WCW Great American Bash 90': New Revolution

WCW Great American Bash 90': New Revolution

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, Ric Flair holds the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, Lex Luger is the United States Champion, the Television Title is held by Arn Anderson, and Doom are the World Tag Team Champions. Finally, the US Tag Titles are held by the Midnight Express.

COMMENTATORS: Jim Ross and Bob Caudle

Brian Pillman takes on Buddy Landell in the opening contest. Landell is a classic heel in that he is practically impossible to like. He's pretty ugly, looks a tad tubby, is overly confident, and his offense is cheap shots and cutting corners. Meanwhile, Pillman is in incredible shape, is full of energy, and is a great seller. Put these ingredients together and you get a decent opening contest designed to get the crowd going, but not necessarily to steal the show. I think this one goes just a touch too long, but it definitely comes off as a real fight, everything they do looking snug. (2.5/5)

After a quick word from Gordon Solie, we get The Iron Sheik vs. "Captain" Mike Rotunda. Rotunda gets quite a pop for his introduction but is immediately attacked by the dastardly Sheik. As soon as Rotunda goes on a roll, though, Sheik heads for the hills, drawing the ire of the fans. The action in this match may not be great, but there's no doubt that the Sheik could draw heat, at least for short spans. Both men deliver some respectable suplexes, but the only thing that really gets any response is Sheik's crowd-baiting and the imperfect feel-good finish. At least it doesn't run too long. (2/5)

Gordon Solie is joined by Harley Race, who will be taking on Tommy "Wildfire" Rich. Race notes that after he takes out Rich, he'll be watching the World Championship match like everyone else. 

Back in the ring, Dutch Mantell gets ready to take on "The World's Strongest Man" Doug Furnas. Furnas had only competed for a few years prior to joining WCW but he was a quick learner it seems, holding his own against the veteran. Like the opener, the contrast of styles and looks makes it clear who the fan favorite is even before a single punch is thrown. Furnas not only impresses with his agility, but his strength, press slamming Mantell early on. His technical game isn't too shabby either, everything he does looking better than it probably should for someone so early in his career. Furnas attempts a splash from the corner, but his overconfidence costs him as Mantell dodges and takes over with a rear chinlock and then a wristlock. Mantell executs a textbook snap suplex for two and then tries to break Furnas down again with an arm bar. Things get better when Furnas and Mantell start using the ropes to speed things up, Furnas eventually landng a move I don't recall seeing too often - a snap belly-to-belly suplex. No worse than average, but not better than it either. (2.5/5)

Jim Cornette joins Gordon Solie to hype up tonight's card and The Midnight Express' United States Tag Team Titles defense against The Southern Boys.  

Tommy Rich vs. Harley Race is our next contest, Cappetta making sure to note that these two are both former World Champions lest fans think this is just "filler." Rich has control to start, but even after Race goes hard shoulder-first into the corner, Race is able to get to work and deliver some tough-looking strikes and slams. Race's selling and mannerisms look a little out of place in 1990, but fans of his work will surely like this match as a trip down memory lane. Decent enough finish to a match that I'm not sure anyone cared about it. I've seen this match get praised in some dark recesses on the internet, but I didn't think it was anything special at all. (1.5/5)

