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Post by WalterF on Apr 25, 2015 8:59:44 GMT -5
I may be biased because I was 9 when I started watching and it was 96 but even now watching back the PPVs and RAWs on the network, the quality of the product overall was awesome and I think underrated since nWo took a lot of the spotlight then.
You had the elements of the early 90s but morphing with better athletes, better workrate and an increasingly chaotic and intense nature on the television shows. Michaels was the champ, and like him or not he is arguably one of the best workers in wrestling history. You had an amazing Midcard and upper Midgard that often was interchanging with the main event scene. Owen, Bulldog, Mankind, Austin, HHH, Ahmed, Faarooq, etc. Each RAW was built on Fn WRESTLING, and good wrestling that reminds me of the NWA style in the 80s. Lots of tags, good Midcard and above matches and the promos were concise, effective and LOGICAL.....story lines had follow through such as Bret v Austin and taker v mankind. The promo quality seemed real and authentic. Bret finally got an edge, michaels progressively got edgier and more intense, even Sid, who sometimes stumbles, cut some pretty top notch promos during his program with HBK. I also love how at the end of the year, the show took a progressively unpredictable and chaotic nature to it. To compare to comic books, it reminds me of when in the 80s comics started getting grittier, more chaotic, and serious. They had really cool heel v heel matches on raw like Austin v mankind, Austin v fader etc. it just seemed like a much more well though out, executed and followed through type of product.
What are some of Ur guys takes on that era if you are familiar?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2015 10:29:11 GMT -5
96 was a damn weird year in WWF.
HBK started the year over as hell......he won the RR(in a great performance) beat the hated Owen in February and went into WM12 looking great. But after his first defence against Nash(which was awesome) things went sour for him. he had literally no opponents and wrecked the Vader program. The mankind match was a reprieve though.
meanwhile Austin was rising.......missteps were made....but it was happening.
Mankind was a revelation showing the world weaknesses in the UT that were SORELY needed...this feud kept WWF going in 1996 folks.
Bret's return was viewed as a failure(because SSeries 1996 didn't do HUGE numbers) but he returned a different guy....invaluable experience was gained on Lonesome Dove for promos and this would soon pay off HUGE.
Sid's star started to soar.....to the point Vince put the belt on him.
Then Vince slipped.....and thought Fake Diesel and Razor were a Fabulous idea.......Cornette's thoughts on this are priceless
but all the while WWF WAS gaining traction and getting to an edgier place that would win Vince the war. The crowd reactions to Bret & HBK at Survivor Series are just SO important it cant be understated.....they shook Vince and he started to realise the clean cut face was a thing of the past.
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Apr 25, 2015 10:31:27 GMT -5
I am more of a 1995 guy, but I did like 1996 too, a lot actually.
There was a lot of good wrestling taking place in the WWE in 1996, it just gets over looked because of how hot the NWO angle was for WCW at that time frame. But being that 3 of my favourite wrestlers of all time are Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash, I enjoy 1994 - 1997 a lot, so to me, 1996 was an alright year!
The Foley vs. Taker feud was great. And when Taker wasn't wrestling Foley, he had Goldust on the In Your House shows. HBK was putting on great matches with everyone he faced. Camp Cornette was over as big time heels. The tag division was weak, but Billy and Bart did the best they could to keep that interesting. Sunny was looking ever so fine as well in those short jean shorts she would wear with the Gunns. Mero, Triple H, Goldust, Ahmed, Faarooq... the mid card level of talent was pretty good too.
Of course there was a lot that sucked about 1996, but that can be said for any year in wrestling.
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Post by DTP. on Apr 25, 2015 15:47:27 GMT -5
1996 is my favourite transitional year, probably followed by 2002 for the WWF/E.
I also have a guilty pleasure for WWF 1995.
WCW 1996 was its' strongest year in terms of booking, too, I feel.
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Post by BrIaNMeRcY on Apr 25, 2015 16:38:05 GMT -5
1996 really was a strange year for the WWF. From the booking to how the product was presented. One can't complete 1996 by mentioning the advent of Livewire. The WWF was finally using their AOL connections and being revolutionary for the time. The WWF was beginning to do away with what wasn't working from 1993-1995. This helped them transition to what later became the Attitude Era. Granted, I only watched a handful of RAW's from 1996 on the network. Towards the end of 1996, the Federation was beginning to really approach their storylines in a different light.
I do have more to say but those thoughts isn't flowing in my head right now. My last thought for 1996 is if you weren't watching every week, it would be hard to appreciate it now.
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Post by mikey1974 on Apr 25, 2015 18:15:46 GMT -5
96 was a damn weird year in WWF. HBK started the year over as hell......he won the RR(in a great performance) beat the hated Owen in February and went into WM12 looking great. But after his first defence against Nash(which was awesome) things went sour for him. he had literally no opponents and wrecked the Vader program. The mankind match was a reprieve though. meanwhile Austin was rising.......missteps were made....but it was happening. Mankind was a revelation showing the world weaknesses in the UT that were SORELY needed...this feud kept WWF going in 1996 folks. Bret's return was viewed as a failure(because SSeries 1996 didn't do HUGE numbers) but he returned a different guy....invaluable experience was gained on Lonesome Dove for promos and this would soon pay off HUGE. Sid's star started to soar.....to the point Vince put the belt on him. Then Vince slipped.....and thought Fake Diesel and Razor were a Fabulous idea.......Cornette's thoughts on this are priceless but all the while WWF WAS gaining traction and getting to an edgier place that would win Vince the war. The crowd reactions to Bret & HBK at Survivor Series are just SO important it cant be understated.....they shook Vince and he started to realise the clean cut face was a thing of the past. I enjoyed 1996 as well, for most of the points you mentioned. one thing about 96 as well - after a 1994 and ESPECIALLY 1995 where the WWF became a living,breathing cartoon, 1996 felt more like a return to basics, more like a return to actual WRESTLING. there were still gimmicks and characters, but it felt like the wrestling was taking more of a front and center role than the crazy stroylines and over the top characters. it was a step in the right direction, that's for sure.
