At Backlash 2007, John Cena will be facing Randy Orton, Edge & Shawn Michaels in a Fatal Four-Way match for the WWE title. John Cena just recently faced Shawn Michaels on an episode of Raw in a rematch from Wrestlemania 23. HBK & Cena have been battling since just after the 2007 Royal Rumble in January, while Edge has been involved with Cena for more than two years. Even Randy Orton has been hanging around for nearly a year. Cena’s 24 months of facing the same few opponents got me thinking about a time when champions faced a greater variety of challengers, which reminded me of the 1986 Great American Bash tour.
In the mid-1980’s, Jim Crockett Promotions, in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance, held the Great American Bash as their summer super card. The Great American Bash was second to Starcade as the biggest show in the year for Jim Crockett Promotions. It was the equivalent of the Royal Rumble or Summer Slam to WWE’s Wrestlemania. It was held as a single big show, but in 1986, JCP decided that they wanted to take the Bash on tour. This was not a single big show and then a series of house shows; this was big shows in 13 different cities across the country. Each show featured several big PPV quality matches and each show was highlighted by a defense of the NWA World Heavyweight Title by current champion Ric Flair. The tour lasted from July 1 through August 2, 1986, which meant that Ric Flair was scheduled to defend the NWA World Title 13 times in 32 days. While that might not seem like much because most wrestling champions defend their titles, Ric’s defenses would be against a different opponent at each card so Ric would have to wrestle a different match each time he stepped into the ring.
At this pointing history, the Four Horsemen had just been formed. Flair was already feuding with Dusty Rhodes and Magnum TA, as was Tully Blanchard, but Flair and his friends and began a battle with Ricky Morton, which put them at odds with the Rock and Roll Express. The Andersons were feuding with Dusty Rhodes, and but default, they were feuding with the Road Warriors because the LOD had aligned themselves with Dusty and his friends, including Wahoo McDaniel and Ronnie Garvin. When the Andersons, Tully & Flair came together and became the Four Horsemen, their combined enemies came together to oppose the newly formed stable. During the Bash tour, Flair signed to face all of these men in NWA World Title matches, and added to this was “The Russian Nightmare” Nikita Koloff who was positioning himself as the top contender, regardless of allegiance, to the world title.
The tour began on July 1, with Flair defending the title against Road Warrior Hawk. This match posed the most unique threat for Flair of the entire tour because while he would face strong guys like Animal and Nikita Koloff later in the tour, as well the athletic Rick Morton, Hawk was a unique combination of power and speed and he posed a double threat to Flair. Where Flair had the advantage was in endurance, but this match took place early in the tour, so Hawk was fresh, but just not good enough to defeat “The Nature Boy”.
Two days later, on July 3, Flair faced Dusty Rhodes. Dusty was an opponent that Flair knew very well, and Rhodes was spending his summer teaming with the Road Warriors to face the Andersons and the Russians. Rhodes had survived a cage match teaming with Animal against Ole & Arn Anderson, so this was a Dusty Rhodes who was not at 100%, but nobody knew Flair better than Rhodes. Flair would emerge victorious in this match and continue his arduous tour.
The next day, on July 4, Flair faced Nikita Koloff. Ironically, Flair faced Dusty one day earlier in the nation’s capital, Washington DC, but this match was no less patriotic as Flair would become the face in this match against the Soviet monster Koloff. Nikita was all power and Flair would have to be in survival mode to get through this contest. The combination of the powerful opponent and the trip from DC to Memphis would undo most win, but Flair was up to the task and escaped with his title intact.
One day later, in Flair’s adopted hometown, Charlotte, North Carolina, Flair would go from the strength of Koloff to the speed and athleticism of Rock & Roll Express member Ricky Morton. Morton had been severely attacked by the newly formed Horsemen just before the tour began, so Morton was not at full strength. An added wrinkle to this match was that it was fought inside a steel cage, so a weakened Morton could be weakened even more, but so could an exhausted Ric Flair. After a grueling, twenty-five minute contest, Flair came out on top.
After a brief break, the tour was back in full swing. On July 9, Flair was back in action facing Road Warrior Animal. Not a bad opponent to face after a rest, but they didn’t call him Animal because he was a nice guy. Even though he had been engaging in cage matches and chain matches, he was still the strongest man that Flair would face during this entire tour. Flair would struggle with Animal, typically a tag team wrestler, and would be forced win this match by disqualification.
The next day would bring a trip from Ohio to West Virginia, another match against Morton, and once again, they fought inside a steel cage. Morton had spent most of the tour teaming with his regular partner Robert Gibson in a continuance of their feud against the Midnight Express team of Dennis Condrey & Bobby Eaton. Jim Cornette & Baby Doll were involved in many of these matches, but on this day while Gibson was defeating Dennis Condrey in a Bunkhouse match, which meant come dress as you are and everything in legal, Morton would fall once again to Flair in the cage.
