This articleis missing information about the reception to The Great American Bash (1997). Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page.(September 2021)

The Great American Bash
Promotional poster
Promotion	World Championship Wrestling
Date	June 15, 1997
City	Moline, Illinois
Venue	The MARK of the Quad Cities
Attendance	9,613
Buy rate	220,000[1]
Tagline	Give Him A Nice Warm Hug On Father's Day
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous Slamboree Next → Bash at the Beach
The Great American Bash chronology
← Previous 1996 Next → 1998

The 1997Great American Bash was the seventhGreat American Bashprofessional wrestlingpay-per-viewevent produced byWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW), and 11th Great American Bash event overall. It took place on June 15, 1997, atThe MARK of the Quad Cities inMoline, Illinois.

Nine matches were contested at the event. In the main event,Randy Savage defeatedDiamond Dallas Page in aFalls Count Anywhere match. In other prominent matches,The Outsiders (Kevin Nash andScott Hall) defeatedRic Flair andRoddy Piper to retain theWCW World Tag Team Championship,Kevin Greene defeatedSteve McMichael,Chris Benoit defeatedMeng in aDeath match, andAkira Hokuto successfully retained herWCW Women's Championship in aTitle vs. Career match againstMadusa, who was forced to retire from professional wrestling.

The Great American Bash is aprofessional wrestling event established in 1985. It was first produced by theNational Wrestling Alliance's (NWA)Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) and aired onclosed-circuit television before becoming apay-per-view event in 1988; JCP was rebranded asWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) later that same year. WCW then seceded from the NWA in 1991.^[2] The 1997 event was the seventh Great American Bash event promoted by WCW and 11th overall. It took place on June 15, 1997, atThe MARK of the Quad Cities inMoline, Illinois.^[3][4]

The event featuredprofessional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds andstorylines. Professional wrestlers portrayvillains,heroes, orless distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.^[5]

The opening match of the pay-per-view sawUltimate Dragon defeatPsychosis.Sonny Onoo who came out with Psychosis accidentally kicked him in the head, which enabled Dragon to apply the Dragon Sleeper and pick up victory via submission.

The second match sawHarlem Heat (Booker T andStevie Ray) take onThe Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner andScott Steiner), with the winner becoming the number one contender for theWCW World Tag Team Championship. After Scott hit a Frankensteiner off the top rope on Booker T,Vincent came out and dropped an elbow onto Booker T. This caused the Steiners to be disqualified and enabled Harlem Heat to become #1 contenders.

The next match sawKonnan defeatHugh Morrus. As Morrus went for the moonsault off the top, he hit his face on the top turnbuckle. This gave Konnan the opening to hit the Tequila Sunrise and pick up the victory.

During the following match,Glacier took onWrath. During the match,Mortis was handcuffed outside the ring, however toward the end of the match threw a chain into the ring for Wrath. Glacier however got the chain, hit Wrath with it and followed it up with a superkick to pick up the win. Following the match, after Mortis' handcuffs were removed, he used them to handcuff Glacier to the rope, as the two double teamed Glacier.

In aTitle vs. Career match,Akira Hokuto put herWCW Women's Championship, againstMadusa’s career. After Madusa hurt her knee during the match, Akira hit a brainbuster to pick up the victory, and forcing Madusa to retire. After the match,Gene Okerlund attempted to talk with Madusa and the trainer evaluating her knee, however neither was willing to talk with him.

The next match was fought under hardcore rules, referred to as adeath match. During the match,Chris Benoit picked up the submission victory overMeng, who submitted to the Crippler Crossface. After the match, both wrestlers were put on a stretcher back stage.

Kevin Greene next defeatedSteve McMichael afterJeff Jarrett came out to interfere, however he accidentally hit the wrong man with a steel briefcase. This match was followed by theWCW World Tag Team Championship match, which sawThe Outsiders (Scott Hall andKevin Nash) retain the titles againstRic Flair andRoddy Piper, and Hall hit the Outsiders Edger on Piper.

The final match was aFalls Count Anywhere match betweenRandy Savage andDiamond Dallas Page. Scott Hall came out and hit the Outsider’s Edge on Page, followed by Savage hitting the flying elbowdrop, to pick up the win.

• Professional wrestling shows in Illinois
• Organized events in Moline, Illinois
• 1997 in Illinois
• The Great American Bash
• June 1997 in the United States
• 1997 World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view events

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• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles to be expanded from September 2021
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