The 411 Wrestling Top 5: Top 5 Great American Bash Matches

The 411 Wrestling Top 5: Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling’s Top 5 List. We take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to participate and give us their Top 5 on said topic. So, onto this week’s topic…

Week 280 – Top 5 Great American Bash Matches

Name your top 5 matches from the NWA, WCW and or WWE versions of the Great American Bash!

Dino Zee
5. John Cena vs. Bobby Lashley (Great American Bash 2007) – Hopes were not high when this match was announced. It seemed like they were simply trying to get Lashley to matter to the crowd following his run as ECW Champion. To me, I simply saw another “hard fought” win for John Cena, and not much more. While the match took a little to get going, when it finally did, these two surprised everyone with their chemistry, and put together a fine, hard-hitting affair. Cena’s Attitude Adjustment off the ropes to finish still surprises me when I see it.

4. Sting vs. Ric Flair (Great American Bash 1990) – So this Lex Luger cat tried roughly 45,000 times, and just couldn’t get the title off Ric Flair. Sting took notes, and got together some buddies of his to form the Dudes With Attitudes. The Steiners, Paul Orndorff, Junkyard Dog, El Gigante and Luger were all given places in his anti-Horsemen. Sting returned from a knee injury looking to finally take the belt from Ric Flair, and he did it in a childhood favorite match of mine. The eruption when he gets the pin is one of those “moments” that you just don’t forget.

3. Chris Benoit vs. Kevin Sullivan (Great American Bash 1996) – Dusty Rhodes’ call of two men fighting in the ladies room has made this match immortal, but the brawl that these two put together was unlike anything most WCW fans had seen at that point, and certainly not in WCW. Sure, the Nasty Boys, Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne had dabbled in the more brutal brawl style a couple years prior, but this was the first time we saw a one on one match in WCW with such disregard for what was considered a normal match. These two beat each other all over the arena, and produced a modern classic for those watching at home.

2. Sting vs. Vader (Great American Bash 1992) – 22 years before Brock Lesnar treated John Cena like nothing, Vader arrived to WCW and did the same thing to Sting. Sting fought his heart out, but on this night, just couldn’t figure out how to put Vader away. What they put together was an incredible ‘big man vs. smaller man’ match, which seems funny when one considers that Sting was about 250 pounds. In the end, Vader’s brute force was too much, and he took the title from the Franchise to the dismay of many in attendance.

1. Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (Great American Bash 1989) – Fresh off his series of matches with Ricky Steamboat, Flair entered into a feud with Terry Funk after Funk mentioned he’d like a title shot, and Flair scoffed at it. After being attacked, Flair had his next awesome feud of 1989 set. These two vets went at it for nearly 20 minutes before Flair pulled off the victory. A great, great match between two legends.

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Justin Watry
5. JBL vs. Eddie Guerrero: (Great American Bash 2004) – For the simple fact of its historical value, it edges its way into the top five for me. This match set in motion WWE for months and years to come. Not only for the Smackdown show but for the entire company. Eddie Guerrero had finally reached the mountain as WWE Champion. Yet, at the same time, Mick Foley had left. Stone Cold had left. The Rock had left. Brock Lesnar had left. Bill Goldberg had left. Kurt Angle was injured. Big Show was injured. There was no Batista, Randy Orton, or John Cena YET as top stars. It was slim pickings at that time, and the pressure fell on Eddie’s shoulders. Right or wrong, it was time for a safe and secure long-term champion until the next main event level talent was ready. Enter Bradshaw, now transformed into JBL. Despite all the whining and crying over his sudden main event run, it was working. To the shock of the entire world. JBL defeated Eddie Guerrero in a Texas Bullrope match at Great American Bash 2004, held the title until John Cena was ready 10 months later, and the rest is history. JBL did exactly what a heel champion should do during his time with the belt, as Triple H has shown time and time again. Dominate, dominate, cheat to win, have a lengthy championship run just in order to set up the next man in line for a huge WrestleMania victory. Worked perfectly as Cena is now THE MAN in WWE and without question – the top star in the industry.

4. Booker T vs. Rey Mysterio: (Great American Bash 2006) – Just for the ending. Booker and Rey had fought before. Usually pretty solid matches. As my recent “Who Was Better?” column showed, these two had pretty similar careers. It was only fitting that they met up in the Great American Bash 2006 main event for the World Championship. Mr. 619 had his big moment to shine earlier in the year. Winning the Royal Rumble and then winning the World Title at WrestleMania 22 was far beyond anybody’s wildest expectations. However, it was time for a new champ. Booker was doing great work after winning the King of the Ring tournament, and it was his turn to be rewarded in WWE. His long wait was going to pay off. The beauty of it all was we alllllllll knew Chavo Guerrero would lurk around ringside and cost Rey Mysterio the gold. We all knew it was coming, and it made the moment that much better. King Booker covered Rey for the win, the gold, the celebration, and validation that was years in the making. Add on Michael Cole just freaking out, and JBL gushing over Booker, and it was excellent. One of my favorite commentary calls and match finishes in Great American Bash history.

3. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho: (Great American Bash 2008) – Only because of their rivalry. A lot of lessons can be learned from the Jericho-Michaels feud in 2008. A lot! One of them is that you can spread out a feud for months on end and rarely compete against each other. There was no need for Y2J and HBK to wrestle every month or in today’s world – every week on television. There was no need for that. let the two men go out there on TV, sell the story line, and go from there. If that meant a match was next in line, then so be it. If that meant something else (Summerslam 2008), then so be it. Great American Bash 2008 was simply the next chapter in the book being written. It was so good that people forget CM Punk was World Champion at the time. It was so good people forget JBL beat John Cena at this pay-per-view about as clean as can be in a street fight setting. It was so good people forget Edge and Triple H had a rare one on one match on this night. The brilliance of HBK-Y2J was soooo good. So good in fact that I will go re-live it right now on the WWE Network – for just $9.99!

2. Umaga vs. Jeff Hardy: (Great American Bash 2007) – Remember when it was rumored that the Jackbutt crew would get involved with this feud? Remember the good old days? Ah, memories. Umaga and Jeff Hardy actually had a few memorable bouts in WWE. None were better than in July 2007. With the IC Championship on the line, it seemed easy to predict. Matt Hardy would beat MVP for the United States Championship, while Jeff Hardy would defeat Umaga for gold as well. The story set itself up nicely. Only problem is MVP beat Matt earlier in the evening. Well, that sure threw things for a loop. Then once the bell rang for Jeff and Umaga, it was no longer about any kind of Jackbutt appearance or title change, it was about THE MATCH! Umaga and Jeff Hardy started off slow and worked hard to get the crowd invested. Eventually, it paid off with a thrilling final sequence, which saw Umaga retain his championship. Under rated match here. If you have not see it, go do so now.

1. John Cena vs. Bobby Lashley: (Great American 2007) – As it is known now, the farewell of Bobby Lashley in WWE. Not even a year after winning the ECW Title in grand fashion over Big Show. Not even a few months after being paired up with Donald FREAKIN’ Trump in the most purchased WWE pay-per-view of all-time. Not even a few months removed from feuding with the McMahons and being given every single chance in the world to succeed. Yet, WWE knew his time was coming to an end, so they may as well bank on a PPV showdown with Cena first. That is exactly what happened. Everybody from Stone Cold to Mick Foley gave their thoughts and prediction on this battle. As I noted in a column last week (on another website), that tactic should be used more. See RAW this past week with Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, and Ric Flair talking up Night of Champions 2014. Legends speaking on a match make it seem like a must-see event. Anyways, you knew Cena would deliver, and yes, Lashley delivered as well. Big face vs. face matches are a rarity and are hard to live up to the hype. This match did. Cena retained his WWE Championship and would feud with Randy Orton next. Lashley? Well, he would be out of the company months later. I wonder what he is up to now…

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MICHAEL WEYER
5. Midnight Express vs. Southern Boys (Great American Bash 1990) While on the downslide of their time as a team, the Midnight Express were still one of the best tag teams around in 1990 and proved that with this US tag title match against Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers. The Boys came out fast to take down Eaton and Lane with Jim Cornette freaking out, promising some fun. Armstrong and Lane traded karate moves in a nice sequence before some terrific double teams and flying moves came into play. The Express took control, Eaton hitting the Alabama Jam on Smother who managed a near sunset flip pin on Lane before flipping Eaton to the floor and sending Lane into the buckle. He then got a cool-looking double sunset flip and smartly tagged in Armstrong, setting up Eaton so Armstrong could drop-kick him. The Midnights responded with a Rocket Launcher for two before Lane managed a sneak kick to allow Eaton to roll up Smothers for the win. Absolute beauty, tag team wrestling at its finest and one of the more underrated bouts in WCW history.

4. Diamond Dallas Page vs. Randy Savage(Great American Bash 1997) It’s no surprise these guys would put on a great feud as each loved to plan out matches in detail. They showed that in beautiful style for this falls count anywhere match that was the main event of this Bash show. Page was selling injured ribs so while he came out with fire on Savage, he was a bit slowed. They fought all over the arena, through the crowd and into a concourse then back to the ring, using crutches, powder and more. Savage sold himself as a maniac hitting a piledriver on the ref and taking out another before brawling to a VIP barbecue area. DDP finally hit a Diamond Cutter only for Hall and Nash to interfere and let Savage get the win. A poor ending but still a fantastic brawl with both men showing their best and gelling together for a great match.

3. Rey Mysterio vs. Dean Malenko (Great American Bash 1996) Even as the New World Order was starting to take off, the cruiserweight division was what made WCW truly watchable for wrestling fans. In mid-’96, it was starting to click as Dean Malenko was the heel champion about to face the debuting Mysterio. Only 21 at the time, Mysterio proved he belonged to the big leagues as he and Malenko went at it in a fantastic war that showcased both at their best. Malenko used mostly power and technical moves while Rey was breaking out stuff that U.S. fans in 1996 simply had never seen before like a springboard senton while Malenko was able to keep fans intrigued by shifting up his moves enough to make the match flow well so the crowd was massively into it. After 18 minutes of fantastic action, Malenko managed to hit a powerbomb and used the ropes as leverage to pin Rey and retain the belt. A terrific encounter and the fans’ huge response to it proved the Cruiserweights could hold their own in WCW and launch both men, and the whole division, to terrific new heights.

