Chairshot Classics: WCW The Great American Bash ’91

Match #10 – Steel Cage Match for the Vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship: WCW United States Champion Lex Luger vs. Barry Windham
Collar and elbow tie up and they collide but don’t fall on simultaneous shoulder blocks. Luger can’t lift Windham for a vertical suplex and they regroup. Side headlock by Windham, Luger is taken by a shoulder tackle but retaliates with a hip toss. Luger declines a test of strength. Collar and elbow, Luger hits the ropes and gets the shoulder tackle. A duck and a leapfrog and Windham meets him with a clothesline. Both men cautiously back to their feet, collar and elbow, Luger reverses a scoop slam into an inside cradle. Another tie up and this time Luger gets the scoop slam. Windham moves away from the elbow. Collar and elbow and Windham gets position.

They exchange rights and Luger gets the upper hand. They hit the ropes and Windham lifts him for a back body drop. Tie up and they chain wrestle until Luger grabs a head scissor. Windham breaks free and pops Luger in the face. Luger blocks the vertical suplex and Windham eats one instead. Collar and elbow and a scoop slam by Windham. He attempts a figure four but Luger kicks him off. Test of strength is offered, Luger catches Windham’s boot and executes an atomic drop. They tie up, side headlock by Windham, they hit the ropes and Luger goes down from the shoulder. Windham hits the ropes again but this time Luger surprises him with a sleeper hold. The hold is broken, they run again but this time it’s Windham who grabs the sleeper.

Luger counters out of it, falling forward and sending Windham into the turnbuckle. Luger gets up and catches him with DDT but Barry kicks out. Luger heads to the top rope but he’s caught with a military press. Windham drops a knee to the face and gets two. It’s Windham’s turn to go to the top rope. He kicks Luger down, but misses the big elbow. Windham is sent for a back body drop followed by a series of clotheslines. Windham barely gets the shoulder up. A whip by Luger, he catches him with an elbow and gets another two count. A powerslam by Luger and he’s calling for the torture rack. He gets Windham up on his shoulders, Barry reverses by using the ropes to flip out of it and he hits Luger with a belly to back suplex. Both men are down and Luger is up first.

Straight right by Luger and he sets Windham on the top turnbuckle. He goes for the superplex but Windham hangs onto the cage and shoves him off. Diving clothesline by Windham who follows with a back body drop. Another lariat from Windham with a scoop slam after. A lateral press and Luger kicks out at two. Windham goes back to the top rope and dives getting a boot to Luger’s face. The US champ kicks out at two. Windham pounds away with right and coming down the aisle is Harley Race & Mr. Hughes. Hughes draws Windham’s attention while Race appears to encourage Luger. Windham is struck by a knee to the back, and Luger plants him with a Race’s patented move, the piledriver and we have a new WCW World Heavyweight Champion.
Winner and NEW WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Lex Luger (Piledriver)

• EA’s Take: This match was methodical, but crisp and to be honest, I wasn’t expecting to be so satisfied with this one. Obviously this is starting a storyline aligning Race and Hughes with Luger as they pull the swerve here. The Horsemen are of course disbanded with Flair gone, so Windham’s going to be booked now as a babyface with the double switch here. The cage stipulation seemed to be useless with Flair out though – they didn’t use it once short of Windham hanging on to block the superplex. WCW is clearly putting a lot of chips on Luger and he now holds both major belts for the time being, as he will vacate the US strap and a tournament to crown a new champion would be held in the coming weeks.

Match #11 – Steel Cage Handicap Match: Arn Anderson & Paul E. Dangerously vs. Rick Steiner
Arn taunts Steiner and obviously starts the action as Dangerously cowers away. Steiner blocks a head shot to the cage and Double A backs off. Side headlock by Steiner, he hits Anderson with a clothesline and a power slam. Steiner gets distracted by Paul E. and Anderson blindsides him. Steiner reverses the whip and lifts up Anderson. Paul E. gets on the turnbuckle and chops Steiner from behind. Dangerously gives Anderson one of his cowboy boots and tries to hold Steiner in place while Arn comes off the turnbuckle. Steiner elbows Dangerously away and Steinerlines a leaping Enforcer. Dangerously panics and tries to escape but Rick catches him and scoop slams him. Dangerously eats a Steinerline and the Dog Faced Gremlin picks up the easy win.
Winner: Rick Steiner (Steinerline)

• EA’s Take: Why on earth did this gimmicky squash match go on last? You just had a rock solid bout to name a new champion and this is how you end the show? Let’s use the hashtag again: #TypicalWCW.

EA’s Finisher: This show was nothing to write home about, but it wasn’t as ugly as I’d expected considering the last minute changes that had to be made to the main event. Like I just said, that gimmick/squash going last made absolutely no sense. The Diamond Studd (Scott Hall) would go on to become one of my favorite wrestlers of all-time in the form of other characters so I was happy to see him. I’m not sure if it is, but I hope this is the last night I see a scaffold match and I wish I knew what this ongoing obsession was with advertising Hyatt going into the men’s locker room or this time Bischoff doing the opposite. Morton vs. Gibson could have stolen the show if they weren’t telling the story of injuring the knee, but that’s alright. Given the era and the holes in the roster, they didn’t have me rolling my eyes too often.

Top Three To Watch
1 – Lex Luger vs. Barry Windham
2 – The Fabulous Freebirds vs. The Young Pistols & Dustin Rhodes
3 – ‘Z-Man’ Tom Zenk vs. The Diamond Studd

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