-Today we are looking at the Charlotte stop of The Great American Bash tour of 1986.
-The show took place from Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina on July 5, 1986.
-The Prism Skydiving Team parachute in to start us off. They get a nice ovation. The National Anthem is then played.
-World Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match: Denny Brown VS. Steve Regal: This is Mr. Electricity and not Lord Steven. 15 minute Time limit. Slow to start. Regal is the heel and is playing that role hard to the crowd. Brown with the early advantage. Regal rolls to the outside to regroup. Back in, Brown with a snap mare. Regal complains of hair pulling. They do this spot a couple of times. Brown works a side headlock. They speed it up some and Brown gets a couple of two counts. Regal cheats to gain an advantage. Back and forth. This is a clunky match. Regal working a rear chinlock. Brown starts a comeback with 5 minutes left. Regal gets a two count. Regal gets a leg up at a Brown corner charge. Regal goes back to the headlock. Brown with some forearms. Regal with a backbreaker. Regal misses an elbow drop. Brown coming back and hits a big right hand and a leg drop. He gets a two count as time expires. They brawl after the match as Regel throws Brown over the ropes.
-Black Bart VS. Robert Gibson: Bart is the Mid-Atlantic champion, but this is a non-title match. You have to give the other half of the Rock ‘N Roll Express something to do. 15 minute time limit. Gibson with the early advantage, but Bart is too powerful He goes after Gibson’s midsection. Speed VS. Power. Gibson with a head scissors. Bart fighting to get out. Gibson chewing gum during the match. Bart comes back and Gibson sells one punch like it kills him as he goes flying back to the outside. Back in, more punishment. Hot Shot on Gibson. Then a back body drop. Gibson comes back with some shots to the head. Bart again throws Gibson outside where they brawl. Gibson slammed up against the barricade. Back in, they trade blows. Bart hits a leg drop for a two count. Gibson comes back. Knocks Bart down several times. Gibson gets a high crossbody for a three count and the crowd loves it. It is so loud.
-The Minnesota Wrecking Crew Ole and Arn Anderson VS. Sam Houston and Nelson Royal: Special Challenge Match: 20 minute time limit. Arn and Houston start out. Arn with the advantage. Houston comes back with a hip toss. Royal and Ole tagged in. Ole complaining to referee Earl Hebner that Royal is cheating. Arn tagged in and Royal nails him with some forearms. Royal follows that up with a knee lift and a headlock. Arn gets to the ropes. Ole tagged in. Quick tags by the heels. Back and forth. Houston and Ole both in. Ole selling Houston’s punches. Ole runs Houston into Arn’s boot. Arn in and drops a knee for a two count. Ole in and runs Houston into the corner. Ole works Houston’s arm. Heels double teaming Houston in their corner. Royal tagged in and he cleans house. Ole in and he runs Royal into the corner. He works Royal’s arm. Arn tagged in. Drops a knee into Royal’s arm for a two count. Royal starts to fight back. Ole tagged in and he goes back to the arm. Arn tagged in and the heels have done a good job cutting the ring in half. Houston finally tagged in and goes to work on Arn. He hits a back elbow and a bulldog but Ole breaks up the count. Houston gets a rollup but the referee is preoccupied with Royal and Ole comes off the top rope with a forearm to Houston’s head and Arn gets the pin.
-Manny Fernandez VS. Baron Von Raschke with Paul Jones: Crowd behind Fernandez but whatever. Bunkhouse match: Jones has what looks like a safari outfit with the riding crop so he is not full tilt crazy yet. Fernandez and Von Raschke both in jeans and t shirts. Heels working the crowd to start. Fernandez with the early advantage. Von Raschke rolls out to regroup. Fernandez hits a back elbow then goes after Jones who runs away. Von Raschke down. Fernandez drops a knee. Fernandez then misses a corner charge. Von Raschke has some sort of an object that he jams in Fernandez’s throat. Fernandez busted open. Von Raschke puts his belt around Fernandez’s face and pulls. He then clotheslines him with the belt. Then whips him with it. Fernandez fighting back. Referee takes the belt away so Von Raschke takes off his boot and hits Fernandez with it. Fernandez fights back again so Jones hits him with his riding crop. A Fernandez back kick knocks Von Raschke down. Fernandez hits a back elbow and Von Raschke goes down. Fernandez then whips Von Raschke with his belt. Fernandez pulls Von Raschke t-shirt over his head, knocks him down, and takes Von Raschke’s boot and hits him over the head with it from the second rope. Fernandez misses the flying forearm when Von Raschke ducks. Jones attacks Fernandez on the outside. Von Raschke runs Fernandez into the corner post and the barricade. Von Raschke suplexes Fernandez into the ring from the apron, but Fernandez rolls through to get the pin. The crowd loves it. Jones claims that Fernandez cheated. Crowd boos Jones and Von Raschke.
