WCW Bash At The Beach 96'

Bash At The Beach 96' – July  1996

Daytona Beach, Florida

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: The Giant is the WCW World Champion, Konnan is the United States Champion, the Television Title is held by Lex Luger, the Cruiserweight Champion is Dean Malenko, and the WCW Tag Team Championships are held by the team of Harlem Heat.

COMMENTATORS: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes

From the very start, this show is all about the main event, the commentators focused squarely on the question of who will join The Outsiders against Sting, Macho Man, and Lex Luger.

Kicking things off, though, is Psychosis vs. Rey Mysterio Jr., a match aided by the inclusion of Mike Tenay on the announce team. Tenay brings up their long rivalry in Mexico, but their familiarity with each other is obvious from the first minutes of the match, which feature all sorts of nifty reversals. As it progresses, there are some amazing spots in this match - Psychosis bouncing into the post on the apron, innovative hurricanranas, a huge plancha at one point, Mysterio taking a nasty neck-first fall onto the guardrail, a vicious senton from the top rope to the floor - its all breathtaking. Still, this one is not your typical "spotfest" as the drama is cut with stretches of sound submission wrestling. Mysterio's selling makes everything impactful and, thanks to Tenay's history lesson, you really get the sense that this is a personal match of real consequence. The finish might be the most impressive mindbender of the whole match. Excellent, nearly flawless match in terms of action, only lacking in crowd involvement and "big match feel." (4.5/5)

In a rematch from The Great American Bash, Big Bubba takes on John Tenta again, this time with the stipulation of having a sock full of quarters on a pole in one corner. Tenta's half-shaved appearance might be the ugliest look any wrestler has ever had, though, Big Bubba is no GQ cover himself. The pole is ridiculously long and neither guy looks capable of climbing even halfway up the thing. As much as this match should be a stinker, though, it actually really works - there are some clever twists to the way weapons are introduced and utilized, the few big moves are well-executed and get good reactions, the Tenta-as-Everyman character is endearing enough that one wants to root for him, and the match doesn't overstay its welcome. While I wouldn't call this a classic, it is a perfectly fun PPV match. (2.5/5)

In yet another stipulation match, this one being a Taped Fist Match, Diamond Dallas Page takes on "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. I've been pretty high on DDP's work over the past year, but this match has too many flaws to recommend. First we see DDP busting out the tape and utilizing it in the same fashion as  Bubba did in the previous match, something a more versatile and "improv-ready" wrestler might have changed on the fly. As usual, DDP bumps like crazy, but Duggan doesn't bust out anything new, so the action is just pedestrian. The finish is where things really bother me, though - Duggan basically no sells the Diamond Cutter, seemingly eating the loss just so he can "one up" his opponent in the post-match. It is an oddly layed out ending that makes DDP look like a bum. (1/5)

A 4-man Dog Collar Match between The Nasty Boys and Public Enemy was the next contest. This sort of brawl is right up the alley of both teams. Within a minute or so, we not only have guys getting whipped with chains but trash cans, the guardrail, and the Bash At The Beach set getting utilized. Things don't get fully hardcore, though, until the chairs show up - Knobbs viciously blasting Johnny Grunge with one several times. Rocco Rock retaliates with a somersault off a lifeguard chair and Sags picks up a surfboard, the dog collars long enough to allow these guys to pretty much retrieve any weapon they want from any part of the arena at any time. The finish comes after two botched spots involving the same table (Bobby Heenan describes it as "the toughest table he's ever seen") and the post-match action is inconsequential, but does allow for the feud to continue and, hopefully, gives an opportunity for these two teams to improve on the respectable brawl they had. (2.5/5)

Disco Inferno vs. Dean Malenko for Dean's Cruiserweight Championship is next, the "Dancing Fool" showing far more resilience than he had at any other time in his WCW run. Malenko, meanwhile, dishes out some crisp suplexes and slams, but more importantly, really lets his mean streak come across in a way that he had not yet shown in his PPV bouts. When Disco shows some fire, there are at least a few cheers for his comeback, but as the commentators correctly point out, Malenko is in another class as a mat wrestler. Towards the end, there is some more really good character work out of Inferno, adding an extra layer to what was a solid technical match. While not at the same level of Malenko's more spot-heavy matches with Mysterio, this is an above-average contest featuring some quality commentary. (3/5)

Joe Gomez vs. Steve "Mongo" McMichael is next. Like the previous match, this one benefits from some unexpected "plusses," namely Mongo getting his lip busted early, Mongo being more natural in the ring than many give him credit for, and Mongo including some decent heel schtick in his offense (a low-blow in the corner here, a Horsemen salute there). Unfortunately, there are also plenty of weak points. Mongo has no business laying in any sort of submission, whether its a rear-chinlock or a sleeper. Also, while Gomez lays in his stuff well, he gets a bit too much offense in for what should be a squash. The lasting effect is that Joe Gomez ends up coming off as a guy that has pushed Mongo to his limit in match that goes on at least two minutes too long. (1/5)

