In this WCW Bash at the Beach 1996 review, Team WCW squares off with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, who finally reveal the third man in their group.
Let’s jump in.
- Show: WCW Bash at the Beach 1996
- Date: July 7, 1996
- Location: Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, FL
RINGSIDE: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes do a fantastic job hyping up the HOSTILE TAKEOVER. I also love how they’re surrounded by security. It’s the little things.
Blake’s Match Rating Guide: I’m using a new match rating system, which focuses on three simple categories and ignores the need to rate every single match since different matches have different goals. This makes it easier to suggest the best matches rather than compare every match on the card:
- Recommended (Worth watching)
- Must-See (You must watch it)
- Legendary (An all-time classic)
Psychosis vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Mike Tenay on commentary, and not to be outdone, Heenan compares Rey’s hair to Demi Moore. Rey goes to the half crab early, but Psychosis reverses it into his own submission attempt. Tenay informs us both men wrestled in Mexico last night, so that’s an interesting tidbit. Psychosis goes to the scissors, and Rey counters into the Indian Death Lock. Great athleticism from both men after that, including Psychosis doing a suicide dive that nearly decapitated him on the guardrail. Holy shit. That was brutal. He pops right back up through and goes to work on Rey inside the ring. Nice guillotine leg drop from Psychosis, and he continues the onslaught. Heenan adds a joke about Rey being the original San Diego Chicken, and I can appreciate that one.
It’s all Psychosis until Rey catapults him on the apron into the ring post, then Rey does the hurricanrana onto Psychosis on the outside. This was 1996! Rey with a springboard into a hurricanrana in another incredible display of talent, and that gets a two count. Psychosis gets pissed and uses some aggression to launch Rey onto the top rope. They go back outside, and Psychosis drops Rey neck-first onto the guardrail. Psychosis then does a back senton onto Rey. These two are WORKING. Psychosis gets a near fall and goes to the camel clutch. Dusty says he may “uncle” Rey. You’ve gotta love Dusty. Tremendous exchange from Rey and Psychosis, and the fans are into it. Rey dropkicks Psychosis and goes up top with a hurricanrana to send Psychosis back outside. Just wild stuff.
Rey gets a two count and dropkicks Psychosis from the front and back. And now Rey with a twisting asai moonsault. This is AWESOME. Rey goes back for another aerial move, but Psychosis turns it into a power bomb for a near fall. Psychosis then rams Rey into the turnbuckle. Psychosis goes up top to deliver the Splash Mountain, but Rey reverses it into a GREAT hurricanrana to get the pin. (Must-See)
BACKSTAGE: Gene Okerlund with Konnan, who explains the finishing sequence in the previous match. Konnan takes aim at Ric Flair as they’re set to square off for the United States title.
Big Bubba (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. John Tenta – Silver Dollar Pole Match
Well, that’s certainly a stipulation. The objective is to climb this huge pole, get the bag of silver dollars, and whack your opponent. Reminder that these two went at it at Great American Bash 1996, so this continues the feud. Heenan claims Tenta was 187 pounds when he was born, and boy do I feel for his mother. This pole is so long that I have no clue how either are gonna reach this thing. Tenta decides that removing the straps to take the pole down is the best approach, but Bubba starts choking him with a belt. Also, I can’t tell you how much I love Dusty saying “Bubber” to reference Bubba. Lots of heel maneuvers from Bubba, who ties Tenta to the ropes with athletic tape. Hart starts climbing the pole and grabs the bag, then he realizes he has to come back down where Tenta is waiting on him. Tenta steals the bag and hammers Bubba to pick up the win.
RINGSIDE: More hype for the main event from the announcers, including questions on the third man and Schiavone pleading for Eric Bischoff to call in since no one can find him.
BACKSTAGE: Gene with Sting, Lex Luger, and Randy Savage. They don’t care who the third man is because they’re ready to fight.
Diamond Dallas Page vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan – Taped Fist Lord of the Ring Match
To my knowledge, this is the only time in wrestling history we’ve seen a Silver Dollar Pole Match and Taped Fist Lord of the Ring Match in back-to-back matches. Could be wrong though. DDP is tremendous as the heel in this one, and it’s easy to understand why he was working his way up the WCW ladder. His mannerisms and facial expressions are top-notch stuff. A back and forth match with both men keeping the crowd invested with their character work, but it’s DDP with the Diamond Cutter to score the victory. Short and sweet. Duggan nails DDP with the taped fist after the match.
