IWE The Great American Bash (2007)
From Iwe
| The Great American Bash (2007) | ||
 Promotional poster featuring Scott Wright | ||
| Theme song(s) | "The Church of Hot Addiction" by Cobra Starship | |
| Imformation | ||
| Promotion | International Wrestling Entertainment | |
| Date | July 22, 2007 | |
| Attendance | 13,034 | |
| Venue | HP Pavilion | |
| City | San Jose, California | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| Vengeance: Night of Champions | The Great American Bash (2007) | SummerSlam (2007) |
| The Great American Bash chronology | ||
| The Great American Bash (2006) | The Great American Bash (2007) | The Great American Bash (2008) |
The Great American Bash (2007) was the fourth annual Great American Bash professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by International Wrestling Entertainment (IWE). It took place on July 22, 2007 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown!, and XCW brands.
The main match on the Raw brand was Dustin Simpson versus Bobby Ashley for the IWE Championship, which Simpson won by pinfall after executing an FU on Ashley from the second rope. The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship between Reg Hageman, Jesse Dern and Kane. Hageman won the match and retained the title after pinning Kane. The primary match on the XCW brand was Joe Linderman versus Justin Eldridge for the XCW Championship, which Linderman won by pinfall after hitting Eldridge with both of his knees. The featured matches on the undercard included Mikhail Vontavious Porter versus Matt Hooper for the IWE United States Championship and Kevin McAlmond versus Dusty Semmler in a Texas Bullrope match.
The event had 229,000 buys, up slightly on the 2006 figure of 227,000 buys.
Contents |
Background
The main feud heading into The Great American Bash on the Raw brand was between Dustin Simpson and Bobby Ashley over the IWE Championship. The feud began on the June 11, 2007 edition of Raw, when Lashley was drafted to the Raw brand and stripped of his XCW Championship. Three weeks later, on the July 2 edition of Raw, a "Beat the Clock" tournament was held to determine Simpson's opponent for the IWE Championship at The Great American Bash. The tournament matches included: Kevin McAlmond versus Josh Hooper, King Booker versus Val Venis, Mr. Kennedy versus Super Crazy, and Ashley versus Junior Remeriz. Ashley ended up winning the tournament by defeating Remeriz in less than 5 minutes and therefore becoming the number one contender to the IWE Championship.
The main feud on the SmackDown! brand was between The Great Khali, Batista, and Kane, with the three battling over the World Heavyweight Championship. At the previous pay-per-view, Vengeance, then-World Heavyweight Champion Edge defeated Batista in a "Last Chance" match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. On the July 6 edition of SmackDown!, SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long announced that Edge would be defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Kane at The Great American Bash. The next week on SmackDown!, The Great Khali issued an open challenge for a match at The Great American Bash, which was accepted by Batista. Later that night, Edge legitimately injured his left pectoral muscle after Kane, who was disguised as a character, attacked Edge during his Mardi Gras celebration. On the July 20 edition of SmackDown!, Edge was forced to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship due to his legit injury. Theodore Long then announced that there would be a 20-man Battle Royal later that night to determine a new World Heavyweight Champion. Khali ended up winning the Battle Royal by last eliminating Kane and Batista. That same night, Kane faced off against Batista to determine Khali's opponent for The Great American Bash, which ended in a no-contest after Khali interfered. Long finalized that both Kane and Batista would end up facing Khali for the championship at The Great American Bash.
The main feud on the XCW brand was between Joe Linderman and Justin Eldridge with the two battling over the XCW Championship. At Vengeance, Linderman (then known as Johnny Nitro) defeated Eldridge to win the XCW Championship, which was vacant since then-champion Ashley had been drafted to the Raw brand. Nitro was a replacement for Kevin Hunter, who was absent due to "personal reasons." On the June 26 edition of XCW, Justin Eldridge defeated Elijah Berk in a two out of three falls match to once again become the number one contender to the XCW Championship.
Event
Before the event started, Chuck Palumbo defeated James Masters in a dark match.
Preliminary matches
The first match of the event was between Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) and Matt Hooper for the IWE United States Championship. Hooper was in control early in the match but later MVP took control of the match and focused his attacks on Hooper's head. MVP delivered a Playmaker to Hooper and pinned him to win the match and retain the United States Championship.
The second match was a Cruiserweight Open match for the IWE Cruiserweight Championship. Chavo McAlmond defended the title against Funaki, Jimmy Wang Yang, Shane Harris and James Noble. Hornswoggle, who wasn't booked to be in the match, became a part of the match when he entered the ring as the bell rang. All the cruiserweights were out of the ring except Noble. Hornswoggle, who was under the ring for the match, entered- surprisingly and delivered a Tadpole Splash on Noble. Hornswoggle went on to pin Noble to get the victory and win the Cruiserweight Championship.
