Sage Cortez
This review should be a bit fun. You know why? I have no WON notes. Not only that, but the card sounds like a total disaster. As such, this show might be a giant turd. However, with a match between the Midnight Express and Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, it could be a turd with one hell of a match. Anyway, low expectations are the key for this and that’s what I have. So, with that in mind, it’s time to get to watching a wrestling show.
– June 13th, 1990, from McAlister Fieldhouse in Charleston, South Carolina
The introduction video tells me that the last time WCW was scheduled for Charleston, Hurricane Hugo canceled their show. However, they’re back for COASTAL CRUSH. It is brought to us by Robocop 2. Great! Tony Schiavone is the host, and Jim Ross will be on commentary with Bob Caudle. Schiavone asks if the Junkyard Dog will be the first black world champion. No. The Steiners are facing Doom again, and as already mentioned, the Expresses will collide as well. Jim Ross says that El Gigante will be there! Awesome!
The Fabulous Freebirds vs. The Wild-Eyed Southern Boys
Pre-Match Thoughts: If not for me knowing that Garvin has deteriorated so much, I would think this match would be great. The Southern Boys were really good workers, but that Confederate shit…mixed with the Freebirds Confederate shit…ugh. Hayes had mostly dropped it, though. I’ve hardly even been able to watch these guys work since they entered the company, this is different. Leading into their entrance, they had a promo. The Freebirds had part of the Badstreet USA video shown.
Match Review: The Freebirds attack, and we’re off. The Freebirds throw the Southern Boys into each other, but it turns out they hit the Freebirds with flying forearms. They then each backdrop the Birds, and hit them with shoulderblocks to knock them out of the ring. Once the Freebirds have their heads cleared, it’s Tracy Smothers in there with Jimmy Garvin. Smothers misses a charge to the corner, and Garvin covers for 2. Garvin follows with a bodyslam that gets 1, and Hayes comes back in there. Smothers gets double teamed with punches, then moves out of the way and Steve Armstrong flies in with a cross body from the top that knocks down both Freebirds. That was sick. Hayes and Armstrong are the legal men now, and Hayes grabs hold of a headlock. Hayes leaps over a slam attempt, then Armstrong blocks a cradle and clotheslines him. He heads up top, and Garvin hits him with a big right to knock him down. Hayes clotheslines Armstrong, tags out, and Garvin drops Armstrong throat-first on the top rope for 2. Garvin then gives Armstrong a good looking backbreaker for a 2 count, and rakes the eyes on his way out of the ring. Hayes goes to an armbar, but Armstrong makes the ropes. He goes for a backdrop, and Hayes clobbers him. He then drops an elbow and gets a 2 count. He goes back to the arm, then bodyslams him. After some strutting, Hayes heads up top, but Armstrong meets him and slams him down. Armstrong then makes a tag out, and Smothers flies in with a dropkick to Garvin. He backdrops Garvin, and hits him with a flying back elbow. He does the same to Hayes, gives the Birds a noggin-knocker, and goes for a cradle of Garvin. The referee was distracted and trying to get Armstrong out of the ring, so Hayes rushed in and pulverized Smothers with a clothesline. Armstrong got back in the ring to deal with Hayes, only to get dumped to the outside. Garvin hits Smothers with a knee, the ref gets rid of Hayes, and on Garvin’s cover, Armstrong jumps off the top rope with a diving headbutt on Garvin. Smothers covers, and the Southern Boys win the match at 7:25!
My Thoughts: This was a decent opener, and there were some distinct differences in this match and matches with the last young team they pushed. See, Tom Zenk never had any spots like that. None whatsoever. He and Pillman also had little teamwork. I love Brian Pillman, but this is true. In this match, the Southern Boys had good individual spots, good team spots, and good team work. They also bumped around really well. Just **1/2 due to length and quality of their opponent, but those were good signs. The finish was also surprising as I didn’t expect the Freebirds to put over the young guys in such fashion.
Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Oliver Humperdink) vs. Tommy Rich
Pre-Match Thoughts: Even though Bigelow wasn’t going to be around long, and it’s not like they knew that…shouldn’t he squash Tommy Rich here? We shall see, I suppose. I quite like the idea of this being a Bigelow showcase. Hopefully he gets some big spots in.
