The 1996 King of the Ring was the fourth annual King of the Ring professional wrestling

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

(PPV)

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) that featured the 10th King of the Ring tournament. The event took place on June 23, 1996, from the

MECCA Arena Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow vall ...

in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The main event was a standard wrestling match for the WWF Championship.

Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...

defeated British Bulldog to retain the title, with Mr. Perfect serving as the

special guest enforcer In professional wrestling, a referee is an authority figure present in or near the ring during matches. The referee's purpose is similar to that of referees in combat sports such as boxing or mixed martial arts, that is, as an arbiter of the ru ...

. The undercard featured the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, which was won by Stone Cold Steve Austin. Other matches on the undercard included a WWF Intercontinental Championship match between champion

Goldust Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE f ...

and challenger Ahmed Johnson, Mankind versus The Undertaker, The Ultimate Warrior versus Jerry "The King" Lawler, and a WWF Tag Team Championship match between champions The Smoking Gunns ( Billy Gunn and

Bart Gunn Michael Polchlopek (born December 27, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1993 to 1999 under the ring names Bart Gu ...

) and challengers The Godwinns (

Henry O. Godwinn Mark Canterbury (born March 16, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in the mid to late 1990s under the ring name Henry O. Godwinn. He is also ...

and Phineas I. Godwinn). Austin's victory speech after winning the 1996 King of the Ring tournament gave rise to the "Austin 3:16" tag line, which would go on to become one of the most popular catchphrases in the history of professional wrestling and the event has been cited by WWE as the starting point of the Attitude Era.

Production

Background

King of the Ring was a

(PPV) event held annually in June by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) since 1993. The PPV featured the King of the Ring tournament, a single-elimination tournament that was established in 1985 and held annually until 1991, with the exception of 1990; these early tournaments were held as special non-televised

house show A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...

s. The winner of the tournament was crowned "King of the Ring." Unlike the non-televised events, the PPV did not feature all of the tournament's matches. Instead, several of the qualifying matches preceded the event with the final few matches then taking place at the pay-per-view. There were also other matches that took place at the event as it was a traditional three-hour pay-per-view. Considered as one of the WWF's "Big Five" PPVs, along with the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, the company's five biggest shows of the year, the 1996 event was the fourth King of the Ring PPV and 10th tournament overall. It was held on June 23, 1996 at the

in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Storylines

King of the Ring featured

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds, plots, and storylines that were played out on '' Monday Night Raw''—WWF's television program. Wrestlers portrayed a villain or a hero as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. The pay-per-view event featured the annual King of the Ring single elimination bracket tournament. The qualification for the tournament started on the May 27, 1996, episode of ''

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

'', with The Ultimate Warrior wrestling the WWF Intercontinental Champion

to a double count-out and Vader defeating Ahmed Johnson. The qualification continued on the June 2 episode of ''

Superstars A superstar is a widely acclaimed celebrity. Superstar or superstars may also refer to: People * Warhol superstars, the associates of Andy Warhol * WWE Superstar, a branding term referring to a WWE wrestler * Superstar Billy Graham (born 1943) ...

'' as Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw defeated

Henry Godwinn Mark Canterbury (born March 16, 1964) is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in the mid to late 1990s under the ring name ...

. On the June 3 edition of ''Raw'', Stone Cold Steve Austin and Jake "The Snake" Roberts qualified for the tournament by defeating Bob "Spark Plug" Holly and Hunter Hearst Helmsley, respectively. On the June 9 episode of ''Superstars'', Savio Vega defeated

Marty Jannetty Fredrick Martin Jannetty (born February 3, 1960) is an American professional wrestler who has worked for promotions including the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), World Championship Wres ...

in a qualification match. On the June 10 episode of ''Raw'', the qualification for the tournament ended as "Wildman" Marc Mero defeated

Skip Skip or Skips may refer to: Acronyms * SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene * Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol * SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aidin ...

and Owen Hart defeated Yokozuna. The first quarterfinal match of the tournament took place on the June 16 episode of ''Superstars'', with Roberts defeating Bradshaw. On the June 17 episode of ''Raw'', Austin defeated Vega and Mero defeated Hart in the remaining quarterfinal matches. Vader received a bye in the quarterfinals due to Warrior and Goldust's qualifying match resulting in a double count-out. The main rivalry heading into the event was between

and the British Bulldog over the WWF Championship. At In Your House 8, Michaels defended the title against Bulldog in a match that resulted in a no contest as both men's shoulders were down on the mat. Although the

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

Earl Hebner awarded Michaels the victory, Bulldog's wife

Diana Smith Diana Joyce Hart (born 8 October 1963) is a Canadian-American writer, model, valet and wrestling personality. She is the youngest daughter of Canadian wrestling promoter Stu Hart and was the second to last child born to Stu and his wife Helen. S ...

