History of The Great American Bash

Great American Bash (Smackdown!) - Norfolk, VA - Scope - June 27, 2004 (6,500; 5,500 paid)Sunday Night Heat - featured Josh Matthews conducting a backstage interview with Rene Dupree regarding facing WWE US Champion John Cena, Rob Van Dam, and Booker T later in the night; included an in-ring segment in which Michael Cole & Tazz demonstrated the rules for the bullrope match later in the night between WWE World Champion Eddie Guerrero and John Bradshaw Layfield; featured a backstage segment with Paul Heyman and Paul Bearer in which Heyman said he hoped : Spike Dudley pinned Jamie Noble with the Dudley Dog at 4:13 (Great American Bash 04) Pay-per-view bouts - featured an opening in-ring introduction by Torrie Wilson, dressed as Uncle Sam; included Michael Cole & Tazz on commentary; featured a backstage segment in which Sable, in a bikini and in a hot tub, said the divas would be having backstage segments throughout the night and then cut a promo on Torrie; included a backstage promo by John Bradshaw Layfield regarding his match later in the night against WWE World Champion Eddie Guerrero, during which he guaranteed he would be the new champion by the end of the night; featured a backstage segment with Torrie, Billy Kidman, Spike Dudley, and Sho Funaki all in the hot tub together, with Torrie then climbing out to get ready for her match against Sable; included a backstage segment with Paul Heyman and Paul Bearer, bound and gagged in a chair, in which Heyman said everyone thought he was bluffing about putting Bearer in concrete, including the authorities, which meant no one would be there to save Bearer later in the show; featured a backstage segment in which Dawn Marie, wearing a bikini, conducted an interview with Rene Dupree regarding his loss earlier in the show, during which Dupree said he would protest until he got a rematch; moments later, Nunzio & Johnny the Bull walked by with Nunzio leaving with Dawn Marie after noting his shoe size was bigger than Dupree's; included an ad for Summer Slam 04; featured an ad promoting the 2004 Hall of Fame DVD: WWE US Champion John Cena defeated Booker T, Rene Dupree, and Rob Van Dam in an elimination match at 15:51; prior to the bout, Cena cut an in-ring rap on Kurt Angle and his three opponents; Cena pinned RVD with a roll up at 8:17 after RVD hit the Five Star Frog Splash on both Dupree and Booker; Booker pinned Dupree at 11:15 after Dupree sustained Cena's FU and Booker then dropped Cena with a scissors kick; Cena pinned Booker with the FU; after the bout, Cena walked past Charlie Haas & Jackie Gayda backstage; after Cena left, Angle appeared in his wheelchair, said he was disappointed in how far Haas had fallen, and that he had promised Luther Reigns a match later in the show; Angle then said the match would be against Haas and it was up next Luther Reigns (w/ Kurt Angle) pinned Charlie Haas (w/ Jackie Gayda) in an impromptu match at 7:11 after a spinning reverse neckbreaker WWE Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio Jr. pinned Chavo Guerrero Jr. at 19:45 by reversing a Gory Bomb into a modified sunset flip (Rey Mysterio: Biggest Little Man) Kenzo Suzuki (w/ Hiroku) pinned Billy Gunn at 8:06 with a headblock into a backbreaker following a low blow behind the back of referee Nick Patrick Sable pinned Torrie Wilson at 6:06 with a roll up and grabbing the tights for leverage after faking an injury; one of Torrie's shoulders was clearly up during the cover Mordecai pinned Hardcore Holly at 6:21 with the crucifix powerbomb after avoiding the Alabama Slam John Bradshaw Layfield defeated WWE World Champion Eddie Guerrero in a bullrope match to win the title at 21:11 when, after both men had touched three of the four corners, a collision sent the challenger into the fourth corner immediately before Guerrero was able to touch it The Undertaker defeated WWE Smackdown! Tag Team Champions the Dudley Boyz in a non-title handicap match at 14:38 by pinning D-Von with the tombstone; prior to the match, Paul Heyman - who was at the entrance way beside a cement truck and in possession of the urn - had cement poured onto Paul Bearer, trapped in a crypt, up to Bearer's ankles; Bubba Ray then repeatedly told Taker to lay down or it would cost Bearer his life; Taker then laid down but put Bubba in a choke, leading to the match; after the bout, Heyman attempted to suffocate Bearer in cement but he was stopped by a lightning bolt; Heyman then ran backstage, with Taker approaching the cement truck and kneeling before Bearer; Taker then grabbed a mic, told Bearer he had no other choice, and then filled the crypt with cement (Bearer's last appearance for 6 years) (The Undertaker's Most Dangerous Matches)