Match Review: These guys lock up, and if you consider the ECW Championship a world title, these are both world champions, although they had a bit less than 2 months between them. Bigelow misses a charge to the corner, then Rich hits him with some right hands. He headbutts Bigelow as well, then goes to work on the left arm. This match has much better heat than you’d expect. Bigelow gets out and hits Rich with his own headbutt, then throws Rich into the corner only to miss another charge. Rich rolls Bigelow up for 2, then takes Bigelow to the corner for some punches. Bigelow carries him out of it, uses an inverted atomic drop, and Bam Bam gives him a press slam too. Bigelow grabs hold of Rich’s neck, and basically chokes him to death, leading to a DQ at 3:46. Ugh. Humperdink has to grab Bigelow to control him, and Bigelow throws Rich over the top onto the entrance ramp as that’s going on.
My Thoughts: I can’t believe they didn’t have Bigelow get a pin, although they did put him over. Rich got a win, but it was totally irrelevant. This wasn’t really the best way to go about things, and maybe it had something to do with Bigelow leaving. I don’t know yet. Anyway, *1/4.
Fortunately, we’re not going straight to the next match. Apparently a man named BIG VAN VADER is making his debut at the Great American Bash. YES! YESSSSSSSSSS! His hype video was great and made him look like a real star. Another man will make his wrestling debut at that show, and it’s El Gigante, who just walked to the ring. He made Gary Michael Cappetta look like a dwarf. He was interviewed in Spanish, this is the wrong crowd for that. His comments were then translated to English. Okay.
The Samoan Swat Team vs. The Z-Man & Captain Mike Rotunda
Pre-Match Thoughts: Ha, this is a slightly better version of the Capital Combat joke match. This tells me where Zenk stood with Ole Anderson in charge, that’s for sure. This is like a sick joke being played on me to have to see a variation of this match again. I think everyone was sick of the SST, they were just meandering around the lower card and didn’t get pushed.
Match Review: It’s funny that the SST gets so much heat when doing their pre-match ritual. Fatu attacks Rotunda, and gives him a hip toss afterward. Rotunda returns the favor, then dropkicks Fatu out to the ramp. The Savage tries to make an illegal switch in, but it’s caught and Fatu has to go back in. Zenk tags in, the Savage makes a legal tag in, and Zenk gives him a bodyslam. He dropkicks the Savage, and he has to roll to the outside. Rotunda tags in, and takes the guy down with a cross body for 2. Fatu kicks Rotunda in the head, the Samoans switch, and he covers for 2. They then give Rotunda a double clothesline, and the Savage follows that with a singular clothesline for 2. Fatu tags back in there and puts a nerve hold on Rotunda, which Rotunda gets out of. He tries a hip toss, only to get clotheslined again by Fatu. Fatu throws Rotunda out for a bodyslam by the Savage, which the Samoans celebrate. The Savage tags in, and goes back to that nerve hold. Zenk then gets in the ring after being punched, and while the referee ushers him out of the ring, Fatu rushes in for a double team only for Rotunda to clothesline both Samoans. Rotunda makes a tag out, and Zenk comes in for a dropkick. He hits the Samoans with superkicks, and follows with a noggin-knocker that does nothing. They hit Zenk with a double headbutt, then Fatu drops Zenk with a Samoan drop. The Savage heads over to the corner for a pump splash, and as they celebrate, Rotunda switches with Zenk and fakes an injury. Rotunda then rolls Fatu up, and picks up the victory at 5:24.
My Thoughts: That was a good finish, especially considering I was expecting Rotunda to take yet another loss. The match was totally acceptable, they had some neat spots and the match went by quickly. I don’t understand the point of the win either, as they did nothing with Rotunda and Zenk really didn’t have a lot to do with it. I’d give it **.
Mean Mark Callous (w/Paul E. Dangerously) vs. Brian Pillman
Pre-Match Thoughts: Teddy Long sold Mean Mark’s contract to Paul, so that’s the reason for the managerial switch. If these guys had time to work, even though Taker was really green at this point, I bet they could have had a fantastic match. Mean Mark’s entrance video was awesome, by the way. Pillman was still really over, but more with girls than men at this point.
Match Review: Callous attacks from behind, so here we go. He clobbers Pillman with right hands, even going to the throat with one of them. Pillman leaps over him, dropkicks him, and tries ramming him into the buckle a few times only to eat an elbow. Callous then hits Pillman with a big boot that sends him from the apron into the guardrail. Back in they go, and Callous goes for a side slam that Pillman flips through. Pillman then goes for a crucifix, but he can’t knock Callous down, as Callous drives him backwards into the turnbuckles. Callous slams Pillman, and drops a big elbow on him as well for 2. Callous puts a chinlock on Pillman for a bit, and nails him with a clothesline when he gets out of it. Mean Mark covers for 2, and it’s time for Pillman to make a comeback. I hope. He hits Callous with some big chops, but Callous takes back control with a side slam that gets 2. Callous misses a charge to the corner, and Pillman goes back to the chops. Callous rakes the eyes, and powerslams Pillman. Callous tries to drop a big leg, but he misses. Pillman dropkicks Callous, but none of this has knocked him down. Callous tries to throw Pillman over the top, but he skins the cat back in and flies off the top with a missile dropkick that finally puts Callous down. Pillman also dropkicks Dangerously off the apron, and they botch a spot shortly after. They repeat, Mean Mark catches a cross body attempt, and finishes Pillman with a hot shot at 5:32.
My Thoughts: Mean Mark looked really good here, with the botched spot as an exception. Pillman didn’t get a lot of stuff in, but he shouldn’t have. He was much smaller than Mean Mark, and Mean Mark was going to challenge Lex Luger for the US Championship. Based on what was here, it looks like he and Luger may have been a good match. He didn’t get to do the HEART PUNCH, but that’s alright. **1/4.
Sting is with Tony Schiavone now, and he’s there because Ric Flair is there. The DUDES WITH ATTITUDES are there too. Don’t know exactly what that will lead to.
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express vs. The Midnight Express (w/Jim Cornette) for the NWA United States Tag Team Championships
Pre-Match Thoughts: I’d never turn down a chance to watch this matchup. I haven’t yet, and I’ve went through many years of watching stuff. It’s different though, seeing as Lane is part of the match, and they’re fighting over the second tier tag team belts. I don’t mind. Before the match, the RnR had a promo about it and looked like two dorks. They were real over, so who really cares what they looked like, anyway. The Midnight Express also had a promo, and because Jim Cornette was talking, it was a lot better.
Match Review: Gibson and Eaton will begin the match, and they lock up. They break cleanly a few times, then Gibson takes Eaton down with an arm drag. After another arm drag, Nick Patrick has a problem with Bobby Eaton for some reason. Huh? Gibson takes Eaton down with a hip toss, then follows with a flying head-scissors. Eaton takes Gibson back to the corner so he can tag in Lane, and Lane kicks Gibson in the gut. One more to the head, then Gibson comes back with an enzuigiri. Morton makes his first tag in there, and hip tosses Lane. Morton then makes the BELT signal, and Lane grabs hold of him for a big right hand. Lane misses a charge to the corner, Morton backdrops him, and the crowd is getting heated again. Eaton tags in and Morton arm drags him, and Morton takes him down with a dropkick too. Morton follows that with a frankensteiner, and the crowd goes crazy. Lane makes a tag in, and Morton gives him an arm drag as well. Gibson heads in, and gives Lane an atomic drop that sends him into Eaton. Morton gets back in and rolls Lane up for 2, and there’s another arm drag by Morton. Lane rakes the eyes and Eaton tags in, blocking an arm drag. Rarely see that. Eaton puts Morton on the top rope for something, and it appears to be a SUPERPLEX! Morton jumps over Eaton, cradles him up, and Lane rushes in to ram Morton into the buckle before a pin. All four guys are in there, and Lane knocks down Morton, leading to a double backdrop by the Midnight Express. They focus on Gibson next, and the RnR’s cradle them in stereo for a 2 count. That was WEIRD. Lane and Morton are in there now, and Morton hip tosses Lane. Then, Cornette distracts, and they do a powerbomb type spot in tandem with Eaton grabbing hair and leaping from the top to drive Morton into the canvas. Eaton follows that with a suplex, and Lane gives Morton a neck snap as Eaton drops an elbow for 2. Eaton misses a charge to the corner, and Gibson makes his tag in.
He knocks down both of the MX, and hits Lane with a knee lift. Gibson tries a cross body, and it gets 2. Morton and Eaton then tumble over the top after a clothesline, and Gibson goes for a spinning toe-hold. Lane blocks it, and Morton throws Eaton into the rail. Lane then kicks Gibson into Morton, who was standing on the apron. Gibson puts Lane in a sleeper, and Cornette provides a distraction. Eaton leaps off the top with a double axehandle, and Lane covers for a 2.99 count. I thought that was going to be it. The RnR’s hit Eaton with a double dropkick, but Lane breaks that cover by grabbing the official, which leads to a disqualification at 12:07. Before the bell rung, the RnR’s cleared the ring with a pair of double clotheslines.
