1996 in professional wrestling

1996 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of years in professional wrestling

List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable shows in 1996.

Promotion Name Abbreviation Notes
Catch Wrestling Association CWA
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre CMLL
Extreme Championship Wrestling ECW
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling FMW
Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide AAA The "AAA" abbreviation has been used since the mid-1990s and had previously stood for the promotion's original name Asistencia Asesoría y Administración.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling NJPW
World Championship Wrestling WCW
World Wrestling Council WWC
World Wrestling Federation WWF

Calendar of notable shows

January
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
January 4 NJPW Wrestling World 1996 Tokyo, Japan
January 5 ECW House Party Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
January 21 WWF Royal Rumble Fresno, California, United States [1]

February
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
February 3 ECW Big Apple Blizzard Blast Queens, New York, United States
February 3 N/A First Annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial Show Cherry Hill, New Jersey, United States
February 11 WCW SuperBrawl VI St. Petersburg, Florida, United States
February 17 ECW CyberSlam Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
February 18 WWF In Your House 6 Louisville, Kentucky, United States [2]
February 23-March 1 CMLL La Copa Junior Tournament Mexico City, Mexico [3]
February 23 ECW Just Another Night Glenolden, Pennsylvania, United States

March
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
March 8 ECW Big Ass Extreme Bash Queens, New York, United States
March 22 CMLL Homenaje a Salvador Lutteroth Mexico City, Mexico [4]
March 24 WCW Uncensored Tupelo, Mississippi, United States
March 31 WWF WrestleMania XII Anaheim, California, United States [5]

April
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
April 4 FMW Yamato Nadeshiko III Osaka, Japan
April 13 ECW Massacre On Queens Boulevard Queens, New York, United States
April 19 CMLL 40. Aniversario de Arena México Mexico City, Mexico [6]
April 20 ECW Hostile City Showdown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
April 28 WWF In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies Omaha, Nebraska, United States [7]

May
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
May 5 FMW FMW 7th Anniversary Show Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
May 11 AAA Triplemanía IV-A Chicago, Illinois, United States
May 11 ECW A Matter of Respect Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
May 19 WCW Slamboree Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
May 26
May 28		 WWF In Your House 8: Beware of Dog Florence, South Carolina, United States
North Charleston, South Carolina, United States		 [8][9]

June
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
June 1 ECW Fight the Power Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
June 7 N/A First Annual Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show Buffalo, New York, United States
June 7 CMLL Torneo Gran Alternativa Mexico City, Mexico [10]
June 15 AAA Triplemanía IV-B Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico
June 16 WCW The Great American Bash Baltimore, Maryland, United States
June 22 ECW Hardcore Heaven Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States [11]
June 23 WWF King of the Ring Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States [12]
June 30 N/A First Annual Rikidozan Memorial Show Yokohama, Japan

July
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
July 5 CMLL International Gran Prix Mexico City, Mexico [13]
July 6 CWA Euro Catch Festival in Graz Graz, Austria
July 7 WCW Bash at the Beach Daytona Beach, Florida, United States [14]
July 13 ECW Heat Wave Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States [11]
July 14 WWC WWC 23rd Aniversario Caguas, Puerto Rico
July 15 AAA Triplemanía IV-C Madero, Tamaulipas, Mexico
July 21 WWF In Your House 9: International Incident Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

August
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
August 1 FMW Summer Spectacular Tokyo, Japan
August 3 ECW The Doctor Is In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
August 10 WCW WCW Hog Wild Sturgis, South Dakota, United States [15]
August 18 WWF SummerSlam Cleveland, Ohio, United States
August 23 ECW Requiem for a Pitbull Reading, Pennsylvania, United States
August 24 ECW Natural Born Killaz Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
August 24 WWF Xperience Toronto, Ontario, Canada [16]

