Rebooking Great American Bash 91

[spaldoni]

Hey everybody, most of you know that the Great American Bash 91 is considered one of the worst pay per views of all time. Most of it had to do with Ric Flair leaving. So with Flair gone and Scott Steiner injured, how do you save this card? Even before Flair left, I didn't like some of the booking so I've revamped the card. After Flair leaves the first thing I do is try and book the world title bout as best as I can. I announce that on a special TV special there will be a 30 man battle royal with the winner facing Luger at the Bash for the vacated title. I book Arn Anderson to win it. Arn and Lex had a lot of history so there wouldn't have to be a lot of build up. Arn was also Flair's enforcer for years so that adds to the story. Here's how my final card would of looked.

Lex Luger vs Arn Anderson- World Title Cage Bout
Rick Steiner vs Barry Windham- Bunkhouse Rules
Sting vs Nikita Koloff- No DQ
Steve Austin vs Bobby Eaton- TV Title Bout
Richard Morton/Terrance Taylor vs Robert Gibson/Z-Man
Ron Simmons vs Dan Spivey
Fly'n Brian vs Larry Zybysko
Tommy Rich/Big Josh vs Black Blood/One Man Gang
Vader vs Junkyard Dog
Freebirds/Diamond Studd vs Southern Boys/Dustin Rhodes

I think this would of been a hard hitting card. I would love to read other ideas.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The problem was not so much the injury to Steiner or even Flair being gone, but how WCW/Herd handled the title situation. By refusing to pay Flair his deposit, they were without a belt, so whoever was put into that match was immediately going to look inferior to Flair.

Of the potential opponents, Windham was the best they could have used without ripping up the other feuds. Had Scott Steiner been fit, he'd have been my pick to win the World title but the Koloff/Sting feud needed a pay off.

I am not sure Vader was actually there at the time, as he may have been on tour in Japan. but if not he is the only other one who could have gone into that title match realistically, but with Luger planned to go heel it wouldn't have worked.

The problem with that show was a lot of feuds and lower talent were just "thrown together", a scaffold, capture the flag match with a 400lber was never going to work.

I'd have gone with:-

Luger v Windham
Rick Steiner v Arn Anderson with Heyman above the ring in a cage
Sting v Koloff - Chain match (that was a good way to end it)
Diamond Studd vs JYD
Dustin Rhodes vs Badstreet/DDP
Freebirds v The Southern Boys
Yellow Dog v B.Badd
Taylor, Morton and Austin v News, Eaton and Gibson
Tom Zenk and El Gigante v Vader and One Man Gang
Ron Simmons vs Oz

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Well, first thing is I'd open the damn pocketbook and pay Flair what he was worth, and still have my Flair Vs. Luger main event.

I mean, Flair left just two weeks before the PPV. WCW had their chance to control that situation, but they were so utterly blind to the reality of their business, they completely sabotaged themselves.

But supposing you have no choice in the matter:

Main Event:
Steel Cage Four Man Match:
Lex Luger Vs. Sting Vs. Nikita Koloff Vs. Arn Anderson

I know they didn't "go" for these kinds of matches at the time, but the advantage of the arrangement is you introduce suspense immediately and make the best of a bad situation. Luger is no longer the obvious choice to win with Sting in the mix. The inclusion of Anderson would include a short build to have him be Flair's de-facto replacement...the guy who never got his shot because he was the loyal lieutenant for years. Koloff is there to continue the feud with Sting. Let this one go long to give the fans their money's worth. I'd still book Luger to win, but by screwing over Sting in the process, which leads nicely into their feud for the fall and winter.

(Second option: Mini four man tournament: Sting Vs. Koloff ... Sting advances to Title Match, Luger Vs. Anderson ... Luger advances. Luger screws over Sting in the final to win the title.)

Steel Cage Handicap Match:
Rick Steiner Vs. Barry Windham and Paul E. Dangerously

Sub out Windham for Anderson, and put this on in the 2nd to last spot with Steiner going over. Not much you can do there with Scott Steiner going down in injury...man, WCW just had NO luck in this PPV either.

World TV Title Match:
Bobby Eaton Vs. Steve Austin

Austin had just won the World TV title from Eaton in what I believe was a dark match...not even sure it was on WCW Saturday Night...why??? Why, why, why? Eaton was a SOLID worker and popular at the time. Austin was new and up and coming. I rewind history on that one to bring the title match to the PPV with Austin winning the title here.