My Thoughts: This match wasn’t as good as their other matches, but they did different things. I liked seeing that. The best different thing they did do, was probably the lack of a long heat segment. What there was, was actually quite short. Morton took some great bumps, and the action was wrong. However, the matchup was getting slightly repetitive and had been done so many damn times. It also kept both teams from doing other things. But what else was there to do? I don’t really know. ***, bad finish though.
Barry Windham vs. Doug Furnas
Pre-Match Thoughts: Due to his powerlifting records, they kept pushing Doug Furnas as the World’s Strongest Man. I guess there are worse gimmicks. These two were good workers, so it was entirely plausible this would be a good match even though the winner could never have been in doubt. Glad to see the Horsemen finally get involved on this show.
Match Review: Furnas is tanned beyond belief. He runs Windham over with a shoulderblock, and Windham has to hip toss him. Windham catches Furnas on a leap, and Furnas winds up sunset flipping him for 2. Furnas then knocks Windham out of the ring with a shoulderblock, and Barry isn’t happy about it. He gets back in and lands some punches, then Furnas leaps to the top to avoid a charge, backflips, and gives Windham a press slam. Very impressive. Furnas takes Windham to the corner for punches, and follows with a leaping clothesline for 2. Furnas brings Windham in from the apron the hard way, then Windham blocks a charge and turns Furnas inside out with his own clothesline. Windham follows that with a suplex, and that got a 2 count. Furnas takes Windham down with a small package that gets 2, and Windham has to come back with a few knuckle sandwiches to the forehead. He gives Furnas an atomic drop, but Furnas is a tough guy and smashes Windham’s face into the mat. Furnas gives Windham a belly to belly suplex for 2, then powerslams him for another 2 count. Furnas goes with a backdrop, then dropkicks Windham over the top and flying into the rail. He goes for a suplex to bring Windham in, but Windham leaps over Furnas, gives Furnas a back suplex, and puts his feet on the ropes for a pinfall win at 5:42.
My Thoughts: This was actually pretty fun for the time given. Furnas did his moves a bit questionably and a bit dangerously. He almost blew a lot of stuff. The action was fast and everyone got in what they wanted to in the end. Ultimately, both of them worked hard and put on a ** match. Lots of middling matches on this show so far, nothing spectacular, but nothing outright terrible either.
Sid Vicious (w/Ole Anderson) vs. Lex Luger for the NWA United States Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: THIS SHOULD BE SICK. I really can’t wait to see this match, hence the all-caps. I’m actually shocked they’d even book this. Not only is it before both guys got a true main event push, but it’s with both of them not healthy and neither of them had wrestled for a while. In the case of Sid, he hadn’t been booked to wrestle in QUITE a while. There were actually accusations that he was milking his injury. Sid cut a promo before this match, and it was as good as you’d expect. He didn’t wear his tuxedo to the ring, and he was looking really round around the mid-section. Luger doesn’t have his title belt, this is quite the epidemic.
Match Review: Luger rushes into the ring, clocks Ole, then gets hit from behind by Sid. Luger comes back with a clothesline, and the referee does a fast count at the 26 second mark for Luger’s victory.
My Thoughts: Now that’s weird. I don’t know what the hell was going on there. Maybe they wanted Sid to look bad for all the time he took off. Maybe Luger was still hurt. Maybe they wanted a way out of this terrible idea for a match as it was too soon to do it. I do not know. Clearly, this was a DUD. Imagine paying for a ticket to this show to see this match and having that result happen. The crowd didn’t even react.
The Steiner Brothers vs. Doom (w/Teddy Long) for the NWA Tag Team Championships
Pre-Match Thoughts: I have no thoughts for this as they’ve wrestled so many times that this feud is completely exhausted. I can’t just make up bullshit at this point. These guys have wrestled numerous times in nationally televised or PPV matches. Doom’s introduction showed a nuclear test video. I can’t quite pinpoint it though.
