Hall’s WCW Great American Bash 1989 Review

Great American Bash 1989
Date: July 23, 1989
Location: Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance: 14,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Bob Caudle

I had another show planned here but then one of the best pay per views of all time popped up on YouTube so what choice did I have? This is one of the all time greats, with a little bit of everything on the card from a double ring battle royal to WarGames to a grudge match to a heck of a fight in the main event. I’m more than ready so let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at….horses around Baltimore. Well they can’t all be winners.

Triple Crown Battle Royal

Kevin Sullivan, Mike Rotunda, Bill Irwin, Terry Gordy, Rick Steiner, Ron Simmons, Scott Hall, Scott Steiner, Dan Spivey, Sid Vicious, Ranger Ross, Eddie Gilbert, Steve Williams, Brian Pillman

This is a double ring battle royal, meaning you have to be thrown from ring #1 into ring #2, with ring #2 being a standard battle royal. The last two remaining in each ring then face each other for $50,000. This is also billed as in its most complete form due to technical difficulties, which is always interesting.

It’s a big brawl to start as battle royals tend to be with neither really getting much of an advantage. Ross is knocked over and Simmons follows him, with Ross nailing the Combat Kick. Simmons fights back with a clothesline but gets sent over the top and is completely off. Hall and Gordy are sent into the second ring with Irwin following them. We’re clipped (a graphic says it’s due to the technical difficulties) until it’s Sid and Pillman left in the first ring.

The second ring is quickly cleared out and Sid dumps Pillman out. We’re down to Williams, Rotunda and Spivey in the second ring, with Williams powerslamming Rotunda (so much for the US Express). Williams dumps Rotunda but gets knocked down by Spivey. A clothesline to the back of the head gets rid of Williams, leaving Spivey to win the second ring. And never mind as Spivey and Sid are partners so Theodore Long (their manager) isn’t going to let them fight so they’re spitting the $50,000. That’s it at about 9:00 shown (the whole match ran about 10:30 so we didn’t miss a ton).

Rating: C-. There wasn’t much to this and while the idea was mainly to get a bunch of people on the card, that only gets you so far with most of these people working twice tonight. The ending is kind of a cop out but it makes the Skyscrapers look that much bigger. The rest of the match was barely a thing as they flew through the whole match and it was little more than a means to the ending.

In the back, Theodore Long says bring anyone on, either on their own or together, because the Steiners are ready for them.

Brian Pillman vs. Bill Irwin

Irwin jumps him to start fast but gets caught in a headlock. A headscissors out of the corner sends Irwin out to the floor and there’s a baseball slide to drop him again. Back in and Pillman armdrags him into an armbar, which works so well that Pillman does it a few more times.

Back up and Irwin pulls him down by the hair for a toss out to the floor. Irwin hammers on the apron and we hit the chinlock. A clothesline drops Pillman again but he’s back up with some dropkicks. The flying clothesline and a headbutt put Irwin down but he avoids a missile dropkick. Irwin stops to yell at the referee though and Pillman dives from the post from the other ring for a high crossbody and the pin at 10:14.

Rating: B-. Pillman is one of the all time great “what ifs” as he had a pretty great career and all of the abilities but he never got a chance to show what he could do on the highest stage. You have someone in that kind of shape and with that great of a look who could fly around, but he was stuck doing middle of the road stuff like this for such a long time. Good match here though, as Irwin was rather talented in his own right.

Paul E. Dangerously is ready for Jim Cornette in their tuxedo match.

Dynamic Dudes vs. The Skyscrapers

The Dudes have Frisbees for the crowd while the Skyscrapers counter with Theodore Long. Spivey beats on Johnny (the future John Laurinitis/Johnny Ace) to start and drops him with a hard clothesline. Shane (Douglas) tries to come in an gets dropped by a clothesline. Back up and a high crossbody with a trip (which is nowhere near as smooth as it might sound) puts Spivey down but he easily takes over on Johnny again.

Sid comes in and the fans greatly approve as he beats on Johnny some more. It’s back to Spivey who misses an elbow but comes right back with a Boss Man Slam to Shane. The big boot puts Shane on the floor, where Long gets in some stomping of his own. Back in and Sid whips him hard into the corner and grabs a….back claw?