Yellow Dog Vs. Johnny B. Badd - Get rid of the DQ finish, and have Pillman (Dog) go over.

6 Man Match:
Rhodes and the Southern Boys Vs. The Freebirds - Meh. Just get rid of the elimination rules, and make this a shorter 6 man match with Rhodes and the Southern Boys going over. Can't tell you how much I hated the Freebirds at this time. Old, fat, and wasted.

Ron Simmons Vs. One Man Gang - Bye bye to Oz, bye bye to Gigante. Simmons goes over.

PN News Vs. Terrance Taylor - Sure, why not. Taylor wins with Morton's help.

Ricky Morton Vs. Robert Gibson - Same as before, but shorter match, and Morton still goes over.

I still feel like we're polishing a turd here, but I think this is a much better turd as a result.

 

[The IWC Butcher]

I would have made an announcement that the top 8 contenders were deemed to be Sting, Luger, Windham & Vadar... I would have said due to Ric Flair leaving this PPV would be a tournament for the title..and at the same time promising the fans they would get the matches they paid for (Sting Koloff was the only one that stands out to me)

.Based on the matches they would do an 8 man tournament putting in Koloff, Windham, Ron Simmons & Arn Anderson... Have Sting go over Koloff, Vadar over Anderson, Simmons over Windham & Luger over Steiner. Sting Vs Vadar & Luger Vs Simmons .... We get Sting over Vadar but badly injured and Luger over Simmons via DQ, make it that Luger was going to cheat but Simmons got caught with a chair or something (planting Luger's heel turn)... A badly injured Sting Vs Luger.... Luger wins, turns on his buddy to be champion, sets the stage for their pay off at Super Brawl.

 

[STFU Donnie]

I'll tell you right now, I don't see anyway for this to not ultimately be disappointing. It's one thing to fantasy book without guidelines and quite another to do so within the confines of what WCW was planning to do afterwards. So while my fantasy booking might lack imagination, that's largely because it's grounded in reality...which means Lex Luger has to walk out of the show the top heel and world champ.

My one leap is that WCW has to have a new heel debut. Now given that he would come in 3 months later and had been a free agent for a year, Rick Rude's debut is moved up to happen at the Bash.

So here's the card:

TV title match: Steve Austin defeats Bobby Eaton (this is my hot start match. Paul E. watches the match from the top of the ramp. After the match, Paul E gets tracked down for an interview and is asked what he was doing out there. Paul says he was simply scouting and that tonight would be the beginning of the new era in WCW and he was making sure to be in position to have an impact)

El Gigante and PN News defeat Black Blood and One Man Gang

Diamond Studd defeats Tom Zenk

Dustin Rhodes and The Young Pistols beat The Freebirds

Ron Simmons defeats Johnny B Badd

Richard Morton & Terrence Taylor defeat Robert Gibson & Yellow Dog (look the R&R Express break-up should occur in the context of a tag match...and Gibson just can't carry the babyface load. This match is as much about ending that angle and starting The York Foundation vs Brian Pillman which will lead to the WCW light heavyweight title tourney.)

Arn Anderson defeats Rick Steiner with Paul in his corner (Arn and Paul do an interview beforehand, with Steve Austin in the background. Arn talks about Flair leaving a vacum in WCW and he, Steve, and Paul planned to fill it starting tonight when they take down another Steiner. During the match, Austin comes down after Rick decks Paul. Once Paul comes to he distracts the ref and Austin is stalking Rick...when Bobby Eaton hits the ring. Austin backs off and when Rick turns around, Bobby decks him.)

Four-man Tournament for the WCW title:

Semifinal 1: Lex Luger defeats Barry Windham (this match has to be kept short- maybe 7-8 minutes and puts Luger over strong. The idea being one that Luger looks awesome, but also that he is fresh...and has the added shoot benefit of protecting Luger from looking awful in the final.)

Semifinal 2: Sting defeats Nikita Koloff (this match has the dual purpose of semifinal and blowoff, so it's a hard physical match going a good 15 minutes, and I'd have Sting gets some color, if WCW allowed it, and Sting sells his back.)