-Strap Match: Wahoo McDaniel VS. Jimmy Garvin with Precious: It takes a while to get the strap attached to both men. Garvin does want to put it on. McDaniel straps his back. Garvin and Precious stalling. He finally puts the strap on. McDaniel straps him again so Garvin rolls outside. McDaniel yanks him back in. They do this spot a couple of times. Garvin getting beat brutally. Garvin with a headlock and McDaniel posts him with the strap. Garvin selling hard. Garvin gets McDaniel down with a headlock. They go outside. McDaniel falls back at one point and trips on the guardrail, so Garvin attacks him. Back in, Garvin has McDaniel busted open and down and tries a pin before going to the ropes. He gets three corners before McDaniel stops his momentum. McDaniel coming back with some hard chops. He busts Garvin open with the strap. He ties Garvin up and gets two corners and Precious trips him. Garvin goes for a top rope move, but McDaniel pulls him off. He ties Garvin up and goes for the corners again. He gets three and Precious climbs up on the apron and grabs his singlet. She slaps him and tries to stop him but he touches the final corner anyway to win. The crowd goes crazy for the finish. Precious gets the strap off of Jimmy Garvin and attaches it to the ropes and Garvin attacks McDaniel with the atomizer that Precious carries. Garvin and Precious then leave.
-Taped Fist Match: Tully Blanchard with JJ Dillon VS. Ron Garvin with Wahoo McDaniel: 10 three minute rounds. Blanchard is the National Heavyweight Champion, but his is a non-title match. Blanchard rushes Garvin who knocks him out. Blanchard is lying flat in the ring and JJ is livid as the match hasn’t even started yet. The bell rings and they go at it. Blanchard selling like he is punch drunk. Blanchard knocked down and referee Tommy Young starts a 10 count. JJ with some smelling salts revives Blanchard. Garvin starts to go after JJ before going back in the ring. Garvin still with the advantage and Blanchard is selling hard. Blanchard starts to fall halfway out of the ring, but Garvin pulls him back in. Blanchard gets a 7 count before he gets back up. He gets knocked down again with another 7 count and staggers outside. They do boxing stances as Garvin has Blanchard in the corner. Bell rings. Blanchard tries to rush Garvin but gets knocked out again. JJ trying to revive him and arguing with Tommy Young for a time extension. Round 2- starts with a count but Blanchard makes it to his feet by 8. Garvin knocks him out again. Back up and more boxing stances in the corner. Garvin head butts Blanchard twice and gets admonished by Tommy Young. Blanchard down again. Comes up swinging at air. Gets knocked down again. He is up at 7 but immediately gets knocked down again. Blanchard now bleeding and attacks Garvin’s legs which Garvin goes over into a sunset flip then bridges out of and knocks Blanchard down again but the round ends. JJ splashes water on Blanchard to try to revive him. Round 3- Blanchard gets a couple of shots to Garvin’s stomach, but gets knocked out again. Garvin keeps punching when Blanchard is down and Blanchard runs Garvin into the corner post. Garvin hurting on the outside so Blanchard runs him into the post again. Blanchard uses the time to try to revive himself. Garvin now bleeding and Blanchard trying to prevent him from coming in. he finally gets back in and Blanchard is on the offensive as the round ends. McDaniel working to revive Garvin. Round 4- Blanchard knocks Garvin to his knees. Blanchard then slams Garvin and attacks him on the mat. He tries to pin and has to be reminded that pins aren’t allowed. Blanchard with some body shots. Garvin comes back and knocks Blanchard down with one punch. It goes outside. McDaniel picks Blanchard up and atomic drops him into a Garvin elbow. Back in, Blanchard selling hard. He gets up on a 9 count. He gets knocked down again. Round ends. JJ adds more tape to Blanchard’s right hand. Round 5- Garvin jabbing. Blanchard swinging his right hand but can’t connect. Blanchard knocked down again. Back up at 7 and gets a headlock on Garvin. Garvin backdrops Blanchard. Double count. Blanchard up at 6 but goes off the top rope and caught by Garvin and both go down again. The double count reaches 10. The first man to his feet wins. JJ fanning Blanchard with the towel. McDaniel throws a pail of water on Garvin. Garvin makes it to his feet and is declared the winner. JJ complains about the water. Referee Tommy Young says he didn’t see that happen. Fans chant I quit to Blanchard and JJ threatens to have them thrown out which makes them cheer louder. He then shows the empty bucket to Tommy Young then throws the bucket at him. JJ is awesome here.
