WWF King of the Ring 1996 (Version II)

Original Airdate: June 23, 1996

From Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, and Owen Hart

Opening King of the Ring Tournament Semifinal Match: Steve Austin v Marc Mero: Thirty minutes time limit for this round. Feeling out process to start, with Austin initially dominating, but walking into a headscissors takedown, and bailing to the outside before Mero can follow up. Steve hides out against the barricade to prevent a dive, and back in, he goes after the wrist, but Mero is ready with a headlock. Austin forces a criss cross and hits a Thesz-press, though he still doesn't have the execution down like he would later. Mero fights him off, so Steve bails again, and tries to slow it down by challenging to a test-of-strength on the way back inside. Austin dominates that, but Mero kicks his way free, so Stone Cold tosses him over the top - where Sable's massive breasts are waiting. Unfortunately for Marc, Steve follows to the outside, and drops the Wildman onto the exposed concrete before he gets to properly enjoy them. That bastard really is stone cold. Back in, Austin with a snap suplex, and he hammers Mero with a few pointed elbows, then ropechokes him. Steve with a pair of cross corner whips, and a snapmare sets up a 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop for two. Backbreaker gets two, so Steve tries a Boston crab next, but Marc powers his way out of the hold, and hooks a small package for two. Austin cuts the comeback off with a backelbow, however, and he stomps the Wildman in the groin to set up another Boston crab. Mero counters to a cradle for two, leading to a pinfall reversal sequence, until Austin tries a side suplex, but Marc counters with a double-underhook cradle for two - busting Steve open hardway from the mouth in the process. Marc with a sleeper, but Austin uses the Stunner to escape (called by name now), so Marc uses a springboard bodyblock to buy time. Austin tries to keep control by whipping him into the ropes, but Mero rebounds at him with a dropkick, and unloads a ten-punch count in the corner. Backdrop leads to a flying axehandle for two, and Marc tosses him over the top to set up a somersault plancha - even called as such by JR. Mero adds a tope, and he rolls Steve back in for a missile dropkick for two. Mero takes him upstairs to bring crashing down with a rana for two, but Steve fights off the follow-up with a power hotshot for two. No matter, the Stunner finishes up for Stone Cold moments later at 16:47 - giving Marc his first pinfall/submission loss on TV. This was actually a lot better than I remembered it being. *** ¼ (Original rating: ** ¼)

King of the Ring Tournament Semifinal Match: Vader v Jake Roberts: They're selling Jake as the 'sentimental favorite' to win, which I'm assuming means he has the scent of a mental patient. I also find it hilarious that they keep noting that Jake is forty one years old, and how incredible it would be if the 'old guy' could pull of the victory - despite Vader not only also being forty one, but being born a few weeks before Roberts to boot! Vader mauls him at the bell, and takes Jake down in a fujiwara armbar, then drills him with a bodyblock. Again, and a splash is added for two. Avalanche, but Roberts manages to get his boot up to block, and he starts firing off jabs. Kneelift looks to set up the DDT, but Vader railroads him into the corner to block, and starts unloading. Short-clothesline, but Jake reverses, so Vader simply thumps him with another bodyblock to keep control. Avalanche, but Roberts avoids it a second time, and he manages the DDT, but Vader takes out the referee in the process, getting himself disqualified at 3:28. Man, what a terrible finish. Afterwards, Vader destroys Roberts to make him even more of an underdog going into the finals. Of course, it would help if anyone actually, you know, cared about Jake Roberts. But I guess points for effort? ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The Smoking Gunns v The Godwinns: Billy Gunn distracts Phineas Godwinn by rubbing his relationship with Sunny in the hog farmer's face, allowing Bart Gunn to attack from behind. The Gunns unload in the corner, but Billy wastes time showing off for Sunny, and Phineas goes crazy, cleaning house all by himself until Henry Godwinn can calm him down. As the dust settles, we go to a split screen interview with Kloudy since that dumb angle needs pay per view time. Sunny distracts the Godwinns to allow Bart a sneak attack on Henry, but Henry quickly fights him off with a lariat for two, and the Godwinns take turns working Bart's arm. Cheap shot from Billy puts Henry down, however, and the Gunns cut the ring in half in terribly boring fashion. And they're not even working restholds, it's just so plodding and slow, with Henry not really bothering to work in enough hope spots. Hey, I just noticed that Phineas' wrist tape is duct tape. Never noticed that before. Nice character touch. Bart misses a flying legdrop to allow the hot tag to Phineas, and Roseanne Barr the door, though the crowd could not care less. Phineas gets Billy cornered, but Bart whacks him from behind with a cowboy boot, and Billy quickly covers at 10:12. This one stunk worse than the hog farmers. You know, all those years we heard Gorilla Monsoon on commentary talking about how there should be two referees out there for tag matches, yet he's been president for a year now, and he still hasn't bothered to change the policy. Maybe it was a union thing, who knows. DUD (Original rating: ¼*)

