World War 3 (1996) was the second World War 3

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

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 produced by

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...

(WCW). The event took place on November 24, 1996, from the

Norfolk Scope Norfolk Scope is a multi-function complex in Norfolk, Virginia, comprising an 11,000-person arena, a 2,500-person theater known as Chrysler Hall, a exhibition hall and a 600-car parking garage. The arena was designed by Italian architect/engine ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Bea ...

. Similar to the

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle roy ...

format, this event marked for the first time that the winner of the World War 3 battle royal would receive a future title shot at the

WCW World Heavyweight Championship The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the original world title of ...

. Eight matches were contested at the event. The

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

was the World War 3 battle royal to determine the #1 contender for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. The Giant won the World War 3 battle royal by last eliminating

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and football player. In 2011 he began working with WWE on its wellness policy. He is best known for ...

. Another major match on the

card Card or The Card may refer to: * Various types of plastic cards: **By type ***Magnetic stripe card ***Chip card *** Digital card **By function ***Payment card ****Credit card ****Debit card ****EC-card ****Identity card **** European Health Insuran ...

was a

three-way 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 ...

for the

WCW World Tag Team Championship The WCW World Tag Team Championship (previously NWA (Mid-Atlantic) World Tag Team Championship) was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). ...

, in which The Outsiders retained the title against The Faces of Fear and The Nasty Boys.

Storylines

The event featured wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains,

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Storylines between the characters played out on WCW's television programs, '' Monday Nitro'', '' Saturday Night'', '' WorldWide'', ''

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'', ''

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'' and ''

Main Event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

''. At

Halloween Havoc Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE for the company's developmental brand, NXT. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October. It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view ( ...

, The Giant defeated

Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also serves as Director of Business Development. Beginning his career in his father ...

by disqualification after

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

attacked Giant during the match. This led to an announcement on the November 11 episode of ''Monday Nitro'' that Jarrett would be facing Giant in a rematch at World War 3. At Halloween Havoc, Col. Robert Parker turned on

Harlem Heat Harlem Heat was a professional wrestling tag team composed of two brothers, Booker and Lash Huffman (better known as Booker T and Stevie Ray). The team achieved their greatest success in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where they won the WCW ...

during their

World Tag Team Championship The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championships in professional wrestling promotions. Nomenclature The name of the promotion is often preceded to the term "world tag team championship" as the ...

title defense against The Outsiders by handing Outsiders his cane, which they used on Harlem Heat to win the titles. On the November 9 episode of ''Saturday Night'', Amazing French-Canadians defeated Harlem Heat by count-out after Harlem Heat left the ring to rescue their manager Sister Sherri from Parker. The two teams had a rematch on the November 11 episode of ''Monday Nitro'' which ended in a no contest after Sherri went after Parker. The following week, on ''Nitro'', Parker officially aligned himself with Amazing French-Canadians during their match against The American Males. This led to a match between Harlem Heat and Amazing French-Canadians at World War 3. At Halloween Havoc, Nick Patrick helped nWo member Syxx in defeating

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeric ...

in a match by making slow counts during Jericho's pinfall attempts on Syxx. Jericho's manager Teddy Long protested on Patrick's actions, which led to Patrick's lawyer Al Sharp reminding everyone that Long used to be a senior referee and got suspended due to his dirty tactics. Patrick continued his unfair officiating in matches. On the November 11 episode of ''Monday Nitro'', Patrick disqualified Jericho in a match against

Konnan Charles Ashenoff (born Carlos Santiago Espada Moises; January 6, 1964),''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', Dave Meltzer, ed., May 10, 2010, issue.Sims, Steve"Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame/Founded by Dave Meltzer - Konnan". Accessed August 1, 2016. O ...

when Konnan kicked Jericho into Patrick. On the November 16 episode of ''Saturday Night'', Jericho challenged Patrick to a match at World War 3, with Jericho's one arm tied behind his back. The match was made official on the November 18 episode of ''Monday Nitro''. At Halloween Havoc,

Dean Malenko Dean Simon (born August 4, 1960), better known by the ring name Dean Malenko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a senior producer. He is best known for his time with Extreme Ch ...

defeated Rey Misterio, Jr. to win the Cruiserweight Championship. On the November 9 episode of ''Saturday Night'', Malenko defeated Misterio in a rematch to retain the title. On the November 11 episode of ''Monday Nitro'',

Sonny Onoo Kazuo Sonny Onoo (born July 29, 1962) is a Japanese-American professional wrestling manager, and actor better known by his ring name Sonny Onoo. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling between 1995 and 1999 as the m ...

introduced the J-Crown Champion Ultimate Dragon to WCW as his newest client during a match between Misterio and Ciclope. Malenko came to watch the match and

Psychosis Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior t ...

showed up to watch Malenko. This would lead to a Cruiserweight Championship match between Malenko and Psychosis and a match between Misterio and Dragon for the J-Crown Championship at World War 3.

Event

Preliminary matches

The first match that aired on the live pay-per-view featured Ultimate Dragon defending the J-Crown Championship against Rey Misterio Jr. Near the end of the match, Dragon caught Misterio mid-air and executed a sitout powerbomb for the win to retain the title. Next,

took on the nWo referee Nick Patrick, with Jericho's one arm tied behind his back. Patrick took advantage of the stipulation for most of the match until Jericho pulled him from the top rope and nailed 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 ...

for the win. Next,

took on The Giant. Near the end of the match,

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-ear ...

made his return in a new attire under a crow paint and delivered a '' Scorpion Death Drop'' to Jarrett behind the referee's back, allowing Giant to hit a

chokeslam A chokeslam is a type of body slam in professional wrestling, in which a wrestler grasps an opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerf ...

on Jarrett for the win. This was followed by a segment in which the

World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...

