WCW Bash At The Beach 1996
WCW Bash At The Beach 1996 (7/7/1996)- Daytona Beach, FL
PSICOSIS vs. REY MYSTERIO JR.- 7/10.
Spotty, but WOW! What an opener!
KONNAN PROMO- Great.
SACK FULL OF SILVER DOLLARS ON A POLE MATCH: John Tenta vs. Big Bubba Rogers (w/Jimmy Hart)- 4/10.
I really didn’t like the fact that the pole was WAY too high for either of these guys to climb. It made the match feel like a cruel prank on these two. I also didn’t like Bubba going down so quick. The gimmick of this match was to get the weapon and use it on your opponent, and we only get one shot with it before the finish?
STING, LUGER, & SAVAGE PROMO- Savage and Luger were good. Sting’s promo seemed very counter-productive. Savage and Luger were saying that it doesn’t matter who the third man is, and Sting was saying (paraphrasing) ‘not knowing who the third man is makes me nervous.’
TAPED FIST MATCH FOR THE LORD OF THE RING RING: “Diamond” Dallas Page(c) vs. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan- 3.75/10.
Way too short. I absolutely hated the aftermath, too. Duggan took a Diamond Cutter and went down for the pin, then got right back up and attacked Page.
PROMOS BY KEVIN SULLIVAN & THE GIANT- both guys were good, but Sully’s goofiness during Giant’s promo hurt it a bit.
ARN ANDERSON & CHRIS BENOIT PROMO- okay.
DOUBLE DOG COLLAR MATCH: The Public Enemy vs. The Nasty Boys- 4.5/10, but I don’t think that was the fault of the guys in the match. The split screen made it hard to focus on any of the action.
WCW CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Dean Malenko(c) vs. Disco Inferno- 5.25/10
It did its job of getting Disco over as a babyface with a lot of heart
JOE GOMEZ vs. STEVE “MONGO” MCMICHAEL (w/Debra)- 4.75/10
RIC FLAIR PROMO- okay
WCW UNITED STATES TITLE MATCH: Konnan(c) vs. Ric Flair (w/Miss Elizabeth & Woman)- 6.75/10.
The women did a great job doing the whole dog and pony show, constantly screwing Konnan, but Konnan kept fighting on. Good story.
MEAN GENE TRIES TO FIGURE OUT WHO THE THRID MAN IS VIA EASEDROPPING- It’s a mystery. We get it. This felt very unnecessary
IF THE HORSEMEN WIN, ONE OF THEM WILL GET A WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE SHOT TOMORROW NIGHT ON NITRO: Kevin Sullivan & The Giant (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. The Horsemen (Chris Benoit & Arn Anderson)- 5.75/10
“MACHO MAN” RANDY SAVAGE, STING, & LEX LUGER vs. THE OUTSIDERS (Scott Hall & Kevin Nash) & A MYSTERY PARTNER- No rating. Awesome segment.
This match was really just an excuse to get to the finish and the aftermath, but the wrestling decent and the crowd was into it. Sting’s hot tag to Savage is one of the hottest hot tags (if not the hottest) in wrestling history.
*MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!*
(you know… for anyone who has been living under a rock for the past 16 years, or is just 100% new to wrestling)
The third man was Hulk Hogan, who turned heel, and he, Hall, and Nash, formed a group called the New World Order. I’m sure something this awesome won’t ever get old and contribute to killing a multi-million dollar promotion. Nah. That could never happen.
HULK HOGAN PROMO- AWESOME!
Overall, an eh show from WCW, but its historical significance makes it a must-see.
Yes. I gave the main event a rating of “awesome segment,” but I still think it could have been done much better, but I’ll get to that in the “Wrestling Fantasy” section, too (and maybe fantasy book off it. Who knows?)
STUPID ANNOUNCER QUOTES:
1. Schiavone (about the Outsiders, as Luger is being stretchered off)- “I guess they’re trying to take them out one at a time.” Umm… the Outsiders weren’t the one who injured Luger. Sting did it inadvertently, so you can’t use this as evidence that the Outsiders are trying to take the WCW guys out one at a time.
