1996 in professional wrestling

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1996 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of 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	Nobuhiko Takada defeated Keiji Mutoh (c) in a Singles match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
January 5	ECW	House Party	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock) defeated The Gangstas (Mustafa Saed and New Jack) in a tag team street fight
January 21	WWF	Royal Rumble	Fresno, California, United States	The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeated Bret Hart (c) by disqualification in a Singles match for the WWF Championship[1]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

February[]

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
February 3	ECW	Big Apple Blizzard Blast	Queens, New York, United States	2 Cold Scorpio and the Sandman defeated the Gangstas (Mustafa and New Jack) by pinfall in a tag team match
February 3	N/A	First Annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial Show	Cherry Hill, New Jersey, United States	Dan Severn (c) defeated Al Snow in a Singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
February 11	WCW	SuperBrawl VI	St. Petersburg, Florida, United States	Hulk Hogan defeated The Giant (with Jimmy Hart and The Taskmaster) in a Steel Cage match
February 17	ECW	CyberSlam	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Raven (c) (with Kimona Wanalaya, Stevie Richards and The Blue Meanie) defeated The Sandman (with Missy Hyatt) in a Singles match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
February 18	WWF	In Your House 6	Louisville, Kentucky, United States	Bret Hart (c) defeated Diesel by escaping the cage in a Steel Cage match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship[2]
February 23-March 1	CMLL	La Copa Junior Tournament	Mexico City, Mexico	La Fiera defeated Scorpió Jr. in a 1996 La Copa Junior first round match[3]
February 23	ECW	Just Another Night	Glenolden, Pennsylvania, United States	Raven (c) (with the Blue Meanie, Kimona Wanalaya, and Stevie Richards) defeated Shane Douglas by pinfall in a Singles match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

March[]

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
March 8	ECW	Big Ass Extreme Bash	Queens, New York, United States	Night 1: Raven (c) (with the Blue Meanie, Kimona Wanalaya, and Stevie Richards) defeated The Sandman (with Missy Hyatt) by pinfall in a Singles match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship Night 2: The Gangstas (Mustafa and New Jack) defeated The Headhunters (Headhunter A and Headhunter B) (with Damian Kane and Lady Alexandra) and 2 Cold Scorpio and the Sandman (with Missy Hyatt) by pinfall in a three-way tag team elimination match
March 22	CMLL	Homenaje a Salvador Lutteroth	Mexico City, Mexico	Rambo defeated El Brazo in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas, Hair vs. Hair match[4]
March 24	WCW	Uncensored	Tupelo, Mississippi, United States	Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage defeated Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Meng, The Barbarian, Lex Luger, The Taskmaster, Z-Gangsta and The Ultimate Solution (with Woman, Miss Elizabeth and Jimmy Hart) via Pinfall in a Doomsday Cage match
March 31	WWF	WrestleMania XII	Anaheim, California, United States	Shawn Michaels (with José Lothario) defeated Bret Hart (c) 1–0 in sudden death overtime in a 60-minute Iron Man match for the WWF Championship[5]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

April[]

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
April 4	FMW	Yamato Nadeshiko III	Osaka, Japan	Chigusa Nagayo and Combat Toyoda defeated KAORU and Megumi Kudo in a tag team match
April 13	ECW	Massacre On Queens Boulevard	Queens, New York, United States	The Gangstas (Mustafa and New Jack) defeated the Headhunters (Headhunter A and Headhunter B) (with Damien Kane and Lady Alexandra) and 2 Cold Scorpio and The Sandman (with Missy Hyatt) by pinfall in a Three-way tag team elimination match for the number one contendership to the ECW World Tag Team Championship
April 19	CMLL	40. Aniversario de Arena México	Mexico City, Mexico	Rayo de Jalisco Jr., Mil Máscaras and Tinieblas defeated Dr. Wagner Jr., Canek and Emilio Charles Jr. in a Six-man "Lucha Libre rules" tag team match[6]
April 20	ECW	Hostile City Showdown	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Raven (c) (with Stevie Richards and the Blue Meanie) defeated Shane Douglas (with Kimona Wanalaya) in a Singles match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
April 28	WWF	In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies	Omaha, Nebraska, United States	Shawn Michaels (c) (with José Lothario) defeated Diesel in a No Holds Barred match for the WWF Championship[7]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

May[]

