–Gene Okerlund and Bobby Heenan do their usual studio duties. They hype Bash at the Beach, namely the Hulk Hogan-Vader main event.
–Okerlund says that Diamond Dallas Page was recently looking for a house in Malibu. Heenan refutes the rumor floating around WCW that the Diamond Doll won the money that Page is spending as his own.
–Heenan openly wonders why the Nasty Boys are so popular when they do a move like the Pit Stop.
–Hacksaw Jim Duggan (22-3) defeats Sergeant Craig Pittman (23-1) via disqualification when Pittman will not release the Code Red at 6:28:
This bout was taped in Gainesville, Georgia as part of a WCW Pro taping on June 20, and it is a return match from The Great American Bash where Duggan ended Pittman’s undefeated streak via disqualification when Pittman refused to release the Code Red. As expected, Pittman works the arm and when Duggan flies into the ring post shoulder-first on a blind charge, Pittman applies the Code Red. Duggan makes it to the ropes, but Pittman will not release it so just like the Bash this ends in a disqualification. Yes, WCW decided it would be a good idea to re-run the same finish in a return match. A third styles clash between these two might be on the horizon. Rating: ¾*
–Okerlund and Heenan argue over whether Heenan actually owns a home in Beverly Hills. Heenan invites Okerlund over, which Okerlund accepts, but Heenan says that he cannot come during Bash at the Beach because that is the week his sick aunt is coming into town and she is on a respirator.
The Last Word: Gene Okerlund and Bobby Heenan have good chemistry on this show so that makes it tolerable, although the feature match was completely passable this week if one watched The Great American Bash. Hopefully a better match will be in the cards next week.
Backstage News*: The Great American Bash drew a legitimate sellout, with no tickets available for fans on the day of the show. The show drew an estimated gate of $63,000.
*WCW was not happy that Road Warrior Hawk, who was scheduled to work a squash match and then face Bunkhouse Buck on the pay-per-view, no showed the card as Hawk opted to stay in Minneapolis with his father for Father’s Day. This is why the bonus match ended up being Harlem Heat versus Dick Slater and Buck. However, WCW is not firing Hawk after the incident.
*WCW may have also changed a few finishes at The Great American Bash because former Miami Herald reporter Alex Marvez wrote an article that accurately predicted the planned booking. This could be why Sergeant Craig Pittman lost to Hacksaw Jim Duggan via disqualification instead of winning by submission.
*Michael Buffer also missed the pay-per-view because of a boxing commitment and WCW tried to get Gary Michael Capetta to do a one-shot deal but Capetta turned them down.
*Since Alex Wright is not getting good reactions on television WCW might turn him heel and align him with Ric Flair as a Flair trainee.
*Randy Savage might also be turning heel as WCW filmed a segment of Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart leaving the arena during The Great American Bash main event.
*In preparation for launching its Monday show – pushed back to September 4 from August 7 – WCW gave a commentary tryout to ECW’s Woman, who is Kevin Sullivan’s wife. Eric Bischoff will likely be the head play-by-play guy for the broadcast and WCW might try to recruit some international talent to boost the quality of the in-ring product. One rumor is that WCW wants to put together a singles match between two of three guys for the show: Al Snow, Sabu, or Eddy Guerrero. For his part, WWF owner Vince McMahon told Chet Coppock’s Sports Channel audience on June 15 that WCW was making a big mistake challenging Monday Night RAW head-to-head.
*With The Great American Bash drawing a buyrate comparable to Slamboree, the Flair faction in the locker room might get more booking power. The booking tension might be resolved with Hogan doing his own program with the Dungeon of Doom and running that with Kevin Sullivan while Flair does the rest. This means that the Renegade’s television title run might be brief as Flair opposed giving him the title in the first place.
*In a move to build up Bash at the Beach, Vader was sent to the USWA to beat up Mr. World Class and T.D. Steele since WCW is going to go with the story that Vader is wreaking havoc in different wrestling companies on his way to the event. According to reports, Vader was more over in Memphis than the Undertaker, who appeared on the same show as a tag team partner of Bill Dundee.
*Steve Austin will be out of action for several weeks with a torn bicep that he suffered while working some shows in Japan.
*WCW also lost its television syndication in St. Louis as the wrestling industry continues to struggle economically. However, WCW is getting Nintendo as a sponsor in the fall, a major coup against the WWF since Nintendo was formerly a big WWF ally.
*In talent relations news, WCW has signed Manabu Nakanishi of New Japan. Nakanishi is a former amateur wrestler who represented Japan in the 1992 Summer Olympics and he won this year’s Young Lions Cup. It is expected that he will be a heel and become part of Colonel Robert Parker’s stable. Paul Wight is likely to make his debut at the August Clash of the Champions but his segment will not be live because WCW does not want to have a Shockmaster-like botch. Wight will be called the Giant and placed in the Dungeon of Doom stable. Avalanche will also be returning to television soon under a new gimmick. He will be called the Shark and will also be part of the Dungeon of Doom.