PSICOSIS vs. REY MYSTERIO JR.- 7/10.
Spotty, but WOW! What an opener!
KONNAN PROMO- Great.
SACK FULL OF SILVER DOLLARS ON A POLE MATCH: John Tenta vs. Big Bubba Rogers (w/Jimmy Hart)- 4/10.
I really didn’t like the fact that the pole was WAY too high for either of these guys to climb. It made the match feel like a cruel prank on these two. I also didn’t like Bubba going down so quick. The gimmick of this match was to get the weapon and use it on your opponent, and we only get one shot with it before the finish?
STING, LUGER, & SAVAGE PROMO- Savage and Luger were good. Sting’s promo seemed very counter-productive. Savage and Luger were saying that it doesn’t matter who the third man is, and Sting was saying (paraphrasing) ‘not knowing who the third man is makes me nervous.’
TAPED FIST MATCH FOR THE LORD OF THE RING RING: “Diamond” Dallas Page(c) vs. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan- 3.75/10.
Way too short. I absolutely hated the aftermath, too. Duggan took a Diamond Cutter and went down for the pin, then got right back up and attacked Page.
PROMOS BY KEVIN SULLIVAN & THE GIANT- both guys were good, but Sully’s goofiness during Giant’s promo hurt it a bit.
ARN ANDERSON & CHRIS BENOIT PROMO- okay.
DOUBLE DOG COLLAR MATCH: The Public Enemy vs. The Nasty Boys- 4.5/10, but I don’t think that was the fault of the guys in the match. The split screen made it hard to focus on any of the action.
WCW CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Dean Malenko(c) vs. Disco Inferno- 5.25/10
It did its job of getting Disco over as a babyface with a lot of heart
JOE GOMEZ vs. STEVE “MONGO” MCMICHAEL (w/Debra)- 4.75/10
RIC FLAIR PROMO- okay
WCW UNITED STATES TITLE MATCH: Konnan(c) vs. Ric Flair (w/Miss Elizabeth & Woman)- 6.75/10.
The women did a great job doing the whole dog and pony show, constantly screwing Konnan, but Konnan kept fighting on. Good story.
MEAN GENE TRIES TO FIGURE OUT WHO THE THRID MAN IS VIA EASEDROPPING- It’s a mystery. We get it. This felt very unnecessary
IF THE HORSEMEN WIN, ONE OF THEM WILL GET A WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE SHOT TOMORROW NIGHT ON NITRO: Kevin Sullivan & The Giant (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. The Horsemen (Chris Benoit & Arn Anderson)- 5.75/10
“MACHO MAN” RANDY SAVAGE, STING, & LEX LUGER vs. THE OUTSIDERS (Scott Hall & Kevin Nash) & A MYSTERY PARTNER- No rating. Awesome segment.
This match was really just an excuse to get to the finish and the aftermath, but the wrestling decent and the crowd was into it. Sting’s hot tag to Savage is one of the hottest hot tags (if not the hottest) in wrestling history.
*MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!*
(you know… for anyone who has been living under a rock for the past 16 years, or is just 100% new to wrestling)
The third man was Hulk Hogan, who turned heel, and he, Hall, and Nash, formed a group called the New World Order. I’m sure something this awesome won’t ever get old and contribute to killing a multi-million dollar promotion. Nah. That could never happen.
HULK HOGAN PROMO- AWESOME!
Overall, an eh show from WCW, but its historical significance makes it a must-see.
Yes. I gave the main event a rating of “awesome segment,” but I still think it could have been done much better, but I’ll get to that in the “Wrestling Fantasy” section, too (and maybe fantasy book off it. Who knows?)
STUPID ANNOUNCER QUOTES:
1. Schiavone (about the Outsiders, as Luger is being stretchered off)- “I guess they’re trying to take them out one at a time.” Umm… the Outsiders weren’t the one who injured Luger. Sting did it inadvertently, so you can’t use this as evidence that the Outsiders are trying to take the WCW guys out one at a time.