Recently, All Elite Wrestling brought back Bash at the Beach in January, an old WCW pay-per-view that WWE allowed their rights to lapse on. AEW got the trademark accepted and had the big event taking place at the beach in Florida, just in time for the start of the new year. It also brought back a lot of memories of the past WCW events, including one of the most significant moments in professional wrestling history.
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Bash at the Beach started in 1994 as a replacement for Beach Blast, which lasted two years. They then held the event every year until they went out of business, with the final show taking place in 2000. With memorable moments, including the debut of the nWo, here is a look at every WCW Bash at the Beach, ranked.
7 BASH AT THE BEACH 1999
Surprisingly, the worst Bash at the Beach PPV did not come in 2000, which was when WCW hit their low point. Instead, it was the year before, in 1999, when the company began to lose focus. The Monday Night War was over, and WCW had lost. Here, they were on life support.
The main event was a tag team match with the World Title on the line, which Randy Savage won and then lost the next night. Buff Bagwell fought Roddy Piper in a boxing match — and won with a wrestling move. There was a match in a junkyard that lasted for 13 minutes. David Flair beat Dean Malenko in a United States title match. There wasn't a good match on this entire PPV.
6 BASH AT THE BEACH 2000
Arguably, one of the worst moments in the final year of WCW came when Vince Russo and Hulk Hogan got into it. Hogan was supposed to defend his world title against Jeff Jarrett at Bash at the Beach 2000 but reportedly refused to lose. So, Jarrett laid down for Hogan, and then Russo fired Hulk and had a new World Champion crowned later.
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Now, while this entire show was terrible, there was one thing that redeemed it. Booker T beat Jeff Jarrett in the main event to become the new World Champion in a moment he deserved despite the stupid angle that led to the match. There was no other good match on the card. The graveyard match between The Demon (KISS) and Vampiro, as well as the Wedding Gown match between Daffney and Miss Hancock (Stacy Keibler), dragged this PPV down big time.
5 BASH AT THE BEACH 1995
After a decent start in 1994 with its Bash at the Beach events, WCW dropped the ball in 1995 with one of the worst ones until their dying days. The main event saw Hulk Hogan defending his WCW World Title against Vader in a cage match. Since Vader was leaving the company, they buried him here in a match where he deserved better.
Something that should have been great, Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair was also a disappointment as both men were slowing down, and it was a massive letdown after their previous WrestleMania match. Add in matches with Evad Sullivan, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Kamala, and Renegade, and the PPV never had a chance.
4 BASH AT THE BEACH 1998
1998 was where things started to slow down for WCW. It should have been a boom period, with Bill Goldberg as the new World Champion and the nWo beginning to show signs of splintering, but things were rough when it came to the overall booking. Bash at the Beach 1998 was a perfect example, as there was great talent and a chance for big matches, but it was an overall letdown.
The main even involved NBA stars Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone, and while Malone looked great, it wasn't anything worth watching again. The World Title match saw Goldberg squash Curt Hennig in four minutes. Booker T fought Bret Hart, but a DQ ending ruined the match. The best two matches were Juventud Guerrera vs. Billy Kidman and Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio Jr., but it wasn't enough.
3 BASH AT THE BEACH 1997
By 1997, the nWo was running wild, and they chose to bring in a special guest to wrestle with Hulk Hogan at Bash at the Beach. That man was Dennis Rodman, and he was at least an athlete who could do more than stand around. However, The Giant and Lex Luger vs. Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman isn't the match that made this show great.
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Roddy Piper and Ric Flair put on a great match, especially considering that Piper was older and had slowed down a lot since his prime. There was also the career-ending match for Kevin Sullivan where Chris Benoit retired him, a great Chris Jericho vs. Ultimo Dragon match, and a fantastic six-man Luchador match.
2 BASH AT THE BEACH 1994
The first year that WCW held the Bash at the Beach PPV was 1994, and it was a great event. While the company had been in a slump for a few years, things were starting to look up somewhat by this time.
Hulkamania was taking over WCW. At the time, it was in full force, and the main event here was a match that WWE hinted at but never delivered as Hulk Hogan took on Ric Flair and beat him for the WCW World Title in one of Hogan's best matches in years. Add in a great Steve Austin vs. Ricky Steamboat match on the undercard, and this was a strong PPV overall.
1 BASH AT THE BEACH 1996
One of the most important pay-per-views in wrestling history took place at Bash at the Beach 1996. The ranking of this one has little to do with the overall quality of the matches. Both 1994 and 1997 had better bouts. It was what happened at the end of the show and the importance of the angles and storylines that mattered.
This was the year that The Outsiders invaded WCW, and this was the event where Hulk Hogan turned heel, and the three formed the nWo. It was the moment that changed professional wrestling history. The undercard did have one gem in Psychosis vs. Rey Mysterio Jr., but this was all about the main event.