Match Review: Scott Steiner and Ron Simmons will start it, and Simmons starts laughing at Scott for some reason. Scott pops him, and they trade bombs until Scott gives Simmons the BLOCKBUSTER SUPLEX. He does the same to Butch Reed, and that clears the ring! Crazy move. Scott and Simmons lock up again, and Simmons winds up getting drilled from behind with a STEINERLINE. Give him brain damage and shit, why don’t you. Reed tags in there, and leapfrogs Scott only to get caught in a backslide for 2. Scott hip tosses him, slams him, and Reed has to tag out. Rick Steiner tags in too, and Simmons uses the referee as a wedge in order to hit Rick. Rick comes back with a belly to belly suplex, and Reed has to tag back in there. Rick nails him with a STEINERLINE, slams him, and Reed has to bail into the corner. When he gets out of it, Rick cradles him up for 2. Rick then fights out of Doom’s corner, and Reed bails out to avoid a Steinerline. Rick follows, and Simmons just destroys Rick with a clothesline. Reed slams Rick, and sends him back in so he can give him a neckbreaker. Reed then turns Rick inside out with a clothesline, and tags his partner for a cover that gets 2. Simmons goes for a backdrop, but Rick kicks him. So Reed tags in and flies in with a double axehandle from the top, then distracts the referee so that he can throw Rick over the top. Simmons posts Rick, and sends him back in. Now Reed blocks a backdrop, and picks Rick up for a bodyslam. Reed follows that with a double underhook suplex, then heads up to the second rope for an elbow drop that gets 2. Reed then sends Rick into the corner, but misses his charge in with a high knee. Rick hits Reed with a double axehandle from the second rope, then makes the tag. Scott hits Simmons with a dropkick, does the same to Reed, and they fucked up a spot where Simmons was supposed to be thrown into Reed. Scott powerslams Simmons, and all four guys are in there now. Scott gives Simmons a superplex, but Reed was tossed an INTERNATIONAL OBJECT. He hits Scott with it, and Rick hits Reed with a clothesline. Simmons then covers Scott, Rick covers Reed, and Doom is ruled the winners after a count of 3 at 11:18.
My Thoughts: Doom gave the Steiners far too much offense. The finish was the kind of thing you book when one half of the participants REALLY does not want to lose. Besides that, the match was pretty good. It’s a problem that the Steiners didn’t give Doom much of a chance to have a go at it, but these matches are pretty much the same. Really hard hitting, very realistic looking, and a lot of fun. ***1/4.
JYD is with Tony Schiavone in anticipation of his match with Ric Flair, and JYD is looking HUGE. Too much weight on the guy, I can’t believe how big he got. He said the Dudes with Attitudes would be there to help him if he needed it. We shall see.
Arn Anderson (NWA TV Champion) vs. Paul Orndorff
Pre-Match Thoughts: Arn had the title for months and even on a show like this he isn’t defending his title. I just don’t understand that. What’s the point of even having the thing? In theory, this is a very good matchup. They hadn’t worked with each other, but both were very capable of working hard, good matches. Orndorff had a promo before the match, and while he looked a little too old to be called a “dude,” he was fired up for work. Can’t hate on that. Arn actually brought his title to the ring this time!
Match Review: Orndorff grabbed Arn’s title and held it up to his waist, even though this isn’t a title match. He puts Arn in a headlock, then Arn drops down for a monkey flip once he breaks free, only to take a double stomp to the face. Arn and Orndorff then fight over a hammerlock, and wind up in the ropes. Orndorff goes back to the headlock, then takes Arn down with a backslide that gets 2. Arn ducks out after eating some punches, then they get back in only for Orndorff to put Arn in a sleeper. Arn gets out and puts his own sleeper on, but Orndorff uses momentum to ram Arn into the buckle for 2. Orndorff then keeps Arn down and puts a FIGURE-FOUR on him, but Arn reaches the ropes. Orndorff pulls Arn over to the post and wrenches his leg around it, but Arn comes back with the SPINEBUSTER. Arn reaches his feet first, and gives Orndorff a backbreaker. He then shoots Orndorff into the ropes, and Orndorff grabs the trunks to try a sunset flip, which Arn has to block with a punch. That was funny. His trunks were nearly all the way off. He puts Orndorff in an abdominal stretch, and uses the rope for leverage. The referee scolds him, and eventually catches him doing it. Arn drops a knee on Orndorff after a takedown, and it gets 2. He puts Orndorff in a chinlock, then gets up and rams him into the buckle. Orndorff dodges a charge to the corner, gives Arn an atomic drop, and they both crash into each other as Arn bounces back from the turnbuckle. Both guys make it to their feet, and Orndorff goes for punches in the corner. Orndorff then shoots Arn into the ropes, and drills him with a leaping forearm. Orndorff hits an elbow, and covers for 2. He hits Arn with a knee lift for another count of 2, then clotheslines him. Orndorff heads up to the second rope for a pump splash, but Arn gets his knees up to block it. Arn then uses a small package to take Orndorff down, but Orndorff reverses for the 3 count at 11:37.