Great American Bash 05 (Smackdown!) - Buffalo, NY - HSBC Arena - July 24, 2005 Sunday Night Heat - featured a backstage interview with WWE US Champion Orlando Jordan, during which Chris Benoit appeared and knocked Jordan to the ground: WWE Cruiserweight Champion Paul London pinned Nunzio with the Shooting Star Press at 2:33 Pay-per-view bouts - featured Michael Cole & Tazz on commentary: John Heidenreich & Road Warrior Animal defeated WWE Smackdown! Tag Team Chapions Johnny Nitro & Joey Mercury (w/ Melina) to when the titles at 6:45 when Animal pinned Nitro following the Doomsday Device; after the match, Animal grabbed the mic and said "Hawk, this one was for you, brother" Booker T (w/ Sharmell) pinned Christian with a scissors kick from the middle turnbuckle at 11:37 after throwing Christian into the steel ringsteps WWE US Champion Orlando Jordan pinned Chris Benoit at 14:24 after Benoit struck his head on an exposed turnbuckle while attempting to drop the champion with a German suplex; after the bout, Jordan taunted Benoit with the title belt as the challenger was still face-down on the mat The Undertaker pinned Muhammad Hassan (w/ Daivari & several masked men) at 8:06 with the chokeslam; prior to the bout, Hassan was carried out to the ring on a bed by the masked men and cut a promo saying he would be the new world champion at Summer Slam; after the bout, Taker assaulted the masked men and threw Daivari head-first through the commentary table; moments later, Taker attacked Hassan on the stage, opened up part of the stage, and powerbombed Hassan through the hole; a bloody Hassan was later attended to by medics and placed on a stretcher; as a result of pre-match stipulations, Taker became the #1 contender to the world title (Hassan's last appearance; Daivari's last appearance for 4 months) Juventud Guerrera, Super Crazy, & Psychosis defeated Stevie Richards, the Blue Meanie, & Nova at 4:54 when Psychosis pinned Richards with a legdrop off the top after Richards missed a charge in the corner and crotched himself with Super Crazy then hitting a springboard moonsault; prior to the bout, the bWo came out on Power Wheels to mock the Mexicools coming out on riding lawnmowers Rey Mysterio Jr. (w/ his son Dominick) pinned Eddie Guerrero at 15:39 with a crucifix as Guerrero laid backwards on Rey, watching Dominick on the floor, after hitting the frog splash; had Guerrero won, he would have been able to share Mysterio's secret; because he lost, the matter had to drop Melina defeated Torrie Wilson in a bra & panties match at 3:52 after Torrie was dropped throat-first across the top rope; after the bout, Melina attacked guest referee Candice Michelle; moments later, Torrie and Candice helped in stripping Melina down to her bra and panties; Candice then stripped down as well as she and Torrie played to the fans John Bradshaw Layfield defeated World Heavyweight Champion Batista via disqualification at 19:45 when the champion threw an interfering Orlando Jordan into the ring, stole a steel chair away from him, and hit both Jordan and JBL over the head with the weapon; prior to the match, JBL came to the ring wearing red, white, & blue attire and throwing American flags into the crowd as red, white, & blue confetti dropped from the rafters; immediately after the bout, Batista repeatedly hit Jordan and JBL with the chair; several moments later, when the decision was announced, Batista returned to the ring and hit the sit-down powerbomb on both men

Great American Bash (Smackdown!) - Indianapolis, IN - Conseco Fieldhouse - July 23, 2006 (9,750; 8,750 paid) Bobby Lashley, the Great Khali, and Super Crazy (who was scheduled at the last minute to face Gregory Helms) were pulled from the card due to liver problems Sho Funaki pinned Simon Dean with a small package Pay-per-view bouts - featured Michael Cole & John Bradshaw Layfield on commentary; included a backstage segment in which ECW World Champion the Big Show attacked the Undertaker as Taker faced off against Daivari & the Great Khali; moments later, Teddy Long confronted Daivari, Show, and Khali said Khali was out of the match and, because of his involvement in the attack on Taker, Show was now in: WWE Smackdown! Tag Team Champions Brian Kendrick & Paul London defeated Kid Kash & Jamie Noble at 13:30 when Kendrick pinned Kash with a sunset flip off the top, assisted by a London dropsault, as Kash attempted the brainbuster on London WWE US Champion Finlay pinned William Regal at 13:51 with his feet on the ropes for leverage after hitting him with Regal's own boot as Regal attempted to hit the champion with Finlay's shillalaugh; prior to the bout, Teddy Long came out and announced the scheduled triple threat match also involving Bobby Lashley would not take place because Lashley was not medically cleared to having elevated enzymes in his liver; moments later, Lashley came out, said he didn't think anything was wrong with him, and wanted to regain the US title; Long told him he wasn't going to risk Lashley severely hurting himself and that he would get his title shot as soon as he was cleared by the doctor; Lashley then left ringside as