After a great promo involving some awkward Okerlund/Woman flirting, Ric Flair comes down the aisle to challenge Konnan for his United States Championship. Early on, Bobby Heenan, usually 100% pro-Flair, brings up Konnan's versatility and unorthodox blend of styles, noting that Flair may not be prepared for the champion. Flair and Konnan exchange straightforward wrestling holds to start things off, Flair eventually resorting to a chop and a punch before Konnan is able to apply a bow-and-arrow to the Nature Boy, something I certainly never thought I'd see. As the match continues, we see plenty of classic Flair spots - multiple guerilla press bumps, the over-the-corner bump, the picture perfect knee drop, a stalled vertical duplex, etcetera. Konnan wisely adapts to Flair's style, sticking to Flair's pace and, at times, mirroring some of Naitch's offense in his attempts to retain the title. While not nearly as action-packed as Konnan's match with Jushin Liger from a few months prior, this one tells a familiar story that the fans were able to get excited about. The finish is a bit weak, largely due to the choice of weapon used (an unfortunate pattern in Ric Flair victories in the 90s), but is at least consistent with the story told for the majority of the match. Solid but average outing thanks to Flair bringing his work shoes and Konnan not getting overzealous or overthinking his role as the pure babyface. (2.5/5)

Before the bell can even ring, Kevin Sullivan and The Giant attack their opponents, Chris Benoit and Arn Anderson. Mongo McMichaels arrives, though, and jumps the big man, forcing the 7-footer to follow him to the back. After a minute, The Giant returns, but Sullivan has already suffered a bit. Sullivan in a default "face-in-peril" role is a bit odd, but it works well enough at giving the match structure. Halfway through, Schiavone reminds the fans what is at stake here - if the Horsemen win, Ric Flair gets to challenge The Giant for the WCW World Championship the next night on Nitro. When The Giant finally does get involved, he actually gets a pretty decent pop from the crowd, noteworthy simply because he'd been a monster heel since his debut roughly a year earlier. There is an unfortunate botch when Sullivan reverses an Anderson piledriver, but the match is saved a bit by The Giant getting to finish off Anderson and Sullivan and Benoit having a vicious post-match brawl featuring a very cool Benoit dive and impressive back suplex from the top rope. The arrival of Woman is odd - a "kayfabe-breaking" moment that alludes to Woman and Sullivan's real-life marriage. Dusty Rhodes questions her involvement, adding an interesting wrinkle to the blood feud brewing between the Taskmaster and the Crippler. Overall, nothing too bad, but also not a "must see" match. (2.5/5)

A video package reviews the story of the Hostile Takeover led by Scott Hall, who was still referred to only as "one of the Outsiders." The lack of proper names makes the phony headlines that are featured in the video a bit ridiculous, but it's also classic WCW.

Main event time - The Outsiders arrive first, but without their third man, who Hall assures the audience is in the building, but is not yet needed. They are soon joined by their opponents - Lex Luger, Sting, and Randy Savage. Early on, Luger gets knocked out by a wild Stinger Splash, a clever twist considering that there were rumors going into the show that Luger would be the third Outsider based on his semi-recent departure from the WWE. Back in the ring, Schiavone finally refers to the two men as Hall and Nash, with Hall slapping the Stinger in the face and then getting some payback and popping the crowd with a spirited tackle. From there, Savage gets in for some minutes against both Outsiders, but Nash is able to maintain his dominance even after Sting gets tagged back in. While the in-ring happenings are nothing special, what it lacks in innovation or big spots it makes up in spirit, crowd engagement, and character work. Nash is incredibly cocky and cool throughout, Savage looks livid, Sting seems to genuinely be fighting a personal battle for WCW, and Hall plays a perfect dastardly-but-beatable heel. As a face-in-peril, Sting is particularly well cast - two of his greatest strengths have always been his selling and his fiery comebacks. The match is also helped by passionate commentary that is anything but objective. When Hogan arrives, the crowd response is incredible. Even his initial leg drop on Savage gets a bit of a pop, either out of a knee-jerk reaction to the maneuver or because a large part of the audience is cheering out of the knowledge that they're witnessing history.

A few minutes later, though, garbage starts filling the ring and WCW wisely allows the scene to speak for itself before "Mean" Gene steps in. As a match, this one is a solid 3, nothing more, but Hogan's performance and post-match promo is absolutely flawless - an easy 5 point segment. In a few brief minutes, Hogan gloats about his millions and his movies, the way he dominated both the WWE and the WCW, and then goes after the fans themselves in what is truly the most legendary heel turn of all time. Averaging out the scores of the match itself and the post-match, this one earns high marks and is certainly worthy of a re-watch. (4/5)

Bash At The Beach 96' is legendary for its conclusion, but this is far from a one-match show. With an average match rating of 2.61-out-of-5, I don't recommend revisiting it in its entirety, but there are more than a handful of moments and matches to enjoy spread across the 3 hours. The opener is outstanding, a match some have called the best cruiserweight bout in the division's history. The actual Cruiserweight Championship match is not as strong, but is still really fun. The Dog Collar, Pole, and US Championship matches aren't worth seeking out specifically, but depending on your appreciation of John Tenta or Nasty Boy brawls or Ric Flair, you may enjoy them as much as I did. Unfortunately, the Gomez/Mongo and Duggan/DDP matches are borderline unwatchable, sinking the score a bit. The Horsemen/Dungeon of Doom tag is nothing special either, though, it benefits from a cool post-match. Speaking of cool post-matches, what else can be written about the main event that hasn't already been said? Absolutely essential wrestling moment.

FINAL RATING - Watch It All...With Remote in Hand