WCW Bash at the Beach (1996 TV Special) User Reviews (6)

New World Order.

[callanvass · 8/10 · 3 May 2016]

(01.07.96)

Live from Daytona Beach, FL

Attendance: 8,300

Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes & Bobby Heenan

Psychosis Vs Rey Mysterio Jr.

Mysterio wins with a frankensteiner from the top after countering a splash mountain in mid-air. This is honestly one of the best openers you will ever see. They pulled out move after move, high risk after high risk. Almost everything but the kitchen sink is in this match. Those that appreciate the Lucha Libre style will adore this match. Before Mysterio had to deal with injuries, he was ridiculously agile.

****1/4

Big Bubba (W/Jimmy Hart) Vs John Tenta

Sock on a Pole Match

On top of the pole is a sock loaded with silver dollars, because WCW hasn't embarrassed themselves enough yet with these types of stipulations. Jimmy Hart grabs the sock full of dollars, but Tenta is waiting for him. Tenta drills Bubba with the sock and gets the win. This wasn't the atrocity I expected, but it was still pretty awful and utterly pointless. Bubba's (The Big Bossman) stock was going way downhill.

3/4*

Taped Fist Match (Lord of the Ring)

Diamond Dallas Paige Vs "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan

DDP wins with the Diamond Cutter. Duggan drills DDP after the match with the taped fist. This match was borderline crappy! What angered me is that Duggan barely souled the Diamond Cutter! He shrugged it off pretty quickly.

*1/4

Dog Collar Match

Public Enemy Vs The Nasty Boys

The Nasty Boys win. This was a LONG, boring match that I just wasn't able to get into. They used every weapon they could think of, including surfboards and chains, I just wasn't that excited about it. Every match with these guys seems to be the same.

*1/2

Cruiserweight Championship

Dean Malenko (C) Vs Disco Inferno

Dean wins with the Texas Cloverleaf. This is a shockingly fun match! I could never take Disco seriously, because of his gimmick, but he came to play here. Disco was actually presented as a threat here and the two managed some good wrestling.

***1/4

Joe Gomez Vs Steve McMichael (W/Debra)

McMichael wins with a tombstone. I've never seen McMichael in action as a football player. However, I can't stand him as an announcer or a wrestler. The fact that he was a Horesmen member is a joke. The match was mediocre as you may expect.

*1/2

United States Championship

Konnan (C) Vs Ric Flair (W/Miss Elizabeth & Woman)

Flair wins the title due to outside interference from Woman. This match was above average, if nothing else. I didn't see the need for all the cheating that Flair did against somebody like Konnan, though.

**3/4

Chris Beniot & Arn Anderson Vs The Giant & Kevin Sullivan (W/Jimmy Hart)

The Giant pins Anderson with a chokeslam after Beniot and Sullivan brawl around ringside. Beniot continues to beat on Sullivan until Woman runs down to the ring and pleads with Beniot to stop. This one was pretty mediocre. It felt like a pretty unimportant grudge match. Woman trying to stop Beniot would lead to a long feud with Sullivan with Woman being involved. Woman was married to Sullivan in real life.

*1/2

The Outsiders & Mystery Partner Vs "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Lex Luger & Sting

The 3rd man is NOT revealed at the start of this match. Luger gets knocked out inadvertently by his own teammate and has to be stretechered out. It turns into a 2 on 2 match. Hulk Hogan comes down to be everybody's hero as usual, right? WRONG! He drops the leg on Randy Savage. Hogan has betrayed WCW. He is the third man. Because there is a word limit, I can't write Hogan's amazing promo, but I do have some thoughts on it.

Thoughts: Every time I watch this, I get chills. This changed wrestling forever. It officially made people interested in wrestling again with the formation of the NWO. Hogan is one of the biggest three babyfaces of all time, along with Stone Cold & The Rock. Ironically enough, though, he thrived more as a heel. A Hulk Hogan heel turn was the last thing anything expected. In all honesty, it was a long time coming. The crowd had booed Hogan heavily since 94. It's the greatest heel turn in wrestling history. All you need to do is look at all the trash that was thrown inside the ring. The mat is almost covered in debris!