Finlay and Regal came out, with Finlay telling Long to declare him the winner via forfeit; Long then ordered the two remaining participants to compete for the title despite the fact they're friends WWE Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms pinned Matt Hardy (sub. for Super Crazy) in a non-title match at 11:55 with a roll up and grabbing the tights for leverage after dropping Hardy face-first across the top rope; it was not mentioned by the commentary team Hardy was a replacement The Undertaker defeated ECW World Champion the Big Show (sub. for the Great Khali) in a non-title Punjabi Prison Match at at 21:28 with a crossbody from the inner cage onto Show, with Show falling through the outer cage and Taker being the first to escape; prior to the bout, Michael Cole gave the rules of the match over the mic, saying the first man to escape both cages would win and that the inner cage doors would be opened by referees at a wrestler's command but would only stay open for 60 seconds; during the final moments of the match, Khali & Davari came out of the crowd and scaled the outer cage Ashley defeated Kristal, Michelle McCool, and Jillian Hall in a bra & panties match at 5:18 when Ashley removed Kristal's top as Jillian attempted to put Kristal in a Boston Crab; after the bout, Ashley and Jillian removed each other's bottoms to pop the crowd Ken Kennedy (sub. for Mark Henry) defeated Batista via disqualification at 8:38 when referee Charles Robinson stopped the match when Batista refused to stop standing on Kennedy's throat in the corner; prior to the bout, footage was shown of Mark Henry's surgery in Birmingham, AL following the injuries he sustained during Saturday Night's Main Event; after the bout, Batista hit three spinebusters and the sit-down powerbomb on a bloody Kennedy before leaving the ring Booker T pinned World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio Jr. to win the title at 16:48 when Chavo Guerrero Jr. came out as referee Nick Patrick was knocked out on the floor and hit the champion over the head with a steel chair, which Booker brought in the ring moments earlier; Sharmell was in the challenger's match but was ejected at the 10-minute mark; after the bout, Sharmell returned to the ring and repeatedly said "All hail, King Booker" over the mic

Great American Bash 07 (Smackdown!) - San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion Arena - July 22, 2007 (13,851; 12,500 paid; sell out) Chuck Palumbo defeated Chris Masters Pay-per-view bouts - featured Michael Cole & John Bradshaw Layfield on commentary for Smackdown!, Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler on commentary for Raw, and Joey Styles & Tazz on commentary for ECW; included Todd Grisham conducting a backstage interview with Dusty Rhodes regarding his bullrope match later in the night against Randy Orton; featured a video package highlighting Bobby Lashley's background; included Grisham conducting a backstage interview with Orton regarding his upcoming bout with Rhdoes, during which Orton made note that it was Shawn Michaels' birthday but even Michaels doesn't know it because of the head injury he gave him in May; featured a backstage segment in which Matt & Jeff Hardy talked about their matches on the card, with WWE Women's Champion Candice Michelle then appearing - sweaty from her bout - and pouring a bottle of water over herself to cool off in slow motion as music played in the background; moments later, Ron Simmons appeared and said "Damn;" included a video package highlighting John Cena's background; featured a vignette promoting the return of Triple H at Summer Slam, followed by Booker T & Sharmell appearing, with Booker cutting a promo on Triple H not being the "king of kings" as he claimed; Booker then turned his attention to Lawler and demanded Lawler relinquish his crown and recognize Booker as the one and only king of the WWE; after Lawler told Booker to come get the crown, Booker said he considered Lawler's actions as an act of treason and then left ringside: WWE US Champion MVP pinned Matt Hardy at 12:53 with the running boot to the face and a botched Playmaker Hornswoggle defeated WWE Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero Jr., Jamie Noble, Shannon Moore, Sho Funaki, and Jimmy Wang Yang to win the title at 6:59 by pinning Noble with a Tadpole Splash after Noble was the bottom pole of a triple suplex off the top, also involving Guerrero and Yang; Hornswoggle was awarded the title because he ran through the ring as the bell rang to begin the bout, thus he was ruled a legal participant in the match Carlito Caribbean Cool pinned the Sandman in a Singapore cane on a pole match at 5:31 with the Back Stabber after avoiding a swing of the cane WWE Women's Champion Candice Michelle pinned Melina with the Candy Wrapper (standing bulldog) at 6:22 (debut of the finisher) WWE IC Champion Umaga pinned Jeff Hardy at 11:20 with a kick to