, brother-in-law Hart and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Jim Cornette handed Bulldog the belt. The

on-screen An on-screen display (OSD) is an image superimposed on a screen picture, commonly used by modern television sets, video cassette recorder, VCRs, and DVD players to display information such as volume, channel, and time. History In the past, mos ...

WWF President Gorilla Monsoon declared the match a no contest. On the June 3 episode of ''Raw'', Monsoon announced that Michaels would defend the title against Bulldog in a rematch at King of the Ring and allowed Camp Cornette to choose a special guest referee for the match. On the June 17 episode of ''Raw'', Jim Cornette announced that Mr. Perfect would be the guest referee for the match. Another predominant feud heading into the event was between The Undertaker and Mankind. On the April 1 episode of ''Raw'', Mankind made his WWF debut and defeated Bob Holly. Later that night, Mankind attacked The Undertaker during his match with Justin Bradshaw. On the May 13 episode of ''Raw'', Vince McMahon conducted an in-ring interview segment with The Undertaker and Paul Bearer. Mankind attacked The Undertaker, who was distracted by Goldust and his valet Marlena. At In Your House 8, Mankind helped Goldust in retaining the WWF Intercontinental Championship against The Undertaker in a

Casket match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. This led to a match between The Undertaker and Mankind at King of the Ring. On the May 27 episode of ''Raw'', Warrior wrestled the WWF Intercontinental Champion Goldust to a double count-out in a King of the Ring qualifying match when Goldust tried to leave ringside and was attacked in the aisle by Warrior. After the match ended, Jerry "The King" Lawler tried to retrieve a director's chair for Goldust's valet Marlena, but Warrior grabbed the chair and destroyed it. Lawler had been critical of a comic book released by Warrior and made statements about how it would have been better if he did the artwork. On the June 10 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler interviewed Warrior and apologized to him for costing him his qualifying match against Goldust and offered a portrait of Warrior as a present. Warrior rejected the apology and the present. Lawler attacked Warrior, leading to a match between the two at King of the Ring. In an interview on the DVD ''The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior'', Lawler was very unhappy with the setup of the incident, as Warrior unexpectedly arrived in the ring wearing a baseball cap to promote his comic book. On the May 27 episode of ''Raw'', Ahmed Johnson got into an altercation with Goldust in a backstage segment after losing a King of the Ring qualifying match to Vader. On the June 3 episode of ''Raw'', WWF President Gorilla Monsoon announced that Goldust would defend the title against Johnson at King of the Ring. At In Your House 8, The Smoking Gunns ( Billy Gunn and

) defeated The Godwinns (

and Phineas I. Godwinn) to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. As a result of the Godwinns losing the titles, their valet Sunny became the manager of the Gunns. Due to the betrayal of Sunny, the Godwinns continued their rivalry with the Gunns, leading to a tag title match between the two teams at King of the Ring.

Event

Before the event aired live on pay-per-view,

The Bodydonnas The Bodydonnas were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the mid-1990s, consisting of Chris Candido as Skip, Candido's real-life girlfriend Tammy Lynn Sytch as Sunny, and Tom Prichard as Skip's kayfabe cousi ...

(

and

Zip Zip, Zips or ZIP may refer to: Common uses * ZIP Code, USPS postal code * Zipper or zip, clothing fastener Science and technology Computing * ZIP (file format), a compressed archive file format ** zip, a command-line program from Info-ZIP * Zi ...

) wrestled

The New Rockers The Rockers were an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty who teamed from 1985 to 1992. The team worked for NWA Central States Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, Continental Wrestlin ...

(

and Leif Cassidy) in a match that aired live on '' Free for All''. Bodydonnas won when Skip pinned Cassidy after Bodydonnas'

Cloudy kissed Cassidy. The match was followed by a non-televised match in which Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Aldo Montoya.