2. The Four Horsemen and James J. Dillon vs. Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, the Road Warriors and Paul Ellering (Great American Bash 1987) This was the last year the Bash was a series of events rather than just one PPV. But you can’t do a list of the best Bash matches and not have the most innovative and violent match WCW ever created. In 1987, it was damn special to see, two rings covered by a roofed cage and the wrestlers entering one at a time for fighting. Given the star power, it’s no surprise this would be a huge battle but the levels of violence took all by surprise. Power moves, slams, the cage used as a weapon, guys flying from one ring to another, it was just incredible to see. Blood was soon flying along with punches and more, a spectacle fans were loving. In the end, Dillon was injured and forced to submit to end the battle. There have been a lot more War Games since but the first remains one of the best and a reason the Bash got so much attention early on.

1. Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk(Great American Bash 1989) No doubt the greatest Bash ever (and one of the best PPV’s of all time), the 1989 entry was marked by some fantastic work and terrific action. It saved the best for last as Ric Flair defended the NWA title against Terry Funk. Flair had been brutally assaulted by Funk right after regaining the title from Ricky Steamboat months before and was out for blood. The result was a fantastic brawl, the two going at it hard and fast, brawling through the crowd, Flair unleashing savage chops and slams while Funk countered with every dirty trick he could think of. Flair went at Funk’s neck as revenge with a pair of nasty piledrivers but the wily Texan countered with a branding iron as soon both men were bloody messes with fighting all over the place. A terrific series of reversals ended with Flair getting the pin to finish off one of the most fantastic shows you’ll ever see, a master brawl of two great fighters and still the best Bash event ever.

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GREG DEMARCO
5. Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, The Road Warriors & Paul Ellering vs. Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Lex Luger & The War Machine (Great American Bash 1987) – This was the second ever War Games match, and often considered to be the better one. In fact, in what I believe was an NWA home video release, the first was referred to as “The Bomb” and the second was termed “The Explosion.” But you can really put ether of the 1987 War Games matches on this list. What you can’t have is a list without War Games. This match (along with my #1 below) is what the Great American Bash was all about. War Games was such a “far out there” concept that it worked, and it can be credited as the inspiration for many matches today (including ROH’s Steel Cage Warfare, The Elimination Chamber and possibly even the delayed entry format of the Royal Rumble). A young Greg DeMarco was lucky enough to attend a Great American Bash tour event in 1988 at the Richmond Coliseum, witnessing both a scaffold match and a War Games match, in person.

4. John Cena vs. Bobby Lashley (Great American Bash 2007) – I’ll be the first to admit that this wasn’t the first match that came to mind when putting this together. But it was the second. Lashley showed, seven years ago, the promise to be a dominant force as a main event level world champion. Now he is finally there. This was a great match between both guys, and you know someone gave John Cena a run for his money when the Top Rope Attitude Adjustment is used.

3. Big Van Vader vs. Sting (Great American Bash 1992) – Remember that amazing match a couple of weeks ago? The one where Brock Lesnar destroyed John Cena to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship? So much so that people are upset that Cena is already back and not in a wheelchair? This match was the model. Vader treated Sting like a ragdoll, and Sting kept coming back for more. It wasn’t until Vader hit one final powerbomb that the Sting’s mercy killing was complete.

2. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (Great American Bash 2008) – Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels are two of the WWE’s best performers ever, and the one who isn’t in the Hall of Fame will be soon enough. Their feud (and Chris Jericho’s 2008 heel run) was nothing short of amazing. This match is often lost in the shuffle, as it featured Shawn Michaels’ bleeding eye, the one injured when Jericho tossed him head first into the JeriTron 5000, or what I like to refer to as Marty’s Revenge. This one was stopped due to Michaels’ eye, and the feud continued until Jericho (the heel) ended the feud in a ladder match at No Mercy.

1. Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes (Great American Bash 1986) – This match defines the early years of The Great American Bash, the actual touring bash. This was one year before War Games, and the entire summer tour actually built up to this match. Ric Flair defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship each night of the tour, usually escaping with a victory. This allowed some unique title defenses, including matches against Road Warrior Hawk and Ricky Morton. But late in the tour he stepped inside of a steel cage against “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. If you look at the tour as a whole. Dusty main event just as many matches as Flair, with the champion in the semi-main event and Dusty in the main, usually in a tag or six-man tag. This is because Dusty was the drawing card and never wrestled on TV (take notes, WWE). I had this match on VHS, and the pop when Dusty pinned Flair was amazing.

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Csonka Addition

No one mentioned the Luger vs. Steamboat match from 1989. It gets lost in the shuffle on a great card, but it is an awesome match that I felt needed included.

YOUR TURN KNOW IT ALLS

List your Top Five for this week’s topic in the comment section using the following format:

5. CHOICE: Explanation
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1. CHOICE: Explanation