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Post by Jonathan Karate on Apr 25, 2015 19:58:15 GMT -5
I always loved 1996 but can honestly not put my finger on why.
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Post by LA Times on Apr 25, 2015 21:09:33 GMT -5
Shawn Michaels was the best thing about WWF in 1996. The only other thing I can remember was the company debuting a bunch of gimmick jobbers that summer (Salvatore Sincere, Freddie Joe Floyd, Who?, TL Hopper, Alex "The Pug" Porteau, etc)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2015 9:02:31 GMT -5
I absolutely love 1996.
It was that in-between year before the awful 1995 and amazing 1997.
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Post by mikey1974 on Apr 26, 2015 9:45:01 GMT -5
Shawn Michaels was the best thing about WWF in 1996. The only other thing I can remember was the company debuting a bunch of gimmick jobbers that summer (Salvatore Sincere, Freddie Joe Floyd, Who?, TL Hopper, Alex "The Pug" Porteau, etc) Hopper was 95.
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Apr 26, 2015 9:59:19 GMT -5
Shawn Michaels was the best thing about WWF in 1996. The only other thing I can remember was the company debuting a bunch of gimmick jobbers that summer (Salvatore Sincere, Freddie Joe Floyd, Who?, TL Hopper, Alex "The Pug" Porteau, etc) Hopper was 95. Hopper was 96, cause he was in the swimming pool at the Free For All of SummerSlam 96 picking out what people thought was poop but was actually a chocolate bar. And in 1995, Hopper was still in Smoky Mountain Wrestling as the Dirty White Boy. But, I did hear that there is a chance next year of the WWE releasing a whole DVD set on the year 1996. I am guessing it's gonna have ECW, WCW and WWE footage on it, since that year a lot of big things happened for all three organizations. So if that does come to be, that shall be pretty exciting to see.
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Post by Brad on Apr 27, 2015 19:45:58 GMT -5
96 is one of my favorite years. 96-99 were all solid IMO
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Post by Revy on Apr 30, 2015 9:11:08 GMT -5
1996 was awesome because the back end of the year was setting up for what I consider my favorite year of wrestling in 97. SUre, some of the booking decisions could have been better, but WWF had figured it out by years end. My highlights are: HBK vs Mankind at Mind Games Pillman's got a gun The Rise of Stone Cold Sid finally finding a character in which his promos didn't have to make sense and it be ok, hah Paul turning on Undertaker and the whole Mankind storyline
I know Diesel and Razor leaving ultimately benefitted wrestling, but I was really interested in the character that Diesel was becoming. Yeah, it may have been kinda Stone Coldish, but i was digging it.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2015 9:54:41 GMT -5
I want a Fake Razor/Fake Deisal two-pack.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2015 10:34:30 GMT -5
The Paul Bearer turn is VERY high on the list of "nobody seen it coming turns". I was stunned when he turned on UT. I was also sure UT would get his revenge at IYH: Buried Alive.....but alas it wasn't to be.
On a side note? Their match @ Buried Alive was a cracker and one of my absolute faves.
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Apr 30, 2015 11:26:43 GMT -5
The Paul Bearer turn is VERY high on the list of "nobody seen it coming turns". I was stunned when he turned on UT. I was also sure UT would get his revenge at IYH: Buried Alive.....but alas it wasn't to be. On a side note? Their match @ Buried Alive was a cracker and one of my absolute faves. I also loved how it seemed at the big PPV events (KOTR, S.Slam, S.Series) Taker vs. Mankind was a must. But if it was an In Your House show it was pretty much guaranteed that Taker vs. Goldust is a must! May, July and September, Goldy fought Taker. But 1996 seems to get not enough love from people. It's nice to see it finally getting noticed.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2015 16:49:47 GMT -5
Has been recorded and is currently uploading. Should be posted later tonight. Bash & Kevstaaa Wrestling Podcast Ass & Milk
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Post by OmegaGaijin on Apr 30, 2015 17:42:37 GMT -5
Has been recorded and is currently uploading. Should be posted later tonight. Bash & Kevstaaa Wrestling Podcast Ass & Milk Best PPV of 1996, just amazing!!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2015 20:15:43 GMT -5
Has been recorded and is currently uploading. Should be posted later tonight. Bash & Kevstaaa Wrestling Podcast Ass & Milk Best PPV of 1996, just amazing!! One of my all time favorites.
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Post by mikey1974 on May 1, 2015 5:15:21 GMT -5
1996 was awesome because the back end of the year was setting up for what I consider my favorite year of wrestling in 97. SUre, some of the booking decisions could have been better, but WWF had figured it out by years end. My highlights are: HBK vs Mankind at Mind Games Pillman's got a gun The Rise of Stone Cold Sid finally finding a character in which his promos didn't have to make sense and it be ok, hah Paul turning on Undertaker and the whole Mankind storyline I know Diesel and Razor leaving ultimately benefitted wrestling, but I was really interested in the character that Diesel was becoming. Yeah, it may have been kinda Stone Coldish, but i was digging it. agree with all this. once they hit July / august of 96, they just seemed to be firing on all cylinders, both match and storyline-wise.
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