Spivey comes back in but misses a middle rope headbutt, allowing Johnny to come in with a dropkick (which barely connects). A middle rope clothesline actually puts Spivey down for two as everything breaks down. The Skyscrapers clothesline each other and a double dropkick puts Sid down to one knee. Spivey powerbombs Johnny for the pin at 9:14.

Rating: D+. This was basically a long squash as the Dudes are just rough to watch. They’re not smooth out there and are supposed to be this pair of cool guys who are as cool as the surface of the sun. The fans getting into Sid and his bizarre charisma is still great to see though and he was a highlight. Spivey was perfectly fine, but the team was all about Sid and that was obvious.

Jim Cornette does have a bad knee but he’d fight Paul E. Dangerously with no legs if he had to. This is the one time he has to win a fight on his own and he’s ready.

Jim Cornette vs. Paul E. Dangerously

Tuxedo match, meaning you strip your opponent’s clothes to win. Cornette (who has a very legitimate knee injury coming into this) is all fired up to start and rips the jacket off but Dangerously is back with some powder. That lets Dangerously use his big phone to hit Cornette in his knee (which works a bit better after Cornette whispers to Dangerously that the other knee is the injured one and Dangerously switches his target).

Cornette can now limp as he needs to do but fights up, only to get knocked outside again. Dangerously sends him into the post but misses an elbow back inside. The banged up Cornette gets to Hulk (ok Lawler in his case) Up as Caudle wants to see some clothes ripped off. Dangerously loses his shirt and they collide for a double down. Dangerously pulls out the powder but Cornette kicks it into his face and rips off the pants for the win at 6:23.

Rating: C. Ok, you know you weren’t going to get some kind of a wrestling classic here and that wasn’t the point. These two were involved in one of the hottest feuds in the company at this point and this was nothing more than a way for them to fight as well as they could. Cornette has watched so much wrestling over the years that he knows how to imitate a lot of this stuff and it let him do his part perfectly well. It’s not a good match, but it’s fun and not too long and I’ll take that.

Post match Cornette throws the pants into the crowd for an all time weird souvenir.

Gary Hard says the Great Muta is ready to beat Sting.

Steiner Brothers vs. Varsity Club

Texas Tornado match and Missy Hyatt is here with the Steiners. They waste no time in going at it to start with Rick throwing a table at Sullivan on the floor. Sullivan sends Rick into the steps as Scott beats up Rotunda inside. Rotunda manages to send Scott outside as Rick gets back inside to powerslam Sullivan.

Rick gets knocked out to the floor and kicked in the face, leaving Scott to get double clotheslined. Rick is back in for the save but gets sent outside again. A chair is brought in to knock Rick Silly but Scott low bridges Rotunda. Sullivan picks Rick up so Scott high crossbodies them both for a double pin on Sullivan at 4:22.

Rating: B. This didn’t have a long time to go but it was certainly fun while it lasted. The Steiners were far from getting as awesome as they would become but you could see the potential. Having them beat up the Varsity Club should end the Rick vs. Rotunda feud and let the Steiners move on, which is a good thing as they could be added into the tag division in a hurry.

Sting is very fired up and Eddie Gilbert knows how important this is.

TV Title: Sting vs. Great Muta

Sting is defending and has Eddie Gilbert with him while Muta has Gary Hart. Sting isn’t waiting around and dives from one ring to another to nail Muta fast. Muta is right back with the strikes and a handspring elbow in the corner but it’s too early for the moonsault. A kick to the chest just makes Sting stare at him but Sting is sent outside. Muta takes him out with a dive but Sting is right back with a top rope clothesline.

They go to the floor with Sting hammering away before getting caught in a sleeper back inside. That’s broken up and Sting misses the jumping elbow that always misses, allowing Muta to grab an abdominal stretch. Sting fights back until Muta goes to the eyes, followed by some kicks to the ribs. The handspring elbow misses in the corner though and Sting grabs a bulldog. The dropkick sends Muta outside and the referee gets knocked down. Back in and Muta hits the moonsault for a rather close two. Sting grabs a belly to back suplex but all four shoulders are down for a double pin at 8:41.

Rating: B+. This was pretty much non-stop action as you could see Sting as the superstar in waiting here. That was a big part of the late 80s, as Sting was turning into the popular star with all of the charisma, but putting him in there with someone like Muta was the key to making him into an even better star in the ring. Of course Muta could easily hang with him the whole way and it made for an awesome match.

Post match Sting is named the winner so Hart and Muta protest, with Muta leaving with the belt. The replay shows that it could go either way.

US Champion Lex Luger is not happy that his title defense is going to be No DQ and wants it to be under regular rules.

US Title: Lex Luger vs. Ricky Steamboat

Steamboat is challenging and brings out a komodo dragon. The match is scheduled to be No DQ but Luger insists on it being a straight match or he’s not wrestling. Steamboat isn’t happy but goes with the rules so the match is on with standard rules. Steamboat grabs some early rollups for two and Luger is frustrated, with some dropkicks making it worse. Some chops have Luger on the floor and Steamboat is right there, including an atomic drop.

Back in and Luger hits a quick knee lift and Steamboat is cut off fast. A backbreaker has Steamboat in more trouble as the pace slows down a bit. There’s the gorilla press but Luger has to yell at a fan in the front row. Steamboat is clotheslined down a few times but pops up…and falls right back down. Steamboat’s chops have Luger in trouble so the referee breaks it up in the corner, with Luger getting in a cheap shot. A powerslam gives Luger two and he hits his own atomic drop.

Luger gets caught with a running neckbreaker and misses a charge out to the floor, allowing Steamboat to hammer away on the apron. Luger goes up and gets slammed off the top, allowing Steamboat to make one of those great fired up comebacks. There’s a top rope chop to the head but Luger backdrops him over into the other ring. Luger grabs a chair but Steamboat sends him into said chair in the corner. With the frustration setting in, Steamboat grabs the chair and unloads on Luger for the DQ at 10:48.

Rating: B+. Yeah this was rather good, as they beat the fire out of each other and Steamboat knows how to do those comebacks like few others. Luger might not have the best reputation over the course of his career but when he was on, he could hang with anyone. Putting him in there with someone like Steamboat, who could work with anyone, and it was rather good stuff.

Post match Steamboat stays on Luger and chases him to the back with the chair.

The Freebirds and the Samoan Swat Team are ready for WarGames, with Michael Hayes being rather fired up. The Swat team seems to be fighting each other in the process.

The Midnight Express are ready for the toughest match of their career. Williams is a bird crusher who wants to fight Terry Gordy. He describes the Warriors as “two tough cookies” and the Warriors rant as only they can, with Hawk wanting revenge for being taken out on a stretcher.

Samoan Swat Team/Fabulous Freebirds vs. Road Warriors/Midnight Express/Steve Williams

WarGames (Five minute periods to start, then the Freebirds team (who won a pre-match coin toss) get a two minute advantage. The teams alternate every two minutes until all ten are in and it’s first submission to win.) with Paul E. Dangerously on one side and Paul Ellering/Jim Cornette on the other. Garvin and Eaton start things off with Eaton hammering away and grabbing a swinging neckbreaker. Garvin slams him down and gets a boot up in the corner.

Eaton is sent into the cage for some trash talk from Dangerously but comes back with a backbreaker. The Boston crab goes on but Gordy (the Freebirds’ monster) is in to make it 2-1. The beating is on rather quickly, with Eaton in big trouble. Some double stomping makes it even worse until Williams is in to even things up. Williams cleans house and gorilla presses Gordy into the top of the cage, which really shouldn’t be normal. Samu comes in to uneven things at 3-2 and the pace slows back down.

We get to the usual run of stomping until Animal comes in (to a ROAR) and the clothesline abound. Eaton bulldogs Samu but Fatu (better known as Rikishi) is in to take over again. The Swat Team takes Animal down for a double headbutt and some barefoot stomping. Gordy and Williams fight into another ring as Cornette is firing up Lane on the floor. Lane comes in and sends the Swat Team into the cage as we start to spread out to both rings, which is a better way to go and makes it look all the more chaotic.

Hayes comes in as the last member of his team and stars firing off his DDTs. Naturally he stops to dance and mocks Hawk, because Hayes can make some questionable moves. The left hand drops Eaton and it’s Hawk coming in with a double clothesline off the top, followed by a double clothesline to Gordy. Hawk gets to wreck things (as he’s still one of the best hot tag guys of all time) and Dangerously panics because he can’t get his phone into the cage. The Warriors look to Doomsday Device Gordy but Garvin makes the save, earning himself a neckbreaker. Hawk grabs a hangman’s choke on Garvin, who gives up at 22:19.

