25 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE Ruthless Aggression PPV
14. Great American Bash = WWE’s Worst PPV Series?
Over The Limit might have something to say about this, but good lord - WWE’s version of old NWA/WCW classic Great American Bash was brutally bad between 2004-2008. None of the shows are worth checking out in full unless you’re a completionist or get a kick out of poor wrestling events. Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero from 2004 is worth a watch, so is a ‘Texas Bullrope’ from the same year between JBL and Eddie Guerrero, but that's about it.
Keep in mind that '04 also had Undertaker vs. The Dudley Boyz as a main event. In 2005, the show profiled Muhammad Hassan’s demise at the hands of The Undertaker and served up such undercard delights as Orlando Jordan beating Chris Benoit. Somehow, things then got even worse by 2006 as ‘Taker and Big Show contested a ‘Punjabi Prison’ affair (The Great Khali was pulled late in the day), then 2007 and 2008 were lacklustre enough to put a crap-covered cherry on top of the dodgy looking cake.
By 2009, WWE had shortened the event’s title to The Bash, but nobody was fooled. Honestly, these shows were a stain on the legacy built by Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk in 1989, Sting vs. Flair in 1990, and even DDP vs. Randy Savage in 1997. Thankfully, the NXT branded events have been stronger since and actually do the GAB some justice.
It's really something that Vince McMahon managed to look at what WCW was doing with these shows between 1999-2000 and yet still produced similarly bad content. Yikes. Revisiting Bash was a chore.