Speaker 1: What's going on? Wrestling fans? Sigh, Sea Fault and welcome
Speaker 1: to the fall count. On today's edition, we are going
Speaker 1: back to January twenty first, nineteen ninety six.
Speaker 2: It's Fresno, California.
Speaker 1: It's WWF Royal Rumble in ninety six. Now, of course
Speaker 1: we need some contexts. Context is king. In January of
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety six, the Monday Night War was officially underway.
Speaker 1: Eric Bischoff's WCW Monday Nitro was gaining serious ground in
Speaker 1: Vince McMahon's WWF was in the thick of.
Speaker 2: The New Generation era.
Speaker 1: It was an era of colorful, cartoonish characters, but behind
Speaker 1: the scenes, the roster was undergoing a massive shift. Stars
Speaker 1: were looking forward to going to WCW in the seeds
Speaker 1: of what would eventually become the Attitude era where quietly planted.
Speaker 1: Now roy Rumble ninety six is the ultimate snapshot of
Speaker 1: this transition. You had classic cartoon gimmicks side by side
Speaker 1: with edgy, groundbreaking character work, major debuts, legendary returns in
Speaker 1: the setup for what many consider the single most important
Speaker 1: WrestleMania main event of the nineteen nineties. So turn up
Speaker 1: the volume and let's get into it.
Speaker 2: It's the Breakdown of roy Rumble ninety six. Before the
Speaker 2: main pay.
Speaker 1: Per view even hit the air, WWF hosted there.
Speaker 2: Free for all pre show featuring Hunter Hurst Hemsley, Yes, the.
Speaker 1: Man who would be later known mister blay sh to
Speaker 1: see Oh oh Well. He took on Duke the Dumpster Drose.
Speaker 1: The stakes were huge. The winner got the coveted number
Speaker 1: thirty and spot in the Royal Rumble, while the loser
Speaker 1: was forced into number one. Helmsley knocked Rosie out with
Speaker 1: a pair of brass knuckles in one, but the interim
Speaker 1: president Grilmand, soon reviewed the official video footage and reversed
Speaker 1: the decision. Drosie was awarded the victory by disqualification, forcing
Speaker 1: Hemsley into the grueling number one spot. This was actually
Speaker 1: the very first time in WWF history that instant video
Speaker 1: replay was used to overturn a referee's decision on live television.
Speaker 1: If he didn't know, all the major sport leagues started
Speaker 1: doing this as well. That leads us right into the
Speaker 1: opening match of the main pay per view. Ahmed Johnson
Speaker 1: was the hottest rising powerhouse babyface in the company. He
Speaker 1: was built like a brick and had incredible intensity. Even
Speaker 1: though he was notorious for being a bit stiff and
Speaker 1: injury prone, I loved him. Now, Jarrett had recently returned
Speaker 1: to the WWF, targeting Ahmed with a framed golden record
Speaker 1: to spark his bitter rivalry back in your House December. Now,
Speaker 1: as we get to the finish, Ahmed went up to
Speaker 1: the top rope looking to finish.
Speaker 2: Jareded off, but Double J grabbed.
Speaker 1: His signature guitar, slid inside, and smashed the guitar directly
Speaker 1: over at Ahmed Johnson's head. The referee, of course, instantly
Speaker 1: calls the bell. Ahmed wins by qualification. Now, though Ahmed
Speaker 1: got the win, Jarrett stood tall over a laid out opponent.
Speaker 1: But here's the crazy piece of history behind this finish.
Speaker 1: Right after this event, Jeff Jarrett randomly leaves the WWF
Speaker 1: over a track dispute. He negotiated with WCW and joined
Speaker 1: the Four Horsemen later this year. Next ccept, though we
Speaker 1: have the WWF tag team titles on the line, it's
Speaker 1: Billion Bart Gunn defending against the Body Donna's Skipp and
Speaker 1: Zip with Sonny. The real star of this entire tag
Speaker 1: team division was not the smoking Guns or the Body Honnas.