***

8/10 overall

The Birth Of The New World Order

[jeremycrimsonfox · 8/10 · 7 August 2019]

Bash At The Beach 1996 is a PPV event that was held at Daytona Beach, and it is good. It has some good matches like Psychosis Vs. Rey Mysterio Jr., and Diamond Dallas Page Vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan in a Taped Fist match, but the main event is where this becomes legendary, as it is a six-man tag match where Sting, Randy Savage, and Lex Luger take on The Outsiders, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, and a mystery third man, who would reveal himself as Hulk Hogan, and would give birth the New World Order, a legendary wrestling stable that would help WCW get an edge in the Monday Night Wars (only to end up losing it because they put too much focus on it). A good PPV from the better years of the company.

The one, where NWO was born

[amanwhorocks · 7/10 · 1 December 2013]

1. Psychosis Vs. Rey Mysterio, Jr. - Incredible match, they are Kings of wrestling and I'll never get, why was Psychosis so underrated. The final move was breathtaking!! 10/10

2. Big Stiffa Vs. John Tenta - I cannot believe this feud wasn't over yet after 2 months. Horrible Big Bubba, Horrible match, horrible booking. At Least Tenta's got a victory. 5.5/10

3. Diamond Dallas Page Vs. "Insult" Jim Duggan - I don't like comedy matches with Duggan. Positive is that Page defeated him by bad Diamond cutter. Duggan even can't sold that move. Nothing special occurred. 6/10

4. Public Enemy Vs. Nasty Boys - Brawling with some stuff. Like always. Adittionaly, boring like hell. 5.5/10

5. WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Disco Inferno Vs. Champ-Dean Malenko - Now that was a good match. Malenko retained. 8.5/10

6. Joe Gomez Vs. Steve McMichael - What's that doing on PPV, I simply can't get. - Push for MONGO. Trololo. No way. 5.5/10

7. WCW U.S. Heavyweight Championship: Champ-Konnan Vs. Ric Flair - OK Match with Nature boy's victory. 6.5/10

8. Chris Benoit/Arn Anderson Vs. Kevin Sullivan/Giant 6/10

9. Sting/Lex Luger/Randy Savage vs. Kevin Nash/Razor Ramon - Average match, legendary moment. Hulk turned heel, NWO was born. I give for great booking work. 10/10

The Hulkster Turns Bad

[Big Movie Fan · 25 June 2002]

Six years after this event took place I still remember the shocking heel turn by veteran babyface Hulk Hogan.

The matches on this event are fantastic but they were all overshadowed by the events in the last match.

(SPOILERS AHEAD) Several weeks previous to this event, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall (The Outsiders) had returned to WCW saying they were going to take over. They claimed to have a surprise partner who would join them at Bash at the Beach '96.

At this actual event the good guys were Sting, Lex Luger and Randy Savage who were to face The Outsiders and the mystery opponent. The good guys were taking a beating towards the end when WCW's greatest hero Hulk Hogan made his way down to the ring. Like everyone at the time, I assumed Hogan was coming to help. He jumped in the ring and the Outsiders dashed to the floor. Then-in the most shocking heel turn in wrestling history-Hogan legdropped his friend Randy Savage and turned heel before joining up with the Outsiders to verbally trash WCW.

It was powerful stuff. Nowadays in wrestling the competitors turn from good to bad almost on a weekly basis. Back in 1996 heel turns were quite infrequent. Furthermore, Hogan had been a good guy since the early 1980's and he was extremely popular up until this event so when he turned bad it was a shock to the wrestling fans. It was like watching Superman turn bad.

All in all, it was a great card and whilst the Hogan turn overshadowed things the rest of the card had some great matches on.

The night that WCW's best died

[fjustice · 14 June 2002]

One of the best PPV's that WCW has EVER done. Not because of the talent, but because a twenty year veteran babyface Hulk Hogan joined the "bad guys", and formed unarguably the biggest threat in professional wrestling today, the New World Order!!!

The Betrayal of HULK HOGAN

[romewdn · 14 December 2003]

At the end of the Hostile Takeover Match at Bash at the Beach '96 was the most shocking, and the most horrible scene in professional wrestling. When Kevin Nash delivered a low blow to the Macho Man Randy Savage, the referee started counting, and Hogan came out. The people of that time thought that he came to help, replacing an injured Lex Luger. But after he tore his shirt off, he used the Leg Drop on a stunned Randy Savage, making him one of the greatest heels ever and the 3rd Outsider. When "Mean" Gene interviewed with him, Hogan declared himself, Nash, and Hall as the New World Order.