Preliminary matches

As the event concluded, the semi-final round of the King of the Ring tournament started. The first semi-final match pitted Marc Mero against Stone Cold Steve Austin. During the match, Austin's mouth was badly injured. Mero whipped Austin through the ropes and then backdropped Austin. Austin attacked Mero with a

Boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cle ...

in the corner and tried to throw Mero out of the ring but Mero tossed Austin outside the ring. Mero delivered a

Plancha A flattop grill is a cooking appliance that resembles a griddle but performs differently because the heating element is circular rather than straight (side to side). This heating technology creates an extremely hot and even cooking surface, as h ...

to Austin causing Austin to bleed from his mouth. Mero returned to the ring and hit a

Suicide Dive Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...

on Austin. Mero tried to pin Austin after a

Missile Dropkick Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...

but got a near-fall. Austin regained his momentum and tried to pin Mero after a Hotshot but Mero kicked out of it. Austin followed by hitting Mero with a Stone Cold Stunner to win the match. The next semi-final match was between Jake Roberts and Vader. Vader dominated Roberts with a Body Press and a Running Splash. Roberts booted Vader and hit a Swinging Knee Lift. Roberts tried to finish the match by attempting a DDT on Vader but Vader backed him into the corner and tried to hit a Short-arm Clothesline. Roberts countered and hit a Short-arm Clothesline of his own. Roberts ran through the ropes but Vader hit him with a Running Splash and tried to charge Roberts into the corner. Roberts avoided the charge and tried to hit a DDT on Vader but Vader used the referee as a human shield to prevent himself from getting a DDT. As a result of using the referee, Vader was disqualified. Vader assaulted Roberts after the match and injured him by hitting a Vader Bomb. In the next match, The Smoking Gunns defended the WWF Tag Team Championship against The Godwinns. The Gunns got the earlier advantage in the match when Billy distracted Phineas and Bart attacked Phineas from behind. However, Godwinns got advantage and dominated most part of the match. In the closing moments of the match, Bart hit a Boot to Phineas, allowing Billy to pin Phineas with a roll-up. The fourth match was between The Ultimate Warrior and Jerry Lawler. Lawler brought a scepter to the ring during his entrance. As Warrior was making his entrance, Lawler started attacking Warrior with the scepter and used many dirty tactics to weaken Warrior. Lawler tried to finish the match with a Piledriver but Warrior did not sell and began dominating Lawler with a series of clotheslines. Warrior hit Lawler with a Running Shoulder Block and pinned him to win the match. The fifth match was between The Undertaker and Mankind. The Undertaker started the match by attacking Mankind with a

Flying Clothesline Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefe ...

. Undertaker followed with the "Old School". Mankind gained momentum by a Bodyslam. The action continued until it was carried onto outside. Mankind grabbed a chair to nail Undertaker with it but Undertaker kicked Mankind into the chair. The Undertaker backdropped Mankind into the ring and the two returned to the ring. Undertaker's manager Paul Bearer distracted the referee, allowing Undertaker to attack Mankind with a chair. Undertaker followed by a Big Boot and tried to finish the match by attempting a Tombstone Piledriver. Mankind slipped out of the move and hit a Swinging Neckbreaker. Mankind tried to finish The Undertaker with a

Mandible Claw Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ring. Some wrestlers use ...

, but The Undertaker blocked the move and was kicked by Mankind. The action returned to the floor where Mankind smashed his elbow on Undertaker against the steel steps. He tried to attack Undertaker with a

Diving Elbow Drop Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...

through the apron but Undertaker blocked the move with the chair. Mankind returned to the ring and hit Undertaker with a Piledriver. Mankind grabbed Undertaker's urn and tried to attack him with it, but Bearer snatched the urn from Mankind. Mankind focused on Undertaker and applied a Mandible Claw on Undertaker. Bearer tried to hit Mankind with the urn but Mankind pulled Undertaker to prevent from being hit and Undertaker was hit with the urn. This allowed Mankind to apply another Mandible Claw on Undertaker. As a result, Mankind was awarded the victory by

TKO TKO may refer to: Sports * Technical knockout, a professional fighting term * Total Knock Out, a professional wrestling move Music Artists * TKO (band), a rock band from Seattle, Washington * TKO, a pop group led by Katie White Albums * ''TKO ...

