The Great American Bash (1995)
The 1995 Great American Bash was the fifth Great American Bash professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and ninth Great American Bash event overall. It took place on June 18, 1995, at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. This was the first Great American Bash event in nearly three years, with the last event taking place in 1992. Seven matches were contested at the event. The main event was a standard wrestling match between Ric Flair and Randy Savage, which was part of a rivalry stemming from a match  in a tournament to crown the new United States Heavyweight Champion. Flair defeated Savage. The undercard featured many matches including a tournament final for the United States Heavyweight Championship between Sting and Meng. Sting defeated Meng to win the title. Production. Background. The Great American Bash was a professional wrestling event established in 1985. It was first produced by the National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) and aired on closed-circuit television before becoming a pay-per-view event in 1988; JCP was rebranded as World Championship Wrestling (WCW) later that same year. WCW then seceded from  the NWA in 1991. The 1995 event was the fifth Great American Bash event promoted by WCW and ninth overall. The event took place on June 18, 1995, at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. It was the first Great American Bash event held since the 1992 event. Storylines. The event featured wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Event. The Fantastics were substitutes for the Rock 'n Roll Express, who failed to show , due to commitments with the National Wrestling Alliance and Smoky Mountain Wrestling. Scott D'Amore was mistakenly billed as Chris Kanyon in this match. After their match, Harlem Heat and Sister Sherri came out to confront Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck; Sherri punched Col. Robert Parker and challenged Slater and Buck to a match later that night. Dave Sullivan won a date with the Diamond Doll by defeating Diamond Dallas Page; had Page won he would've taken possession of Ralph, Sulivan's pet rabbit. Referee Nick Patrick disqualified Sgt. Craig Pittman when he refused to let go of the Code  Red while Jim Duggan was holding onto the ropes. Pittman was originally supposed to face Marcus Alexander Bagwell, but Bagwell suffered an injury and Duggan was announced as his replacement. The match between Sting and Meng was originally scheduled as a semifinal match in the United States Championship Tournament started after Vader was stripped of the title. However, the other semifinal between Ric Flair and Randy Savage ended in a no-contest and both men were eliminated from the tournament. Results. Tournament bracket. This match was originally scheduled as a semifinal match in the tournament but the other semi-final  match between Randy Savage and Ric Flair ended in a no contest and both men were eliminated from the tournament, resulting in Sting and Meng's match determining the champion.