Bash at the Beach (1994)

Bash at the Beach (1994) was the first Bash at the Beach professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on July 17, 1994 from the Orlando Arena in Orlando, Florida.

Bash at the Beach (1994)
VHS cover featuring Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair.
Promotion	World Championship Wrestling
Date	July 17, 1994[1]
City	Orlando, Florida[1]
Venue	Orlando Arena[1]
Attendance	14,000[2]
Tagline(s)	Hulk's WCW Debut!
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous Slamboree Next → Fall Brawl
Beach Blast/Bash at the Beach chronology
← Previous 1993 Next → 1995

In 1992 and 1993, WCW held a beach-themed pay-per-view show known as Beach Blast, which was the forerunner to Bash at the Beach. The 1992 show was held in June, however, as the company elected instead to reserve July for its flagship summertime extravaganza, The Great American Bash. Along with Slamboree, Starrcade, SuperBrawl, The Great American Bash, and Halloween Havoc, Bash at the Beach was booked to be one of WCW's flagship events.

This event marked Hulk Hogan's in ring debut for WCW. Tony Schiavone did the play-by-play, while color commentary was split between Bobby Heenan and Jesse Ventura. Ventura was on the outs with WCW management at this time, and he was notably missing from the main event.

As of 2014 the event is available on the WWE Network.[3]

Storylines

The event featured professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Professional wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.[4]

Event

Other on-screen personnel

Role:	Name:
Commentator	Tony Schiavone
	Bobby Heenan
	Jesse Ventura
Interviewer	Gene Okerlund
Ring announcer	Gary Michael Cappetta

Prior to the pay-per-view Brian Armstrong and Brad Armstrong defeated Steve Keirn and Bobby Eaton in a dark match.

The pay-per-view opened with Lord Steven Regal retaining the WCW World Television Championship against Johnny B. Badd. This match was originally scheduled to have Sting as the challenger, however Badd substituted due to Sting’s eye injury.

The second match was Vader facing The Guardian Angel. After Angel saw Harley Race with his nightstick, Angel grabbed it back, leading to the referee disqualifying him.

The next match saw Terry Funk and Bunkhouse Buck defeat Dustin Rhodes and Arn Anderson. After Rhodes tagged Anderson, Anderson turned on his partner and attacked him with a DDT. Anderson tagged himself back out and put Funk on top of Rhodes for the win. After the match all three men continued to attack Rhodes.

During the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship match Steve Austin defeated Ricky Steamboat to retain his title. After Steamboat hit a crossbody on Austin, Austin used the momentum to flip Steamboat over and pick up the victory via pinfall.

Pretty Wonderful (Paul Roma and Paul Orndorff) next captured the WCW World Tag Team Championship by defeating Cactus Jack and Kevin Sullivan. While Orndorff covered Jack, Roma held Jack’s foot down, outside the referee’s view, from the floor.

During the main event, Hulk Hogan made his WCW in-ring debut, and captured the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Ric Flair. Sensuous Sherri attempted to interfere and help Flair, however she was stopped by Mr. T. This gave Hogan the opportunity to take control of the match and pick up the victory following a legdrop. After the match, Hogan celebrated his victory with Mr. T, Jimmy Hart and Shaquille O'Neal.

Results

No.	Results[1][5][6]	Stipulations	Times[7]
1^D	Brian Armstrong and Brad Armstrong defeated Steve Keirn and Bobby Eaton	Tag team match	N/A
2	Lord Steven Regal (c) (with Sir William) defeated Johnny B. Badd	Singles match for the WCW World Television Championship	10:40
3	Vader (with Harley Race) defeated The Guardian Angel by disqualification	Singles match	07:58
4	Terry Funk and Bunkhouse Buck (with Col. Robert Parker and Meng) defeated Dustin Rhodes and Arn Anderson	Tag team match	11:15
5	Steve Austin (c) defeated Ricky Steamboat	Singles match for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship	20:06
6	Pretty Wonderful (Paul Roma & Paul Orndorff) defeated Cactus Jack and Kevin Sullivan (c)	Tag team match for the WCW World Tag Team Championship[8]	20:10
7	Hulk Hogan (with Mr. T and Jimmy Hart) defeated Ric Flair (c) (with Sensuous Sherri)	Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship	21:54
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match D – indicates the match was a dark match

References

1. "Bash at the Beach 1994". Pro Wrestling History. July 17, 1994. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
2. "WCW Bash At The Beach 1994 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
3. "Every pay-per-view available on WWE Network". WWE. February 4, 2014. Archived from the original on February 5, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
4. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Retrieved 2015-11-15.
5. Cawthon, Graham (2014). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 4: World Championship Wrestling 1989–1994. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 1499656343.
6. "2007 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts". Wrestling's Historical Cards: Bash at the Beach (Orlando, Florida, Orlando Arena). Kappa Publishing. 2007. p. 140.
7. "Bash at the Beach". The History of WWE.
8. Mick Foley (2000). Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. HarperCollins. p. 277. ISBN 0-06-103101-1.