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The Great American Bash

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The Great American Bash is an annual summer professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In the past, it was held by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Jim Crockett Promotions and then in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). According to Ric Flair in his autobiography, To Be the Man, Dusty Rhodes invented the concept of the Great American Bash. The GAB is the only pay-per-view which was continued after the acquistion of the WCW by the WWE in 2001 to date.

History

1985

The Great American Bash 1985 took place on July 6 1985 at the American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1986

Jim Crockett Promotions used The Great American Bash as the name for a tour that had several PPV caliber shows around the country. In 1986, there were 13 Great American Bashes and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair defended his title at each one against Ricky Morton, Hawk, Ron Garvin, Nikita Koloff, Robert Gibson, Road Warrior Animal, Magnum T.A., Wahoo McDaniel and Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes defeated him for the title at the July 26 Bash. Flair challenged for it on the last Bash on August 2. The cities toured in 1986 were in order as follows: July 1 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 3 in Washington, D.C., July 4 in Memphis, Tennessee, July 5 in Charlotte, North Carolina, July 9 in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 10 in Charleston, West Virginia, July 12 in Jacksonville, Florida, July 18 in Richmond, Virginia, July 21 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, July 23 in Johnson City, Tennessee, July 25 in Norfolk, Virginia, July 26 in Greensboro, North Carolina and August 2 in Atlanta, Georgia.

July 5, 1986 in Charlotte, NC (Memorial Stadium)

July 26, 1986 in Greensboro, NC (Greensboro Coliseum)

1987

The Great American Bash 1987
File:Bash 87.JPG
PromotionJim Crockett Promotions
Date1987
CityAtlanta, Georgia, Charlotte, North Carolina and Miami, Florida
VenueThe Omni, Memorial Stadium and Orange Bowl


This was the first use of the WarGames: The Match Beyond match conceived by Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes was on the winning side in both events along with the Road Warriors, Nikita Koloff and Paul Ellering.

July 4, 1987 in Atlanta, GA (The Omni)

July 18, 1987 in Charlotte, NC (Memorial Stadium)

July 31, 1987 in Miami, Florida (Orange Bowl)

1988

The Great American Bash 1988
PromotionNational Wrestling Alliance
DateJuly 10 1988
CityBaltimore, Maryland
VenueBaltimore Arena
Attendance14,000
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Bunkhouse Stampede
Next →
Starrcade 1988


The Great American Bash 1988: The Price of Freedom took place on July 10 1988 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

1989

The Great American Bash 1989
PromotionNational Wrestling Alliance
DateJuly 23 1989
CityBaltimore, Maryland
VenueBaltimore Arena
Attendance12,500
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Wrestle War 1989
Next →
Halloween Havoc 1989


The Great American Bash 1989 took place on July 23 1989 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

1990

The Great American Bash 1990
File:GAB 90.jpg
PromotionNational Wrestling Alliance
DateJuly 7 1990
CityBaltimore, Maryland
VenueBaltimore Arena
Attendance10,000
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Capital Combat
Next →
Halloween Havoc 1990


The Great American Bash 1990: New Revolution took place on July 7 1990 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

1991

The Great American Bash 1991
File:GAB 91.JPG
PromotionWorld Championship Wrestling
DateJuly 14 1991
CityBaltimore, Maryland
VenueBaltimore Arena
Attendance7,000
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
SuperBrawl I
Next →
Halloween Havoc 1991


The Great American Bash 1991 took place on July 14 1991 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

The card was originally to be highlighted by a Steel cage match between Ric Flair and Lex Luger for the WCW World Championship, and this match was heavily promoted on WCW TV. However, just a few days before the show, WCW Executive Vice President Jim Herd fired Flair over a contract dispute, stripping him of the title in the process. Since Flair owned the physical "Big Gold Belt", he took it with him to the World Wrestling Federation, so WCW had to make a temporary WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt just for the event. An old belt (Dusty Rhodes' Florida Heavyweight Championship belt) was used in its place.

1992

The Great American Bash 1992
File:GAB 92.jpg
PromotionWorld Championship Wrestling
DateJuly 12 1992
CityAlbany, Georgia
VenueGray Civic Center
Attendance8,000
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Beach Blast 1992
Next →
Halloween Havoc 1992


The Great American Bash 1992 took place on July 12 1992 at the Gray Civic Center in Albany, Georgia.