Ultimate Warrior v Jerry Lawler: Lawler has a live microphone in his hand for his entrance, and he roasts the entire crowd on his way to the ring. I always loved it when he did that bit. Jerry attacks him from behind with a scepter before the bell, knocking Warrior to the outside, and beating on him with the weapon until the referee can intervene. Lawler sends him into the steps out there, then chokes Warrior with his own jacket. Inside, Jerry chokes him with some wrist tape, and boy, the referee is really exercising a lot of leniency here. Like, they DQ'd Vader for basically nothing, but Lawler's fine using weapon after weapon? Literally his entire offense thus far has been grounds for disqualification, and he's not even being subtle about it. Finally, he does an actual wrestling maneuver (Piledriver), but Warrior no-sells, and starts CRACKING UP!! Clotheslines! Jumping Shoulderblock! 3:51! Warrior's run has been unbelievably disappointing thus far. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

Undertaker v Mankind: Despite being in the WWF for months, this is Mankind's PPV debut. Showing that this feud is indeed a unique one for Undertaker, he takes advantage of the dark during his entrance to sneak up to the top rope and jump Mankind with a flying clothesline before the bell! Undertaker shows a ton of fire as he unloads in the corner, and he tries to rip the mask off, but Mankind bails to the apron to block that. Undertaker snapmares him back inside for the ropewalk forearm, but a cross corner charge hits elbow, and Mankind bodyslams him. They spill to the outside, where Mankind hits a flying elbowdrop off of the apron, then sends 'Taker into the steps. This feud is great, but the match is boring as hell so far. Mankind must think so too, because he grabs a chair and charges, but Undertaker lifts his boot to block, and backdrops Mankind in the aisle to spice things up. Inside, 'Taker whacks him with the chair to set up a bootchoke, but Mankind counters the Tombstone with a swinging neckbreaker. Legdrop sets up the Mandible Claw, but Undertaker manages to block, so Mankind starts kicking him back down to set up an elbowdrop. He grabs a nervehold, but Undertaker fights free and clotheslines him over the top, only for Mankind to pull him out after him, and hammer 'Taker down against the steps to set up a running kneesmash. Mankind adds a bodyslam in the aisle to set up another flying elbowdrop from the apron, but 'Taker puts up a chair to shield himself. He whacks Mankind with the weapon a second time, and unloads with headbutts on the way back in, then hits the jumping clothesline. Backdrop, but Mankind counters with a piledriver, and covers for two. Mankind responds to the kick out by ripping out chunks of his own hair, and he slaps on the Claw, so Paul Bearer tries to nail him with the urn, but ends up hitting Undertaker by accident. That allows Mankind to get 'Taker down in the hold, and the referee calls for the bell at 18:23. This didn't quite live up to the angle, but the finish was a pretty major shock at the time, as Undertaker just did not lose like that. Ever. I mean, even with the interference. This match really helped get Mankind over as more than just a creepy flavor of the month in the eyes of WWF fans. Too bad it wasn't a better match though. ½* (Original rating: *)

