The Year in PPV- 1996, Part I

1996 should go down as the year of the Heartbreak Kid. After seeing the fan following he had been receiving in 1994 and 1995, the WWF finally decided to put the responsibilities of being "the man" on Shawn Michaels. With Bret Hart getting up there in age, Diesel and Razor Ramon contemplating leaving for WCW, and the Undertaker not really being a marketable face of the company (at least at that time), it was time for there to be that main event alternative. The '80s had Hogan and Savage, so for the '90s Michaels was thrown in the main event scene along with Bret Hart to see how it would go. To make matters even more interesting, Bret would take time off for a number of months so Michaels was fighting in the main event scene on his own against the likes of Diesel, Vader, Owen Hart, the British Bulldog, Mankind, and Sycho Sid. Since he's my favorite wrestler of all-time, what do I think of arguably the most beneficial year in his career?

Let's begin the year of the Showstopper by heading to the 1996 Royal Rumble...


1. Royal Rumble

This event had a really strong undercard of matches behind it, opening with Ahmed Johnson vs. Jeff Jarrett. After that, the WWF Tag Team Championships were defended by the Smoking Gunns against the Godwinns, and the Intercontinental Championship was defended by Razor Ramon against Goldust. The main event of the show was a great WWF Championship match between Bret Hart and the Undertaker. The match's ending is crucial because it planted some serious seeds that were important in building the Road to WrestleMania. It began the pathway of the WWF Champion, and began a new rivalry that would develop throughout the few months leading to the granddaddy of them all.

The Royal Rumble match is a bit of a mixed bag this year. Sure, there are a handful of big names attached (Owen Hart, the British Bulldog, Diesel, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Vader, Yokozuna, and Shawn Michaels to name a few), and Jerry Lawler adds a very interesting spin on surviving the Royal Rumble, but there are a handful of cons as well. A large number of spots are given to jobbers and wrestlers from other companies and territories, making one wonder why they deserve to be in a match to potentially headline WrestleMania (would it have been too difficult to throw Jarrett, Johnson, Goldust, or Razor into the mix instead?). The other biggest problem involves Vader, after being eliminated, eliminating other wrestlers and as a result they were allowed to continue. 2 problems with that. The first and most obvious is that that has not happened in any other Rumble match, and the second problem is that one of these guys was the winner of the match, so he won on a technicality. Still, the match is pretty good, and pretty important in building towards one of the biggest matches in WWE history.

Recommended


2. In Your House 6: Rage in the Cage

Rage in the Cage does a fantastic job of pitting four men against each other in the build towards the WrestleMania main event. In one match, you have Shawn Michaels putting his main event spot on the line against Owen Hart. These two had a very underrated rivalry after Owen kicked Shawn in the head and put him out of action for many months. This night not only culminated their feud, but would send the victor on their way to a rightful spot in the main event. For the WWF Championship, Bret Hart put his title up for grabs in a steel cage match against Diesel. Like any other match these two have had, it's a fantastic effort between the two, but it's the ending that splits these two on completely different pathways on the Road to WrestleMania.

In a match that history should NOT remember, the rivalry between Razor Ramon and the 1-2-3 Kid culminated in a Crybaby match. The match is fine, but the gimmick is absolutely ridiculous that it not only completely buried Kid's status in the company, but it looked like a huge step down from Razor. I know both were on their way out soon, but still...

Recommended


3. WrestleMania XII

This WrestleMania played up to the Hollywood gimmick (not as well as 21, but that's beside the point) since it was taking place in Anaheim, California (only about 20 minutes from my hometown of Fullerton). Having being to a few episodes of RAW in the Honda Center (formerly Arrowhead Pond), I love feeling the rich history of some of the WWE PPVs to take place there (such as this and WrestleMania 2000). The show opens up with a star studded 6-man tag match that saw all of Camp Cornette (Vader, Owen Hart, and the British Bulldog) take on the team of Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson, and Jake "the Snake" Roberts. This was the best way you could open Mania at that time, since you had a combination of big guys, talented wrestlers, and charismatic characters all in one match. Also be on the lookout for the WrestleMania debuts of two of the biggest names in WWE history. The first being Stone Cold Steve Austin (working as the Million Dollar Champion with Ted DiBiase as his manager) having a solid match with Savio Vega, and the other being Hunter Hearst Helmsley taking on the returning Ultimate Warrior (and this match brings new meaning to the phrase "Game Over").

But now let's get into some of the main events. In an absolutely bizarre publicity stunt, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper fought Goldust in a Hollywood Backlot Brawl that eventually led to a car chase on the freeway, where the WWF blatantly used footage of the O.J. Simpson car chase. I'm not sure whether to feel uncomfortable or laugh my pants off at how ridiculous that is. The beginning of the match is actually pretty good, displaying realism and some early elements of hardcore wrestling in the company. Then they get on the highway, and then they get back to the arena and it just gets STRANGE. In a pretty high profile big men match, Diesel took on the Undertaker and these guys actually had a really good match with each other. I'm actually surprised. Admittedly, Nash's best matches are from his days as Diesel, and the Undertaker had to have great matches pulled out of him by his opponents at that time, but here something really clicks. As far as Taker's early Mania matches, this is my favorite (until we get to Kane at Mania XIV).

However, when history looks back at Mania XII, the match they are going to talk about is the 60-minute Iron Man match for the WWF Championship. The first match of its kind in the company, it makes sense for it to debut on a grand stage like Mania, but the concept itself is so extravagant that you need the right two people to carry it forward. Thankfully for the WWF, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were the right two people for the match. While it may seem boring and a drag for some fans (myself included in some spots), it is an absolutely essential match for every fan to watch at least once. The chemistry between the two is impeccable (go figure since they hated each other) and it leads to one of the greatest WrestleMania moments in history (and Vince McMahon's greatest moment on commentary).

Highly Recommended


4. In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies

This post-WrestleMania filler show turns out to have some very unique encounters. Some of the feuds roll over from Mania, but there's also room for some new matches right? Whoever thought a match between Goldust and the Ultimate Warrior would be a good idea should either be fired on the spot or given a raise (I'm not sure which one is more deserved). I don't feel like this did any favors for either guy and this match proves that when you have two bizarre individuals clash for the sake of just being bizarre, it doesn't mesh as well as you'd think.

In terms of the Monday Night Wars, this night is pretty significant, as it was the last PPV appearance of Razor Ramon and Diesel before they defected to WCW. In his last In Your House appearance as Razor, Scott Hall took on Vader in a solid encounter that utilized Razor's status to build up Vader as a main event threat. And in the main event, Shawn Michaels put his newly won WWF Championship on the line against Diesel in a No Holds Barred match. On his last PPV appearance as Big Daddy Cool, Kevin Nash made sure to elevate Shawn as a credible champion as much as possible. It's a great match between these two best friends that set the standard for how WWF Championship and no disqualification matches would be conducted for many years.

Mild Recommendation


Initial Thoughts: I wasn't wrong when I called this Shawn's year. Diesel, Razor, and Kid were all on their way out, and Bret was taking some time away from the ring after Mania. Of course, throughout the year, other superstars would come through the ranks, but for the first few months, there was only focus on one man. Within the next few months, guys like Mankind and Stone Cold Steve Austin would grab the attention of the wrestling world and pump some new blood into the New Generation.

Continued in Part II...


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