Speaker 1: It was the most downloaded personality on America Online in
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety six and ninety five. It was Sonny The
Speaker 1: Smoking Guns were the division's flagship baby faces, but looking back,
Speaker 1: you can already see the erly sides of Billy Guns
Speaker 1: breakout athleticism. How the hell is he jumping around on
Speaker 1: those jeans? Of course he will become a Hall.
Speaker 2: Of Famer now.
Speaker 1: The finish came down to classic heel miss community. Skip
Speaker 1: and Zip tried to switch places behind the referees back
Speaker 1: even though they don't look anything alike except for their outfits.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, but Sonny's distraction on the apron backfire, Skip
Speaker 1: and Zip crashed into each other, allowing Bart Gunn to
Speaker 1: roll up Skip for the one, two three to retain
Speaker 1: the titles. Now while the Guns retained, this finish laid
Speaker 1: the groundwork for Sonny in the Body Donnis to capture
Speaker 1: the tag team titles just two months later at Rustlemania
Speaker 1: twelve spoiler alert now, folks Woo the match that has
Speaker 1: caused so much controversy in the WWF, where Vince McMahon
Speaker 1: on a recent episode of Raw in ninety six had
Speaker 1: to clarify that Goldust was not gay. He wasn't trying
Speaker 1: to be a mean person. He was using psychological warfare
Speaker 1: on Raizor a moon. That's how heavy this storyline got
Speaker 1: that we had to go out there as WWF officials
Speaker 1: and say, hey, by the way, I know we've gone
Speaker 1: too far, so we're going to apologize and take a
Speaker 1: couple steps backwards, even though they really didn't with gold.
Speaker 2: Dust at all.
Speaker 1: But if you want a pinpoint, the exact moment the
Speaker 1: WWF started pushing toward the edgy attitude era, look no
Speaker 1: further than this feud.
Speaker 2: Gold Dust's character.
Speaker 1: Was using again psychological complex warfare, a gimmick. Dressed in
Speaker 1: golden black face paint with a blonde wig, he rubs
Speaker 1: his chest.
Speaker 2: Gold Dust spent weeks.
Speaker 1: Sending Razor love letters in cigars, sending him chocolates in roses.
Speaker 2: He even, on an episode of Superstars, had.
Speaker 1: Razor written in a heart on his chest as he
Speaker 1: stripped on television at ten o'clock in the morning.
Speaker 2: And I am my kid watching this.
Speaker 1: Now. I love the intensity for this matchup. Marlene even
Speaker 1: stung the apron, puffing her cigar to distract referee Earl hebner,
Speaker 1: and when the referees back turned, a mysterious figure sprinted
Speaker 1: down the aisle and slid into the ring.
Speaker 2: It was the one two three kid.
Speaker 1: The kid who had turned heel on Razor leaped off
Speaker 1: the top rope and delivered a brutal, flying, spinning heel
Speaker 1: kick straight to the back of Razor's head. Razor collapses,
Speaker 1: The one two three kid runs away and Goldust drapes
Speaker 1: his arm over Razor Ramon and picks up the three count.
Speaker 1: Say it ain't so the new Inner Continental Champion. It's
Speaker 1: gold Dust capturing his first singles title in the WWF. Furthermore,
Speaker 1: this was one of Scott Hall's final major WWF pay
Speaker 1: per view of title matches before jumping ship to WCW
Speaker 1: four months later to form a little group you might
Speaker 1: have heard of the NWOO. Yeah, but that brings us
Speaker 1: to the centerpiece of the night. It's the nineteen ninety
Speaker 1: six thirty man Royal Rumble match, not the main event,
Speaker 1: no survey. The winner of this, of course, will earn
Speaker 1: a World Championship match at WrestleMania twelve. Now, this rumble
Speaker 1: is memorable for several reasons. First, it was the first
Speaker 1: roy rumble where every single wrestler came out to their
Speaker 1: entrance music.
Speaker 2: I love it. In nineteen ninety the.
Speaker 1: First four wrestlers had entrance music ninety six. Finally, now
Speaker 1: we know who's coming out. Oh it's that guy.