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Goldust v Ahmed Johnson: Ahmed is so pissed that he bursts through the doors at the entrance set (hilariously sending the doormen flying), and charges in to beat Goldust down. He unloads with mounted punches, and sends the champion spiraling to the mat with a clothesline, so Goldust bails. Not so fast, Ahmed dives after him with a tope suicida (nearly breaking his neck on the landing), and he forces Goldust back inside for a cross corner whip. Goldust bails again, and this time manages to sweep Johnson out after him, but it backfires when Ahmed sends him into the steps. Johnson then CHUCKS the steps at him, but Goldust manages to sidestep just in time, and they absolutely CRASH into the post on the miss. Man, that might have killed him if it had hit. In, Ahmed cross corner whips him again, but misses a charge, and takes a spill over the top. Goldust follows to capitalize with some abuse on the floor, and he returns the favor from earlier with a whip into the steps, then slams them down across Johnson's back! Inside, Goldust hits a jumping clothesline for two, and a bodyslam sets up a reverse chinlock. Ahmed escapes, but misses a charge again, allowing the champion to keep control. After adequately ropechoking him, Goldust starts feeling his challenger up, which feels like a big mistake. Luckily for the champion, he manages to get a chinlock on before Johnson can freak out, but Ahmed fights free. Goldust tries a sunset flip, but Johnson blocks, so Goldust starts punching him down for two. Piledriver only gets two, but it allows Goldust to fondle him some more. Reverse chinlock, but Johnson fights free again, and manages to unload on him in the corner this time - only to have a cross corner whip reversed on him. That allows Goldust a fistdrop, so Ahmed tries a dropkick, but Goldust dodges for two. Ahmed wiping out while trying shit should be a GIF. Sleeper manages to get Johnson down and out, but Goldust lets off before the referee can call for the bell because he wants to get his jollies instead. Goldust decides to give Johnson another round of mouth-to-mouth, but it backfires on him in dramatic fashion when Ahmed comes roaring back to life, and absolutely savages the champion in the corner. Spinebuster connects, and the Pearl River Plunge finishes at 15:35 - getting a big reaction from the crowd! This went on a bit longer than it needed to, as it was awesome and fiery in the early going, but then settled into an overlong heat segment, with Goldust working him over in slow, dull fashion, before the hot finish. Trim five minutes off of this, and it would've been pretty great. It still works a good payoff to the angle, though. * ½ (Original rating: ½*)

Brian Pillman comes out (on crutches) to do a ringside interview with Jim Ross, and gone is the humble and tearful guy from the contract signing, thankfully replaced by the Loose Cannon character. He calls Ross a "stupid son of a bitch," refers to himself as "Brian 'effin' Pillman," and threatens to "rape, pillage, and plunder" the entire promotion. It's really a shame that he fell apart physically right when he was at his hottest as a character

WWF King of the Ring Tournament Final Match: Jake Roberts v Steve Austin: And speaking of guys who fell apart physically just as they were peaking, no better example of that than Austin. Steve attacks before the bell, going right to work on Jake's bad ribs. He hits a pair of 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrops to the ribs, and Jake is in such bad shape from what Vader did to him that he can't even halfheartedly defend himself as Steve abuses him. Jake finally manages to get a few defensive shots in from the corner, but Austin quickly strikes at the ribs again, and starts ripping off the tape to really go to work. You know, another thing that really sucked about Jake's 1996 run is that he never changed up the gear like he used to in his original run. Anyway, Steve keeps hammering the ribs until President Gorilla Monsoon comes in to check on the Snake, but Jake doesn't want to stop the match. He demonstrates his point by charging Austin with a flurry of fists, but Steve railroads him into the corner to block the DDT, and starts driving into the ribs with his shoulders, then drops him with the Stunner at 4:38. Certainly underwhelming as far as tournament finals go. But then afterwards we get something pretty major, as Steve heads over for the coronation, but unlike the kings of the past, rejects the regalia - instead taking the time to run down the injured Roberts. He then adlibs one of the more important lines in WWF history with, "you sit there and you thump your Bible, you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your psalms, talk about John 3:16... well Austin 3:16 says, I just whipped your ass!" This didn’t seem like much at the time (we didn't even talk about 'King Austin' the next day at school), but soon after, he would start picking fights with Bret Hart, and bring a more brash style to his promos than the other cartoonish acts on the roster. While the Attitude Era wasn't born on this show, this was the conception - which is interesting as the actual birth was a convenient nine months later. The match itself was nothing, but for historical purposes it ended up becoming one of the bigger moments in wrestling history. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

