Bash at the Beach 2000: WCW Blew Up in Public, Then Finally Crowned Booker T

The opener is the cleanest example of WCW still having useful wrestling underneath the noise. Juventud Guerrera mixes stalling with explosive offense, while Lieutenant Loco keeps the match moving through counters, suplexes and a strong tornado DDT. The crowd responds to the pace and gives the show an immediate lift.

The interference from both factions is unnecessary and occasionally distracts from the work, but the wrestlers recover. Loco ultimately blocks the Juvie Driver sequence and wins with the tornado DDT. The match is not a classic, yet it is athletic, competitive and substantially better than much of what follows.

The hardcore match is built almost entirely around Ralphus being an out-of-shape comedy target. Norman Smiley provides some energy and knows how to make the wandering backstage brawl entertaining, but the structure repeatedly pauses so the wrestlers can find another object to hit each other with.

Vito eventually isolates Ralphus in the ring and crashes through a table setup for the pin while Norman is still returning from backstage. The result protects Vito but accomplishes little else. The segment is short, loud and forgettable, with more prop comedy than meaningful wrestling.

Daffney and Miss Hancock show flashes of athletic effort, but the stipulation works against them from the start. The match is designed around removing clothing, David Flair interference and wedding-cake comedy rather than establishing any competitive goal the audience can invest in.

Hancock eventually removes her own gown while dancing, which allows Daffney to win under the stated rules. The post-match cake fight extends the spectacle without improving it. The performers commit to the material, but the material treats them as props in an angle rather than wrestlers on a pay-per-view card.

KroniK are over enough that the crowd wants to see the title change, and that energy carries the match through several slow control sections. Brian Adams and Bryan Clark look strongest when the structure becomes simple power wrestling, while Shawn Stasiak and Chuck Palumbo use basic heel cutoffs to delay the comeback.

The final stretch becomes more active and KroniK eventually win with a powerbomb-clothesline combination. The result is correct, but thirteen minutes is too much for the material and the middle drags badly. A shorter version could have been a strong title change; the full version is merely passable.

Kanyon and Booker produce one of the night's better conventional matches. Kanyon mixes creative offense with his Diamond Dallas Page imitation, while Booker works with the urgency of someone the crowd already views as a top-level babyface. The action escalates naturally and several counters earn strong reactions.

Jarrett's guitar shot creates the finish, allowing Kanyon to hit the top-rope Kanyon Cutter for the pin. The interference is frustrating on its own, but it becomes important later when Booker is chosen for the world-title match. The wrestling is good enough that the angle feels like an interruption rather than the entire point.

Steiner and Awesome have the kind of heavyweight match WCW should have trusted more often. They brawl into the crowd, exchange suplexes and weapon shots, and create a physical contrast that feels naturally suited to both men. Awesome's aerial offense gives the fight useful variation without softening the impact.

The ending is the problem. Commissioner Ernest Miller repeatedly warns Steiner not to use the banned Recliner, Steiner applies it anyway and the match is stopped by disqualification. The decision exists to remove the title without pinning Steiner, but it drains the finish of satisfaction. The wrestling before the ruling is one of the show's clear positives.

The graveyard setting sounds atmospheric and becomes a visibility problem. Much of the action is difficult to see, the wrestlers move between graves, water and coffins without a strong competitive rhythm, and the remote location makes the segment feel disconnected from the live pay-per-view.

Vampiro eventually traps The Demon in a coffin and returns to the arena first, but the match continues through several staged horror images before the result is clear. The concept has historical curiosity and little replay value. Modern cinematic matches make the rough lighting and editing especially obvious.

Douglas and Bagwell work a recognizable singles match and occasionally find useful ideas, especially when Douglas targets Buff's previously injured neck. Bagwell's crowd connection keeps the comeback alive, while Douglas supplies enough heel personality to prevent the bout from becoming completely flat.

Torrie Wilson eventually interferes, kisses Buff and then turns on him with a low blow, giving Douglas the opening for the finish. The angle overwhelms the wrestling and makes the result feel secondary. Seven minutes is mercifully short, but the match never develops enough momentum to matter.

This is historically essential and competitively almost nonexistent. Jarrett enters, lies down at the bell, Hogan protests on the microphone and then pins him with a foot. The audience has paid for a world-title match and receives a staged surrender designed to communicate a backstage conflict.

The segment becomes even more damaging when Russo later invalidates the championship result and publicly attacks Hogan's behavior. As history, it is impossible to ignore. As a wrestling match, there is virtually nothing to score. The one point reflects the fact that the bell rings and a pinfall technically occurs.

Goldberg and Nash have enough star power to make the first few power exchanges feel important, but the match never develops beyond setup for Scott Steiner's turn. Nash lands familiar offense, Goldberg survives and the crowd waits for the inevitable outside involvement.

Steiner eventually attacks Nash during the Jackknife attempt, allowing Goldberg to hit the spear and Jackhammer. The interference determines the result and Goldberg tears up Scott Hall's contract afterward. The story moves forward, but the wrestling is short, flat and far less effective than their better-known Starrcade encounter.

Booker and Jarrett inherit an impossible situation and produce a respectable championship match. Jarrett targets Booker's leg, Booker sells the damage and the crowd grows louder with every comeback because the possibility of a title win feels real. The early arena brawling is generic, but the final stretch gains focus.

There are still referee bumps, a guitar and a belt shot before Booker catches Jarrett coming off the top and lands the Book End for the championship. The match is not a hidden classic, but the result is exactly right. Booker's celebration gives the pay-per-view an emotional ending strong enough to survive the chaos that created it.