Speaker 2: Perfect second.
Speaker 1: The WWF roster was thinn at the time, leading to
Speaker 1: many strange entrance We saw fifty one year old Dori Funk, Junior,
Speaker 1: Japanese stars, us WA's Doug Gilbert, and the three hundred
Speaker 1: and fifty pound Swat Team. Even Jerry Lawler added comedy
Speaker 1: by hiding under the ring for thirty five minutes to
Speaker 1: escape Jake the Snake Roberts. Of course, Shawn Michaels would
Speaker 1: eventually drag Jerry Lawler out. Now here's some highlights. A
Speaker 1: Hunters Hemsley again entered at number one following his pre
Speaker 1: show DQ loss. He puts on a star making forty
Speaker 1: eight minute iron Man performance. Nothing against Duke the Dumpster Drosie,
Speaker 1: but I don't think he was gonna do that again.
Speaker 1: We saw the wwfpay purview debut of the Ringmaster Steve
Speaker 1: Austin at number twenty four. This was the humble beginnings
Speaker 1: of Stonecoll's persona that would of course soon revolutionize this business,
Speaker 1: and Vader made his terrifying WWF debut at the number
Speaker 1: thirteen spot, pretty much dominating until Sel Michaels eliminated him
Speaker 1: and Vader at the same time. I don't know how
Speaker 1: that happens. Vader re entered the ring illegally and threw
Speaker 1: everyone over the top rope, forcing referees to restore order.
Speaker 1: I'll never ever understand how you can have Vader get
Speaker 1: eliminated by one hand in Yakuzu at the same time,
Speaker 1: never understood that. I don't.
Speaker 2: I don't get it. That brings us to the final
Speaker 2: four though.
Speaker 1: It's Shawn Michaels who came in at eighteen, Diesel who
Speaker 1: came in at twenty two, the British Bulldog who came
Speaker 1: in at twenty eight, and Comma who came in at
Speaker 1: twenty three. Now, Shawn Michaels and Diesel, they're.
Speaker 2: The two dudes with attitudes.
Speaker 1: And of course they're the central focal point here. The
Speaker 1: finish came and Shawn Michaels eliminated the British Bulldog, while
Speaker 1: Diesel dumped Coma over on.
Speaker 2: The opposite side.
Speaker 1: That left best friends and click brothers in the ring
Speaker 1: together Shaw Michaels and Big Daddy Cool Diesel as the
Speaker 1: final two. Well, if you thought you were friends with
Speaker 1: Shawn Michaels, you were wrong, because as Diesel turns around
Speaker 1: to celebrate Shawn Michael's nails Diesel with sweet chin music,
Speaker 1: the impact knocks the seven foot Diesel over the top
Speaker 1: rope to the floor. Shaw Michaels has now won the
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety six Roy Rumble, and he did it a
Speaker 1: year before that, the nineteen ninety five royd Rumble.
Speaker 2: Now Shawn Michaels, he's.
Speaker 1: Celebrating in the ring while Diesel stood outside in disbelief.
Speaker 1: You know, Diesel gave Shawn Michaels but a lot of respect.
Speaker 2: But you could see he was super pissed.
Speaker 1: And that single kick cracked the foundation of their friendship
Speaker 1: and set us off into a chain of events leading
Speaker 1: into WrestleMania twelve.
Speaker 2: But that was not the main event.
Speaker 1: No, it is the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, Brett Hart
Speaker 1: the champion taking on the Undertaker.
Speaker 2: Now think about that.
Speaker 1: Shaw Michaels has returned from injury, he's been gone for months.
Speaker 2: He wins Royal Rumble. But it's not gonna be the
Speaker 2: main event.
Speaker 1: Brett Hart, the champion, wants to make sure that he
Speaker 1: is the main event, which I guess makes sense.
Speaker 2: But now let's get to it.
Speaker 1: Brett Hart had won the title from d Diesel two
Speaker 1: months ago at Survivor Series. Now, while that was going on,
Speaker 1: the Undertaker was wearing his famous Phantom of the Opera
Speaker 1: mask following a bone injury.