Main Event: WWF Title Match: Shawn Michaels v Davey Boy Smith: Despite being announced as the special guest referee for this, Mr. Perfect is demoted to the role of outside enforcer by President Monsoon before the match. Feeling out process to start, as Perfect chit-chats with Jim Cornette at ringside. Funny moment, as Shawn holds a headlock, so Cornette loudly complains of non-existent hair pulling, only for Bulldog to turn it into a cradle by using the hair. Criss cross sees Shawn send him over the top with a headscissors, but Bulldog dodges a plancha, so Shawn reroutes with a flying rana off the apron! He stops to whack Cornette with the tennis racket, as Owen continues to absolutely kill it on commentary. Bulldog manages to get his own headlock on the way back in, but Shawn forces a criss cross, with Davey seemingly forgetting what to do, leading to a funny moment where he and Michaels are just standing eye-to-eye until Shawn can remind him to do a press-slam. Shawn counters it with a rollup, but Bulldog blocks, so Michaels uses a pair of armdrags into an armbar. Bulldog gets to a vertical base to reverse the leverage, but Perfect actually pushes his hand off the ropes to prevent cheating. Well that's interesting. Shawn turns the armbar into a pin, but it only gets two, so they criss cross again, and Michaels gets a sleeper on. Davey quickly drops back into the corner to shake him off, however, and he cross corner whips the champion a few times before grounding him in a chinlock. Shawn fights out and hits a single-arm DDT, then dives on him with a flying axehandle for two. Another criss cross sees Bulldog press-drop him over the top, and he follows out for a vertical suplex on the floor! Perfect keeps making excuses to stop from counting Shawn out, until Bulldog can scoop him up, and press him back into the ring from the floor to cover for two. Davey works a chinlock, but Shawn fights out, so Bulldog cross corner whips him - Michaels flipping into a clothesline. That allows Bulldog to put on a surfboard, and he shifts it back into a cradle for two. Backdrop sets up a legdrop for two, and it's back to the chinlock from the challenger. Shawn forces a criss cross and manages a bodypress for two, but gets creamed with a clothesline for two before he can follow up. Back to the chinlock, but Shawn escapes and hooks a crucifix for two, though an attempt at a running powerslam gets reversed. Kinda stupid to even try that, frankly. No matter, Michaels slips free and throws the Superkick, but Bulldog dodges, and hits a clothesline to keep control of things. Piledriver sets up an ugly dive attempt off the top, but Shawn rolls out of the way. Yeah, there's a reason dogs don't have wings. Shawn manages a corner whip to buy a little extra recovery time to climb the ropes, but Bulldog manages a dropkick to crotch him on the top turnbuckle, and he brings him down with a vertical superplex for two. Smith takes him back up for a side superplex, but Shawn topples him on the way down for two - in a nice little callback to their Intercontinental title switch in 1992. Criss cross ends in a double knockout spot, and Shawn tries a rana as they recover, but Bulldog counters with a sitout powerbomb for two. Cross corner whip, but Michaels reverses, and Davey absolutely LAUNCHES himself into the turnbuckles with a full flip! Not only was that awesome, but the camera was in the exact right position to really accentuate it. Michaels capitalizes with a jumping forearm, and a bodyslam sets up a flying elbowdrop. Superkick, and Shawn retains at 26:54. Weird bit at the finish, as Perfect slid in to count along with the main referee, but Owen pulled him out at two. Not that it mattered though, since the other ref was still there and counting. Not sure what they were going for there, but Perfect was a total non-factor here in general. I thought this one relied a bit too much on restholds, but it was good, and certainly better than the mess from Beware of Dog. Too bad they dropped the interesting Diana angle though, because the buildup was really flat once they did. Afterwards, Owen runs in to help Bulldog beat up the champion, but Ahmed Johnson makes the save, so Vader shows up to pound him down until Ultimate Warrior makes the save - cleaning house to set up a six-man for the next In Your House. *** ¼ (Original rating: **)

BUExperience: A couple of good matches at the top and bottom, and a major historical moment, but overall the show gets a little too bogged down in the middle. This one could have taken a lesson from the Hogan era and cut several matches down (all three title matches and Undertaker/Mankind could have each stood to drop five minutes) and used that extra time to cram the quarterfinals in (remember there were only three this year because of Vader’s bye). I think that could have helped the show a lot without sacrificing anything vital (other than Owen’s commentary, I guess), and this would likely be far better remembered today.

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