the face, backsplash in the corner, and thumb strike to the throat (History of the Intercontinental Championship) ECW World Champion John Morrison pinned CM Punk at 7:50 following a kick to the knee as Punk attempted a springboard into the ring Randy Orton pinned Dusty Rhodes in a bullrope match at 5:40 after hitting Rhodes in the head with the cow bell; after the bout, Orton set Dusty up to kick him in the head but Cody Rhodes slid in the ring to protect his father, with Orton then leaving the ring World Heavyweight Champion the Great Khali (w/ Runjin Singh) defeated Batista and Kane at 10:02 by pinning Kane with the tree slam WWE World Champion John Cena pinned Bobby Lashley following an FU from the middle turnbuckle at 14:51; after the bout, the two men shook hands (The John Cena Experience)

Great American Bash 08 - Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum - July 20, 2008 (announced at 14,126; sell out) Umaga pinned Ken Kennedy with the thumb strike to the throat at 4:00 Pay-per-view bouts - featured Jim Ross & Mick Foley on commentary for Smackdown!, Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler on commentary for Raw, and Mike Adamle & Tazz on commentary for ECW; included an ad for "The Definitive Ric Flair Collection;" featured footage of Todd Grisham conducting a backstage interview with World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk following the previous week's Raw in which Punk responded to Batista interfering in his match with Kane and commented on his upcoming match with Batista; included a text poll in which fans were asked who they sympathized with more, Edge or Vickie Guerrero; featured Ross conducting an interview with Edge, backstage, regarding WWE World Champion Triple H causing his relationship with Vickie to end and his upcoming title match with Triple H, during which Edge said he had no more personal life and only his professional life remained; included the results of the text poll in which 45 percent sided with Vickie and 55 percent with Edge; featured Eve conducting a backstage interview with Triple H in which he said he didn't regret his actions to Edge during the previous Smackdown!: Curt Hawkins & Zach Ryder defeated WWE Smackdown! Tag Team Champions John Morrison & Mike Mizanin, Jesse & Festus, and Finlay & Hornswoggle to win the titles at 9:14 when Hawkins pinned Jesse after causing him to fall off the top, moments after Ryder prevented Jesse & Festus from hitting a Rocket Launcher Shelton Benjamin pinned WWE US Champion Matt Hardy to win the title at 9:35 with the Paydirt after raising his knee to block a moonsault and hitting Hardy in the face ECW World Champion Mark Henry (w/ Tony Atlas) defeated Tommy Dreamer (w/ Colin Delaney) at 5:30 with the powerslam after Delaney pulled Dreamer off the turnbuckle and throat-first across the top rope Chris Jericho defeated Shawn Michaels via referee's decision at 18:19 when the referee stopped the bout after Jericho repeatedly attacked a bloody gash near Michaels already injured eye; Lance Cade appeared at the 10-minute mark to be in Jericho's corner; after the bout, Michaels was tended to by medics and helped backstage Michelle McCool defeated Natalya Neidhart via submission with a heel hook at 4:40; stipulations stated the winner would be the first WWE Divas Champion; after the contest, Michelle was congratulated by Cherry and Eve until Chris Jericho appeared on the entrance stage and cut a promo telling the fans to take good care of their ticket stubs because Shawn Michaels' career was over and he had sustained a detached retna World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk fought Batista to a double disqualification at 11:04 when, after Batista caught Punk coming off the apron and hit a spinebuster on the floor, Kane attacked Batista on the floor and threw him into the ringpost and then dropped Punk with the chokeslam; after the bout, Kane, with a sack in his hand, starred at the camera and asked "Is he alive or is he dead?"; Kane then kicked a cameraman in the face and left ringside; moments later, following the decision, Punk held the title belt up in Batista's face before Batista dropped the champion with the sit-down powerbomb and left the ring John Bradshaw Layfield pinned John Cena in a parking lot brawl at 16:17 after throwing Cena off the stage onto a car, which Cena brought into the arena late in the bout via a forklift; there was no commentary until the 13-minute mark, when Cena used a forklift to drive a car with JBL inside from backstage into the arena; following the bout, both men were attended to by referees WWE World Champion Triple H pinned Edge with the Pedigree at 16:46 after Edge attempted to hit the spear on an interfering Alicia Fox but speared Vickie Guerrero instead; after the bout, Chavo Guerrero Jr. came out to tend to Vickie