On July 12, Jacksonville, Florida would see another in the long series of matches between Ric Flair and his career-long nemesis, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. Even though Dusty Rhodes had faced Flair more times that could be counted, Ric Flair had the unique ability to befuddle his opponents to the point where, instead of the heel Flair getting himself disqualified to keep his title, Flair’s opponent would become so incensed with Flair that they would get disqualified, thus giving Flair the victory and allowing him to retain the title. This match would be no exception as Flair would leave Jacksonville with a DQ victory over his most bitter rival. This match served as the halfway point of Flair scheduled 13 title defenses.
From this point forward the cards were held further apart than the previous cards, which would benefit the weary world champion as he would have some days to rest between each of his title defenses. After a six day break, Flair was back in action. The idea of the Horsemen interfering in Flair’s matches had so infuriated his opponents that they all seemed to be demanding cage matches, and this match would be no exception. On July 18, in Richmond, Virginia, Ric Flair climbed into yet another cage to face the hard hitting Native American star, Wahoo McDaniel. After an eight year career in the National Football League, McDaniel brought his football sensibilities and a straight-ahead style into professional wrestling. McDaniel, in my opinion, is easily one of the best wrestlers to never win a world title in any wrestling organization. On this day, he would be given his chance against Fair, someone who he had faced several times over the past ten years, and this time, without the possibility of Horsemen interference. Despite this, Flair would have enough to defeat McDaniel and live as champ one more day.
July 21 would see Flair compete in his first non-cage match against Ricky Morton. Of the 13 scheduled title defenses, this would be Morton’s third chance. Morton, like Legion of Doom members Animal and Hawk, were primarily tag team wrestlers, but like the legendary announcers would say, to be a good tag team wrestler, you must first be a good wrestler and Morton was that. During this tour, Morton got three shots at Ric Flair, figuring that taking Flair’s title would be the best revenge for the attack on Morton prior to the tour, but it was not to be as Morton would go 0-3 against the Nature Boy.
In match 10 of 13 Ric Flair would defend his title against the challenge of Ronnie Garvin. Throughout most of this tour, Garvin had taken up the battle against Tully Blanchard, mostly in taped fist matches, in place of Garvin’s friend Dusty Rhodes. During this era, Rhodes simply had too many enemies, so his friends, including Garvin and Magnum TA, stepped into assist Dusty with his issues, in effect making Rhodes’ enemies their enemies as well. Garvin would defeat Flair for the title on September 26, 1987 and would hold it for two months, but on July 23, 1986, Flair was the better man, which would give him 10 successful defenses and counting on this tour.
Defense #11 would see Flair finally face the man who many experts felt would be Flair’s successor as the face of the National Wrestling Alliance, Magnum T.A. Terry Allen, the man known as Magnum T.A., had become one of Flair’s toughest challengers, because he had wrestling ability that could rival Flair’s. Flair’s edge was in experience, especially championship experience. Magnum’s title shot would take place in his home state of Virginia, but Ric Flair would continue his successful run, but it became apparent that the difficult schedule was wearing out Flair.
The next day, July 26, 1986, after traveling from Virginia back to North Carolina, Flair would compete in his fourth steel cage match against his third different opponent. As Ricky Morton had done five days earlier, Dusty Rhodes would face Flair for the third time during the tour. However, unlike Morton, Dusty would achieve success against “The Man”. After a 22-minute, bloody brawl, Dusty Rhodes would pin Ric Flair and would become the NWA World Heavyweight Champion for the third time. This title win would be Dusty’s last world title from any organization.
One week later, on August 2, 1986, the tour would come to an end with a card in Atlanta, Georgia. On this card, Tully Blanchard defeated Ronnie Garvin in a taped fist match, giving Blanchard a 6-5 win over Garvin in their taped fist series. “Mr. Electricity” Steve Regal (the American, not the Brit) would defeat Denny Brown to claim the World Junior Heavyweight title and Magnum T.A. would take a three-matches-to-two lead in their best-of-seven series for the vacant United States title. Also on this card, Dusty Rhodes, the newly crowned NWA Heavyweight champion would defend against the man from whom he won the title, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. This would be Flair’s 13th world title match in 32 days, but his first as a challenger after 12 as champion and his fifth inside a cage. Dusty would once again emerge victorious, but despite this, the tour would end on a high note for wrestling fans.
These cards were not held on pay-per-view, which means that they were not viewed by millions worldwide on television, but for the fans of the thirteen cities that witnessed these shows, they were treated to some of the greatest wrestling that has ever been held, and Ric Flair, the flagship of JCP and the NWA, put on a display that might never be matched. Other champions have defended their titles as often, but usually against one or two opponents. The 1986 Great American Bash Tour set Ric Flair apart from other champions before or since.
Send comments, complaints or questions to me @ ericej@netzero.net
Eric E. Jenkins is an author who has written a semi-biographical book covering the last 30 years in professional wrestling through the eyes of a fan entitled “Reflections of a Professional Wrestling Fan: My 30 Years ‘In’ the Business”. He is currently writing “Dead Too Soon”, a book chronicling the careers of and paying tribute to many of the wrestling stars who passed away very young.
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