Chairshot Classics: WCW The Great American Bash ’90

Match #11 for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship: NWA World Heavyweight Champion ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair w/Ole Anderson vs. Sting w/The Dudes With Attitude (‘Mr. Wonderful’ Paul Orndorff, El Gigante, Junkyard Dog, Rick & Scott Steiner)
Ole Anderson will be handcuffed to El Gigante for this one. Sting is looking thoroughly patriotic for the Great American Bash. The referee handcuffs the two together and Gigante motions to the entry way implying that Ole will be no where near the ring. The two stare each other down. Collar and elbow tie up and Stinger throws Flair down twice. They exchange Woo’s and tie up again. Football tackle by Sting and Flair regroups. Another tie up and Flair works some ineffective chops in the corner.

Sting whips Flair to the corner and lifts him for a military press slam. Sting lifts him for a hip toss and tosses Flair outside of the ring to the elevated entryway. Flair tries to fight off Sting but he receives a hip toss instead. Sting clotheslines him back inside the ring. He gives chase and Flair begs for mercy. A cheap shot from Flair with a thumb to the eye. Snapmare by Flair and he follows it with his trademarked knee. Flair pulls Sting up for a vertical suplex but Sting is surprisingly up first. A pair of clotheslines from Sting followed by a cross body and a 2 count. Flair rolls out of the ring to regroup. They look for a test of strength and Flair takes shots to the knee instead. Irish whip by Flair but Sting comes back with a clothesline.

Sting misses an elbow and Flair looks to set u the figure four. Sting kicks him away and they exchange taunts. They stare each other down once again. Test of strength and Flair gets the knee up. Flair chops Sting down and tosses him outside. Flair chops him on the elevated entryway before returning him to the ring. Flair attacks Sting’s injured knee. Collar and elbow and Sting fights back with rights and kicks. Sting lands a big hip toss but he misses his clothesline. The champ goes back to work on the leg. A chip in the corner. Flair tries to land on the leg again but Sting moves. Snap mare by Flair, but Sting moves away from the knee drop. Sting is up and he uses the figure four against Flair.

Flair grabs the ropes to break the hold and he rolls outside the ring. Flair pulls him out and delivers a vicious chop. He throws Sting into the railing, but Sting is right back up. He chases Flair into the ring and delivers a flurry of rights as the crowd counts. Flair backs him off with a kick to the mid section and he goes to the top rope. Sting is there first and he tosses the champ with a military press. Flair is quick fight back. Sting fights off the hip toss and reverses into a backslide for a 2 count. Flair crawls up and takes a cheap leg sweep at Sting’s knee.

Flair takes more shots at the knee and takes him down with a snapmare. Flair stomps Sting’s head and Sting tries to roll away. Back to their feet, Flair won’t let up on the leg. He sets up for the figure four but again Sting kicks him away. He shoves Sting to the corner. Stinger tries to fight him off but Flair’s chops and rights are too much. Flair pulls a limping Sting to the opposite corner. He slaps Sting in the face and the challenger is woken up. The chops do nothing. Sting sends Flair for the ride and delivers a military press. He follows with a clothesline but can only get 2.5. Sting gets up on the turnbuckle for a series of rights.

Irish whip by Sting. Flair flips over the turnbuckle and he’s clotheslined on the apron. Vertical suplex by Sting and he gets a 2 count. Irish whip by Sting and he gets Flair with a Stinger splash. Flair is put in the Scorpion Deathlock. Ole tries running for the ring but El Gigante keeps him back. The other Horsemen rush the ring but the Dudes with Attitudes keep them at bay. The champ breaks the hold on the rope. Flair takes two right hands and is knocked to the apron. Sting approaches and Flair and the champ delivers a shoulder to the mid section. He leaps over for a pin and he has his feet on the ropes for leverage. Scott Steiner shoves Flair’s feet off and Flair starts him down.

Sting grabs a rollup from behind that’s good for a 2 count. Snap mare takedown by Flair but Sting scissors his head. Sting grabs Flair’s chest and bridges back to his feet. He twists Flair into a back slide. He gets him down but can only get two. Flair chops but cannot effect Sting. The challenger goes for a running knee after an Irish whip but Flair moves. His knee is vulnerable and Flair goes for the figure four once again. Instead, Sting grabs his head and rolls into an inside cradle and we have a new champion.
Winner and NEW NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Sting (Inside Cradle)

• EA’s Take: A trademark Sting/Flair match here. Ole and El Gigante was a funny spot, but once again the big man did nothing and got over. It was like a reverse lumberjack match to prevent a screwed finish, but it was the moment that seemingly everyone was waiting for as the most popular star in the company finally reaches the pinnacle. Sting’s victory really signals a lot of changes for WCW and who better to lead them into the next decade? The answer’s not Kanyon!

EA’s Take: This very well could be my favorite NWA/WCW event I’ve covered so far. Nothing was unwatchable and the production value continues to rise, as well as a umber of fresh faces. There were no corny gimmick matches, lots of good action and a lot of relatively clean finishes. Throughout the late 80’s and even tonight, they constantly talked about which young star, Luger or Sting, would “take the company into the 1990’s” and we saw the choice, which was really the people’s choice. Sting taking over the World Title is a changing of the guard, some for better and some for worse. As great as I found this show to be, the rails start falling off a little moving forward under Jim Herd and Ole Anderson’s direction.

Top Three To Watch
1 – Sting vs. Ric Flair
2 – The Midnight Express vs. The Southern Boys
3 – Harley Race vs. Tommy Rich

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