The Great American Bash 2005: Rey and Eddie Try to Save a Show That Keeps Getting in Its Own Way

The opener is carried almost entirely by nostalgia and crowd goodwill. MNM tries to provide structure by isolating Heidenreich's leg and using quick tags, but the challengers never look especially fluid as a team. Animal receives the expected hot reaction and brings enough power to make the comeback land, while Mercury and Nitro bump generously around him. The finish is simple and effective: MNM's Snapshot breaks down, Animal powerslams Mercury, and Heidenreich joins him for the Doomsday Device to win the titles. The match itself is clumsy and short, but Buffalo likes the outcome. Animal's post-match dedication to Hawk gives the segment the emotional meaning the wrestling could not provide on its own.

Booker and Christian produce the most conventional match on the card, which becomes a virtue on a show overloaded with gimmicks and interference. Christian spends the early portion avoiding prolonged exchanges and using positioning to frustrate Booker. Booker gradually takes control with power and familiar offense, while Christian creates a few believable counters without ever feeling close to a major breakthrough. The crowd stays reasonably engaged because both wrestlers are established and the action is easy to follow. Booker finally lands the scissors kick for a clean pin, giving the night one result that does not need explanation afterward. The match never reaches another gear and the finish arrives abruptly, but eleven minutes of competent wrestling feels refreshing in this environment.

Benoit works as though he is trying to drag a better match out of Jordan, and for stretches he nearly succeeds. His strikes, suplexes, and urgency give the challenger credibility, while Jordan slows the pace with basic control offense that repeatedly drains the crowd. The match becomes more interesting when Benoit starts creating openings for the Crossface and Jordan has to survive rather than dictate. The finish is another shortcut. Jordan removes a turnbuckle pad earlier, Benoit later charges into the exposed steel, and the champion steals the pin. Fourteen minutes is too long for the chemistry they have, and the ending leaves little sense that Jordan proved anything. Benoit's effort keeps the bout watchable, but the championship feels smaller afterward.

The match cannot escape the controversy surrounding the Hassan character, and WWE does not really try to make it a competitive contest. Hassan enters with masked supporters, gains brief control through outside interference, and otherwise spends most of eight minutes being positioned for Undertaker's retaliation. Undertaker knocks down the group one by one, survives a Camel Clutch, and finishes Hassan with a chokeslam. The post-match Last Ride through the stage is the real ending because it writes Hassan out of WWE immediately. As an angle, it is decisive. As wrestling, it is thin and uncomfortable, with the surrounding imagery overwhelming anything happening between the ropes. The result feels less like a contender match than an emergency conclusion to a storyline WWE wanted gone.

The six-man tag is five minutes of names and callbacks without enough time to become a real pay-per-view match. The bWo receives recognition from fans who remember the ECW parody, while the Mexicools are still being introduced as a new SmackDown act. Super Crazy provides the best athletic moment with a springboard moonsault, and Psicosis follows with the top-rope leg drop for the pin. The pace is quick enough that nothing becomes actively tedious, but there is no meaningful tag structure, no sustained heat segment, and almost no dramatic escalation. It resembles a short television showcase placed between more important stories. The Mexicools get the expected win and move on. The audience gets a few familiar faces and very little reason to revisit the match.

Mysterio and Guerrero are too good together to produce a bad match, even when the storyline keeps dragging attention toward Dominik at ringside. Guerrero works with deliberate cruelty, repeatedly taunting the child and using him as psychological leverage against Rey. Mysterio answers with speed and quick counters, while Guerrero gradually takes over through the Three Amigos, a brainbuster, and the Frog Splash. The finish fits Eddie's obsession: instead of covering immediately, he stares at Dominik and turns the pin into a cocky pose. Rey traps him in a cradle and steals another victory. Their earlier and later matches are better, but the final sequence gives the story a genuine wrestling consequence. On this card, competent drama feels almost luxurious.

The match is not structured around wrestling competition in any meaningful sense. Candice Michelle serves as special referee while Melina and Torrie trade brief offense between attempts to remove clothing, and the audience is encouraged to react to the stipulation rather than technique or story. Torrie removes Melina's top, Melina eventually removes Torrie's pants, and that ends the match after less than four minutes. The post-match continuation pushes the same presentation further instead of giving either wrestler a character beat that matters beyond the segment. Melina had already shown real potential as a performer and personality, which makes the assignment feel even more limiting in hindsight. It is short, dated, and almost completely disconnected from the rest of the card.

Batista and JBL are asked to fill nearly twenty minutes without the chemistry or pace to justify it. JBL controls long stretches with holds and strikes, while Batista's bursts of power provide the only reliable spikes in crowd energy. A referee bump creates the expected confusion and lets JBL appear to have the match won after the Clothesline From Hell without a count. Orlando Jordan then brings in a chair, Batista takes it away, and the champion hits both men with it directly in front of the recovering referee. JBL wins by disqualification while Batista retains the title. The post-match Batista Bombs send the crowd home happier, but the finish confirms the match existed mainly to advertise a rematch rather than resolve anything in Buffalo.