Nickrj’s Rant for WCW Bash At The Beach 1996
This event aired on July 7th 1996 at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida
Your hosts are Tony Schivonie, Dusty Rhodes and Bobby Heenan
This was a pretty big show at the time because The Outsiders (Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and a third man) were planning to take over WCW. A highly anticipated 6 man tag team match was scheduled for this night. Let’s get to it!
Mike Tenay is doing color commentary with Tony, Dusty and Bobby here. Psych starts by slapping Rey. Rey counters with a nice armdrag sending Psych to the floor. Rey trips the leg and goes to the half Boston Crab. Psych reverses into a surfboard. Rey covers for 2. Rey works on the left arm. Psych comes out and works on Rey’s left arm. Psych snapmare’s into a arm scissors. Rey goes back to the legs. Test of strength follows and the two trade nice maneuvers. Rey does a backflip and a spinkick sends him to the floor where Psych does a suicide dive as Mike calls it. Psych slams Rey inside followed by a legdrop for 2. Psych goes to the chinlock. Rey is slammed again and Psych hits a guillotine legdrop for 2. He hits a legdrop from the apron. Psych chops Rey and follows with a clothesline for 2. Psych does a scissors hold with the right arm. Psych does a stun gun on Rey. Rey does a baseball slide underneath and flips outside the ring where Psych nails him. But Psych charges and Rey with his legs sends Psych in the ringpost. Rey follows with a spinning hurricurana. Rey does a springboard hurricurana into a cradle for 2. Rey dropkicks the leg of Psych and goes back to work on the right leg. Rey sets up Psych on the 2nd rope and follows with a dropkick for 2. Psych does a drop toe hold followed by a head scissors. He sends Rey flying into the ropes. Psych does a side DDT and Rey rolls outside where Psych drops him on the railing. Psych hits a Senton on Rey on the floor. Psych does an enzuguri for 2 followed by a camel clutch. He continues to work on the back. Rey counters with a snapmare. Rey does a fake and a cartwheel to a spinning flying head scissors. Rey hits a missle dropkick followed by a hurricuruana from the top rope. Both men are slow to get up. Rey does a rope moonsault for 2. Rey hits a dropkick followed by a springboard dropkick to the back of the head sending him outside. Rey does a twisting asai moonsault but hits his knee on the railing. Back inside he goes to the top again but gets cauge in a powerbomb by Psych for 2. Psych sets him on the top rope and sets him up for a top rope splash mountain but Rey counters with a huricurana for the pin at 15:16. Wow what a great opener, rivaling Bret VS Owen at Wrestlemania X *****.
Carson City Silver Dollar Match: John Tenta VS Big Bubba Rogers (with Jimmy Hart)
A 15 foot pole is set up where a sock of silver dollars is on the top. Both these guys are so big this concept would’ve worked if Rey and Psych were competing but not with these two fatties. This was a feud where Bubba cuts Tenta’s beard and half of his hair as well. Tenta rams into Bubba to start. Tenta hits a shoulder block. Tenta sends Bubba back in and sits on Bubba. Tenta rams Bubba head first in the buckle and starts to climb the pole but Bubba nails him. Bubba nails Tenta and tries to climb the pole and Tenta tosses him off. Tenta starts to climb the pole again and Bubba catches him into a back suplex. Bubba starts climbing the pole and Tenta catches him again and sets him on the top turnbuckle. Tenta throws Bubba to the outside and goes to the pole but decides to remove the straps to make the pole shorter to climb. Bubba comes back in and chokes out Tenta with a belt. He then takes out some athletic tape and tapes him to the ropes. Bubba takes the belt and starts lashing him with it. He grabs a scissors and tries to cut the rest of Tenta’s hair but gets low blowed. Tenta cuts the tape around the arm and cuts the straps around the post but gets caught by Bubba again. He rings the bell of Tenta into a spinebuster. He sends Jimmy Hart to climb the pole and he gets the sock but Tenta catches Bubba and turns it into a power slam. Hart climbs down with the sock and Tenta steals it and whacks Bubba in the jaw with it for the pin at 9:00. We go from a canadate from match of the year to one for worst match on the year. -**
