The Great American Bash event is one of the more legendary in wrestling, with it having a long history, existing all the way from NWA, through WCW, and now in WWE. In the present day, the Great American Bash is now a special NXT event, although it is no longer a PPV.
Some events have been truly special, whilst others not so much. Throughout its long and illustrious history, with 16 different PPVs under the banner, it is difficult to pinpoint which 10 shows have the most quality, with several being average shows, making them harder to pick between. Either way, these are arguably the 10 best Great American Bash shows in history, with some NWA, WCW, and WWE selections included.
10 Great American Bash 1992
The 1992 event was unique as it was built around a tournament to crown new NWA Tag Team Champions. Often, PPVs which are dominated by a tournament can be a let-down, but for the most part this was handled well. Some matches lasted too long, particularly in the main event which saw Steve Williams and Terry Gordy defeat Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes.
The fans were worn out by the end of the event, despite the wrestlers doing their best, even with them having to compete in multiple lengthy matches in just one night. In the midst of the tournament, Sting vs Vader stole the show in a World Heavyweight Title match in a great David vs Goliath encounter.
9 Great American Bash 1998
The opening half of this show was very enjoyable, as the World Television and Cruiserweight Titles both delivered, along with a fun match between Chavo and Eddie Guerrero. Unfortunately, nWo madness took a lot of life out of the second half.
Bret Hart & Hulk Hogan vs Roddy Piper & Randy Savage was very slow and lethargic, and the main event saw Sting defeat The Giant in a singles match for the Tag Team Titles, which was ludicrous.
8 Great American Bash 1990
The opening four singles matches were pretty basic and uninspiring, but things really came to life when the Midnight Express defeated The Southern Boys in a truly fantastic US Tag Title match. The main event between Sting and Ric Flair was also very enjoyable.
In between those two great matches, some more matches which felt like filler took place, like Lex Luger vs Mean Mark, and an underwhelming tag in which the Steiners faced the Fabulous Freebirds.
7 Great American Bash 2007
This show was certainly a mixed bag, with the positives being a strong opener between MVP and Matt Hardy, a great clash of styles between Umaga and Jeff Hardy, and then a main event which had a big fight feel between John Cena and Bobby Lashley.
However, low points included Hornswoggle becoming the final Cruiserweight Champion, a weird Singapore Cane on a Pole bout between Carlito and Sandman, an awkward Bullrope Match between Randy Orton and a very immobile and aged Dusty Rhodes, and finally a World Heavyweight Title match which saw the awful Great Khali go over Kane and Batista.
6 Great American Bash 1997
Whilst there were some quite poor matches, such as Konnan vs Hugh Morrus, Glacier vs Wrath, and a very underwhelming tag team match between four huge names as The Outsiders took on Ric Flair and Roddy Piper, there was enough to save this show from being poor.
Ultimo Dragon and Psicosis kicked things off in an electric opener, Harlem Heat defeated the Steiners in a physical tag bout, Akira Horuto and Madusa beat the hell out of one another in a career threatening match, and Randy Savage defeated DDP in a chaotic Falls Count Anywhere match, with the latter slightly ruined with too much nWo interference.
5 Great American Bash 2006
It must be said that the god awful Punjabi Prison match between The Undertaker and Big Show dragged this show down significantly, but elsewhere on the card it proved to be a solid event. The opening undercard matches were great, as Gregory Helms defeated Matt Hardy, and Brian Kendrick & London defeated The Pitbulls in a fun cruiserweight-style match.
Mr. Kennedy and Batista managed to pack in a lot of intensity into just 8 minutes, but the DQ finish was a big shame. King Booker got his crowning moment in the main event, winning the World Title from Rey Mysterio, although it wasn’t the most star-studded of PPV title bouts.
4 Great American Bash 1988
With just five matches on the card, this show had a lot of focus and good pacing, allowing everything to breathe. Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard vs Sting & Nikolai Volkoff fought to a time limit draw to open the show. The action was good, but the finish was a shame. The Midnight Express then faced The Fantastics in another strong tag team encounter to follow. Barry Windham vs Dusty Rhodes was a very solid match too.
The Tower of Doom match was a failed experiment, and the strong main event between Ric Flair and Lex Luger was unfortunately ruined by a poor finish, as Luger won the match, but the finish was overturned due to commission guidelines with regard to Luger’s bleeding.
3 Great American Bash 1996
The Steiners opened the show against Fire and Ice in a brutal and stiff match, which was quite scary at times. The Giant vs Lex Luger in the main event was quite poor, but aside from that the show was very fun.
Dean Malenko vs Rey Mysterio was a brilliant cruiserweight match, Sting vs Lord Regal was technically sound, and The Four Horsemen vs Kevin Green & Steve McMichael was a great special attraction bout. Elsewhere, The Outsiders made an appearance to attack Eric Bischoff in a huge and noteworthy angle.
2 Great American Bash 2008
In terms of the WWE versions, this was by far the best Great American Bash show for them. It featured a fun four-way opener for the tag titles, a decent match between Shelton Benjamin and Matt Hardy, and a serviceable main event between Triple H and Edge.
The show was most notable for a brilliant bloodbath between Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels, and terrific Parking Lot Brawl between John Cena and JBL, which smashed all expectations as they beat the hell out of one another. The only real downside was the very lackluster match between CM Punk and Batista.
1 Great American Bash 1989
Aside from what was a mess of a Battle Royale involving two rings, this show is up there with the overall best PPVs NWA/WCW ever put forth. Even a Tuxedo Match between Jim Cornette and Paul E. Dangerously managed to somehow deliver!
The second half of this show was truly special, pushing it to being the best Great American Bash of all time, with even the rating on cagematch.net supporting this. Sting vs Great Muta, Lex Luger vs Ricky Steamboat, and Ric Flair vs Terry Funk were all absolutely brilliant matches, in addition to a hard-hitting and well produced WarGames match too.