The Great American Bash 2008

The Great American Bash (2008)

Promotion	WWE
Date	July 20, 2008
Venue	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
City	Uniondale, New York
Attendance	12,454
Last Event	Night of Champions
Next Event	SummerSlam

The Great American Bash was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and presented by AT&T. It took place on July 20, 2008, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. It was the fifth annual Great American Bash under WWE and nineteenth overall. It starred wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brand divisions.

Event summary[]

Michelle McCool vs Natalya[]

Tonight, before a capacity crowd at The Great American Bash, Michelle McCool defeated Natalya to become WWE's first-ever Divas Champion. After a long road of sacrifice and hard work, McCool finally cemented her place in history, setting an incredibly high bar for any Diva bold enough to come after her and the gold.

The new championship was contested in a match every bit as praiseworthy as the title itself. It was a question of who wanted it more in this battle of fierce blows by both Divas combined with a barrage of painful submission holds by Natalya. But, despite Natalya's vicious technical skills, the hand of irony intervened. Michelle McCool managed to reverse Natalya's second Sharpshooter attempt to win with a submission hold of her own.

Going into to the event, a victory by Natalya seemed almost inevitable. She was trained in the Hart family Dungeon where she picked up an arsenal of dangerous maneuvers -- including the Sharpshooter. Natalya earned her opportunity to fight for the title in the first Golden Dreams Match on the very night the new title was announced, giving her time to form an effective strategy and scout out her possible opponents. On top of that, McCool was forced to undertake an uphill battle for weeks to prove herself to SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero before winning the second Golden Dreams Match which qualified her to face Natalya.

However, after several heated exchanges on Friday Night SmackDown, it was clear that neither Superstar would was going to go down without a fight.

After beating the odds, Michelle has established herself as the top Diva on Friday nights. But now that she has reached the top of the mountain, she can rest assured that the Sexiest Woman on Television will be coming to knock her off her throne.

Triple H vs Edge[]

Edge approached Sunday's WWE Title Match against champion Triple H as a desperate man, and, as he himself admitted: "When I'm desperate, I'm dangerous."

Unfortunately for the Ultimate Opportunist, a man with nothing left to lose has never been much of a match against a woman scorned. That was the case Sunday night as well when a wild turn of events led Edge to spear his wife, Vickie Guerrero, and lose the match to Triple H.

The trouble all started last Friday night on SmackDown when Triple H offered his wedding gift to Edge and his Vickie Guerrero during their reception. As the newlyweds looked on, The Cerebral Assassin unspooled a video of Edge sharing a passionate kiss with wedding planner Alicia Fox.

The damning footage ruined the couple's nascent marriage and sparked a concentrated hatred in the jilted bride.

The first flash of that animosity shown brightly Sunday night. It looked like Edge had finally gained an advantage in the match when Fox entered ringside and tried to hand him the WWE Title to use, presumably, as a weapon. Guerrero, however, charged down after her, leveling the homewrecker with a stiff clothesline.

The two women battled into the ring, where both men were exhausted and flat on their backs. As the referee tried to separate Fox and Guerrero, the Ultimate Opportunist rushed the ref, who dodged his spear at the last moment. What happened next was stunning.

The R-Rated Superstar speared his wife, slamming her frame to the canvas. The stunned former champion could hardly believe what he had done and stood in silence for several moments.

As Edge wandered about the ring in an effort to compose himself, Triple H overcame his exhaustion and managed to administer a match-ending Pedigree to ensure his title reign continue.

It was a wild conclusion to an already rowdy night, costing Edge his chance at the WWE Title and possibly sabotaging any hope of a reconciliation with Guerrero. It also allowed Triple H to retain his WWE Championship, keeping The King of Kings nestled upon his throne.