WWE The Great American Bash - History

History

The Great American Bash was a pay-per-view (PPV) event consisting of a main event and undercard that feature championship matches and other various matches. The Great American Bash was originally known as The Great American Bash until 2009; this was the original name when produced under the professional wrestling promotions World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions. The first The Great American Bash event was produced under the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions and took place on July 6, 1985 at the American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Great American Bash (1986) and The Great American Bash (1987) were featured as part of a tour during the July month. The Great American Bash (1988) was the first The Great American Bash event that was produced as a pay-per-view. The show continued to run for an additional two years before being produced under World Championship Wrestling. The first Great American Bash event produced under the WCW banner was The Great American Bash 1991, which has been considered the worst show under the event chronology. After the purchase of WCW by the World Wrestling Federation in 2001, none of their pay-per-view event names were seen again until The Great American Bash returned under World Wrestling Entertainment in 2004. The event was made exclusive to the SmackDown! brand and took place on June 27, 2004 at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia. After three years of being produced as a brand-exclusive event, The Great American Bash (2006) was the final Great American Bash event that was brand exclusive, as WWE announced that PPV events from then on would feature all three brands of WWE. The event continued to promote under The Great American Bash name before being rebranded "The Bash" in 2009.