Bash At The Beach 1996 Review

Bash at The Beach 1996 was one of WCW's most anticipated Pay-Per-View events didn't fail to live up to expectations on a night that seen quiet possibly the most shocking and surprising story-line unfold before our eyes. It was the third annual installment of the event and came to you live from Daytona Beach, Florida. The Outsiders invasion angle had created a lot of heat within the company but the duo of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were expected to announce a third member had joined the group. The name of that third name wasn't to be unveiled until Bash At The Beach with many predicting Sting as the mystery man.


Rey Misterio defeated Psychosis

A great battle to open the event and a text-book WCW match to get the fans interested. High speed, high-flying, grappling and just a generally solid cruiser weight match. The match was an evenly wrestled contest with the luche libra styles ever-present during the contest. Some outside ring work seen some brilliant high risk moves on show. Rey looked to be gaining momentum as he looked to ground his Mexican counterpart half way through but Psychosis managed to get a foot hold in the contest once again and looked set for victory. Misterio managed to battle back and landed the victory after Psychosis went for a Razor's Edge type finisher off the top rope only for him to counter it and hurrican-rana. One of the best finishers I have ever seen.

Match Rating: 7/10

John Tenta defeated Big Bubba (Carson City Silver Dollar Match)

Basically a sack full of silver dollars inside a sock were tied to a pole. Yes an odd match to say the least and far from exciting, but different, so I liked it. A quick barrage from Tenta started the match off before Bubba attempted to climb the pole. Tenta threw Bubba across the ring before Bubba back suplexed Tenta off the top rope. This then led to Big Bubba climbing the pole only  for Tenta to atomic drop Bubba on the top turnbuckle. As Tenta went to climb the pole he thought against it and Bubba managed to strangle the big man with a belt looking to choke him out and tie him up. Tenta managed to low-blow Bubba once he attempted to cut his hair. Jimmy Hart climbed the pole expecting to meet Bubba at the end but it was in-fact Tenta who snatched the dollars off Hart to claim the victory after smacking Bubba with the heavy sock.

Match Rating: 5.5/10

Diamond Dallas Page defeated "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan (Tapped Fist Match)

Another text-book WCW match. What is tapped fist? Basically their fists were tapped. Duggan had the crowd hot and keen for the American hero to claim the victory but this wasn't to be the case. After Duggan's early momentum, it was Dallas who gained the victory after landing a Diamond Cutter on Duggan much to the crowd's disapproval. A really enjoyable match despite only lasting five minutes. It would be Duggan who got the last word with an attack on Page after the match ended.

Match Rating: 6/10

The Nasty Boys defeated Public Enemy (Dog Collar Match)

They don't just do simple matches here they do Dog Collar ones. The four men were tied to the other via chain enabling the contest to be fought close by. The chain was used a weapon when the men moved up towards the entrance to wrestle using prop's which included a plastic shark. It wasn't an edge of your seat match and didn't interest me in the slightest. It was more of a sluggish mid 1980's battle royal rather than a tag-team contest. It was literally Bash At The Beach that seen The Nasty Boys victorious after a table refused to beat broken and ended up with them clothslining Rocco Rock through a chain that went across the ring as Public Enemy were being choked out.

Match Rating: 4/10

Dean Malenko defeated Disco Inferno (Cruiserweight title match)

Like ronseal, it done exactly what it said on the tin. Provided a great, fast-paced wrestling match that ended with Mr. personality retaining the championship. The man of a thousand holds kicked off with some great submission holds to dominate the early proceedings. It remained like this for much of the match and it wasn't exciting despite being a great wrestling battle. Malenko won after Inferno tapped out in the Texas Cloverleaf.

Match Rating: 6/10

Steve McMichael defeated Joe Gomez

A rugged battle seen McMichael victorious as his horseman angle began to heat up. McMichael managed to gain the early advantage with Gomez in a good physical match. Not one to capture the imagination of the crowd but the stars, despite their lack of fame, gained some heat during the match. McMichael defeated Gomez in a match barely lasting ten minutes by landing the tombstone piledriver to Gomez. A good test to McMichael's new horseman persona.

Match Rating: 5.5/10

Ric Flair defeated Konnan (WCW United States Championship Match)

Like many Flair matches to me, it bored me. Slow and dull, Flair had the support from the fans who were keen for him to win the match with both Nancy Benoit and Miss Elizabeth in his corner. Slaps, woo's and him being made look a hero. When Nancy low blowed Konnan it enabled Flair to come back on top. Just as momentum started to change once again, Konnan was hit by the heel of one of Flair's women before he pinned Konnan to take the title.

Match Rating: 5/10

The Giant and The Taskmasker defeated Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit

The Dungeon of Doom vs The Horseman took place all night and whilst the Horseman gained the advantage in the other two battled of the night it would in-fact be The Giant that would give the Dungeon of Doom the victory with a chokeslam on Arn Anderson. A good match throughout but it was The Giant that carried an aging Taskmasker through the match.

Match Rating: 5/10

The Outsiders against Randy Savage, Lex Luger and Sting

With the hostile takeover in place due to Nash and Hall's interference in WCW when seemingly contracted by WWF. For six weeks they caused havoc but eventually advertised that a third member would be joining and he would be announced at the event. It would become arguably the most infamous moment in WCW history.
The WCW guys gained a lot of momentum early on with the crowd incredibly hot towards them. Luger was knocked out early on making it a two on two match-up. The match evened out it was Hall and Nash who began to take control completely. Just as The Outsiders were gaining the advantage in the match. A beaten down Randy Savage lay in the ring suffering before Hulk Hogan appeared from no where. With the fans delighted with his return, he seemingly came out to come to the aid of friend, Randy Savage. Much to the shock of everyone, Hogan dropped the leg on Savage confirming him as the third man. Incredible shock factor.

Match Rating: 9/10


Overall a great event and my favourite of all-time in WCW. A solid undercard ending with a superstar main event. But the best part of all was the ultimate hero turning heel after more than a decade as the fans favourite. Don't forget a special appearance from Michael Buffer. The commentary of Bobby Heenan and Dusty Rhodes really added to the event also.

Event Rating: 64%