Another dumb concept. What do taped fists have to do with anything? Duggan shoulderblocks Page to the outside. Page spits his bubble gum at Duggan. Page gives Duggan a stun gun and tapes his legs to the ringpost and beats him mercilessly. The ref removes the tape and Page takes the tape of Duggan’s fist. Duggan starts firing back and catches Page in the rocking chair effect. Duggan beats up Page outside of the ring and rams him back first into the post. Duggan suplexes Page back in the ring. Page blocks another suplexes with the rope and takes Duggan down with the shoulder. Duggan runs into an elbow in the corner. Page goes to the top but Duggan grabs the ropes and face slams him from the top rope. Duggan rams Page’s head into the top, middle and bottom turnbuckles. He clotheslines Page to the outside and goes after him outside. Inside Page kicks the ropes into Duggan’s stomach and hits the Diamond Cutter for the pin at 5:40. Nothing match here *1/4. Afterwards Duggan nails Page with the taped fist
Public Enemy brings a table to the ring. All four men using two collars are collared to one another. All four men are pounding one another with the chains. Sags is getting choked out with the chain and is getting nailed with a lid. Johnny Grunge gets nailed with a garbage can. Knobs then nails Grunge in the sand portion of the set and he nails him with a rubber shark. Sags hits Rock with a surfboard while Knobs nails Grunge with a chair. Knobs covers Grunge on the surfboard for 2. Rock nails Sags with a lid. Rocco Rock jumps of the lifeguard stand onto Sags. They continue to pound each other on the beach portion on the set. Sags hits Rock with the table. Knobs and Grunge are wrapped around the table while Sags hits Rock with a piledriver on the floor. Knobs hits Grunge with a garbage can again. Rock sends Sags into the table breaking it. Knobs covers Grunge for 2 but gets nailed by Rock with the trash can. All four men are working their way back into the ring. Grunge sends Knobs’ face into the table. Rock goes to the top but gets pulled onto the table by Sags. Sags hits an elbow from the top on Rock. Grunge is hung on the top rope while Rock is clothesline by the chain. Grunge is covered by Sags for the pin at 11:25. Pretty good brawl match here **3/4 They continue to brawl after the match and Rock sends Sags into the table breaking it.
Dean starts by nailing Disco and sending him outside the ring and literally beating him up outside. He rams him into the ringpost. Back in Dean hits a clothesline and a dropkick for 2. He continues to beat up Disco in the corner. He hits a brain buster for 2 ½. Dean goes to the chinlock then to a head scissors. Dean is now kicking Disco and he hits a back suplex. He does a spinning toe hold. He works on the leg on Disco. Dean does a snapmare followed by a dropkick to the head for 2. Dean does a half Boston Crab working on the leg some more and to another chin lock. Dean does a back cradle for 2. Dean kicks Disco in the corner. Disco reverses it and starts firing back on Dean. Dean hits a stun gun followed by a face slam for 2. Disco works on Dean in the corner but catches a headbutt and gets tossed outside. Disco gets rammed into the railing. Back in Dean hits a snapmare. And does a nice armbar into a chinlock. Disco gets to the ropes. Dean does a snapmare and and a springboard legdrop gets 2. Disco hits a headbutt and fires back on Dean. Disco misses a charge but blocks a double ax handle from the top. He hits a neckbreaker for 1 before Dean gets his foot on the ropes. Disco hits a back drop for 2. He hits a swinging neck breaker for another 2. Dean hits a drop kick from the 2nd rope and goes for the Texas Cloverleaf but Disco rolls him up for 2. Disco hits a clothesline for another 2. Dean blocks a hiptoss and hits a clothesline. But he misses a dropkick and comes back with a double underhook power bomb into the Cloverleaf for the submission at 12:02. Great title match here ***1/2
Great now we have a football player in the mix. Steve starts working over Gomez with chops. He hits a football clothesline in the corner. Gomez fires back and hits a double chop. He hits a cross body for 2. Steve chops Gomez in the corner and works him over. Gomez rams Steve’s head into the turnbuckle. Steve tries a field goal and kicks Gomez in the stomach. He hits a back breaker for 2. Steve hits a double ax handle and does a camel clutch. Gomez comes out of it but gets caught in a sleeper hold. Gomez counters with a jaw breaker. Steve comes back with a reverse neck breaker for 2. Steve goes for the figure four but gets rolled up for 2. Steve slams Disco but misses an elbow. Steve goes for a piledriver but gets backdropped. They start trading right hands. Gomez hits some chops and 2 dropkicks. He does a sunset flip for 2. Steve then hits a tombstone piledriver for 3 at 6:45. Boring match here DUD.