Next up - The Midnight Express defending the US Tag Titles against Tracey Smothers and Steve Armstrong, The Southern Boys. Classic babyface shine to open this up with "Beautiful" Bobby on the receiving end of all sorts of fast-paced offense from Armstrong. Smothers comes in and the story remains the same until Eaton finally allows Lane to take over. Lane tries to use his karate skills to take out Smothers (who, for some reason, is also trying to work in some martial arts) but ends up on the mat with a big right hand to the head. The crowd pops huge as Smothers follows with a thrust kick to Eaton and the Midnights are forced to regroup. Eaton comes back in but Smothers is too quick and agile to keep down for long, their sequences leading up to a real cool baseball slide spot and then an excellent crossbody off the top by Steve Armstrong. The challengers have the crowd going crazy and Cornette can't believe it, the legendary manager screaming his head off to get the Midnights back into the ring. A ref distraction allows the heels to finally get some offense in, but the real game-changer is Smothers getting sent with tremendous force into the guardrail back-first. Eaton hits the Alabama Jam, which is incredible, but can't capitalize on it for a 3-count and in Lane comes. The double-teams the Midnights bust out get tremendous heat and they keep control by cutting the ring in half and sending Smothers out of the ring multiple times. On commentary, Bob Caudle is definitely caught up in this match, begging for Smothers to make a tag at every small opportunity. Armstrong eventually comes in like a house on fire, throwing fists and chops at the heels and leveling Lane with a flying shoulderblock. The Southern Boys hit their finisher, but the referee is too busy making sure Smothers and Eaton are out of the ring to make the three count. Armstrong goes back to the top rope, but gets shoved into the top rope by Eaton and its Rocket Launcher time! Again, the referee is slightly out of position and it gives Armstrong just a hair long enough to kickout! The Midnights are pissed, but their anger almost costs them as Eaton gets pulled down in an inside cradle for two! Smothers takes to the ropes, but Lane clocks him in the back of the skull with a boot and now its Eaton who locks in a small package for a full count! I've seen others rate this as high as 4.5, but I'm not going to go there just quite. Easy 4 stars, though. (4/5)

After a word from the Fabulous Freebirds its back to the ring for the arrival of Tom "The Z-Man" Zenk and his opponent, the debuting Big Van Vader. Vader's entrance is awesomely intimidating and badass, the future World Champion looking 100% fearless as he makes his debut. The bell rings and Vader comes out striking, everything he does looking stiff and brutal. Vader puts Zenk on the mat with a short-arm clothesline that looks like it knocked a few teeth loose and, moments later, matches it with a guerilla press slam and an elbow drop. Vader his a vertical suplex and eventually finishes him off with a crushing splash. Everything about this debut is perfect at establishing Vader as more than just your run of the mill 300-pounder- this guy puts speed behind his moves and it makes all the difference. (3/5)

Gordon Solie is joined by the Horsemen sans-Flair who cut a promo about their opponents tonight. Ole Anderson guarantees that Ric Flair will walk out of Baltimore with the title.

The Fabulous Freebirds vs. The Steiner Brothers is next. The Freebirds go right after Scott Steiner before the bell rings, trying to get an upperhand anyway they can. After a couple minutes, though, the Freebirds are reeling with Michael "P.S" Hayes jawing with the crowd and the Steiners leading the angry mob in a "Freebirds Suck" chant. You can't fault the teams of getting huge reactions with ga-ga, but it feels like you can condense the first 5 minutes of "action" into about 15 seconds of actual work, not exactly my favorite style of wrestling. Eventually Scott Steiner hits Hayes with a Pearl River Plunge, but the high spot is followed by even more stalling from the Freebirds (leading to an audible "Michael is a Bitch" chant from one or two fans who must've been sitting close to a mic). The tide turns when the referee's back is turned and Garvin kicks Rick in the back of the head when he's bouncing off the ropes (a good spot but one already used better in the previous tag match). Hayes hits a bulldog and tags in Garvin a little later who ties the Dog-Faced Gremlin up in a headlock. The match pretty much falls apart from here as Garvin lazily comes off the top rope only to get caught in the midsection by Rick Steiner. This leads to a "hot tag" that doesn't get much of a reaction, but the match is saved by the finish, which I thought was a bit convoluted and overtly choreographed, but certainly pleased the crowd. After the slugfests with Doom, this whole match just comes off as a bit lazy and soft. (1.5/5)

It is 6-man time - Barry Windham, Sid Vicious, and Arn Anderson of the 4 Horsemen taking on the debuting El Gigante, The Junkyard Dog, and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff. Sid Vicious and Orndorff start, which isn't a bad way to start things off as Vicious, while still a bit green, is over and intimidating. Arn Anderson comes in, but the Horsemen have to take a powder once El Gigante gets in the ring. Speaking of Anderson, he's terrific here - willing this match into watchable territory with his dramatic selling and by playing to the crowd every chance he gets. JYD's headbutts are cartoonish, but its almost like by selling for him, they're just lowering the bar for when El Gigante finally gets tagged in. Its not a bad strategy - as long as you're going to have a shit match full of ridiculous, psychology-free, slow-as-molasses "rassling," you might as well go all the way with it. Things pick up a little bit when Orndorff comes back in and the Horsemen take control. An un-ignorable "We Want Sid" chant starts up but as would become a recurring theme with Vicious, once he gets in and the crowd actually sees his limited moveset, it becomes clear that they really don't. The Horsemen end up tossing the babyfaces over the top rope and getting disqualified, but El Gigante comes in and sends them packing with what can only be described as the worst shoving I've ever seen in wrestling - honestly, Gigante was not asked to do much of anything, but even the little he was asked to do, he looks incapable of. He looks completely confused by the very concept of pro-wrestling and the crowd seems to realize it instantly too (though maybe they're just booing the BS finish). Very bad match salvaged only slightly by the hard work of Double A. (0.5/5)

