THE GREAT AMERICAN BASH (June 18, 1995)
Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Steve Austin defeated Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) when Austin pinned S. Ray with the Stun Gun in 12:45.
Rating: ** 1/2
(Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Steve Austin won the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)
Horsemen Bagwell and Austin took their shot the world tag team titles, and made the most of it.
Harlem Heat is used to being able to bend the rules to their advantage, but this was the first time they went up against a team willing to do match that ability, and then some.
Bagwell and Booker were brawling, spilling over the ropes and to the floor. As the ref turned to check on them, Austin hit Stevie Ray with a low blow, and then a Stun Gun, which led to the pin and new champs.
Match with Special Referee Diamond Dallas Page:
Chris Candido pinned Paul Roma after a German suplex in 8:46.
Rating: ** 1/2
Chris Candido kept up his recent campaign for DDP to take him on as a protege, but Page said he picked Roma and was sticking with him. But he did offer Candido a match against Roma, and Page even volunteered to be the ref.
Page called the match mostly down the middle, until the final moments. Roma was gaining momentum, but Page came out of nowhere and leveled Roma was a clothesline. Candido then finished off the match.
Afterwards, Page shook Candido’s hand, raised it in victory, and the two left the ring together.
The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) defeated The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) when Knobbs pinned Enos in 10:01.
Rating: ***
Former US tag champs, the Destruction Crew, returned to WCW and were hoping to pick up right where they left off, as a major threat in the tag division.
They opted to attempt to prove they were still a team to beat by challenging the Nasty Boys, but that didn’t work out too well for them.
INTERVIEW WITH THE STEINER BROTHERS
Rick and Scott Steiner gave an interview where they called out the new tag team champs, Bagwell & Austin, saying they intended to be the first challengers for the new champs.
This all occurred as the Nasty Boys walked past fresh off their win. They begged to differ, saying they were going to be the ones to challenge and take the belts off the Horsemen.
Not to be outdone, former champs Harlem Heat came out from the back, saying the first shot goes to them and there’s not a damn thing anyone else could do about it.
The war of words quickly escalated and before too long, all six men were brawling over the interview area.
The Boss pinned Barry Windham after a spinebuster slam in 15:05.
Rating: *** ¼
Windham has laid low in recent months after an unsuccessful run at the world title. He reemerged with a vengeance, brutally attacking The Boss after a match on Saturday Night including beating him with his own nightstick.
Windham gave the reasoning that The Boss claims to bring law and order to WCW, but he was nowhere to be found when he was getting screwed out of the World title. Windham said The Boss is a joke and a fraud.
The Boss got his revenge then took things, maybe a bit too far. The Boss handcuffed Windham and then attacked him with the very same nightstick. Windham was able to slide out of the ring and run to the back with his hands still behind him in cuffs.
Johnny B. Badd pinned Lord Steven Regal with the Tutti Frutti in 13:39.
Rating: ****
(Johnny B. Badd retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)
(Johnny B. Badd won the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)
Badd and Regal had a legendary feud in 1994 that produced a series of fantastic matches. This one is just another to add to the list.
Regal had said he’s on a mission to right the wrongs of the past, and that includes losing the US title to Badd. He offered to put his TV title on the line to get another shot.
But despite Regal’s mission, he couldn’t gain the revenge he was looking for. Badd’s hot streak continues on.
Randy Savage beat Ric Flair by disqualification in 16:56.
Rating: ** 1/2
[Arn Anderson interfered against Randy Savage.]
Randy Savage tried to recruit Sting to team with him to fight the Horsemen, but Sting already promised to team with Hulk Hogan in tonight’s main event, leaving Savage to go it alone against Flair.
Savage did all he could, though was clearly bothered by the presence of his ex-wife Miss Elizabeth in Flair’s corner.
But Savage tried to block out all distractions and readied to go up to for perhaps a flying elbow. But also at ringside was Arn Anderson, who tried to prevent Savage from climbing the ropes, only to get kicked off.
Savage then came down with a flying ax-handle on Anderson. But all this did was anger the Enforcer, who ran into the ring and attacked Savage leading to a DQ. Bagwell and Austin ran down creating a 4-on-1 beatdown of Savage. By the time the Horsemen were finished, Savage was lying unconscious in the ring.
Hulk Hogan and Sting defeated Davey Boy Smith and Ron Simmons when Hogan pinned D.B. Smith with the Big Leg Drop in 20:42.
Rating: ***
Sting and Hogan faced off with Harley Race’s duo of Simmons and Smith, but also had to deal with Race and his bodyguard, Meng, at ringside. Hogan had been on his own going up against the group, so having Sting by his side was a welcome addition.
The two fought off, at times, all four men in the opposing corner before eventually coming away victorious.
After the match though, Meng jumped in the ring creating a 4-on-2 attack as the group used the numbers advantage to beat down Sting and Hogan.
It went on until, of all people, Big Van Vader ran down to come to the aid of Sting and Hogan. After clearing the ring, all three just stared at each other until Vader left the ring without saying a word. Sting and Hogan celebrated as the show closed out.
Card rating: ***