Flair offers a handshake but Konnan doesn’t do it. They tie up and Flair sends Konnan into the corner. They tie up again and Konnan gets a side headlock. He hits a dropkick to the stomach and slaps Flair down. Flair controls a wrist lock. Konnan comes back with the side headlock. Konnan knocks Flair down with a tackle. Flair hits a huge chop in the corner. Konnan hits a backdrop and goes for a surfboard. Flair is screaming here. Konnan hits a press slam and hits some chops. Flair reverses it but gets knocked down. Konnan hits another press slam followed by a clothesline. Both men are knocked outside to the floor. Konnan hits Flair from the apron and hits Elizabeth as well. Konnan goes to the top but Woman shakes the top rope to bring him down. Flair hits a chop and a knee drop for 2. They exchange blows again and Flair goes to the eyes. Woman comes in and kicks him low. Flair tosses Konnan outside where Woman beats him up some more. Flair vertical suplexes Konnan back in for several 2 counts into a reverse chin lock. Konnan starts firing back in the corner and does the 10 punch count. Flair does a flop. Konnan sends Flair upside down in the corner and out of the ring. He tries a baseball slide but fakes it. Konnan pounds on Flair in the corner and goes for the sunset flip but gets caught. Flair goes for the figure four but gets rolled up for 2. Konnan does a drop toe hold and locks the figure four in the center. Flair gets to the ropes. Konnan suplexes Flair back in the ring. He runs into an elbow. Flair goes to the top and gets slammed. Konnan face slams him for 2. Konnan hits a clothesline for another 2. Konnan gets a cradle but the ref is tied up with Liz. Woman is on the apron as well. She hits Konnan with her shoe and Flair pins Konnan with his foot on the top rope at 15:39 becoming the new U.S. Champ. Pretty decent match here **1/4
The Dungeon Of Doom (The Giant and Kevin Sullivan with Jimmy Hart) VS The Four Horsemen (Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit)
Giant and Sullivan jump Anderson and Benoit as they make their way to the ring. Steve McMichael comes back out and chases the Giant back to the locker room. Benoit and Anderson pound on the former Varsity Club leader. Sullivan starts fighting back on Benoit as the Giant comes back out. Anderson continues to work on the Taskmaster. Sullivan and Benoit chop each other and really want to get each other. Anderson comes back in and tosses Sullivan out. Sullivan beats up Benoit outside the ring. He pulls Anderson outside and tosses him in the railing. Benoit comes back in and slams Sullivan. Benoit chops Sullivan and kicks both Horseman and rams both their heads. Benoit keeps Sullivan from making a tag and Anderson continues to work on Sullivan. The Giant nails Arn and Sullivan gets 2. Benoit gets the tag and hits an elbow in the corner. He sets Sullivan up and jumps on the Giant but he gets tossed. Anderson does an ab stretch. He gets hip tossed and tags Benoit who hammers on Sullivan some more. He tags Anderson who starts working on the leg. Sullivan brings the knees up on Arn and Benoit comes in and catches him. He tags Anderson again who goes for a piledriver but gets tripped and incentally headbutts Benoit. The Giant finally comes in and chases Anderson while Benoit and Sullivan take it to the beach portion of the set. The Giant hits a huge suplex on Anderson and hits the chokeslam for the pin at 8:01 as Sullivan slams Benoit behind the announcers.. Dull match *3/4. Benoit hits a flying elbow on Sullivan and gets a chair shot. They go back into the ring. And Benoit hits a back suplex from the top rope. Woman comes out and stops Benoit from beating on Sullivan some more. The Giant comes back out and chases Benoit out
We get a look at the feud leading up to the main event here tonight.
