap seats, then puts on the Horsemen shirt as they give Savage and Greene a classic beat down. Flair and Heenan are in all their glory here. The match was smoke and mirrors galore, but you've got world class magicians like Flair and Anderson doing the tricks, so it totally plays. This is a masterwork in terms of booking, with Ric and Arn doing EVERYTHING to make McMichael and Greene look like actual pros in their first match. And that's not a knock on the football players, as both guys worked extremely hard and obviously took it very seriously, but it's a true testament to the level of workers that the Horsemen were. And on top of that, all the angles and overbooking going on throughout and at the finish really elevated this beyond anything they were doing as far as technical ring work. This is a prime example of how overbooking can be used to elevate an angle/match, as opposed to hurting the experience. And it's also one of the best celebrity matches ever too. *** ¼ (Original rating: * ¼)

As he promised to do on Nitro, Eric Bischoff invites Scott Hall and Kevin Nash out to answer their challenge for a six-man tag. Hall and Nash come out in street clothes, and Bischoff makes them confirm that they don't work for the WWF right away, though their honest denials almost make it seem MORE like they do. So, anyway, they want to know who the three guys are going to be, but Bischoff reneges on his promise to reveal the names, trying to put it off until tomorrow night's Nitro. That just serves to piss the invaders off, however, and Nash powerbombs Bischoff off the stage, and through a table! Hey, if I flew all the way to Baltimore because you promised to name your three guys, and then tried to string me along for another night, I'd be pissed too. This was a big deal at the time, as not only was violence against an announcer/authority figure not a common occurrence in those days, but it featured a bump that was practically unheard of in a mainstream promotion. And it's a perfectly tame, safe bump, but the context and delivery of it made it shocking and unique. And even Schiavone abandons his post to go and check on him, so you know it's serious! And just like all of the Outsider segments thus far, while your mind knew that this was all a work, they blurred the lines so brilliantly that you might, even if just for a second, believe that what you're seeing is really a shoot

Main Event: WCW World Title Match: Giant v Lex Luger: Luger's WCW Television Title is not on the line here. Lex hops off the stage on the way to the ring to check on Bischoff, in another nice touch. WCW may not have had the best reputation when it came to handling angles sometimes, but everything they did in the introductory period of the nWo angle was uncharacteristically pitch perfect. Lex gives a big charge at the bell, but Giant swats him away with a big boot. He goes to work, but Luger returns fire with a series of rights, and manages to clothesline the champion over the top, but Giant pulls him out after him, and presses him in from the floor. Lex is still pretty fresh, and pops up to keep drilling Giant with punches on the way back in, and he hits a kneelift. Luger dives off the middle rope to get a sleeper on the big man, so Jimmy Hart readies a cheap shot, but Sting runs out to chase him off. No matter, Giant is able to power Luger into a slam into the corner that leaves the challenger in a tree of woe, and Giant cross corner whips him. Bootchoke and a backbreaker held into a submission follow. Giant with an overhead backbreaker rack next, then a bow-and-arrow as he works his challenger over. Luger uses a stunner to escape, but an attempt at a bodyslam gets him toppled for two. Too bad Bischoff isn't on commentary, because you just know he'd be quick to note that Lex was able to slam Yokozuna as a dig at the WWF if he were. Giant keeps working him over in sleepy fashion, but misses a charge, and Luger fires off a slingshot dropkick. Lex keeps coming with a series of running forearm smashes to daze the champion, and a pair of clips to the leg look to bring the monster down, but Giant fights him off. He tries a stinger splash, but Luger blocks, and Giant ends up planked across the top turnbuckle. That gives Luger a leg up on getting him in the Torture Rack (complete with a great look of shock on referee Nick Patrick's face), but his legs give out before Giant does. Lex is done, and Giant is quick to Chokeslam him at 9:39. Not the best, and felt kind of like a TV level match, especially after all the wild shit on the undercard. ¾* (Original rating: ¼*)                                                                                                                   

BUExperience: WCWs best show since before the Hogan era began. And, coincidentally or not, guess who isn’t on it. The promotion was still far from perfect, but they were building tremendous momentum during this period – especially compared to the stagnant WWF.

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