September
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
September 13 ECW Unlucky Lottery Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, United States
September 14 ECW When Worlds Collide Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
September 15 WCW Fall Brawl Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
September 20
September 27		 CMLL CMLL 63rd Anniversary Show Mexico City, Mexico [17][18]
September 22 WWF In Your House 10: Mind Games Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States [19]

October
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
October 5 ECW Ultimate Jeopardy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
October 20 WWF In Your House 11: Buried Alive Indianapolis, Indiana, United States [20]
October 26 ECW High Incident Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
October 27 WCW Halloween Havoc Paradise, Nevada, United States

November
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
November 15 CMLL Torneo Gran Alternativa Mexico City, Mexico [21]
November 16 ECW November to Remember Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
November 17 WWF Survivor Series New York, New York, United States
November 24 WCW World War 3 Norfolk, Virginia, United States

December
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
December 7 ECW Holiday Hell Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
December 11 FMW Year End Spectacular Tokyo, Japan
December 15 WWF In Your House 12: It's Time West Palm Beach, Florida, United States [22]
December 21 CWA Euro Catch Festival in Bremen Bremen, Germany
December 29 WCW Starrcade Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Notable events

Mass Transit Incident

The "Mass Transit incident" was an infamous event in professional wrestling that occurred at an Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) house show on November 23, 1996 at the Wonderland Ballroom in Revere, Massachusetts in the United States.[23][24][25] It involved Eric Kulas (1979 – May 12, 2002), an aspiring professional wrestler using the ring name "Mass Transit", being bladed too deeply by New Jack of The Gangstas during a tag-team match. Two of Kulas' arteries were severed; he bled profusely and passed out, and needed to be escorted out of the arena with medical attention. Further controversy arose when it came to light that Kulas had lied to ECW owner and booker Paul Heyman about his age and professional wrestling training. The incident led to a future ECW pay-per-view being cancelled (until Heyman negotiated otherwise), a lawsuit from Kulas' family, and went down as one of the most notorious moments of lore in professional wrestling history.[23][24][25]

IWRG created

On January 1 – Mexican promoter Adolfo Moreno created the International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) which held its debut show on this date in Arena Naucalpan.[26]

Formation of the nWo

In the main event of World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s Bash at the Beach pay-per-view on July 7, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash (both of whom had recently defected to WCW from the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and been presented on-screen as "outsiders") indicated that they would enlist a mystery partner against the team of Randy Savage, Sting, and Lex Luger.

Their partner ended up being Hulk Hogan, who surprisingly attacked long-time Mega Powers partner Savage to conclude the match, thus turning heel for the first time in nearly two decades. In his post-match promo, Hogan indicated his decision to lead the villainous stable which he christened as the New World Order (nWo).

The nWo would be the main focus of WCW programming for the better part of the next three years and led to WCW Monday Nitro defeating WWF Monday Night Raw in the Monday Night Wars ratings battle for eighty-three consecutive weeks. These developments in WCW are often credited with ultimately pushing the WWF toward producing the "edgier" content which would become the hallmark of the Attitude Era.

Accomplishments and tournaments

WCW
Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
Lord Of The Ring Tournament Diamond Dallas Page May 19
World War 3 The Giant November 24
WCW United States Championship Tournament Eddie Guerrero December 29
WCW Women's Championship Tournament Akira Hokuto December 29

WWF
Accomplishment Winner Date won Notes
Royal Rumble Shawn Michaels January 21
WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) March 31
Kuwait Cup Ahmed Johnson May 12
King of the Ring Stone Cold Steve Austin June 23
WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament Marc Mero September 23
Middle East Cup Bret Hart December 2

WWF Hall of Fame
Category Inductee Inducted by
Individual "Baron" Mikel Scicluna Gorilla Monsoon
"Captain" Lou Albano Joe Franklin
Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka Don Muraco
Johnny Rodz Arnold Skaaland
Killer Kowalski Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Pat Patterson Bret Hart
Vincent J. McMahon Shane McMahon
Group The Valiant Brothers Tony Garea