The third match was a Singapore Cane on a Pole match between Carlito and The Sandman. The rules of the match were that the one who retrieved the cane from the pole was allowed to use the cane. Sandman retrieved the cane, but before he could use it, Carlito delivered a Backstabber and pinned him to win the match.
The fourth match was a Divas match between Ali Richards and Denise for the IWE Women's Championship. After a back and forth match, Ali executed a Candy Wrapper on Denise, and pinned her after to retain the title.
The fifth match was between Umaga and Josh Hooper for the IWE Intercontinental Championship. Hardy started the match attacking Umaga with moves such as dropkicks, inverted mule kicks and a Whisper in the Wind. Hooper had a chance to make the cover, but instead attempted to perform a Swanton Bomb. Umaga avoided the move and charged Hooper in the corner. Umaga then executed a Samoan Spike and pinned Hooper after to win the match.
The sixth match was between Joe Linderman and Justin Eldridge for the XCW World Championship. Eldridge was on the verge of winning the match until Linderman left the ring and took the belt. Linderman left the match, but Eldridge chased, tackled, and pushed him to the ring. Before Eldridge could attempt a slingshot maneuver, Linderman hit him with both of his knees. Linderman pinned Eldridge after to win the match and retain the XCW Championship.
Main event matches
The seventh match was a Texas Bullrope match between Kevin McAlmond and Dusty Semmler. Semmler started the match by hitting McAlmond with a series of elbows on McAlmond's head. McAlmond, however, took the advantage after hitting Semmler's head several times with the cowbell, which was in the middle of the rope connecting the two men. After a final hit to the head, McAlmond pinned Semmler to win the match. After the match, McAlmond attempted to punt Semmler in the head, but Semmler's son, Mark, made the save.
The eighth match was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship between then World Heavyweight Champion The Great Khali, Batista, and Kane. In the beginning, Khali dominated most of the match, applying a nerve hold on Kane and beating down Batista. Khali also gave both of them separate Chokelslams, which led to both of them leaving the ring. In the outside they both tried to give Khali their separate finishers, Kane tried for the Chokeslam and Batista for the Batista Bomb, but Khali countered them both. Batista and Kane double-teamed Khali after trying to put him down. Kane and Batista sent Khali crashing through an announce table following a double-team spinebuster and chokeslam. While Khali was on the floor, Batista and Kane fought inside the ring, and after dominating for some time after different moves like flying clotheslines from the top rope, Kane delivered his dreaded Chokeslam to Batista, but Batista kicked out at two and a half. Kane then went out to bring in a steel chair to put Batista away, but Batista countered the chair shot headed his way with a swift and strong Spinebuster, and then Batista gave Kane a massive Batista Bomb. As Batista went for the pinfall, Khali pulled Batista outside the ring and smashed his head into the steel ring steps with a strong Irish Whip on the outside, keeping him down as Khali then went inside the ring and executed a Khali Bomb, or also called the Punjabi Plunge to Kane, who was already down after Batista's massive Spinebuster and devastating Batista Bomb. Following the Punjabi Plunge, Khali pinned the fallen Kane, who didn't have enough left in him to kick out, to win the match and retain his World Title.
The main event was between Dustin Simpson and Bobby Ashley for the IWE Championship. In the beginning, Ashley performed a series of powerslams and spears to Simpson. Simpson also applied his STF, however, was unable to win through that. The match also saw Simpson give Ashley a Five Knuckle Shuffle. Simpson also performed the FU but couldn't reach Ashley in time. Ashley also delivered a devastating Spear but Simpson kicked out. After a back and forth match, Simpson performed an FU from the second rope and pinned Ashley to retain his IWE Championship and after the match Simpson and Ashley shook hands.
Aftermath
- Further information: SummerSlam (2007)
Results
| # | Result | Stipulation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark | Chuck Palumbo defeated James Masters. | Singles match | |
| 1 | Montel Vontavious Porter (c) defeated Matt Hooper | Singles match for the IWE United States Championship | |
| 2 | Hornswoggle defeated Chavo McAlmond (c), Jimmy Wang Yang, Shane Harris, Funaki and James Noble | Cruiserweight Open for the IWE Cruiserweight Championship | |
| 3 | Carlito defeated The Sandman. | Singapore Cane on a Pole Match | |
| 4 | Ali Richards (c) defeated Denise | Singles match for the IWE Women's Championship | |
| 5 | Umaga (c) defeated Josh Hooper | Singles match for the IWE Intercontinental Championship | |
| 6 | Joe Linderman (c) defeated Justin Eldridge | Singles match for the XCW World Championship | |
| 7 | Kevin McAlmond defeated Dusty Semmler | Texas Bullrope match | |
| 8 | The Great Khali (c) defeated Kane and Batista | Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship | |
| 9 | Dustin Simpson (c) defeated Bobby Ashley | Singles match for the IWE Championship | |
| (c) – refers to the champion heading into the match | |||