*Backstage news provided courtesy of the June 26 and July 3 editions of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer.
And since it is the end of the month here are some win/loss standings for WCW talent at the end of June 1995:
Top Twenty-Five Overall Records
1—Hulk Hogan (7-0)
2—The Renegade (6-0)
3—Diamond Dallas Page (5-0)
4—Frank Andersson (3-0)
5—Sting (24-1-1)
6—Meng (20-1-1)
7—Alex Wright (45-3-1)
8—Sergeant Craig Pittman (23-2)
9—Randy Savage (14-1-1)
T10—Brian Knobbs (31-3-2)
T10—Jerry Sags (31-3-2)
12—Lord Steven Regal (19-2-2)
13—Hacksaw Jim Duggan (26-4)
14—Johnny B. Badd (27-4-1)
T15—Booker T (29-4-2)
T15—Stevie Ray (29-4-2)
17—Brian Pillman (22-4)
18—Road Warrior Hawk (2-0-1)
19—Vader (16-4)
20—Kevin Sullivan (17-5)
21—Big Bubba Rogers (20-6)
22—Ric Flair (5-2)
23—Steve Austin (12-5)
24—Marcus Bagwell (23-10)
25—Paul Orndorff (15-7)
Inactive Wrestlers that Would Have Qualified: Wahoo McDaniel (1-0), the Great Muta (1-0), Dustin Rhodes (18-2), the Blacktop Bully (15-5), the Patriot (23-9)
Top Ten Singles Records
T1—Diamond Dallas Page (5-0)
T1—The Renegade (5-0)
3—Ric Flair (4-0)
4—Frank Andersson (3-0)
5—Hulk Hogan (2-0)
6—Sting (18-1)
7—Meng (20-1-1)
8—Alex Wright (40-3-1)
9—Sergeant Craig Pittman (23-2)
10—Hacksaw Jim Duggan (23-3)
Inactive Wrestlers that Would Have Qualified: The Blacktop Bully (15-0), Wahoo McDaniel (1-0), the Great Muta (1-0)
Top Ten Tag Team Records
1—The Monster Maniacs (4-0)
2—Ric Flair & Arn Anderson (1-0)
3—The Blue Bloods (13-1-1)
4—The Nasty Boys (31-3-2)
5—Harlem Heat (29-4-2)
6—Sting & Randy Savage (2-0-1)
7—Dick Slater & Bunkhouse Buck (12-5)
8—Ric Flair & Vader (0-1)
9—The State Patrol (0-3)
10—The Fantastics (0-5)
Inactive Teams that Would Have Qualified: Kevin Sullivan & Avalanche (3-0), Dustin Rhodes & Johnny B. Badd (3-0), Lord Steven Regal & Jean Paul Levesque (1-0), Kevin Sullivan & the Butcher (6-2), Stars & Stripes (21-7), Big Bubba Rogers & Avalanche (2-2), Brad & Scott Armstrong (2-2), Brad Armstrong & Tim Horner (3-6), Arn Anderson & Bunkhouse Buck (1-2), Pretty Wonderful (2-4)
Top Ten in Televised Match Appearances (Iron Worker Award):
1—Alex Wright (49)
2—Arn Anderson (38)
T3—Brian Knobbs (36)
T3—Jerry Sags (36)
T5—Booker T (35)
T5—Stevie Ray (35)
7—Bunkhouse Buck (34)
8—Marcus Bagwell (33)
T9—Johnny B. Badd (32)
T9—The Patriot (32)
Most Appearances By Show: Prime-Bunkhouse Buck, Johnny B. Badd, Steve Austin, and Tim Horner (3), Pro-Alex Wright (13); Worldwide-Booker T, Marcus Bagwell, and Stevie Ray (10); Saturday Night-Alex Wright (16), Main Event-Arn Anderson (6)
Top Five Matches in June 1995
1—Brian Pillman vs. Alex Wright (The Great American Bash, June 18) – ***¾
2—Alex Wright vs. Ric Flair (WCW Saturday Night, June 10) – ***½
3—Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (The Great American Bash, June 18) – ***¼
4—Dick Slater & Bunkhouse Buck vs. Brad Armstrong & Tim Horner (WCW Pro, June 17) – ***¼
5—Meng vs. Sting (United States Championship Tournament Finals, The Great American Bash, June 18) – ***
Top Five Overall Matches in 1995 (to this point)
1—Brian Pillman vs. Alex Wright (The Great American Bash, June 18) – ***¾
2—Harlem Heat vs. Sting & Randy Savage (WCW Tag Team Championship Match, WCW Saturday Night, February 25) – ***½
3—The Patriot vs. Ric Flair (U.S. Championship Tournament First Round, WCW Main Event, May 14) – ***½
4—Arn Anderson vs. Alex Wright (WCW Television Championship Match, WCW Saturday Night, March 11) – ***½
5—Alex Wright vs. Ric Flair (WCW Saturday Night, June 10) – ***½
Up Next: WCW Pro for July 1!