The Great American Bash ‘85

Dusty Rhodes presents: The Great American Bash.

Freedom Challenge

The inaugural Great American Bash was an NWA CCTV event took place on July 6, 1985 at the American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The main event featured the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair defending the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Nikita Koloff in a singles match. As a series, The Great American Bash would continue to hold events for various promotions, most recently for NXT in 2021.

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    Ric Flair

    Champion

    Nature Boy

    Ric Flair

    Nikita Koloff

    Challenger

    The Russian Nightmare

    Nikita Koloff

    (w/ Ivan Koloff)

    Singles Match

    NWA World Heavyweight Championship

    Special Referee: David Crockett

    Dusty Rhodes

    Challenger

    The American Dream

    Dusty Rhodes

    Tully Blanchard

    Champion

    Tully Blanchard

    (w/ Baby Doll)

    Steel Cage Match

    NWA World Television Championship

    Magnum TA

    Champion

    Magnum TA

    Kamala

    Challenger

    Kamala

    (w/ Skandor Akbar)

    Singles Match

    NWA United States Heavyweight Championship

    The Road Warriors

    AWA Champions

    The Road Warriors

    (w/ Paul Ellering)

    Koloff & Kruschev

    NWA Champions

    The Russian Team

    Koloff & Kruschev

    Tag Team Title Unification Match

    AWA World Tag Team Championship

    NWA World Tag Team Championship

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    Event Details

    Name
    The Great American Bash ‘85
    Tagline
    Freedom Challenge
    Date
    July 6, 1985
    Broadcast
    NWA CCTV
    Venue
    American Legion Memorial Stadium
    Location
    Charlotte, North Carolina
    Attendance
    ca. 27,000
    Announcers
    Tony Schiavone & David Crockett
    Number of Matches
    8 Matches

    Final Card

    • Singles Match

      Buddy Landel (w/ JJ Dillon) vs. Ron Bass

    • Tag Team Match

      The Andersons (Arn & Ole Anderson) (c) vs. Buzz Sawyer & Dick Slater

      NWA National Tag Team Championship

    • Six Man Tag Team Match

      Abdullah The Butcher, Konga The Barbarian & Superstar Billy Graham vs. Buzz Tyler, Manny Fernandez & Sam Houston

    • Dog Collar Match

      Jimmy Valiant (w/ Buzz Tyler) vs. Paul Jones (w/ Abdullah The Butcher)

    • Tag Team Title Unification Match

      The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk & Road Warrior Animal) (w/ Paul Ellering) (c) [AWA] vs. The Russian Team (Ivan Koloff & Krusher Kruschev) (c) [NWA]

      AWA World Tag Team Championship / NWA World Tag Team Championship

    • Singles Match

      Magnum TA (c) vs. Kamala (w/ Skandor Akbar)

      NWA United States Heavyweight Championship

    • Singles Match

      Ric Flair (c) vs. Nikita Koloff (w/ Ivan Koloff)

      NWA World Heavyweight Championship

      Special Referee: David Crockett

    • Steel Cage Match

      Tully Blanchard (w/ Baby Doll) (c) vs. Dusty Rhodes

      NWA United States Heavyweight Championship