WCW Bash at the Beach

WCW Bash at the Beach was a yearly professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It was the company's PPV for the month of July, held from 1994 to 2000.

"Bash at the Beach" redirects here. For the All Elite Wrestling event, see AEW Bash at the Beach.
WCW Bash at the Beach
Bash at the Beach logo used in 1997
Created byDusty Rhodes
Promotion(s)World Championship Wrestling
(1994–2000)
First event1994

The show centered on a beach theme, with the set around the entrance area for the wrestlers decorated with such things as surfboards and sand. The theme for the show seemed appropriate for an event scheduled during the hot summer month of July. The beach/"fun in the sun" theme was also reflected in the places where WCW chose to hold the event; all of the shows emanated from cities in either Florida or California, two United States states renowned for their warm weather. It was WCW's response to WWF's SummerSlam.

History

In 1992 and 1993, WCW held a beach-themed pay-per-view show known as Beach Blast, which was the forerunner to Bash at the Beach. The 1992 show was held in June, however, as the company elected instead to reserve July for its flagship summertime extravaganza, The Great American Bash. Along with Slamboree, Starrcade, SuperBrawl, The Great American Bash, and Halloween Havoc, Bash at the Beach was booked to be one of WCW's flagship events.

Bash at the Beach marked three major turning points during Hulk Hogan's career. During 1994 Hogan made his WCW in-ring debut defeating Ric Flair to win his first WCW World Heavyweight Championship. During the 1996 event, Hogan turned heel, as he was revealed to be the third member for the New World Order, leading to WCW overtaking the World Wrestling Federation for nearly two years as the top professional wrestling company in the world. The 2000 event was Hogan's final appearance for the company, wherein he defeated Jeff Jarrett for the WCW Title but was soon thereafter stripped of the championship and was fired on-air by Vince Russo in events which led to litigation between Hogan and WCW, and a series of events whose authenticity are to this day under question.

To promote the 1995 event, Hogan, Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Big Van Vader and Kevin Sullivan guest starred on season 6 episode 15 of Baywatch, also titled "Bash at the Beach".

Legacy

In 2014, all Bash at the Beach pay-per-views were made available on the WWE Network.[1]

WWE no longer owns the rights to the 'Bash at the Beach' trademark as it was left to expire in 2004/2005 after their purchase of WCW. Cody Rhodes, executive vice president for All Elite Wrestling (AEW), trademarked the name in early 2019 for use in the company as it was created by his father, Dusty Rhodes. AEW Bash at the Beach took place on January 15, 2020 and continued with Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea on January 22, 2020.[2]

Events
# Event Date City Venue Main Event Ref
1 Bash at the Beach (1994) July 17, 1994 Orlando, Florida Amway Arena Ric Flair (c) vs. Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship [3]
2 Bash at the Beach (1995) July 16, 1995 Huntington Beach, California The Beach Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Vader in a Steel Cage match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship [4]
3 Bash at the Beach (1996) July 7, 1996 Daytona Beach, Florida Ocean Center The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) and Hulk Hogan vs. Sting, Lex Luger and Randy Savage [5]
4 Bash at the Beach (1997) July 13, 1997 Daytona Beach, Florida Ocean Center Lex Luger and The Giant vs. Dennis Rodman and Hollywood Hogan [6]
5 Bash at the Beach (1998) July 12, 1998 San Diego, California Cox Arena Dennis Rodman and Hollywood Hogan vs. Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone [7]
6 Bash at the Beach (1999) July 11, 1999 Fort Lauderdale, Florida National Car Rental Center Kevin Nash (c) and Sting vs. Randy Savage and Sid Vicious for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship [7]
7 Bash at the Beach (2000) July 9, 2000 Daytona Beach, Florida Ocean Center Jeff Jarrett (c) vs. Booker T for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship [8]

References
  1. "Every pay-per-view available on WWE Network". WWE. February 4, 2014. Archived from the original on February 5, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  2. "Bash at the Beach returning for AEW Dynamite, Jericho cruise show set". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. November 18, 2019.
  3. "Bash at the Beach 1994". Pro Wrestling History. July 17, 1994. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  4. "Bash at the Beach 1995". Pro Wrestling History. July 16, 1995. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  5. "Bash at the Beach 1996". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved March 29, 2008.
  6. "Bash at the Beach 1997". Pro Wrestling History. July 13, 1997. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  7. "Bash at the Beach 1998". Pro Wrestling History. July 12, 1998. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  8. "Bash at the Beach 2000". Pro Wrestling History. July 9, 2000. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
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