The Great American Bash (1992)

The 1992 Great American Bash was the fourth annual Great American Bash professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the eighth annual Great American Bash event overall. The event took place on July 12, 1992, at the Albany Civic Center in Albany, Georgia. It was the last Great American Bash held until 1995.

The Great American Bash
Promotional poster featuring Sting and Big Van Vader
PromotionWorld Championship Wrestling
DateJuly 12, 1992
CityAlbany, Georgia
VenueAlbany Civic Center
Attendance8,000
Tagline(s)The Battle Beyond The Belt!
Pay-per-view chronology
 Previous
Beach Blast
Next 
Halloween Havoc
The Great American Bash chronology
 Previous
1991
Next 
1995

Seven matches were contested at the event. The event featured a tag team tournament for the newly created NWA World Tag Team Championship. Miracle Violence Connection defeated Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham in the finals to win the tournament and to be crowned the first champions. From this point onwards, the WCW and NWA World Tag Team Championships were considered to be unified and were defended together by Miracle Violence Connection and subsequent champions until WCW withdrew from the NWA in 1993. Aside from the tag team tournament, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship was also defended at the event. Sting defended the title against Big Van Vader. Vader defeated Sting to win the title.

Production

Background

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. WCW then seceded from the NWA in 1991. The 1992 event was the fourth annual Great American Bash event promoted by WCW and eighth annual overall. The event took place on July 12, 1992, at the Albany Civic Center in Albany, Georgia.[1]

Storylines

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]

Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
Presenters Tony Schiavone
Magnum T. A.
Commentator Jim Ross
Jesse Ventura
Interviewer Eric Bischoff
Ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta

Aftermath

The 1992 Great American Bash was the final Great American Bash event held until the 1995 event.[3] The event launched the first NWA World Tag Team Championship recognized at the NWA level and those titles still exist currently. From this point forward, the WCW and NWA World Tag Team titles were defended together until WCW seceded for good from the NWA in September, 1993.

Also at the event was the announcement of a tournament beginning on August 6, 1992 in Tokyo for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which had been vacant since Ric Flair left for the WWF in September of 1991. During the announcement, WCW Executive Vice President Bill Watts anticipated an eventual unification with the WCW World title though the titles remained separate entities during WCW’s relationship with the NWA. The unification didn’t occur until 1994 when the big gold belt shown in the segment represented the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship.

A rematch between Sting and Big Van Vader was scheduled on August 2 though Sting was injured so a drawing was held to determine a new contender for the WCW World title. Ron Simmons won that drawing and the championship. Vader regained the title on December 30. Sting would briefly take the title in March 1993 until Vader got it back again.

Results

No.Results[4][5][6]StipulationsTimes
1DThe Super Invader (with Harley Race) defeated Marcus Alexander BagwellSingles match
2Nikita Koloff and Ricky Steamboat defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Brian PillmanNWA World Tag Team Championship tournament quarter-final match19:26
3Hiroshi Hase and Shinya Hashimoto defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin and Michael Hayes)NWA World Tag Team Championship tournament quarter-final match09:16
4Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham defeated Steve Austin and Rick Rude (with Madusa)NWA World Tag Team Championship tournament quarter-final match19:15
5Terry Gordy and Steve Williams defeated Nikita Koloff and Ricky SteamboatNWA World Tag Team Championship tournament semi-final match21:39
6Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham defeated Hiroshi Hase and Shinya HashimotoNWA World Tag Team Championship tournament semi-final match14:55
7Big Van Vader (with Harley Race) defeated Sting (c)Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship17:17
8Terry Gordy and Steve Williams defeated Dustin Rhodes and Barry WindhamTournament final for the NWA World Tag Team Championship21:10
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
D – this was a dark match

Tournament bracket

First Round (TV) Quarterfinals (PPV) Semifinals (PPV) Finals (PPV)
        
Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff
Joe Malenko & Dean Malenko
Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff
Jushin Thunder Liger & Brian Pillman
Beef Wellington & Chris Benoit
Jushin Thunder Liger & Brian Pillman
Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff
Miracle Violence Connection
Miracle Violence Connection
Larry O'Dea & Jeff O'Dea
Miracle Violence Connection
The Steiner Brothers
The Steiner Brothers
Miguel Perez, Jr. & Ricky Santana
Miracle Violence Connection
Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham
Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham
Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton
Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham
Steve Austin & Rick Rude
Steve Austin & Rick Rude
Marcus Bagwell & Tom Zenk
Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham
Hiroshi Hase & Shinya Hashimoto
Hiroshi Hase & Akira Nogami
The Headhunters
Hiroshi Hase & Shinya Hashimoto1
The Fabulous Freebirds
The Fabulous Freebirds
El Texano & Silver King

^1 Shinya Hashimoto was substituting for the injured Akira Nogami.

References

  1. "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 (2015). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 5: World Championship Wrestling 1995-2001. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1499656343.
  4. Cawthon, Graham (2014). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 4: World Championship Wrestling 1989-1994. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1499656343.
  5. "2007 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts: Great American Bash 1992". Wrestling's Historical Cards. Kappa Publishing. 2007. p. 138.
  6. "Great American Bash 1992". Pro Wrestling History. July 12, 1992. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
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