Slammy Awards
Main article: Slammy Award
Poll Results
Best Buns Sunny[27]
Best Slammin' Jammin' Entrance Shawn Michaels[28][29][30]
"Put A Fork in Him, He's Done" (Best Finisher) Bret Hart – Sharpshooter[28][29][30]
Crime of the Century Vader's assault on WWF President Gorilla Monsoon[28][29][30]
New Sensation of the Squared Circle Ahmed Johnson[28][29][30]
I'm Talking and I Can't Shut Up for Biggest Mouth Jerry Lawler[28][29][30]
Best Threads Shawn Michaels[28][29][30]
Blue Light Special for Worst Dresser Jim Cornette[28][29][30]
WWF's Greatest Hit The Undertaker drags Diesel into the abyss[28][29][30]
Minds Behind the Mayhem for Manager of the Year Sunny[28][29][30]
Lifetime Achievement Award Freddie Blassie[28][29][30]
Most Embarrassing Moment Jerry Lawler kisses his own foot[28][29][30]
Squared Circle Shocker Shawn Michaels collapses (Owen Hart accepts the award for making Shawn collapse)[28][29][30]
Master of Mat Mechanics Shawn Michaels[28][29][30]
Best Music Video Bret Hart[28][29][30]
US West Match of the Year Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match from SummerSlam '95[28][29][30]
Which WWF World Heavyweight Champion, past or present, in attendance, is Hall of Fame bound? Bret Hart[28][29][30]
Leader of the New Generation Shawn Michaels[28][29][30]

Awards and honors

Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Main article: List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards
Category Winner
PWI Wrestler of the Year The Giant
PWI Tag Team of the Year Harlem Heat
(Booker T and Stevie Ray)
PWI Match of the Year Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania XII)
PWI Feud of the Year Eric Bischoff vs. Vince McMahon
PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year Shawn Michaels
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year Hollywood Hogan
PWI Comeback of the Year Sycho Sid
PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year Ahmed Johnson
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year Jake Roberts
PWI Rookie of the Year The Giant
PWI Lifetime Achievement Danny Hodge
PWI Editor's Award Sunny

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
Main article: Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
Main article: List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
Category Winner
Wrestler of the Year Kenta Kobashi
Most Outstanding Rey Misterio Jr.
Feud of the Year New World Order vs. World Championship Wrestling
Tag Team of the Year Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama
Most Improved Diamond Dallas Page
Best on Interviews Stone Cold Steve Austin

Title changes

ECW
ECW World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – The Sandman
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 27 Raven Live event
October 5 The Sandman Ultimate Jeopardy
December 7 Raven Holiday Hell
ECW World Television Championship
Incoming champion – Mikey Whipwreck
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 5 2 Cold Scorpio House Party
May 11 Shane Douglas A Matter of Respect
June 1 Pitbull #2 Fight the Power
June 22 Chris Jericho Hardcore Heaven
July 13 Shane Douglas Heat Wave
ECW World Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Cactus Jack and Mikey Whipwreck
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
February 3 The Eliminators
(Kronus and Saturn)		 Big Apple Blizzard Blast
August 3 The Gangstas
(Mustafa and New Jack)		 The Doctor Is In
December 20 The Eliminators
(Kronus and Saturn)		 Hardcore TV

FMW
FMW Double Championship
Incoming champion – The Gladiator
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 5 Vacant FMW
February 23 Super Leather FMW
May 27 The Gladiator FMW
FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Lethal Weapon (Hisakatsu Oya and Horace Boulder)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 5 The Faces of Dead
(Super Leather and Jason the Terrible)		 FMW
March 30 The Headhunters (A and B) FMW
FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Koji Nakagawa
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
May 5 Taka Michinoku 7th Anniversary Show
FMW Women's Championship
Incoming champion – Combat Toyoda
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
May 5 Megumi Kudo 7th Anniversary Show
FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
(Title created)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
May 5 Puerto Rican Army
(Super Leather, Headhunter A and Headhunter B)		 7th Anniversary Show
June 28 Masato Tanaka, Koji Nakagawa and Tetsuhiro Kuroda FMW
November 16 Funk Masters of Wrestling
(Hisakatsu Oya, Headhunter A and Headhunter B)		 FMW