Paul E. Dangerously accompanies "Mean" Mark down the aisle for his United States Title Match against Lex Luger. The appeal of most every "Mean" Mark match is the novelty of seeing the Undertaker before he was the Undertaker and in this one Mark is 0% Undertaker. He bumps and sells more than the Deadman ever would, he complains to the ref more than the Phenom ever would, and he moves more than the Undertaker ever would (he busts out a leap frog at one point!). Despite their best efforts, though, the match didn't pull me in - even after Luger took a tremendous spill to the outside. After some back and forth, the crowd comes alive as Luger lifts up "Mean" Mark into the Torture Rack. The ref goes down, though, when Luger accidentally knocks into him and this allows Paul E. to knock the champion with his cell phone. Dangerously wakes up the ref, but too much time has passed because he only gets a 2 count. "Mean" Mark tries to size him up for the heart punch, but Luger explodes off the ropes, booting the challenger, knocking Dangerously off the apron, and then scoring the pinfall with a big clothesline. I'd say this was just slightly below average. (2/5)

Doom defend the World Tag Team Championships against The Rock n' Roll Express next. Reed and Simmons are a team that I thought were one thing but turned out to be another. In my mind, they were two brutes who were a mirror of the no-selling Road Warriors, but from what I've seen, I'll take Doom over the Legion of Doom any time. Both Reed and Simmons bump and sell and their offense, while not quite as impressive the Road Warriors', is damn near perfect for a heel team of bruisers. Both Gibson and Morton get face-in-peril minutes here with Doom dominating the majority of the minutes, but that structure helps the match from ever getting too dull. I would've liked to see a few more hope spots out of the Rock n' Rollers, but only because it would've added some variety to the sequences. Solid finish to a solid (but not much more) match. (3/5)


Main event time - Sting challenging Ric Flair for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. In terms of "moments," this match is a classic, but dissecting piece-by-piece? Not so much. Sting's no-selling is guaranteed to pop the crowd and, at the start of the match, doesn't completely spit in the face of ring psychology - but when he's no-selling getting tossed into the steel barricade or the 50th chest chop, its just bad transitioning. That being said, its impossible not to get caught up in the final 4-5 minutes of this match as the audience recognizes that Flair's reign of terror is over and the Dudes with Attitudes are going to prevent the Horsemen from interfering on his behalf. Sting isn't a broomstick, but this is almost a quintessential Flair carry job because, while Sting has a nice press slam, a good dropkick, and, when he's not simply laughing off Flair's offense, can actually sell damage well, it is the Nature Boy who is moving this match along, spiking it with so many signature Flairisms that it reaches "classic" status through the sheer volume of "hits" he busts out. I've read people call Sting's post-match interview a bad decision, but I thought it was fine as the Stinger had always been respectful of Naitch's talents and, unlike Hogan at this time, was presented as a competitor who just wanted a fair shot - not someone hell bent on maiming the guy. A match that is more than the sum of its parts, some of which are pretty wonky. (3.5/5)


The 1990 Great American Bash was all about the future. Brian Pillman is featured in the opener. The Southern Boys, even in a losing effort, are spotlighted as a tag team to watch. Doug Furnas gets a win over veteran Dutch Mantell. Doom get a fairly decisive victory over the Rock n' Roll Express. Obviously the main event was designed as Sting's coronation. Unfortunately, a year later, WCW be in a real creative funk and Ric Flair would be on his way out the door. With a Kwang Score of 2.36-out-of-5, this show features too much filler to enjoy from beginning to end and the main event, while certainly delivering a historic "feel good moment," doesn't measure up to the superior bouts Flair had wrestled on other major shows the year prior.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuever