-Today we look at the Great American Bash PPV from July 1988.
-The Great American Bash '88: The Price for Freedom took place July 10, 1988 from the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.
-We start with our Opening Credits. It is interspersed with shots of what has happened to set up each match.
-NWA World Tag Team Championship Match: Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard with JJ Dillon VS. Sting and Nikita Koloff Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross on the call. Sting and Koloff come out hot. Sting launches himself and body presses Anderson on the outside. Koloff works Anderson's arm. Nikita Koloff should not have more hair than Arn Anderson. Anderson is making Koloff look good. Anderson comes back, but gets the sickle from Koloff. Crowd is hot for the faces. Every time the heels get a hold, the faces have a counter. Blanchard is battered all around. The faces do a nice phantom tag spot. The heels take the advantage. JJ interferes, so Koloff goes after him and hits hit shoulder on the outside post. So the heels focus on that shoulder. Koloff fights back. Anderson hits a DDT, but they can't get the pin. Koloff gets the knee up on Anderson and tags Sting in. Sting gets a sleeper on Anderson, who counters. All 4 in. Sting hits the splash and gets the scorpion on as time expires. The match is a draw. Sting and Koloff attack the heels after the match.
-Tony and Jim talk about the next match.
-United States Tag Team Championship Match: The Fantastics Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers VS. The Midnight Express: Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane with Jim Cornette. Cornette will be straightjacketed and in a cage above ringside. If the Fantastics win, the MIX and Cornette will be lashed with a belt. Cornette is a riot while he is being put in a strait jacket. Fulton and Eaton start. Methodical opening gambits by both teams. Lane has some karate kicks on Fulton. Rogers works an arm bar. The MX cheat to perfection. Eaton hits the Alabama Jam. Rogers is getting punished but not pinned. He counters the Rocket Launcher and tags in Fulton. The ref gets bumped, the MX pull out a chain and get the pin. New champions. The Fantastics get Cornette in the ring and lash him.
-Bob Caudle attempts to interview Jim Cornette who says the Fantastics are trying to kill him.
-The Tower of Doom is lowered for the next event.
-Precious is shown coming to the ring.
-Gary Michael Cappetta announces the rules, but I don't think it matters.
-Tower of Doom Match: Kevin Sullivan, Mike Rotunda Al Perez, Ivan Koloff, and The Russian Assassin with Gary Hart and Paul Jones VS. The Road Warriors Hawk and Animal, Jimmy and Ronnie Garvin, and Steve Williams with Paul Ellering. Precious is the keeper of the keys to the cage. It takes a lot of time to start. Ron Garvin and Ivan Koloff start. They can't do much in the top cage because it's so small. They just slap each other. The trap door opens. Williams and Rotunda are next in. Ron Garvin makes it down to the next level. Koloff and Rotunda double team Williams. This is a cluster. Williams goes down a level. Ron Garvin goes down a level, Koloff goes down a level. Ronnie Garvin gets out. Ron Garvin’s almost lack of participation in this match feeds into what will transpire later on in the show. Animal and Al Perez come in. Koloff and Williams slug it out. The crowd comes alive for Animal. Perez goes down a level and so does Animal. Hawk and The Russian Assassin come in. 3 men in the top cage, 4 men in the middle cage. Jimmy Garvin and Kevin Sullivan the final two men in. Perez and Animal go to the bottom cage; Hawk goes to the middle cage. Animal goes out, then Perez goes out. Rotunda goes down. Russian Assassin and Koloff attack Hawk. He counters. Hawk goes out. Williams goes to the bottom. Russian Assassin and Koloff go out. Jimmy Garvin, Rotunda, and Sullivan go to the middle cage. The heels double team Jimmy Garvin. Rotunda goes down and out. Jimmy Garvin and Sullivan battle in the middle cage. The wrestlers start to fight on the outside. Sullivan and Jimmy Garvin go down. Sullivan goes after Precious. Jimmy Garvin attacks him. Jimmy Garvin hits a bombs away brain buster on Sullivan. Precious unlocks the cage. Sullivan pushes Jimmy Garvin through the door then locks the cage with him and Precious inside. Jimmy Garvin has to climb back through the cages to help her. Sullivan has a rope and chokes Precious but Hawk comes with Jimmy Garvin and hits a nice flying clothesline on Sullivan and the crowd pops huge!
-Tony and Jim recap the last match.
-Bob Caudle talks about the last match. This is called filling time while we dismantle the cage.
-United States Championship Match: Barry Windham with JJ Dillon VS. Dusty Rhodes. Windham, although champion, comes out first. Rhodes is the JCP equivalent of Hulk Hogan I guess. Rhodes comes out to Music City Dub USA. They say Windham is only 20 pounds lighter than Rhodes. They must be some well-conditioned pounds. Slow to start. Windham looks good. The announcers talk about their pasts and the emotion of the match. Back and Forth. Windham takes a walk to clear his head. JJ comes up on the apron and gets the Bionic Elbow from Rhodes and the crowd goes wild. They fight outside and Rhodes batters Windham. Windham doesn't back down. He takes it to Rhodes and bumps his ass off for Big Dust. Windham gets the claw on Rhodes, Rhodes will not quit. He starts to come back. He finally breaks the claw, but Windham slaps it back on as Rhodes was putting on the figure four. Windham goes for the superplex. Rhodes pushes him off and referee Tommy Young gets hit. Rhodes hits the elbow, but there is no referee. Ronnie Garvin comes in and turns heel on Rhodes hitting him and knocking him out. Windham puts the claw on and gets the pin.
-They replay the last few moments of the match.
-Bob Caudle is in the dressing room. Ronnie Garvin is shown with a suitcase of money from Gary Hart and JJ Dillon.
-NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match: Ric Flair with JJ Dillon VS. Lex Luger. Luger gets a big pop coming out. Flair has a decent reaction. Mental games by Flair to start. They have mentioned the Maryland State Athletic Commission all night, foreshadowing the finish. Flair keeps begging off. Luger focuses on the back. He finally misses an elbow, but Flair begs off. They go to the outside. Flair takes over, opens the Chop House. Back and forth. Luger gets a close two count. Flair on the offense but gets caught up top. Luger can't get the pin. Flair works the leg and puts the figure four on. Luger reverses it. Luger starting to come back. Chop House Special. Both men spent. Flair goes up top and gets caught again. Luger hits a big clothesline. Flair goes over and out after an Irish Whip. Luger gets run into the post and JJ blades him. Luger gets the torture rack on. The bell rings and the crowd goes wild thinking Luger has won the title. The commission doctor has stopped the match due to blood loss but Luger isn’t bleeding much. It’s a BS finish. The crowd is not happy. A bullshit chant goes out. In his announcement to the fans, Gary Cappetta makes sure to point at the Commissioner and the Doctor and call them by name so that we know who to blame for this mess. I thought that was funny. Tony and Jim are doing their best to get it over, but it is not a great ending. The end credits begin as they sign off from Baltimore.