Originally conceived as a special event for Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), The Great American Bash (GAB) would evolve into a national tour and later on an annual pay-per-view for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later on, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)     On July 6, 1985, JCP held the Great American Bash at Charlotte Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The show was headlined by a match between National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion Ric "Nature Boy" Flair and "The Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff.  TV Announcer David Crockett had been appointed special referee after Koloff clotheslined him on national television during an interview segment.  Despite the weight and strength difference, Flair defeated Koloff to retain his championship.      As the NWA and WWF competed for national dominance, Jim Crockett Promotions launched the Great American Bash, a supercard headlined by Ric Flair defending the NWA World Heavyweight Title against "The Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff.  The GAB would lead to a national tour the following year as well as an annual pay-per-view.  The December 1985 issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated (left) covered the card from start to finish.       The following year, the Bash was expanded into a thirteen city tour that featured country music concerts after the wrestling shows.  The ambitious endeavor met with mixed success due to high ticket prices and a lackluster response in some cities to country music.  Ric Flair defended his NWA World Championship at each show against a variety of challengers including Dusty Rhodes, Road Warrior Animal, Ricky Morton, Magnum T.A., and Ron Garvin.  It was a grueling schedule of title defenses and eventually Flair lost on July 26, 1986 to "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes.    In 1987 the Bash returned with a new twist.  "War GamesL The Match Beyond" was created as a match to contain the feud between the Four Horsemen and the combination of the Road Warriors and the Superpowers (Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff).  The match involved two steel cages with two teams of five pitted against each other.  The match would begin with one member from each team battling and then a coin toss would determined which team would be allowed to have a member enter (giving their team a temporary advantage).  Once all members of each team were inside, the only way the match could be won would be by forcing someone to submit.    Over the next thirteen years, the GAB became an annual pay-per-view event.  After WCW was sold to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2001, the GAB was shelved.  However in 2004, the GAB was revived as a pay-per-view for the SmackDown! brand.

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