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Jim Crockett Promotions of the NWA (later WCW) created a new match in 1985 to capture the interest of the audience in their product. Similar to "street fight" matches, the Bunkhouse Stampede was a regular battle royal where the wrestlers competed in "bunkhouse attire" (blue jeans, cowboy boots, etc.). Weapons were permitted as well. For instance, The Road Warriors had their spikes while Ivan and Nikita Koloff carried their Russian chains to the ring, while others wielded trash can lids and leather straps. The only way to win this match was to be the last wrestler standing in the ring after everyone else had been hurled over the top rope.
Dusty Rhodes Created The Bunkhouse Stampede
The creator of this match is none other than Dusty Rhodes, the man who gave us other great gimmick matches like WarGames and BattleBowl during his time with WCW. The difference would be that, unlike WarGames, the cage used would house just one ring. BattleBowl borrowed the series of matches leading to one final for all winners to compete in. Dusty was the sole winner of these matches that took place from 1985 to 1988. He also had the idea to make the Stampede one of the major 4 PPVs for WCW. The problem would come when, in 1988, they tried to take this event and only their second attempt at PPV to enemy territory. JCP was ready to run a PPV and not have to worry about being pushed because WWE also wanted to run one. WWE instead ran a free television special that would become one of the most anticipated events they ever did.
RELATED : Everything You Need To Know About The War Games Match In WrestlingIn the weeks leading into Bunkhouse Stampede, the promotion lost Terry Taylor and Big Bubba Rogers, the Rock & Roll Express quit as they were unhappy about their push, and Steve Williams' returning was less than 50/50 for reasons that everyone who had followed the plight of the UWF could understand. Sean Royal quit as well and names like Chris Champion, Brad Armstrong, and Eddie Gilbert might as well have disappeared, all of whom could have been used in fresh angles.
WWE Countered The Bunkhouse Stampede With Their Own Programming
January 24th would be the day that the war between WWE and WCW would be kicked into high gear. Vince had previously created Survivor Series to counter Starrcade 87 and helped to limit the estimated live viewership to about 30,000. This time, Vince used his relationship with the USA Network to host a free three-hour event. Called the Rumble Royale at first (later to be the Royal Rumble) it would be seen by 8 million people on TV while there were 18,000 in attendance at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton Ontario. Bunkhouse Stampede had a butyrate of 3.50, meaning about 200,000 people saw this event on TV, and only about 7,000 attended at the Nassau Coliseum.
The Bunkhouse Stampede was advertised to start at 7 pm. Tickets had both 7 and 8 pm on them. The show started at 6:35 pm. This led to most people arriving late and missing most of the show. The under card that night was all title matches. Nikita Koloff defeated Bobby Eaton to retain the TV title in a time-limit draw, Larry Zbyszko defeated Barry Windham to become the second and last holder of the short-lived Western States Heritage Title, and Road Warrior Hawk defeated Ric Flair by disqualification in a World Heavyweight Championship match.
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WCW Retaliated By Putting Their Own Show Up Against WrestleMania
Most believe that Lex Luger should have won the Bunkhouse Stampede as he had just left the Four Horsemen late in 1987. This event would help lay the groundwork for what many fans believe to be Luger's best year in wrestling. In1988 he would feud with his former stable mates and even capture the NWA World Tag Team Championship with Barry Windham before turning his attention to Ric Flair and the World Heavyweight Championship.
After the show, the roster was at Harry's Bar at the Helmsley Hotel, where Gene Okerlund had shown up after getting back from Hamilton, Ontario, where the Rumble had taken place. Many believed that he was there to court Lex Luger over to WWE. Tully Blanchard confronted Jimmy Crockett about how the main event had played out. Tully said that Dusty should book Dusty against Dusty. Jimmy wanted nothing to do with this, so he simply said, "Dusty is a genius," and walked away.
Jimmy Crockett kind of got even with Vince, just a few short months later. March 27th, 1988 was the day that not only Wrestlemania 4 took place but also the start of what would be a long-standing event for WCW. While Vince and company were getting ready to hold the first of 2 WrestleMania events at Trump Plaza, JCP presented the very first Clash Of The Champions for free on TBS and returned the same fire they received back in January.
RELATED: That Time WCW Ran A Clash Of The Champions Against WrestleMania
Overall, The Bunkhouse Stampede was an idea that could have worked had JCP not run headfirst into the Goliath that the WWE had become at the time. This event was unique, but it was not pulled off as it should have been. Imagine if they had kept the event at a location like the Greensboro Coliseum or even The Omni in Atlanta, then it could have been considered a success due to the number of people who would have attended, and maybe the ticket fiasco would have been avoided.