Rating: B+. Yeah this worked, as it was another wild brawl with Hawk’s comeback being great and everyone looking good in the process. They kept things moving and it was all action, which is all it was supposed to be. It was a heck of a match with everyone feeling it and is kind of a hidden gem. If nothing else, it’s nice to see one of these things with such a different cast, as it’s odd to not have the Horsemen or Sting/Dusty Rhodes in there in some form. Awesome fight here.

Post match the winners leave but Animal gets caught alone in the ring and beaten down. Hawk and Williams finally break back inside for the save.

Ric Flair is back from a neck injury and wants revenge on Terry Funk, who injured Flair’s neck with a piledriver. This is about revenge and the title and Flair is in mega serious mode.

NWA World Title: Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk

Flair, with a bunch of women, is defending while Funk has Gary Hart. Funk goes out to the floor to start but Flair follows him to start the brawl. With Flair back inside, Funk goes into the crowd and shakes the barricade a lot but Flair isn’t having these delays. Funk throws in a chair, which Flair doesn’t mind as he’s ready to fight. They both get inside with Flair winning a strike off and knocking him out to the floor.

That’s fine with Funk, who gets in a posting and does that weird stagger of his. Flair fights back to the apron and tries a suplex, with both of them just crashing out to the floor. They chop the daylights out of each other until Funk goes to the eyes. Back in and Flair has to backdrop his way out of a piledriver with Funk crashing out to the floor. Flair goes after the neck, with some knee drops getting two.

Funk gets dropped with a piledriver and then does it again, leaving Funk to stagger out to the floor. They go into the aisle with Flair bringing him back inside and getting two off a running forearm. The belly to back suplex lets Flair grab the Figure Four but Hart gets in a branding iron shot to break it up. That also breaks open Flair’s head and Funk hits his own piledriver for two.

Funk chokes with some tape and the floor mats have been peeled back. Flair backdrops out of another piledriver attempt so Funk grabs a swinging neckbreaker back inside. Flair fights back with a shot of his own and Funk is busted open as well. The running knee misses in the corner though and Funk gets the spinning toehold. That’s reversed into a small package and Flair retains at 17:29.

Rating: A-. Yeah this was great as they beat the fire out of each other and it felt like Flair was out for revenge. The catch though was Funk was more about going after Flair rather than winning, allowing Flair to catch him. It’s a shame that this wasn’t as well remembered as their I Quit match (which is outstanding as well) because this is an instant classic in its own right.

Post match Funk is back on Flair with the Great Muta running in. A piledriver on a chair is loaded up but Sting runs in for the save. The good guys beat them up the aisle, with the villains running away to end a hot brawl. Commentary says that the TV Title is held up but the brawl continues. They’re broken up again and Flair grabs the mic, saying thank you to Sting and promising that it’s just getting started with Funk.

Commentary wraps us up.

Roll credits.

 

Results
Sid Vicious and Dan Spivey won the Triple Crown Battle Royal
Brian Pillman b. Bill Irwin – High crossbody
Skyscrapers b. Dynamic Dudes – Powerbomb to Johnny
Jim Cornette b. Paul E. Dangerously – Cornette ripped off Dangerously’s clothes
Steiner Brothers b. Varsity Club – Double pin to Sullivan
Sting vs. The Great Muta went to a double pin
Lex Luger b. Ricky Steamboat via DQ when Steamboat used a chair
Road Warriors/Steve Williams/Midnight Express b. Fabulous Freebirds/Samoan Swat Team – Hangman’s choke to Garvin
Ric Flair b. Terry Funk – Small package

 

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9.0

The final score: review Amazing

The 411

Once you get to the tornado tag, this is a murderer’s row of great matches and even the first few matches aren’t bad. I had a great time watching this again and was impressed with just how good the whole thing was. The worst thing on here is a Skyscrapers squash and even that is fun in its way. The NWA was on fire at this point with Flair in charge and...well we’ll just leave it at that as it’s a positive note right now. Definitely check this out if you haven’t seen it before, as it really is that great, especially about forty minutes in.