Final: Lex Luger defeats Sting for the WCW title (The whole story is two best friends facing each other for all the gold, with Lex coming down as fresh as can be and Sting looking haggard and beat up. Lex offers to give Sting some time, but Sting refuses, so they start. Lex is quite aggressive, but Sting makes his comeback and the story is Sting just won't quit and Lex shows some frustration. Once Lex halts the comeback, Paul E, Arn, Austin, & Eaton walk down the ramp. Lex walks up like he's ready to fight and the ref gives chase. That's when Rick Rude comes through the crowd and jumps Sting. With Sting down, Lex and Paul E. share a smile and Arn gives him a pat on the back. Lex goes back to the ring, lifts an unconscious Sting into the Torture Rack and the ref has no choice but to stop it. That's when Rude joins Paul E and the gang as they come to the ring to celebrate Luger's win)

Aftermath: So Luger is your heel champ and now Sting has a crew of guys he has to get through to finally get back to Luger at Starrcade (after which the Dangerous Alliance beats Luger out of the group and Rude finishes Luger's run at SuperBrowl, pushing back the Steamboat feud). Sting starts with Rude as they feud over the US title. Austin is still the TV champ fighting the midcard babyfaces, and Bobby and Arn become the tag champs and work with Dustin and Barry (he can be turned after the Bash). Rick Steiner gets the Halloween Havoc spot with Luger and Ron Simmons gets the spot with Cactus and Abby. Pillman is paired with the York guys or the light title.

 

[The IWC Butcher]

I'll tell you right now, I don't see anyway for this to not ultimately be disappointing. It's one thing to fantasy book without guidelines and quite another to do so within the confines of what WCW was planning to do afterwards. So while my fantasy booking might lack imagination, that's largely because it's grounded in reality...which means Lex Luger has to walk out of the show the top heel and world champ.

My one leap is that WCW has to have a new heel debut. Now given that he would come in 3 months later and had been a free agent for a year, Rick Rude's debut is moved up to happen at the Bash.

So here's the card:

TV title match: Steve Austin defeats Bobby Eaton (this is my hot start match. Paul E. watches the match from the top of the ramp. After the match, Paul E gets tracked down for an interview and is asked what he was doing out there. Paul says he was simply scouting and that tonight would be the beginning of the new era in WCW and he was making sure to be in position to have an impact)

El Gigante and PN News defeat Black Blood and One Man Gang

Diamond Studd defeats Tom Zenk

Dustin Rhodes and The Young Pistols beat The Freebirds

Ron Simmons defeats Johnny B Badd

Richard Morton & Terrence Taylor defeat Robert Gibson & Yellow Dog (look the R&R Express break-up should occur in the context of a tag match...and Gibson just can't carry the babyface load. This match is as much about ending that angle and starting The York Foundation vs Brian Pillman which will lead to the WCW light heavyweight title tourney.)

Arn Anderson defeats Rick Steiner with Paul in his corner (Arn and Paul do an interview beforehand, with Steve Austin in the background. Arn talks about Flair leaving a vacum in WCW and he, Steve, and Paul planned to fill it starting tonight when they take down another Steiner. During the match, Austin comes down after Rick decks Paul. Once Paul comes to he distracts the ref and Austin is stalking Rick...when Bobby Eaton hits the ring. Austin backs off and when Rick turns around, Bobby decks him.)

Four-man Tournament for the WCW title:

Semifinal 1: Lex Luger defeats Barry Windham (this match has to be kept short- maybe 7-8 minutes and puts Luger over strong. The idea being one that Luger looks awesome, but also that he is fresh...and has the added shoot benefit of protecting Luger from looking awful in the final.)

Semifinal 2: Sting defeats Nikita Koloff (this match has the dual purpose of semifinal and blowoff, so it's a hard physical match going a good 15 minutes, and I'd have Sting gets some color, if WCW allowed it, and Sting sells his back.)

Final: Lex Luger defeats Sting for the WCW title (The whole story is two best friends facing each other for all the gold, with Lex coming down as fresh as can be and Sting looking haggard and beat up. Lex offers to give Sting some time, but Sting refuses, so they start. Lex is quite aggressive, but Sting makes his comeback and the story is Sting just won't quit and Lex shows some frustration. Once Lex halts the comeback, Paul E, Arn, Austin, & Eaton walk down the ramp. Lex walks up like he's ready to fight and the ref gives chase. That's when Rick Rude comes through the crowd and jumps Sting. With Sting down, Lex and Paul E. share a smile and Arn gives him a pat on the back. Lex goes back to the ring, lifts an unconscious Sting into the Torture Rack and the ref has no choice but to stop it. That's when Rude joins Paul E and the gang as they come to the ring to celebrate Luger's win)

Aftermath: So Luger is your heel champ and now Sting has a crew of guys he has to get through to finally get back to Luger at Starrcade (after which the Dangerous Alliance beats Luger out of the group and Rude finishes Luger's run at SuperBrowl, pushing back the Steamboat feud). Sting starts with Rude as they feud over the US title. Austin is still the TV champ fighting the midcard babyfaces, and Bobby and Arn become the tag champs and work with Dustin and Barry (he can be turned after the Bash). Rick Steiner gets the Halloween Havoc spot with Luger and Ron Simmons gets the spot with Cactus and Abby. Pillman is paired with the York guys or the light title.