Hollywood Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

and

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his ...

signed a contract for a match at the next month's

Starrcade Starrcade was a recurring professional wrestling event, originally broadcast via closed-circuit television and eventually broadcast via pay-per-view. It was originally held from 1983 to 2000, first by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from ...

event. After the contract signing, Piper tried to attack nWo but got attacked by the nWo members. Next,

(

Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 1944) ...

and

Stevie Ray Lash Steven Huffman (born August 22, 1958) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Stevie Ray. Stevie Ray is best known for his seven-year tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1993 to 20 ...

) took on Amazing French Canadians (

Jacques Rougeau Jacques Rougeau Jr. (born June 13, 1960) is a Canadian former professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s with the World Wrestling Federation. He began his career under his real name as half of the tag team The F ...

and

Carl Ouellet Carl Joseph Yvon Ouellet (born December 30, 1967) is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, PCO (originally a contraction of his long-term former ring name Pierre Carl Ouellet, but now standing for Perfect Creation One) ...

) in a tag team match which stipulated that if Harlem Heat won then their manager Sister Sherri would get five minutes alone with Amazing French Canadians' manager Col. Robert Parker. Booker nailed a '' Harlem Hangover'' to Ouellet for the win after Ouellet missed a

diving senton 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 Stevie Ray. As a result, Sherri earned the right to face Parker in a match. The match ended abruptly when Amazing French Canadians pulled Parker out of the ring, causing him to lose via countout and then Harlem Heat chased him to the backstage. Later,

defended the Cruiserweight Championship against

. Malenko pinned Psychosis with a bridge to retain the title. In the final match on the undercard, The Outsiders (

Scott Hall Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and under the ring name the Diamond Studd and with the ...

and

Kevin Nash Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where he performed under his ...

) defended the

against Faces of Fear (

Meng Meng may refer to: * Meng (surname) (孟), a Chinese surname * Master of Engineering (MEng or M.Eng.), an academic or professional master's degree in the field of engineering * , "M with hook", letter used in the International Phonetic Alphabet * ...

and The Barbarian) and The Nasty Boys (

Brian Knobbs Brian Yandrisovitz (born May 6, 1964), better known as Brian Knobbs, is an operatic tenor and an American professional wrestler best known as half of the tag team The Nasty Boys with his partner Jerry Sags. Early life Knobbs was born on May ...

and

Jerry Sags Jerome Saganowich (born July 5, 1964) is an American professional wrestler best known by his wrestling name Jerry Sags. He is a member of the tag team The Nasty Boys with partner and long-term friend Brian Knobbs. Early life and education Sags w ...

) in a triple threat match. Hall hit Knobbs with Hart's megaphone, allowing Nash to execute a '' Jackknife'' to Knobbs to retain the title.

Main event match

The main event was the namesake World War 3 battle royal. Before they even got in the ring for the World War 3 match, the

Four Horsemen The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand t ...

and the

Dungeon of Doom The Dungeon of Doom was the name of a heel professional wrestling stable in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) that existed from 1995 to 1997. History The Dungeon of Doom was created as a stable of wrestlers born from WCW lead producer Kevin Su ...

battled outside of Ring #3, with

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestlin ...

, The Taskmaster and Big Bubba Rogers battling into the crowd. In the ensuing commotion WCW television announcer Lee Marshall (working the ring with

Larry Zbyszko Lawrence Whistler (born December 5, 1951), better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during the early 1980s as well as his w ...

), was knocked down and legitimately kicked to the head and chest by the Dungeon's Faces of Fear while lying on the floor and could be heard yelling "What the heck is going on out here?". After the fight moved back toward the locker room, Marshall managed to get himself up and, after some difficulty (and questioning why former wrestler Zybysko didn't come to his aid), finished commentating the match from his designated announcing position.

from WCW's side was left alone alongside the nWo members Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Syxx and The Giant. Luger eliminated Hall and Syxx and then applied a '' Torture Rack'' on Nash and Giant tossed both men over the top rope to win the World War 3.

Reception

WCW earned $118,000 in ticket sales with an attendance of 10,314. The pay-per-view received a buyrate of 0.55. ''World War 3'' received mixed reviews from critics. Jack Bramma of ''411Mania'' rated the event 6.5 out of 10, writing "A much better WW3, some good cruiserweight matches and a shockingly enjoyable triple threat power tag match make this a recommendation. The nWo had taken over but hadn't gotten but so lazy and hadn't siphoned everyone's heat and storylines just yet. Worth a look." ''Wrestling 20 Years Ago'' star gave the event a rating of 3 out of 10, considering the arena Norfolk Scope " the best part" of the event.

Aftermath

Hollywood Hogan and Roddy Piper had signed a contract at World War 3 to compete in the main event of Starrcade, where Piper defeated Hogan. The Giant's elimination of Lex Luger to win the World War 3 led to the two signing a contract on the December 9 episode of ''Monday Nitro'' for a match at Starrcade, which Luger won. Faces of Fear continued their rivalry with The Outsiders after World War 3, leading to a match between the two teams for the World Tag Team Championship at Starrcade, which Outsiders won to retain the titles.

Results

Notes

External links

World War 3 1996
{{WCWPPV, World War 3 WCW World War 3 1996 in Virginia Events in Virginia Events in Norfolk, Virginia Professional wrestling in Norfolk, Virginia November 1996 events in the United States 1996 World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view events