| Bash at the Beach was a yearly professional
wrestling event presented on pay-per-view by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It was the
company's pay-per-view show for the month of July, from 1994 to 2000.
Theme
The show centred around a beach theme, with the set around the entrance area for the
wrestlers decorated with such things as surf boards and a "beach" made of artificial sand. The theme for the show
seemed appropriate for an event scheduled during the hot summer month of July. The beach/"fun in the sun" theme was also
reflected in the places where WCW chose to hold the event; all of the shows emanated from cities in either Florida (1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000) or California (1995, 1998), two U.S. states renowned for their warm weather.
In 1992 and 1993, WCW held a beach-themed
pay-per-view show known as Beach
Blast, which was the forerunner to Bash at the Beach. However, the 1992 show was held in June, as the company elected instead to reserve July for its flagship summertime extravaganza, The Great American Bash.
Bash at the Beach and Hulk Hogan
Of all the Bash at the Beach shows, two particularly stand out in the minds of pro wrestling fans: the 1994 and 1996 versions. Both of these events went down in wrestling
history because of their association with wrestling legend Hulk Hogan. At the
first-ever Bash at the Beach in 1994, Hogan made his debut for WCW, defeating Ric
Flair for the WCW World
title. In 1996, wrestling fans the world over were shocked when Hogan turned his back on the fans and became a heel, joining Scott Hall and Kevin Nash (known as "The Outsiders", two recent arrivals from the rival World Wrestling Federation) to form the New World
Order, or nWo. The nWo storyline would propel WCW into the lead in the war for ratings with
the WWF (known as the "Monday Night War"), and keep them there until early
1998. Hogan was also publicly fired by Vince Russo at the very last Bash at the Beach in 2000.
See also:
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