WCW Bash at the Beach July 7,1996

This is one of the most notorious PPV’s of all time, possibly WCW’s biggest and most famous. They stacked the show and put Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes and Bobby Heenan in the broadcast booth.

Main Event Pre-Show

1 Harlem Heat v. Steiner Brothers- 3
Both teams looked very good, very crisp offensively. They worked a quick pace, probably due to a TV time limit. The Heat always bumped awkwardly, like hitting their shoulders on the mat, but it gave it a very realistic look. Sherri interfered and caused a DQ finish pretty quickly.

2 Bobby Walker v. Billy Kidman- 2
Walker used some good transitions and Kidman was very athletic, although he looked pretty silly with his Dutch boy haircut. Walker had some good intensity, but the match was very quick, so you couldn’t see much.

3 Fire & Ice v. Rock n’ Roll Express- 1
Ice Train danced around in a very suspect manner, they pretty much dominated the match until their partner miscue finish. The Rock n’ Rolls still looked in good shape.

4 Steven Regal v. Eddie Guerrero- 2
Even 10 years ago, Eddie was crazy popular, “Eddie, Eddie” chant went up immediately, They had reversals and a lot of Regal stalling in a short, sort of fun match. The ref botched the finish pretty badly.

Now, the PPV

1 Psicosis v. Rey Mysterio jr.- 7
They start by showing off their scientific skills, but quickly take to the skies. Psicosis truly was crazy in his day, he pulled off a Mike Awesome dive that made him look like a pussy, and a back senton to the floor from the top rope. Psicosis worked a stronger style and Rey tried to wear him down by hit and run. The match had some crazy spots, but didn’t string together as well as most.

2 John Tenta v. Big Bubba( Carson City Silver Dollar Match)- 3
The gimmick is silver dollars in a sock on a pole? Are you kidding? Tenta has a half shaven, half long mullet- there is no more stupid hair style ever conceived than that. Both men were taking bumps from the top buckle trying to retrieve the sock, pretty cool. The pole itself nearly fell over, Bubba looked like a washed up biker. They worked very slow, but actually had some good psych built into such a ridiculous match

3 DDP v. Hacksaw Duggan( Taped Fist)- 2
DDP sold like a mackerel flopping on a pier, it was pretty quick with not a lot of action

4 Public Enemy v. Nasty Boys( Dog Collar Match)- 4
They worked pretty stiffly and sloppily inside of a bad gimmick. They used the beach setting to it’s utmost. “They used a rubber shark!” and “2 count on a surfboard!” were two quotes the announcers said they never thought they would say in a wrestling match. Rocco pulled off a front flip from a lifeguard chair. Knobs was just brutalizing PE with deadly chair shots. One botched table spot, 2 botched table spots and the 3rd time’s a charm! They were using an unbreakable table, I swear to you. Pretty stiff

5 Dean Malenko v. Disco Inferno- 6
Malenko is more intense than I remember. His moves were so crisp and he had such great psychology to everything he did. He never wasted a movement. They worked a great pace, and he let Disco build a good comeback. They used a very simple formula that worked for this match. They had good back and forth and a good finish. I would say this is one of Disco’s better matches, but he was led by the hand by Dean.

6 Joe Gomez v. Steve McMichael- 2
2 strange physique, very cut and dry big man stuff. Not a lot of selling, no finesse. At one point these two guys were flailing around like drunk guys in a riot and Mongo finally hit a move to finish it.

7 Konnan v. Ric Flair- 5
They had some pretty good chemistry, a good mix of scientific and brawling. Flair played a great heel to Konnan’s offense. Even Liz took a bump! Konnan threw a good dropkick, the interference and off pace hurt the whole match and it went way too long.

8 Chris Benoit/ Arn Anderson v. Kevin Sullivan/ Giant- 5
Benoit and Sullivan were rough with each other and it was great fun to watch! Giant was so dominant, and they really pushed him huge, until Hogan decided to make him look like a bitch. Arn still looked sharp, even though he didn’t move as quickly as before.

9 Outsiders v. Lex Luger/ Randy Savage/ Sting- 4
Luger got taken out early, which was probably a good thing. Hall sold good for Savage and Sting. The announcers sold the match flawlessly. Sting worked a good heel in peril, and Hogan got a massive pop when he came out. Not as long as I remember.