The Great American Bash (1990)

The 1990 Great American Bash was the second annual Great American Bash professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) banner, and the sixth annual Great American Bash event overall. It was the final held under the NWA banner, as WCW seceded from the NWA in January 1991. The event took place on July 7, 1990, at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. This was the third Great American Bash held at this venue after the 1988 and 1989 events. The 1990 event featured the WCW debut of Big Van Vader.

The Great American Bash
VHS cover featuring Sting and Ric Flair
PromotionNational Wrestling Alliance: World Championship Wrestling
DateJuly 7, 1990
CityBaltimore, Maryland
VenueBaltimore Arena
Attendance14,000
Tagline(s)The New Revolution
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In the main event, Ric Flair defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Sting. Sting pinned Flair after countering his Figure Four Leglock attempt into a small package. During the match, The Steiner Brothers, Paul Orndorff, and The Junkyard Dog (the "Dudes with Attitudes") surrounded the ring to prevent outside interference by The Four Horsemen. During the entirety of the match, Ole Anderson was handcuffed to El Gigante.

Production

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Background

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The Great American Bash is a professional wrestling event established in 1985. It was first produced by the National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) and aired on closed-circuit television before becoming a pay-per-view event in 1988; JCP was rebranded as World Championship Wrestling (WCW) later that same year. The 1990 event was the second annual Great American Bash event promoted by WCW and the sixth annual overall. The event took place on July 7, 1990, at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. This was the third Great American Bash held at this venue after the 1988 and 1989 events.[1]

Storylines

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Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
Commentators Jim Ross
Bob Caudle
Ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta
Interviewer Gordon Solie
Referees Randy Anderson
Nick Patrick
Mike Atkins

The event featured wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[2]

Aftermath

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The 1990 Great American Bash would be the final Great American Bash held under the NWA banner, as WCW seceded from the NWA in January 1991.[1]

This would be Mark Callous' final appearance on a WCW PPV, after allegedly being told by booker Ole Anderson he would not draw well. Callous would head to the WWF where he would become the legendary Undertaker.

Harley Race would wrestle only house shows until retiring from active wrestling in December 1990. He wouldn't return until next year's Great American Bash.

Sting would hold the NWA World Heavyweight title through the remainder of 1990, shortly after the GAB a mysterious wrestler allegedly from Sting's past would begin haunting him under the name "The Black Scorpion".

Results

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No.Results[3][4][5]StipulationsTimes
1DDavid Sierra defeated Mr. XSingles match10:06
2Brian Pillman defeated Buddy LandelSingles match09:29
3Mike Rotunda defeated The Iron SheikSingles match06:46
4Doug Furnas defeated Dutch MantelSingles match11:18
5Harley Race defeated Tommy RichSingles match06:32
6The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) (c) (with Jim Cornette) defeated The Southern Boys (Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers)Tag team match for the NWA United States Tag Team Championship18:14
7Big Van Vader defeated Tom ZenkSingles match02:16
8The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin)Tag team match13:45
9Paul Orndorff, Junkyard Dog and El Gigante defeated The Horsemen (Sid Vicious, Arn Anderson and Barry Windham) by disqualificationSix-man tag team match08:53
10Lex Luger (c) defeated Mark Callous (with Paul E. Dangerously)Singles match for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship12:10
11Doom (Ron Simmons and Butch Reed) (c) (with Teddy Long) defeated The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson)Tag team match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship15:40
12Sting defeated Ric Flair (c) (with Ole Anderson)Singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship16:06
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
D – this was a dark match

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "The Great American Bash". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  2. ^ Grabianowski, Ed (13 January 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Retrieved 2015-11-15.
  3. ^ Cawthon, Graham (2014). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 4: World Championship Wrestling 1989-1994. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1499656343.
  4. ^ "2007 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts: Great American Bash 1990". Wrestling's Historical Cards. Kappa Publishing. 2007. p. 135.
  5. ^ "Great American Bash 1990". Pro Wrestling History. July 7, 1990. Retrieved September 16, 2015.