Nick Piccone
This week, we get right into it as the WWF King of the Ring 1996 takes center stage. On June 23, 1996, live from Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the MECCA Arena (now the UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena), the WWF held their annual King of the Ring pay-per-view. It was the first time the company had the semifinals and finals of the King of the Ring tournament on the show, as more of a star-studded supporting cast was on tap for this year’s festivities.
There were parts of this show that showed some glimpses of the Attitude Era to come, but certainly don’t hold up well today. Vaughn and I explore that and condemn the certain angles and storylines Vince McMahon decided to run with in the mid 90s.
The card:
- King of the Ring Semifinal: Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/ Chyna) vs. Ahmed Johnson
- King of the Ring Semifinal: Mankind vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler
- Goldust (w/ Marlena) vs. Crush (w/ Clarence Mason & D’Lo Brown)
- Six-Man Tag: Hart Foundation (Owen Hart/British Bulldog/Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart) vs. Legion of Doom (Hawk/Animal) & Sycho Sid
- King of the Ring Final: Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/ Chyna) vs. Mankind
- Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels
- WWF Championship: The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) vs. Faarooq (w/ the Nation of Domination)
You can follow Nick Piccone on Twitter (@piccone_) and e-mail him at [email protected]. You can read his pro wrestling articles on PhillyVoice here.
Subscribe to The Straight Shooters on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Amazon, Audacy, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, Player FM, and wherever else you get your podcasts! Follow The Straight Shooters on Twitter (@ShootersRadio), like them on Facebook, and listen to every episode at ShootersRadio.com.
Subscribe, rate, and review all Philly Influencer podcasts here. Follow Philly Influencer on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.