Geez Donnie if we re gonna book the same card at least give the optimist a reference...

 

[STFU Donnie]

@Wrestling Optimist

All due respect, but you're giving yourself far too much credit.

1) I have a very focused 4 man tournament, while you went the long circuitous 8 man route, which makes 4 guys afterthoughts, rather than using them in a more focused fashion...and FYI JoeyJoeJoe beat both of us to it.

2) My whole show is based on getting one story over, with some side stories that are more filler for the future. The thrust of the whole story is "The Formation of the Dangerous Alliance vs the bowed, but not broken Sting"...not a Wrestlemania IV/4 hour show tournament.

2) You have ZERO detail on how you do anything to help Luger's heel turn work other than inexplicably turning on Sting. And your Luger "seed plant" of him going to cheat but Simmons is found with the chair, isn't a seed at all...it's the turn. You killed the drama of him turning on Sting as we would all know that the old bad guy Luger is back. I can only assume you still have Harley come down with the heel turning advice of using the piledriver, which didn't exactly put Luger on fire.

3) I suppose you think the idea that Luger needed to turn on Sting, rather than the double turn with Barry, is your unique idea...except that I think everybody who has ever attempted to rework the summer of 1991 in WCW had the exact same idea. It's just not a new notion. It would be like me giving a detailed explanation about how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich after you just said slap it an some bread...then you take credit for inventing the sandwich.

See I have details on how you do the Sting/Luger split. It may have been thought of by somebody else as well...but you didn't say it. What I'm suggesting is that you start the Dangerous Alliance a few months early and you let Paul E's skills and the faction dynamic help Luger, while giving a reason to keep Sting and Luger apart for a few months.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

STFUDonnie, the only issues that I see with your layout is:

1) Rude may not have been able to appear for WCW at that time.

2) Luger wasn't really associated with The Dangerous Alliance, so you have two leaders in Luger and Rude which would be a bit off.

3) Eaton and Austin in the undercard fighting for a title, and then appearing side by side later. To me, that strains the credibility a bit.

4) Very heel heavy on the wins. I can understand the POV that you need to just get this done and having the heels booked strong sets things up later, but that's a pretty tough card from a fan perspective.

The issue with Luger's turn at the actual Bash was that Windham was a villain. When Luger nailed Windham with the piledriver, people didn't think of that as a heel move. I think having Sting in there is all the seed you need for a Luger turn...i.e., Luger was always jealous of Sting and the fact that he was seen as the Man. Luger was robbed of his chance to win the title against the guy he could never beat (Flair) and now he's snapped.

 

[STFU Donnie]

All excellent points. And in no way am I going to the mattresses with anybody saying my way is the right or only way. Let me see if I can elaborate a bit and sway you, as I didn't want to go too long in my initial post.

1) Rude had been gone from WWE for a year and had spent 1991 doing indie shows, so providing he could break those bookings, he's available. Where I'm straining a bit is that I believe WCW had a budget and Rude and Cactus got Flair's money. So in my fantasy book, Flair's business is done and I rush to get Rude signed even if I give him close to Flair's deal.

2) See I'm changing the dynamic of the Dangerous Alliance with Paul E as leader, Arn as tag champ/consigliere, and a friendly rivalry for the blue chip spot. I see Arn as doing an unspoken Flair baton passing and Luger and Rude are both vying. The idea being that no matter what, it would be a short term thing, with one turning at the new year. Keep in mind, Luger is now a heel and the champ....so getting him over takes precedence over everything else and if that means Rude would be the one to turn, so be it.

3) There's backstory to fill in with basically Arn selling Bobby on the idea that the good guy route was a dead end and convinced him to join up with him to get the tag titles, while Paul E. sold Austin. See I'm seeing the Dangerous Alliance as much a stable as a faction. At the beginning everybody is under the Paul E/Arn umbrella. In time they will grow closer and become the faction, coalescing when they drop Luger...and theoretically when the time comes to disband, Arn leads the face side against Paul E's heels.

