Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The Year in PPV- 1996, Part III


As 1996 concludes, glimpses of the Attitude Era are placed into the New Generation...


9. In Your House 10: Mind Games

Mind Games is a pretty important PPV for the sake of hardcore wrestling. Taking place in Philadelphia, the first match saw Paul Heyman, Tommy Dreamer, and the Sandman, sit at ringside and interject themselves into the action as a publicity stunt prearranged between Vince McMahon and ECW. After that opening highlight, the pressure was on for the WWF to deliver a match to keep the crowd happy, which meant it would have to appeal to the fans that had a heavy bias towards the ECW style of wrestling. Thankfully they had the right two wrestlers for that main event: Shawn Michaels and Mankind.

Their WWF Championship match is my favorite from 1996 due to their contrast in styles that seemed to mesh so perfectly. Shawn was a charismatic showman who specialized in high flying moves and technical wrestling. Mankind (formerly Cactus Jack when he was in ECW) was all about brawling, using weapons, and putting his body on the line in the name of hurting his opponent. I really wish their feud was more long term because this match is fantastic. There are so many moments seen here that paved the way for what the Attitude Era main events looked like, as well as the hardcore division, that it can't be ignored as a groundbreaking match for the company. And a true testament to how great Shawn always worked was that while this was one of Mick Foley's biggest career highlights, it was just another day at the office for Shawn.

Mild Recommendation


10. In Your House 11: Buried Alive

The show opens with an early encounter between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Although, I can't see much storyline here, it is great to see these two future mega stars fight each other. Unfortunately, if you're asking me, this opening match is the show's highlight on wrestling quality. Everything else is pretty harmless, but lackluster. Perhaps the most unique of buildups was for the match between Vader and Sycho Sid. Billed as a number one contender's match for the WWF Championship, the match also focused on how both big men used the powerbomb as a finishing maneuver, and the debate was being held on who did the better powerbomb.

This PPV has its name for a reason, though, and the main event saw Mankind and the Undertaker fight in the very first buried alive match. While I'm not the biggest fan of the Buried Alive match, I understand that it's an Undertaker trademark, so I at least appreciate seeing its first appearance. Not to mention the fact that these two would have had to TRY to have a bad match together, and the ending does look really cool as a way to end your PPV.

Skip It


11. Survivor Series

This show is once again top quality at Madison Square Garden, but I think a lot of people forget how well-rounded this show was. Right out the box we had a traditional Survivor Series match featuring Owen Hart, the British Bulldog, and the New Rockers taking on the team of Doug Furnas, Phil Lafon, and the Godwinns. Then there was a match with the Undertaker and Mankind that gave Taker a grand entrance and a more updated and darker look. Then we had the debut of Rocky Maivia (The Rock) as he teamed with Marc Mero, the Stalker, and Jake Roberts to face Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Crush, Jerry Lawler, and Goldust, which is always a fun moment just to see all the big names present for the debut match of the future People's Champion.

Then Bret Hart returned to take on Stone Cold Steve Austin in a precursor to their WrestleMania 13 classic. The only real low point on the show was the elimination tag match that took place before the main event. While the roster is good by having Yokozuna, Savio Vega, Jimmy Snuka, and Flash Funk taking on Faarooq, Vader, "Razor Ramon," and "Diesel," the match's result feels like a big middle finger to the fans who wanted something conclusive. Finally, the main event showed the MSG fans at their best by booing the WWF Champion Shawn Michaels and cheering heavily for the challenger Sycho Sid. I believe that they believed Shawn had a good run with the belt, but were ready to see someone new hold the title. The match is also very good and builds up Sid as a potential champion and adds a bit of depth to Michaels thanks to the match's conclusion.

Highly Recommended


12. In Your House 12: It's Time

There's not too much to talk about with It's Time, but there is one thing I've been ignoring that I wanted to address here. Are Owen Hart and the British Bulldog babyfaces or heels? That might seem weird to say, but for goodness sake, we have seen them throughout the year take on face teams and heel teams and the crowd responds differently with every match. With that said, I really don't care since I am entertained by both these guys whenever they performed (both as heels and babyfaces), it was just a question I wanted to bring up. Anyways, on to the only match worth talking about on this show.

The main event saw WWF Champion Sycho Sid put the belt on the line against Bret Hart. There was a definite shift in the crowd's reaction to the Hit Man, as well as Bret's attitude towards the company. It played into effect here when more focus seemed to be on Shawn Michaels on commentary for the match than the match itself. Still, Sid and Bret doesn't strike me as the biggest money match you could have for the title, and the match really doesn't pick up until the end when Shawn gets involved. But it's an important match to act as a catalyst for Bret's run as a crybaby.

Skip It


Final Thoughts: There's a lot to be said about how 1996 ended. With Shawn and Bret's real life hatred entering storyline, and more unorthodox superstars like Austin, Mankind, and Sid entering the main event scene, events were being set in motion for what would become the Attitude Era. There was still some time to go before it came into full fruition, but it's always great to see how far back those early seeds were planted. 1996 surprised me with how easy it was to binge watch and how entertained I was. There's a lot of quality here and features many all-time greats on the roster, so it's definitely worth the watch and pretty painless to go through.


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