The Year in PPV- 1996, Part II

1996 continues with a redemption act following one of the WWF's biggest blunders...


5. In Your House 8: Beware of Dog

Many fans remember when the original Beware of Dog event aired during a big thunderstorm that actually cut the PPV feed for most of the show. Power was restored right before the main event, so you had at least two matches that could be broadcast in their entirety. When they rescheduled the event as Beware of Dog 2, they added those two matches to the very beginning of the show and broadcast three additional matches that were supposed to take place at the original event. This show has a lot of quality, and the only thing I would tweak about it would be the order of the matches. The casket match between the Undertaker and Goldust is solid but is more of an upper midcard main event. The Vader vs. Yokozuna match is solid big man filler between matches so that works. The opener between Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Marc Mero seemed to fit really well, so no complaints there.

A lot of people remember this event for the Strap match between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Savio Vega, and for good reason because it's the best Strap match I have ever seen, but this show deserves a lot more focus on the WWF Championship match. Shawn Michaels put the belt on the line against the British Bulldog in a match that I was in no way expecting to be as superb as it was. I had no doubts that they could have a great match, but this match going into it was nowhere on my radar. It was one of the biggest forgotten gems I have ever seen and had it been shown at the end (as a book end between the opener and the three Beware of Dog 2 matches), this show's pacing would be amazing from start to finish. A surprising nomination for one of the best PPVs I have seen from the New Generation.

Highly Recommended


6. King of the Ring

This edition of King of the Ring had a pretty stacked undercard, all of which were given time and buildup to follow through on. Some worked well (Undertaker vs. Mankind, and Goldust vs. Ahmed Johnson for the Intercontinental Championship), while some did not (Jerry Lawler vs. Ultimate Warrior). Needless to say, the undercard helped present a show that was about more than just the King of the Ring tournament, a show that could have actual feuds culminate on a night that's usually about the results of a tournament.

With that in mind, the biggest moment, hands down, is the results of the King of the Ring tournament. Jake Roberts advanced to the finals by defeating Vader, and Stone Cold Steve Austin advanced by defeating Marc Mero. These two have a very quick match, and the result might also be important, but it's the promo that changed EVERYTHING. This is the promo that is the birth of Austin 3:16 and ushered a new attitude into the New Generation. And if that isn't enough to make people happy, then the main event for the WWF Championship between Shawn Michaels and the British Bulldog should satisfy. Once again, these two put on a great match and the match's ending leads to absolute CHAOS to close the night.

Highly Recommended


7. In Your House 9: International Incident

International Incident may have the appeal of an In Your House event, but its quality ranges on the importance of an Insurrexiton or Rebellion show. The matches may have good talent attached (Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Marc Mero, and the Undertaker vs. Goldust for example), but this the definition of pre-SummerSlam filler. You could have easily gone from King of the Ring to SummerSlam and it wouldn't have made a difference. That is how unimportant International Incident is, despite how impressive the roster is.

The midcard may overwhelm, but that's only because they made sure to keep the main event stacked. In a six-man tag, Camp Cornette took on the team of Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson, and Sycho Sid (who was replacing the Ultimate Warrior who was fired...yet again). It's got the excitement of your standard 6-man tag main event, but it doesn't really stand out on its own. If anything I would have preferred a WWF Championship match with Michaels and Owen Hart that would at least tie his rivalry with Camp Cornette after feuding with Bulldog and before feuding with Vader.

Skip It


8. SummerSlam

This show may have a lot of quality matches and moments, but there are two moments that are so memorable in the history of SummerSlam, that both deserve praise. The main event between Shawn Michaels and Vader is pretty important as it created a David and Goliath story on a big stage for the WWF Championship. Vader had been so dominant all yer, and HBK was on the roll of a lifetime as champion, that it only made sense these two would collide in a match where something had to give. Shawn is one of the greatest workers in history, and Vader is one of the most agile big men wrestling has ever seen, so a great match was not out of the question.

But the match that really made a statement was the Boiler Room Brawl with Mankind and the Undertaker. Not only was this another influential match on the WWF's hardcore division during the Attitude Era, but it was also a match that could have been marked as the end of their feud, but instead elevated it further with one heck of a twist at the end. It may be a little lengthy and drags in spots, but the ending is worth it, as it is one of the best examples of how a swerve can work as long as the results are long term.

Highly Recommended


Thoughts: This segment of shows really took a lot of focus off Bret Hart (since he stepped away for a while) and really let Shawn hang with some other challengers. Having Vader and British Bulldog in long term feuds with the Heartbreak Kid really being the glue that helps elevate their credibility (specifically for Jim Cornette as a manager). Apart from that you also had Austin climbing the ranks and waking EVERYONE up with that promo, Mankind rising to the top thanks to his feud with the Undertaker, and so many other things all clicking together to showing their strengths to compete against what WCW had to offer. This section was in the beginning of the Monday Night Wars, and their momentum was pretty strong, but as 1996 comes to an end, the biggest question could be what would they do to keep the fight going?

Concluded in Part III...


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