Main Event: The Hostile Takeover Match: Randy Savage, Lex Luger and Sting VS Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and ???
Michael Buffer is the ring announcer. Only Nash and Hall come out and no third man. Gene Okerlund comes into the ring and interviews Hall and Nash. Hall says the third man is in the building and Nash says they can hold their own right now. Heenan points that something is up as does Dusty. Both teams taunt each other to start. Luger and Hall start it off. Hall throws the toothpick in Lugers face and pounds on him. Luger hits a forearm and nails Nash. Luger is knoced outside. He’s in the corner with Nash and Sting hits a stinger splash on Nash but he also hit Luger as well and he is out of it on the floor. They have to get the stretcher and carry him to the back. Personally I think Sting was gaining revenge from Clash Of The Champions 9, 7 years ago when Luger knocked Sting out with a chair after Ric Flair got Terry Funk to say I quit. J Sting continues with Hall and they do a test of strength but Sting is slapped. He goes crazy on Hall and hits an inverted atomic drop and a face slam. Savage comes in and gets caught from the top rope. Nash comes in and throws Savage into the top turnbuckle. He comes back to clothesline Hall for 2. Nash comes back in and misses a charge but nails an elbow and a forearm. Nash slams Hall and goes for an elbow Savage tries to get up but gets hit in the neck. Sting comes in and Nash starts pounding away on him. Sting comes back with a dropkick and goes for a sunset flip but Nash powers him up and drops him. Hall comes in and so does Savage but he was not tagged in. Hall hits a back slam for 2. Nash comes in and hits a big boot. He then taunts Savage on the apron. Sting hits a dropkick in the knees. Hall comes in and stops Sting and hits Savage. Sting does a small package for 1. Hall starts hitting elbow drops on Sting. Hall does an ab stretch and uses Nash for leverage. Nash comes in and works on the ab stretch as well. Sting gets an eye rake but is caught by Hall again. Hall hits a clothesline for 2. Hall does a sleeper and tosses Sting outside. Savage has a chair but the ref stops him. Hall continues to pound on Sting. He gets a 2 count. Nash comes in and hits a sidewalk slam for 2. Sting kicks Nash and hammers both outsiders and finally tags Savage who hits a top rope double ax handle on both. Hall is tossed outside and he takes 2 more double ax handle. But Nash low blows him. All four men are down and Hulk Hogan comes down to the ring. He clears the ring of the outsiders and then LEGDROPS SAVAGE!!! Everyone as in shock as Hogan as turned out to be the third man. He throws the ref out of the ring and hits another legdrop and Hall counts the unofficial pin at 17:46. Match gets ***1/4 but what an angle this was! Gene Okerlund comes into the ring as the ring starts to fill up with garbage. Hogan cuts an interview saying that he Hall and Nash have become the New World Order of wrestling and that they are going to run over anything in their path. Tony closes the show and slams his headset down in disgust.
Summary: This was an historic night as Hogan does the unthinkable and the N.W.O angle would catapult the WCW in the ratings war over WWF. This is defiantly a must see. STRONGLY RECOMMENDED