Speaker 2: In his face.
Speaker 1: So this match, strangely enough, goes almost thirty minutes. Thirty minutes,
Speaker 1: and as a kid, on paper, it seems like an
Speaker 1: exciting idea to have two of your favorite wrestlers go
Speaker 1: at it, but in reality, it is hard to pick
Speaker 1: who you want to win when you are constantly dealing
Speaker 1: with the idea of my two childhood heroes of fighting,
Speaker 1: who do I pick? But as the Undertaker was coming down,
Speaker 1: Diesel was still at ringside. This is when Diesel announces
Speaker 1: that he's not afraid of the dark, clearly setting out
Speaker 1: Diesel an Undertaker for a future events. On reality, I
Speaker 1: think we all knew Undertake was not going to win.
Speaker 1: As a child, I had no idea. As an adult,
Speaker 1: it's quite obvious. Let's get to the ending, though, because
Speaker 1: Diesel ran down the aisle out of nowhere and Diesel
Speaker 1: grabbed referee Earl Hebner by the ankles. He ganked him
Speaker 1: to the floor and caused a DQ. At twenty eight
Speaker 1: minutes and thirty one seconds. They don't Jay, you have
Speaker 1: this match. One he hit it Brett Hart with a tombstone.
Speaker 1: One two referee pulled out what now? Of course, the
Speaker 1: title cannot change hands on a DQ, so Brett Hart
Speaker 1: retains and Bert Hart has complained over the years about
Speaker 1: this title run where he said he wasn't booked strongly
Speaker 1: as Sean Michaels was bouncing all over the place beating everybody,
Speaker 1: dun dumping Vader and Jukozuna in the World Rumble at
Speaker 1: the same time.
Speaker 2: Here's Brent.
Speaker 1: He clearly would have lost the match if Diesel didn't pull.
Speaker 2: Earl Hamner out of the ring.
Speaker 1: This even leads to Brett Hart versus Diesel at the
Speaker 1: next pay per view, and Brett doesn't win on his
Speaker 1: own again. The Undertaker interferes, causing Diesel to lose that
Speaker 1: steel cage match. So if I was Brett Hart, I
Speaker 1: would be feeling pretty lousy too, I would, especially how
Speaker 1: in December Brett Hart us the British Bulldog in Your
Speaker 1: House is one of the greatest New Generation matches of
Speaker 1: all time. Boy, they were ensuring that Taker is gonna
Speaker 1: fight Diesel. Al right, well, well Diesel getting in that ring.
Speaker 2: He accomplished two goals.
Speaker 1: One he launched us into the rivalry of Undertaker in Diesel,
Speaker 1: and he's got to give us Brett Hart for a
Speaker 1: Shaw Michaels in a sixty minute iron Man match at
Speaker 1: Wrestlemaniah twelve. Now, when you review WWFA Reuble ninety six,
Speaker 1: it stands out as one of the most strangest. But
Speaker 1: uh I would call it a bridge event in wrestling
Speaker 1: history considering what was set into motion. Krilla Mountins soon
Speaker 1: introduced instant video replay, which we'll be stuck with for
Speaker 1: the rest of our lives. Jeff Jarrett Lee's for WCW
Speaker 1: goal does push boundaries becoming inner Continental Champion when at
Speaker 1: the time that championship led you into a world title picture.
Speaker 1: Steve Austin made his pay per view debut, Shawn Michael's
Speaker 1: won back to back Rumbles and Diesel starts a war
Speaker 1: between Undertaker, which gives us HBK versus the hit Man.
Speaker 1: Within months, though the new World Order will be formed
Speaker 1: in WCW Stone Cold Steve Austin will deliver Austin three sixteen,
Speaker 1: but that is going to be a rap here on
Speaker 1: the Fall count. So thanks for being here, thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: thanks for watching. I'm Steve Fall. Have a great day
Speaker 1: and we'll see you next time.
Speaker 2: Bye bye m