WWE The Great American Bash

The Great American Bash
The WWE Great American Bash logo used until 2007.
Information
Other name(s)	The Bash
Created by	Dusty Rhodes
Promotion(s)	Jim Crockett Promotions National Wrestling Alliance World Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Brand(s)	Raw (2007–2009) SmackDown (2004–2009) ECW (2007–2009)
First event	The Great American Bash (1985)
Last event	The Bash (2009)

The Great American Bash was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced in the summer in either the month of June or July by professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The 2009 edition was known as The Bash. The event was originally-produced in 1985 under National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions, and then by its successor, World Championship Wrestling (WCW). According to Ric Flair in his autobiography, To Be the Man, Dusty Rhodes invented the concept. The last event was held on June 11, 2000, not to be held again due to the acquisition of WCW by World Wrestling Federation (WWF). After a four-year hiatus, the event was revived by the rechristened WWE in June 2004 and would be exclusive to the SmackDown! brand from 2004 to 2006. In 2007, to follow the format of WrestleMania, WWE made all its pay per view events promotionwide, featuring matches with competitors from its three brands, Raw, SmackDown, and ECW. The 2009 event was rebranded as The Bash, as a way to distance the show from its past as part of WCW. The event was replaced in 2010 by Fatal 4-Way and WWE Money in the Bank.

In July 2012, the event name was used for a live SuperSmackDown show featuring the Great American Bash Battle Royal.

The Great American Bash was a pay-per-view (PPV) event consisting of a main event and undercard that feature championship matches and other various matches. The Great American Bash was originally known as The Great American Bash until 2009; this was the original name when produced under the professional wrestling promotions World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions. The first The Great American Bash event was produced under the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions and took place on July 6, 1985 at the American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Great American Bash (1986) and The Great American Bash (1987) were featured as part of a tour during the July month. The Great American Bash (1988) was the first The Great American Bash event that was produced as a pay-per-view. The show continued to run for an additional two years before being produced under World Championship Wrestling. The first Great American Bash event produced under the WCW banner was The Great American Bash 1991, which has been considered the worst show under the event chronology. After the purchase of WCW by the World Wrestling Federation in 2001, none of their pay-per-view event names were seen again until The Great American Bash returned under World Wrestling Entertainment in 2004. The event was made exclusive to the SmackDown! brand and took place on June 27, 2004 at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia. After three years of being produced as a brand-exclusive event, The Great American Bash (2006) was the final Great American Bash event that was brand exclusive, as WWE announced that PPV events from then on would feature all three brands of WWE. The event continued to promote under The Great American Bash name before being rebranded "The Bash" in 2009.