BACKSTAGE: Gene with The Giant, Kevin Sullivan, and Jimmy Hart. They’re set to spar with the Four Horsemen. Giant doesn’t think Sullivan is the weak link, despite opinions to the contrary.
ON THE STAGE: Lee Marshall with Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit. If they win, one of the Horsemen gets a shot at the WCW title on Nitro.
Public Enemy vs. The Nasty Boys – Four-Man Dog Collar Match
Make it three gimmick matches in a row. As you would expect, all four men are chained, with Brian Knobs connected to Johnny Grunge, and Jerry Sags connected to Rocco Rock. They utilize the split screen to keep tabs on both pairs, which includes weapons, fighting in sand, and one of Schiavone’s greatest commentary lines ever: “He’s beating a man with a rubber shark!” Incredible. Surfboards and intertubes join the chaos. Knobs with multiple unprotected chair shots to Grunge, and those never age well. Schiavone, Heenan, and Dusty are throwing out every pun they can come up with. It’s great. There’s a table in the ring, with Sags pulling Rocco off the top and the table doesn’t break. They try again with Sags doing an ax handle. The table still won’t break. Knobs then proceeds to try to hang Grunge with the chain, as Sags pins Rocco for the win. The commentary was the best part of this match. Afterward, Rocco and Grunge attack Knobs and Sags, with Sags being put through the table that wouldn’t break.
BACKSTAGE: Gene is outside the Outsiders’ locker room, and he’s protected by security. He continues to push the magnitude of the story.
Disco Inferno vs. (c) Dean Malenko – WCW Cruiserweight Title
Disco invites everyone to his disco dance party after he wins. Malenko is one of those guys that still doesn’t get enough love. When you go back and watch his skill, it’s a thing of beauty. He was so good in the ring. Schiavone notes that every Malenko move is crisp and that it’s done with such force that his opponents can’t ignore it. That’s an accurate description. Disco reverses the momentum, but Malenko returns to his cerebral style to regain the advantage. The crowd isn’t exactly invested in Disco’s offense, though the announcers do what they can to push him as a legitimate threat. Disco with a few near falls, but Malenko eventually uses the Texas Cloverleaf to earn the victory.
Joe Gomez vs. Steve McMichael (w/Debra)
Mongo turned on Kevin Greene and joined the Four Horsemen at Great American Bash. Apparently Gomez took exception to that, and that’s why we’re having this match. Gomez was pretty new to the scene here, as his first Nitro match was against Disco in June. This one is far from a technical masterpiece, but both worked hard. Mongo hits the Tombstone and that’ll do it to give him the win.
BACKSTAGE: Gene is distracted by Woman’s beauty, then turns his attention to Flair and Elizabeth. Flair predicts that he’ll win the US title on this show before winning the World title on Nitro. Woman seduces Gene again, and Flair taunts Savage.
Ric Flair (w/Elizabeth and Woman) vs. (c) Konnan – US Heavyweight Title
Heenan brings up whether Flair can wrestle Konnan’s style. It’s a reasonable question since these two have a different approach. Konnan works his style early to take things to the mat, but Flair uses Elizabeth and Woman to turn the tide. Woman even gets in the ring and kicks Konnan right in the nuts while Flair has referee Nick Patrick distracted. Konnan is back in it, and we get the trademark Flair flop and turnbuckle flip. Konnan locks in the Figure Four on Flair which works to a near fall. More offense from Konnan, including an obvious three count if not for Elizabeth hopping on the apron and Patrick losing focus. That allows Woman to hit Konnan with the heel of her shoe, and Flair uses the ropes for leverage to score the pin and win the title. (Recommended)
BACKSTAGE: Gene is outside the Outsiders’ locker room, and in a moment of storyline brilliance, he notes that they’ve been joined by someone and that the voice sounds familiar. However, it’s muffled, so he’s not sure who it is. Gene asks Schiavone if he knows who it could be, and he doesn’t. Schiavone asks Gene about the voice, and he makes it clear it’s someone they’ve heard before. Heenan wants Gene to offer the security some cash. Gene reiterates that there’s still no word from Bischoff.
Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit vs. Kevin Sullivan and The Giant
Sullivan and Giant attack the Horsemen from behind as they’re making their entrance. Mongo hits Giant with a briefcase, and the latter gives chase to the back. But he comes back shortly after as Arn and Benoit work over Sullivan. That’s the theme of the match, with the Horsemen keeping Sullivan in their half of the ring and keeping Giant in the hot tag spot. Sullivan finally makes the tag, and Giant goes after Arn while Sullivan and Benoit fight to the announce position right in front of Schiavone, Heenan, and Dusty. Giant chokeslams Arn to notch the victory, so no title shot for Flair.
IN THE RING: In an interesting visual, Giant and Hart walk to the back and just ignore Sullivan getting his ass kicked by Benoit. They fight back to the ring, and Woman comes in to plead with Benoit to stop attacking Sullivan, with Dusty asking why she’d do that. Then Giant comes back to send Benoit retreating. I have no idea why Giant left in the first place.
VIDEO: A look at the hostile takeover and the build to the main event. This is well done in pushing all the key plot points.
IN THE RING: Michael Buffer does his introductions, and they’re fantastic. He calls Hall and Nash “interlopers” and points out there’s no third man. Gene enters the ring and wants to know where the third man is at. Hall says he’s here and he’s ready. Nash confirms he’s in the building and they have enough to handle it.
Scott Hall and Kevin Nash vs. Sting, Lex Luger, and Randy Savage
And this is what it’s all been building to. Not even a minute into the match, Sting hits a Stinger Splash on Nash in the corner. But the issue is Nash was holding down Luger, and the splash sends Luger down to the outside. Sting and Savage check on him, then the medical team comes out to put Luger on a gurney. So now it’s two on two with Luger out of the equation, which is another brilliant development and we’ll explain why shortly. Once again, the commentary trio is tremendous at pushing the threat of the Outsiders and their hatred for what they’ve done to WCW. Hall and Nash take control and work over Sting for a while.
Sting eventually makes the hot tag to Savage, and he cleans house. But Nash with the low blow after Randy Anderson gets distracted by Hall, and now everyone is down. HERE COMES HULK HOGAN. That leads to the famous line from Heenan: “Yeah, but whose side is he on?” I can appreciate it given the years of hatred he had for Hogan, though I can also understand why Bischoff and company would be pissed since it inserted some doubt. Of course, then Hogan shoves Anderson and hits the leg drop on Savage to officially reveal himself as the third man. There are a few fans in the crowd who LOVE this development. Hogan pins Savage as Hall does the mock three count, but Schiavone won’t acknowledge that shit.
Wrestling fans know what happens next. The fans pelt them with trash as Gene enters the ring. Hogan goes full heel on the fans and adopts the New World Order moniker. He then explains how he became bigger than the WWF and WCW. They’re gonna destroy everyone in their path, and the trash just keeps coming. Hogan tells the fans to stick it and continues to run them down. What a masterful piece of business from everyone involved, including Schiavone’s sign-off line of “Hulk Hogan, you can go to hell….straight to hell!” By taking Luger out early, it evened the playing field, which only furthered the idea that Hogan’s arrival would mean WCW would once again have the advantage. Though Heenan’s last cast some doubt, it didn’t make the turn any less shocking. Wrestling’s biggest babyface turned his back on his fans and his company and thus, in the process, created an undeniable buzz that has never been rivaled. This earns legendary status not for the in-ring action, but for all the elements that built to one of the most stunning reveals in wrestling history. (Legendary)
BLAKE’S TAKE ON WCW BASH AT THE BEACH 1996
Overall Rating: 8.0/10
Thoughts: Bash at the Beach 1996 is a perfect example of a show where all parts cannot be rated equally. This was all about the payoff to the biggest angle in the business at the time, and boy was the payoff worth your money. For that reason, it’s impossible to call this a bad show and anything other than a rousing success. The opener and Flair vs. Konnan are also quality matches.
For more of my show reviews, visit the Pro Wrestling Reviews section!