4) You have to appreciate two things: 1) I'm from the NWA school that the heels make the babyface and I abhor the WWE babyface model . 2) The crowd is already going to be hot over Flair's absence. So rather than a vein attempt to placate them and try to make them happy, I would to stoke their anger and make it as white hot as I can. To paraphrase, Kevin Sullivan, I believe wrestling booking is like a hot air balloon. You don't give the balloon some heat, then let it deflate. You keep throwing that flame, getting that balloon filled with hot air and off the ground and only once you're as high as you want to go, do you finally take the heat down.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

First of all, WCW in 1991 wasn't the best roster. In fact, it was one of the worst ever. There were too many heel turns that was basically stupid turns to begin with, including Lex Luger, Ricky Morton, Nikita Koloff and so on. Luger, especially, was one of those back & forth heel/faces and so really what could you do? It almost seemed as if there was nothing you could do to rebook the card because you had to work with what you had. And by 1991, the whole industry was starting to fall apart.

But back to the original question. I would have still had as my two main events Luger vs. Windham and Sting vs. Nikita. All else is a toss up and I don't even want to get into it. But instead of having Luger win, I would have had Windham, who would have done the heel turn, in true Horsemen style, as a way to pay homage to Flair. As far as the Sting/Koloff match, still would have had the match, but I would have had Nikita win instead of Sting because Sting had more of an upswing vs. Koloff and Nikita by this time, needed a big win. Other than that, the rest of the card is a total wash.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I like the idea of Rude debuting early but if I am gonna do that then he walks out the champion not Lex. Regardless of plans Rude debuting and winning would have been a big shock and Lex's turn could have come a little later if need be, remember he was managed by Harley so having two heel factions near war would have been an interesting way to go.

Of course the problem as someone said is everything happened so fast that it's impossible to make real counter plans... but if I was true fantasy booking, knowing full well I wanted Flair gone before that show and that was how I was going to do it then it would have meant decisions starting much earlier. Ricky Steamboat would never have signed for the WWF, I'd have made sure he was on board. Rick Rude would have been locked in and I would have also made a play for Honky Tonk Man who was gone in January.

Those 3 talents alone may have been expensive to not have on TV for a period of time, but add those in and suddenly Flair isn't even missed.

Add Steamboat and Rude to the title tourney, have Lex lose by reverse decision for refusing to break the Torture Rack (similar to how he "screwed up" at WM10) and appear in the corner for whoever faces Rude in the finals... again he screws up letting Rude get the win and raising the ire of Sting for costing him the gold. Eventually Luger snaps and puts Sting in the Rack turning heel...

Honky Tonk Man was winding down then, but he could have been entertaining enough to work with Johnny B. Badd on that show.

 

[FlairFan2003]

I just dont see how they could save the card after Flair left. They had done considerable build to Flair vs Luger and even though they had given Flair some strong performances in wins over Tatsumi Fujinami(was that his name, the angle that started in The Tokyo Dome show and concluded in Fla) and Bobby Eaton, it still looked like Luger was FINALLY going to get the belt. Then poof, two weeks before the show all we get is a 5min speech from Jim Herd stating that due to contractual differences Flair would no longer be appearing in WCW.

If they really didnt want to pay him firing him early before the PPV made little sense. The whole fight over the deposit money they owed him and refused to pay (WCW eventually had to pay a large sum of money in a settlemet) lead to one of the most embarrassing moments in the history of televised wrestling when Bobby Heenan started parading the Gold Belt around WWE TV proclaiming the arrival of "The Real World's Champion".

Luger also had no legitimacy as champ because his chosen opponent (Barry Whyndam) wasnt viewed as a top contender at the time. To save the PPV I would have derived a storyline driven reason for Flair's exit (injury, family, scarred of Luger, anything) and put the belt up for grabs in a tournament featuring the Top 16 WCW Wrestlers, scrapping the rest of the card (the undercard had little value draw wise anyway). That way who ever won, while they wouldnt be beating Flair, would have survived a significant challenge to become champion and would legitimacy in the eyes of Fans (like Savage at WrestleMania IV or Flair at Rumble 92, two very impressive Title wins that proved their individual worthiness as title holders despite not going directly over Hogan).

I would still have had Luger come out on top. They had been grooming him since 1987, plus Sting had just had a run. Luger actualy worked well as a heel with Harley Race as his manager and this would have set up Luger-Sting later as a way for Sting to regain the title.