-Double Russian Chain Match: Ivan and Nikita Koloff VS. The Road Warriors Hawk and Animal with Paul Ellering: Hawk is chained to Nikita and Animal is chained to Ivan. Hawk is choking Nikita with the chain. Ivan choking Animal. Lots of posting and hitting with the chain. Animal now choking Ivan who is bleeding already in the match. Animal gets a two count. Nikita is now choking Hawk with the chain. Ivan goes up top but is caught and slammed off. Again, Animal gets a two count. Hawk starts hitting Nikita with the chain, so Nikita rolls outside and Hawk follows. Animal again choking Ivan with the chain. Ivan counters with a low blow and goes for a pin, but Animal’s foot is on the ropes. Nikita and Hawk are back in and Nikita gets a two count. Ivan calls for Nikita’s help so Nikita grabs Animal from behind. USA chant breaks out. Hawk comes over, so both Russians concentrate on him. Then the Russians go back and forth between the two Road Warriors. Hawk then starts a comeback between both Russians hitting them with the chain. Referee Tommy Young is hit and knocked outside the ring. Hawk then knocked out and lands on Tommy Young. Nikita then hits Animal with a Russian Sickle and Ivan covers, but there is no referee. Ivan goes up top but Ellering pushes him off and Ivan crotches himself on the top rope. Animal then pins him as Tommy Young gets back in the ring and counts the pin. The crowd loves it. They continue to brawl after the match.
-Hair VS. Hair Match: Jimmy Valiant VS. Shaska Whatley with Paul Jones: Match has just started when the picture comes back on but we don’t get the introductions. Whatley with the early advantage. Valiant down and Whatley gets a two count. Valiant gets caught coming in for a corner charge and Whatley goes to pin him with his feet on the ropes but gets caught. Valiant starts a comeback but gets hit by Jones. Whatley gets a two count. He then works the crows before trying again and getting another two count. Valiant is busted open. Whatley with a rear chinlock into a headlock. Valiant again starts a comeback, but gets hit again by Jones and Whatley gets a two count. A Whatley head butt knocks Valiant down again. Valiant concentrates on hitting Whatley’s stomach. A Whatley back elbow gets a two count. Whatley gets Valiant in the tree of woe. Jones chokes Valiant with the riding crop as Whatley distracts the referee. Referee lets Valiant down. Whatley gets another two count. Valiant coming back. Whatley can’t get the three count. Whatley now biting Valiant. Whatley misses a big elbow smash. Crowd behind Valiant. He hits Whatley with some shots and knocks Jones off the apron, then gets the sleeper on Whatley. The referee somehow gets knocked out or something but you don't see it. Baron Von Raschke comes in and puts on the glove to attack Valiant. Manny Fernandez comes out and takes out Baron Von Raschke who drops his glove. Valiant puts it on and knocks Whatley out with it and he gets the pin and the crowd loves it. A group of faces come out and hold Whatley while he gets his head shaved. Valiant yells out that Paul Jones is next. Whatley wakes up and flips out.
-Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A., and Baby Doll VS. The Midnight Express Dennis Condrey, Bobby Eaton, and Jim Cornette: Steel Cage Match: Cornette bouncing around in a Fighter’s stance. Big Bubba on the outside for the heels. Rhodes runs Eaton into the cage. Eaton and Magnum start. It starts out slowly. Eaton with some hard shots. Magnum hits a big power slam on Eaton and on Condrey when he comes in to help Eaton. Magnum runs Eaton into the cage again. He then brings Eaton over to Baby Doll to slap. Rhodes tagged in. He takes on both members of the Midnight Express. Eaton busted open. Condrey tagged in. Magnum tagged in. He hits Condrey with a big double ax handle. He’s run into the cage and bleeding. Condrey tries for a piledriver, but Magnum pushes him off and attacks. Cornette tagged in, but misses an elbow and tags out. Eaton in and he climbs to the top of the cage and lands a shot on Magnum. Condrey tagged in and gets a two count. Magnum bleeding. Back and forth. Eaton tagged in. He gets caught coming off the top rope by Magnum. It starts breaking down. Baby Doll tosses Jim Cornette in and the crowd erupts. She hits him with a big slap and pins him. Rhodes and Big Bubba do some jaw jacking to each other after the match and Rhodes climbs out of the cage to confront Big Bubba. Eaton grabs Rhodes’ arms as Bubba beats on him and Cornette and Condrey keep the cage door shut. They leave Rhodes laying.
-Steel Cage Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Ric Flair VS. Ricky Morton: The background to this match is that Flair got shown up by Morton on TV, and Flair in return grinded Morton’s face into a concrete floor. As a result, Morton is wearing protective gear on his face for this match. We go to a wide shot of a helicopter arriving. It lands on the field. They roll out the red carpet and Ric Flair emerges dressed for the match and wearing his robe and the belt. It takes a while to start. Morton gets a side headlock on. Flair gets him into the corner and opens up the chop house, but Morton comes back with a strike of his own and Flair goes down. Back and forth. Morton runs and grinds Flair’s face into the mat in retaliation. Flair tries to escape, but Morton pull him back. Flair flop is worked in. A Morton backslide gets a two count. Flair shoves referee Tommy Young who shoves back and Flair goes down. Morton getting some corner punches in. He then lands some more punches and Flair then reopens the Chop House. Morton’s Face Mask comes off as he rolls Flair up and gets a two count before putting it back on. Flair works on Morton’s left knee while Morton has him in a headlock. Flair gets to the ropes then starts working over Morton. Morton comes back with a crossbody for a two count. A Morton clothesline gets another two count. Morton misses an elbow drop. Flair rips the face mask off and runs Morton into the cage. Morton is now bleeding. Flair runs him into the cage again. Flair then puts the Face Mask on and rams Morton again into the cage. Flair then tosses the Face Mask outside the cage. Flair then does the cheese grater on Morton’s face with the cage. Flair then punches Morton in the face and he sells it like he has been shot. Morton’s face is a crimson mask. Flair going hard after Morton’s face. He runs Morton into the cage. He drops a knee onto Morton’s face. Flair taunting the fans while beating Morton up. Flair then gets the figure four on. He grabs the ropes for leverage, but Morton won’t give up. Flair then gets caught and has to break the hold. Morton gets an inside cradle for a two count. Morton back up. Flair chops him and he spits on Flair. Flair run into the cage twice. Flair then blades and is bleeding for the business. He then gets the cheese grater treatment by Morton. Flair then tries to come back, but Morton is wearing him out with punches. Flair then cheese grated again into the cage by Morton. Morton then gets the sleeper on. A Morton crossbody then gets a two count. Flair climbs the cage again to get out, but Morton again catches him. Morton hits a clothesline for a two count. Back and Forth. Morton hits a missile dropkick for a two count, but gets thrown on referee Tommy Young. Flair then atomic drops Morton on the top rope. Flair pins Morton with his feet on the ropes. The crowd hates the results. Flair walks out bloody with the belt.