IWRG
Distrito Federal Trios Championship
Incoming champions – Los Oficiales (Maniac Cop, Oficial and Virgilante)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
Uncertain Los Super Payasos (Bruly, Circus and Rody) IWRG Show [31]
December 14 Judo Suwa, Shiima Nobunaga and Sumo Fuji IWRG Show [31]

NJPW
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Keiji Mutoh
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 4 Nobuhiko Takada Wrestling World 1996
April 29 Shinya Hashimoto Battle Formation
IWGP Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Junji Hirata and Shinya Hashimoto
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
June 12 Kazuo Yamazaki and Takashi Iizuka Best of the Super Jr. III
July 16 Cho-Ten
(Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Masahiro Chono)		 Summer Struggle 1996
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Koji Kanemoto
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 4 Jushin Thunder Liger Wrestling World 1996
April 29 The Great Sasuke Battle Formation
October 11 Ultimo Dragon Live event

WCW
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Ric Flair
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 22 Randy Savage Nitro
February 11 Ric Flair SuperBrawl VI
April 22 The Giant Nitro
August 10 Hollywood Hogan Hog Wild
WCW Cruiserweight Championship
(Title created)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
March 20 Shinjiro Otani Hyper Battle 1996 Defeated Wild Pegasus in tournament final to determine the new WCW Cruiserweight Champion.
This was a New Japan Pro-Wrestling event.
May 2 Dean Malenko WorldWide
July 8 Rey Misterio, Jr. Nitro
October 27 Dean Malenko Halloween Havoc
December 29 Ultimate Dragon Starrcade
WCW United States Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – One Man Gang
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 29 Konnan Nitro
July 7 Ric Flair Bash at the Beach
November 25 Vacant Nitro Vacated due to Ric Flair suffering a shoulder injury
December 29 Eddie Guerrero Starrcade Defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a tournament final
WCW Women's Championship
(Title created)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
December 29 Akira Hokuto Starrcade Defeated Madusa in a tournament final to become inaugural champion
WCW World Television Championship
Incoming champion – Johnny B. Badd
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
February 17 Lex Luger House show
February 18 Johnny B. Badd House show
March 6 Lex Luger Saturday Night
August 20 Lord Steven Regal Saturday Night
WCW World Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 22 Sting and Lex Luger Nitro
June 24 Harlem Heat
(Booker T and Stevie Ray)		 Nitro
July 24 The Steiner Brothers
(Rick and Scott Steiner)		 House show
July 27 Harlem Heat
(Booker T and Stevie Ray)		 House show
September 23 The Public Enemy
(Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock)		 Nitro
October 1 Harlem Heat
(Booker T and Stevie Ray)		 Saturday Night Aired on tape delay on October 5.
October 27 The Outsiders
(Kevin Nash and Scott Hall)		 Halloween Havoc

WWF
WWF World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Bret Hart
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
March 31 Shawn Michaels WrestleMania XII It was a 60-minute Iron Man match that went into sudden death with the score 0-0.
November 17 Sycho Sid Survivor Series
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Incoming champion – Razor Ramon
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 21 Goldust Royal Rumble
April 1 Vacant Raw Held up when a title defense against Savio Vega ended in a no contest
April 1 Goldust Raw Defeated Savio Vega in a rematch for the vacant title
June 23 Ahmed Johnson King of the Ring
August 12 Vacant Raw Ahmed Johnson forfeited the title after being attacked by the debuting Faarooq after winning an 11-man battle royal
September 23 Marc Mero Raw Defeated Faarooq in a tournament final
October 21 Hunter Hearst Helmsley Raw
WWF Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
February 15 Vacated House show Vacated when Billy Gunn suffered a neck injury
March 31 The Bodydonnas
(Skip and Zip)		 WrestleMania XII Defeated The Godwinns in a tournament final
May 19 The Godwinns
(Henry O. and Phineas I. Godwinn)		 House show
May 26 The Smoking Gunns
(Billy and Bart Gunn)		 In Your House 8: Beware of Dog
September 22 Owen Hart and The British Bulldog In Your House 10: Mind Games
Million Dollar Championship
Incoming champion – The Ringmaster
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
May 28 Abandoned N/A