1995

The Great American Bash 1995
File:GAB 95.jpg
PromotionWorld Championship Wrestling
DateJune 18 1995
CityDayton, Ohio
VenueHara Arena
Attendance6,000
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Slamboree 1995
Next →
Bash at the Beach 1995


The Great American Bash 1995 took place on June 18 1995 at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio.

1996

The Great American Bash 1996
File:GAB 96.JPG
PromotionWorld Championship Wrestling
DateJune 16 1996
CityBaltimore, Maryland
VenueBaltimore Arena
Attendance9,000
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Slamboree 1996
Next →
Bash at the Beach 1996


The Great American Bash 1996 took place on June 16 1996 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

1997

The Great American Bash 1997
File:GAB 97.jpg
PromotionWorld Championship Wrestling
DateJune 15 1997
CityMoline, Illinois
VenueThe MARK of the Quad Cities
Attendance9,613
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Slamboree 1997
Next →
Bash at the Beach 1997


The Great American Bash 1997: Savage/Page II took place on June 15 1997 at The MARK of the Quad Cities in Moline, Illinois.

1998

The Great American Bash 1998
File:GAB 98.JPG
PromotionWorld Championship Wrestling
DateJune 14 1998
CityBaltimore, Maryland
VenueBaltimore Arena
Attendance12,810
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Slamboree 1998
Next →
Bash at the Beach 1998


The Great American Bash 1998 took place on June 14 1998 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

1999

The Great American Bash 1999
File:Wcwgab99.gif
PromotionWorld Championship Wrestling
DateJune 13 1999
CityBaltimore, Maryland
VenueBaltimore Arena
Attendance11,672
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Slamboree 1999
Next →
Bash at the Beach 1999


The Great American Bash 1999 took place on June 13 1999 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

2000

The Great American Bash 2000
File:Wcw bash 2000.JPG
PromotionWorld Championship Wrestling
DateJune 11 2000
CityBaltimore, Maryland
VenueBaltimore Arena
Attendance7,031
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Slamboree 2000
Next →
Bash at the Beach 2000


The Great American Bash 2000 took place on June 11 2000 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Great American Bash remained inactive for the next four years, until WWE revived the event as part of an expanded pay-per-view lineup. The Great American Bash was a SmackDown! brand PPV from 2004-2006. A feature of the event now is that, anyone in the American military could watch the show for free, either at the event or on television.

2004

The Great American Bash 2004
PromotionWorld Wrestling Entertainment
Brand(s)SmackDown!
DateJune 27 2004
CityNorfolk, Virginia
VenueNorfolk Scope
Attendance6,500
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Bad Blood 2004
Next →
Vengeance 2004


The Great American Bash 2004 took place on June 27 2004 at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia. The promotional poster featured Torrie Wilson.

2005

The Great American Bash 2005
PromotionWorld Wrestling Entertainment
Brand(s)SmackDown!
DateJuly 24 2005
CityBuffalo, New York
VenueHSBC Arena
Attendance8,000
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Vengeance 2005
Next →
SummerSlam 2005


The Great American Bash 2005 took place on July 24 2005 at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. The official theme song was "Pay the Price" by Eric & The Hostiles. The promotional poster featured Torrie Wilson.

2006

The Great American Bash 2006
File:TGAB06.jpg
PromotionWorld Wrestling Entertainment
Brand(s)SmackDown!
DateJuly 23 2006
CityIndianapolis, Indiana
VenueConseco Fieldhouse
Attendance9,750
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Vengeance 2006
Next →
SummerSlam 2006


The Great American Bash 2006 took place on July 23 2006 at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The official theme song was "Lonely Train" by Black Stone Cherry. The promotional poster featured Rey Mysterio, Batista, Mr. Kennedy, King Booker, Queen Sharmell, The Undertaker and The Great Khali.

2007

Template:Future PW

The Great American Bash 2007
PromotionWorld Wrestling Entertainment
Brand(s)RAW
SmackDown!
ECW
DateJuly 22 2007
CitySan Jose, California
VenueHP Pavilion
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Vengeance 2007
Next →
SummerSlam 2007


The Great American Bash 2007 will take place on July 22 2007 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The official theme song is "The Church of Hot Addiction" by Cobra Starship. The promotional poster features Rey Mysterio.

See also