The Great American Bash 1999: WCW Booked Everything Except a Finish

Hak and Knobbs immediately turn the opener into a weapon brawl, using chairs and ringside objects to replace conventional structure. The pace is energetic enough and the short runtime prevents the match from becoming completely repetitive, but very little of the action feels connected beyond the next available object.

Jimmy Hart's attempted chair shot backfires and helps Hak secure the pin before Hugh Morrus attacks afterward. F reflects a match with effort and crowd noise but almost no wrestling coherence. It establishes the event's obsession with outside involvement before the show is ten minutes old.

Whipwreck tries to create movement through quicker offense and bumping, while Hammer works a slower power style that gives the crowd long stretches without much reason to react. The contrast could have produced a simple underdog match, but the pairing never develops enough chemistry.

Hammer eventually wins after more than eight minutes, which is far too long for a showcase with such little heat. F reflects a bout that belongs on television rather than pay-per-view. Neither man embarrasses himself, but the match has no stakes and no momentum.

Bagwell and Disco benefit from having one of the least complicated matches on the card. The crowd understands Bagwell as the babyface, Disco can stall and counter, and the wrestlers are allowed to build a normal singles structure without a cage, title or celebrity stipulation.

The exchanges are basic but generally smooth, and Bagwell's comeback generates a better reaction than most of the undercard receives. D+ reflects competent midcard wrestling that never becomes special. On a stronger show it would be forgettable; here, its simplicity makes it one of the easier matches to watch.

Mysterio transforms the match whenever he enters, using speed and springboard offense to force Hennig and Duncum out of their preferred slower rhythm. Hennig remains the best base in the match and gives the younger opponents enough space to make the contrast in styles work.

The Master P storyline surrounds the bout, but the wrestling itself is coherent and the ten-minute runtime is appropriate. Mysterio ultimately scores the decisive fall before the Rednecks continue the feud after the bell. C reflects the strongest non-title wrestling on the undercard and a useful example of Mysterio rescuing an awkward concept through execution.

Horace replaces Scott Norton and immediately exposes how little anticipation exists for the matchup. The Cat works through kicks, taunts and Sonny Onoo distraction while Horace responds with basic offense that never creates a meaningful comeback.

Outside involvement once again becomes more important than the wrestling, and the finish arrives after roughly five minutes without establishing either man as a serious threat. F reflects a television-level segment on a card already overloaded with them. The match is short, but not short enough to become harmless.

Flair and Piper are capable of creating crowd noise through personality alone, but the wrestling feels exhausted long before the finish. The authority stipulation places corporate control above competitive stakes, and both men spend more time leaning on familiar habits than building a fresh match.

Buff Bagwell eventually interferes and gets Piper disqualified, handing Flair control of WCW. Piper then helps Flair and Arn Anderson attack Bagwell, making the alignment shift more confusing than dramatic. F reflects a match whose stipulation and aftermath swallow everything between the bells.

The stipulation should allow Sting and Steiner to create a physical fight throughout the building, and the opening exchanges at least suggest that possibility. Instead, the match becomes secondary once the action moves backstage and the broadcast begins setting up the finish.

Sting is attacked by dogs, the cameras struggle to make the scene readable and the referee eventually awards Steiner the victory. F reflects a finish so absurd that it erases whatever competent wrestling came before it. The match is remembered for animals and confusion rather than Sting or Steiner.

Benoit and Saturn finally receive enough time to build a complete championship match. The Triad isolate Saturn, Page and Kanyon rotate control effectively and the champions have to create openings rather than simply wait for a scripted run-in.

The final stretch is the strongest wrestling on the show. Benoit strings together suplexes, Saturn accelerates the pace and both teams produce near falls that feel connected to the previous work. Bam Bam Bigelow's presence eventually helps tilt the result toward the Triad, who capture the titles.

B- reflects a strong nineteen-minute tag match held back by the same outside involvement affecting the rest of the card. Even so, it proves WCW's roster is capable of delivering quality when the booking allows a match to breathe.

Nash and Savage spend the opening minutes working a slow heavyweight structure without creating much urgency. Savage's entourage remains part of the presentation, Nash sells the attacks and the title never feels like the center of the match despite being the most important championship in the company.

Sid Vicious then returns, attacks Nash and causes Savage to be disqualified after only seven minutes. The surprise gets a reaction, but it reduces the world-title match to setup for the next program. F reflects a main event that barely exists as competition and ends exactly the way the rest of the show has trained viewers to expect.