Debuts
  • Uncertain debut date

Retirements

Deaths

See also

References
  1. "Royal Rumble 1996 results". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  2. "Historical Cards: In Your House 6 (February 18, 1996. Louisville, Kentucky)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanach and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 150. 2007 Edition.
  3. "Copa Junior Tournament 1996". Pro Wrestling History. February 23 – March 31, 1996. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  4. "Los Lutteroth / the Lutteroths". Lucha Libre: Masked Superstars of Mexican Wrestling. Distributed Art Publishers, Inc. 2005. pp. 20–27. ISBN 968-6842-48-9.
  5. Powell, Jason. "Iron Man Match highlights WrestleMania 12". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  6. Lucha 2000 Staff (April 2006). "Arena México: 50 anos de Lucha Libre". Lucha 2000 (in Spanish). Especial 28.
  7. "Good Friends, Better Enemies info". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
  8. "Beware of Dog info". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  9. "Beware of Dog 2 info". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  10. "CMLL Gran Alternativa #3". Pro Wrestling History. June 7, 1996. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  11. Note that this was an internet pay-per-view event (iPPV)
  12. Martin, Finn (1996-09-15). "Power Slam Magazine, issue 26". International Incident (In Your House 9). SW Publishing. pp. 24–25.
  13. "Gran Prix Tournament 1996". ProWrestlingHistory.com. July 5, 1996. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  14. "Bash at the Beach 1996". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  15. "Hog Wild". Pro Wrestling History. August 10, 1996. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  16. Canoe – Slam! Wrestling – the Big Event 21 years later
  17. "63rd Anniversary Show". ProWrestlingHistory. September 20, 1996. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  18. "1996 Especial!". Box y Lucha Magazine (in Spanish). January 10, 1997. pp. 2–28. issue 2280.
  19. "Historical Cards: In Your House 10 (September 22, 1996. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 151. 2007 Edition.
  20. "Historical Cards: In Your House 11 (October 20, 1996. Indianapolis, Indiana)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 151. 2007 Edition.
  21. "CMLL Gran Alternativa #4". Pro Wrestling History. November 15, 1996. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  22. "Historical Cards: In Your House 12 (December 15, 1996. West Palm Beach, Florida)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 151. 2007 Edition.
  23. Williams, Scott (2006). Hardcore History. Sports Publishing LLC. pp. 106–111. ISBN 978-1-59670-021-5.
  24. Loverro, Thom (2006). The Rise and Fall of ECW. Pocket Books. pp. 175–180. ISBN 978-1-4165-1058-1.
  25. Assael, Shaun; Mooneyham, Mike (2002). Sex, Lies, and Headlocks. Crown Publishers. pp. 199–200. ISBN 978-0-609-60690-2.
  26. "Arena Naucalpan". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). June 11, 2012. p. 18. Issue 466.
  27. Bishop, Matt and Matt Mackinder (December 7, 2008). "Bringing back Slammy Awards – a good, bad idea". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  28. "Slammy Awards History". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on 2011-09-08. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  29. "WWF Slammy Awards (1996)". TWNP News. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  30. "WWF Slammy Awards (1996)". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  31. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "MEXICO: Districto Federal Trios Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 401. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  32. Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
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