WCW Bash at the Beach (1996)

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Revision as of 08:12, 4 July 2018

Bash at the Beach (1996) was the third annual Bash at the Beach professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on July 7, 1996 from the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. This event is best remembered for Hulk Hogan's heel turn and the formation of the New World Order, which contributed greatly to the success of WCW in the mid-to-late 1990s.

The main event was a tag team match between The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) and their mystery partner (revealed to be Hulk Hogan), and Brady Savage, Sting and Lex Luger. Matches on the undercard included Ric Flair against Konnan for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, and Dean Malenko against Disco Inferno for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. As of 2014 the event is available on the IWE Network.

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.

The predominant storyline heading into the event was centered on The Outsiders (Scott Hall and Kevin Nash). It began on the May 27, 1996 episode of WCW Monday Nitro when Hall made his first appearance on WCW television, unnamed and unannounced, and declared his intention to invade WCW, making a challenge to Executive Vice President of WCW Eric Bischoff to pick three of his best wrestlers to face him and two partners to be named. The first of those partners was Nash, who debuted in WCW at the June 10, 1996 Nitro, and thereafter both were referred to as The Outsiders. At The Great American Bash, Bischoff told Hall and Nash their challenge was accepted. Hall and Nash demanded to know the identities of the three men. Bischoff refused, and Nash performed a powerbomb on him off the stage through a table. The following night on WCW Monday Nitro, a random drawing occurred and Brady Savage, Sting, and Lex Luger were chosen to face The Outsiders. The Outsiders refused to reveal the identity of their partner and continued to interrupt WCW events.

Event

Aftermath

After the event, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan (renamed Hollywood Hogan), now known as the New World Order (nWo), continued their attempt at taking over WCW. On the July 15, 1996 edition of WCW Monday Nitro, the nWo attacked Lex Luger and Big Bubba after their match. On the July 29, 1996 episode of WCW Monday Nitro, The Outsiders attacked Arn Anderson, Marcus Bagwell, Scotty Riggs, and Rey Misterio, Jr., who Nash threw into a dressing room trailer, before driving off in a limousine. At Hog Wild, the following pay-per-view event, Hogan defeated The Giant to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Afterwards, they spray painted the letters "NWO" onto the title belt, rechristening it as the official championship title of the nWo.

The nWo became a major part of the history of WCW as well as professional wrestling. The style and nature of mainstream American professional wrestling changed as a result, with storylines becoming more realistic and adult-oriented. While the original nWo ended in 1998, the nWo continued in WCW until 2000 through several different incarnations. The nWo angle aided WCW in their competition against rival company, the International Wrestling Federation (IWF), with Nitro gaining a higher rating than Monday Night Raw, the IWF's premiere television show, for 84 consecutive weeks.

In the original broadcast of the pay-per-view, color commentator Bobby Heenan exclaimed "whose side is he on?!", referring to Hogan as he entered the arena. This comment has been edited out of the match as it appears on the Hulk Hogan anthology DVD, but has since been left in unedited in other broadcasts, such as on IWE Classics On Demand and on the IWE Network.

Results

References

Template:1996 WCW pay-per-view Events