Great American Bash 09 - Sacramento, CA - Arco Arena - June 28, 2009 (10,412) Pay-per-view bouts - included Josh Mathews & Matt Striker on commentary for ECW, Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler on commentary for Raw, and Todd Grisham & Jim Ross on commentary for Smackdown!; featured a backstage segment with Teddy Long and Edge in which Edge said it was a crime he wasn't on the pay-per-view and reminded Long that he was on probation; included an ad promoting "12 Rounds" on DVD; featured a backstage segment in which Chris Jericho argued with Long over Rey Mysterio's win over him and demanded a rematch, with Long telling him to get out of his office; included a backstage segment with Vince McMahon and Long in which McMahon noted Long had been the longest running general manager but didn't accomplish anything; featured an ad promoting Night of Champions; included a backstage segment with WWE World Champion Randy Orton in which he told Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase Jr. not to worry about their loss earlier in the show and reminded them the only thing that was important was that Orton keeps his title later in the show, with Dibiase then asking if Orton gived a damn about them at all and walking off; featured a "Do not try this at home" PSA; included a backstage segment with Carlito & Primo Colon and Long in which Long said he stood by his decision to put Jericho & Edge in the tag team title match; featured a backstage segment with Orton in which he tried to reach Rhodes by phone; included footage from the block party earlier in the show outside the arena, with appearances by Rev Theory and Adelitas Way, who performed "Voices" and "Invincible," respectively; the two bands were then shown sitting in the crowd; featured the Gillette ad starring Vince McMahon and John Cena: ECW World Champion Tommy Dreamer defeated Christian, Mark Henry (w/ Tony Atlas), Finlay, and Jack Swagger in a 15-minute Championship Scramble match at 14:47; order of entry: Christian (0:00); Swagger (0:00); Finlay (3:08); Dreamer (6:14); Henry (9:39); falls: Swagger pinned Finlay with an eye rake and roll up (4:44); Finlay pinned Swagger with the Celtic Cross (8:13); Henry pinned Dreamer by catching him coming off the top and hitting the powerslam (10:28); Swagger pinned Henry with a clip to the knee and bomb off the ropes (12:20); Dreamer pinned Christian with the DDT after Christian dropped Swagger with the Killswitch (13:27) Rey Mysterio Jr. pinned WWE IC Champion Chris Jericho to win the title at 15:42 with the 619 and springboard splash after Jericho removed Mysterio's mask, revealing that the challenger was wearing a second one underneath; stipulations stated Mysterio would have to unmask if he lost (WWE's Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2009-2010) Dolph Ziggler pinned the Great Khali in a No DQ, No Count-Out match at 5:00 after Kane interfered and landed repeated chair shots to Khali's head and back (Kane's surprise return after a 2-month absence) Chris Jericho & Edge defeated WWE Unified Tag Team Champions Carlito & Primo Colon and Ted Dibiase Jr. & Cody Rhodes to win the titles at 9:38 when Edge pinned Carlito with the spear after Carlito dropped Rhodes with the Back Stabber; the bout was originally scheduled for the Colons vs. Dibiase & Rhodes; Jericho & Edge's involvement was not announced until after the other two teams had made their entrance Michelle McCool (w/ Alicia Fox) pinned WWE Women's Champion Melina to win the title at 6:36 with a kick to the face and the Faith Breaker Jeff Hardy defeated World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk via disqualification at 14:54 when Punk, moments after sustaining an eye injury, kicked the referee in the back; Hardy originally won the match and title at 12:46 with the Twist of Fate and Swanton but the referee immediately changed the call after noticing Punk's foot was under the bottom rope during the cover; after the contest, Hardy confronted Punk in the aisle, claiming Punk got himself disqualified on purpose; moments later, Hardy attacked Punk at ringside and in the ring until other referees came out to break it up; Punk was then helped backstage while covering his left eye John Cena defeated Mike Mizanin via submission with the STFU at 5:40 following the FU WWE World Champion Randy Orton defeated Triple H in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match at 21:22; fall #1: Orton won via disqualification in a wrestling match at 4:52 when the challenger repeatedly hit Orton in the head and across the back with a steel chair; fall #2: Triple H won in a falls count anywhere match at 6:18 following a Pedigree on the floor; fall #3: Orton won a stretcher match after Triple H fought off an interfering Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase Jr. and Orton hit the challenger with a piece of the entrance stage; after the contest, Triple H came up behind Orton and struck him in the face with the sledgehammer

Great American Bash 2010 - June 20, 2010