My Thoughts: I thought this started off really well, didn’t go as well in the middle though. It slowed down a bit. The commentators were running with a theory that the Horsemen weren’t unbeatable, and with this booking call, you can see that they were also trying to make you think JYD would win the NWA Championship. That’s smart booking, they got people to be interested in a match they may not otherwise have been interested in. **1/2, continuing the theme of solid but unspectacular matches. I have no idea why they got rid of Orndorff so quickly.
The Junkyard Dog vs. Ric Flair (w/Ole Anderson) for the NWA Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: The booking has planted seeds of doubt, but regardless, this has to be the worst guy Flair has faced in any sort of nationally televised title defense. For that reason alone, I am interested. They couldn’t book him against a worse guy at this point. Before the match, the Horsemen were with Tony Schiavone, and Flair did a whole lot of the talking. He said that he’d been on top for 9 years, and the world better learn that when Ric Flair speaks, they better listen. JYD had his own promo, and part of his entrance at Clash 6 was shown. That was strange. As was the graphic that featured Ric Flair’s head photoshopped onto Brian Pillman’s body.
Match Review: These guys get in each other’s face, and slap the shit out of each other with JYD landing the better one. JYD shoves Flair down a few times, then takes Flair down with a shoulderblock. He then hits Flair with a headbutt, and knocks him over the top right a right hand that sends Flair onto the entrance ramp. Flair then flopped on that ramp, and came back in with chops that did absolutely nothing. JYD takes Flair to the corner for some BIG SOUPBONES, and hits Flair with a clothesline. Flair pokes JYD in the eye, then takes him down for a knee drop that JYD doesn’t sell at all. Flair tries to ram him into the buckle, but it gets blocked. Flair’s chops do nothing too, and JYD knocks him down with more punches. JYD backdrops Flair, and Flair bails out to the apron. He pokes JYD again, uses the rope to clothesline him, and grabs a chair. Ole distracts the ref, and Flair cracks JYD with the chair…only for JYD to not sell that either. Haha. JYD takes Flair to the corner for more punches, then sends him upside down into the other corner. He runs the apron and flies off the top, but JYD clotheslines him on the way down. JYD backdrops Flair once more, and he looks blown up. Ole gets on the apron and eats a right hand, but Flair knocks JYD down with a knee from behind. Flair heads up top, and JYD slams him down. JYD mounts Flair and punches away, and Ole runs in for a DQ at 6:11. He had to. The Horsemen then run in and beat JYD down, which is leading to…THE DUDES WITH ATTITUDES SHOWING UP. Here they come, and Lex Luger is with them to help get the Horsemen out of the ring. Sting was focused on Flair, so that’s one way to build to their eventual match.
My Thoughts: This wasn’t exactly a good match, but I did find it fun even though Flair was running around a guy who was standing there stationary. The involvement of the other guys was building towards a Great American Bash with a different guy, and that’s cool. They probably did rope some people into watching this match even when they didn’t want to, just to see a possible title change. It was a title change they never got, but that’s just fine. *1/2, that’s really poor for a Flair match, but he was able to make something out of anything. That rating is something.
After the commercial, Rocky King was with Jim Ross and cut the promo for his group. Sting followed that and said he was ready for his title shot. He wants one, fair and square at the Great American Bash. And that’s their money match, even though they’ve dragged guys who don’t belong in the feud, into the feud. I thought the show was over, but it absolutely was not. Arn Anderson ran past El Gigante into the ring, is quickly dispatched, and here comes Ric Flair! He hits Sting with chops, but Sting doesn’t sell any of them and takes Flair to the corner for some punches and a clothesline. Sting picks Flair up for a press slam, but before we can see more, the show ends.
This was a strange show, really. Many of the matches for the Great American Bash were neither referenced nor hyped up. There was a lot of talk that after Flair dropped the title to Sting, he’d leave. He didn’t. I thought the show as a whole was really middling. Nothing spectacular, nothing outright terrible. It was an average show with very few memorable moments. Great American Bash ’90, on the other hand, has all the makings of something great. So, I’m going to put an article up about that next.
Wrestling Time: 1:09:28. This show was largely wrestling based, so that’s a big plus. No awful interview segments.
Best: Steiner Brothers vs. Doom. I actually completely expected that.
Worst: Lex Luger pinning Sid in less than one minute. Don’t understand, may never understand.
Card Rating: 5.5/10. Just barely above the 50% mark seems right. This was lacking a bit, but the Great American Bash looks far better!