Main event matches

In the sixth match of the event, Goldust defended the WWF Intercontinental Championship against Ahmed Johnson. Johnson dominated most of the match. Goldust had nearly won the match after applying a Sleeper Hold, which he called ''Good Night Sweet Charlotte'' but did not pin Johnson and tried to further assault him but Johnson countered and hit Goldust with a Sitout Pearl River Plunge to win the match and the Intercontinental Championship. Next was the final round match of the King of the Ring tournament pitting Stone Cold Steve Austin against Jake Roberts. WWF President Gorilla Monsoon came to the ring before the match and offered Roberts to stop the match due to his rib injury suffered in his semifinal match against Vader. Roberts regrouped and refused to forfeit. He began attacking Austin and attempted to hit a DDT, but Austin avoided the move and began focusing on Roberts' injured ribs. In the end of the match, Austin hit a Stone Cold Stunner to win the match and the King of the Ring tournament. After the match, Austin mocked Roberts' Bible-preacher

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

during his coronation as King of the Ring by uttering a quote: Shawn Michaels WM24 shot

The main event featured Shawn Michaels defending the WWF Championship against the British Bulldog. Mr. Perfect was scheduled to referee the match but at the last minute President Gorilla Monsoon decided that Perfect would be refereeing outside the ring (due to Perfect's controversial refereeing at WrestleMania X) while Earl Hebner would be the inside referee. The match went back and forth with Bulldog's wife Diana and manager Cornette interfering on Bulldog's behalf on many occasions during the match. Bulldog's brother-in-law and

teammate A team sport includes any sport where individuals are organized into opposing teams which compete to win or cooperate to entertain their audience. Team members act together towards a shared objective. This can be done in a number of ways ...

Owen Hart served as the guest commentator for the entire pay-per-view. In the closing moments of the match, Michaels attempted to hit Bulldog a

Hurricanrana Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...

but Bulldog countered it into a Sitout Powerbomb. Michaels regained his momentum and hit Bulldog a Flying Forearm Smash, a Diving Elbow Drop and a

Superkick Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wre ...

, which he called ''Sweet Chin Music'' and attempted to pin Bulldog. Hebner and Perfect both began counting the pinfall. Hart left the commentary table and pulled Perfect out of the ring to prevent him from counting the pin but Hebner counted to three, allowing Michaels to win the match and retain the WWF Championship. After the match, Bulldog and Hart attacked Michaels. Johnson came to rescue Michaels until Bulldog and Hart's

Vader joined Bulldog and Hart to attack Michaels and Johnson. Warrior came out to rescue Michaels and Johnson from Bulldog, Hart and Vader and this ended the show.

Aftermath

Following the formation of an alliance of Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson and Warrior after Michaels' title defense at King of the Ring, the three were scheduled to compete against Camp Cornette (British Bulldog, Owen Hart and Vader) at In Your House 9. However, after his match with Hart on July 8 edition of ''Raw'', Warrior was released from his WWF contract due to missing several house shows. As a result, Warrior was replaced by Sycho Sid as Michaels and Johnson's tag team partner. At In Your House 9, Camp Cornette defeated Michaels, Johnson and Sid. The Undertaker continued his rivalry with Mankind after King of the Ring. Mankind interfered in Undertaker's match with Goldust at In Your House 9, causing Goldust to get disqualified. After the match, Undertaker and Mankind brawled with each other and their fight reached the locker room. This led to the first-ever

Boiler Room Brawl Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

between the two at SummerSlam which Mankind won after Paul Bearer

turn Turn may refer to: Arts and entertainment Dance and sports * Turn (dance and gymnastics), rotation of the body * Turn (swimming), reversing direction at the end of a pool * Turn (professional wrestling), a transition between face and heel * Turn, ...

ed on Undertaker and helped Mankind in winning the match. After winning the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, Austin quickly rose to stardom and his catchphrase "Austin 3:16" became the most popular catchphrase in professional wrestling history. Austin was

push Push may refer to: Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010 Songs * "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...

ed as a main eventer as he constantly challenged the inactive

Bret "Hitman" Hart Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling backgr ...

to a match. On the October 21 edition of ''Raw'', Hart returned to WWF and made his first in-ring appearance since losing the WWF Championship to Michaels at WrestleMania XII. Hart accepted Austin's challenge to a match and defeated Austin at Survivor Series. This would be Ultimate Warrior's final PPV match. His final WWF match was a victory against Owen Hart by DQ. His next appearance in a WWE ring was in a non-wrestling role at WrestleMania XXX in 2014 (almost 18 years later) the day after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He appeared on ''Raw'' for the first time since his final match on Raw in nearly 18 years, the night after WrestleMania, and died on the next day.

Results

Tournament brackets

The tournament took place between May 27 and June 23, 1996 (the entire first two rounds were actually done on May 27 and 28, two of the three quarterfinal matches actually occurred ''before'' the first round was completed). The tournament brackets were:

Other on-screen personnel

References

External links

King of the Ring 1996 at Online World of Wrestling

{{WWE Tournaments

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

Events in Milwaukee 1996 in Wisconsin Professional wrestling in Milwaukee 1996 WWF pay-per-view events June 1996 events in the United States