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
May 5	FMW	FMW 7th Anniversary Show	Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan	Mr. Pogo and Terry Funk defeated Hayabusa and Masato Tanaka in a One Million Yen No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Double Hell Exploding Deathmatch
May 11	AAA	Triplemanía IV-A	Chicago, Illinois, United States	Konnan and Perro Aguayo defeated Pierroth Jr. and Cien Caras in a Lumberjack match
May 11	ECW	A Matter of Respect	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Tommy Dreamer and the Gangstas (Mustafa and New Jack) defeated Brian Lee and The Eliminators (John Kronus and Perry Saturn) by pinfall in a Six-man tag team match
May 19	WCW	Slamboree	Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States	The Giant (c) (with Jimmy Hart) defeated Sting (with Lex Luger) in a Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
May 26 May 28	WWF	In Your House 8: Beware of Dog	Florence, South Carolina, United States North Charleston, South Carolina, United States	May 26: Shawn Michaels (c) (with José Lothario) vs. The British Bulldog (with Clarence Mason, Diana Smith, and Owen Hart) ended in a no contest in a Singles match for the WWF Championship May 28: Goldust (c) (with Marlena) defeated The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) in a Casket match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship[8][9]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

June[]

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
June 1	NJPW CMLL NWA WCW Michinoku Pro AAA AJWW	World Wrestling Peace Festival	Los Angeles, California, United States	Antonio Inoki (NJPW) and Dan Severn (NWA) defeated Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Oleg Taktarov in a tag team match
	ECW	Fight the Power	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	The Eliminators (John Kronus and Perry Saturn) (c) defeated the Gangstas (Mustafa and New Jack) by pinfall in a tag team match for the ECW World Tag Team Championship
June 7	N/A	First Annual Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show	Buffalo, New York, United States	The Giant (c) defeated Sting by disqualification in a Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
June 7	CMLL	Torneo Gran Alternativa	Mexico City, Mexico	Chicago Express and Bestia Salvaje defeated Atlantico and Atlantis in a tournament final match[10]
June 15	AAA	Triplemanía IV-B	Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico	La Parka, Octagón, and Máscara Sagrada defeated Killer, Cien Caras, and Heavy Metal in a Lumberjack match
June 16	WCW	The Great American Bash	Baltimore, Maryland, United States	The Giant (c) (with Jimmy Hart) defeated Lex Luger in a Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
June 22	ECW	Hardcore Heaven	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Sabu defeated Rob Van Dam in a Singles match[11]
June 23	WWF	King of the Ring	Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States	Shawn Michaels (c) (with José Lothario) defeated The British Bulldog (with Diana Smith and Jim Cornette) in a Singles match for the WWF Championship with Mr. Perfect as special outside enforcer[12]
June 30	N/A	First Annual Rikidozan Memorial Show	Yokohama, Japan	Genichiro Tenryu and Tatsumi Fujinami defeated and Riki Choshu when Tenryu pinned Kitihara in a tag team match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

July[]

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
July 5	CMLL	International Gran Prix	Mexico City, Mexico	El Hijo del Santo defeated The Great Sasuke in a 1996 International Gran Prix final match[13]
July 6	CWA	Euro Catch Festival in Graz	Graz, Austria	Ludvig Borga (c) defeated August Smisl in Round 6 in a Singles match for the CWA World Heavyweight Championship
July 7	WCW	Bash at the Beach	Daytona Beach, Florida, United States	The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) and Hulk Hogan fought Randy Savage, Sting and Lex Luger to a no contest in a Six-man tag team match[14]
July 13	ECW	Heat Wave	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	The Sandman, Terry Gordy and Tommy Dreamer defeated Raven (c), Brian Lee and Stevie Richards (with Lori and Tyler Fullington) in a Steel cage match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship[11]
July 14	WWC	WWC 23rd Aniversario	Caguas, Puerto Rico	Invader #2 and #3 defeated ( and ) by disqualification in a reverse decision in a tag team match
July 15	AAA	Triplemanía IV-C	Madero, Tamaulipas, Mexico	lost to Karis la Momia Also in the match: (, and ) and (Máscara Sagrada Jr., Tinieblas Jr. and Blue Demon Jr.)
July 21	WWF	In Your House 9: International Incident	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	Camp Cornette (The British Bulldog, Owen Hart and Vader) (with Jim Cornette) defeated The People's Posse (Ahmed Johnson, Shawn Michaels and Sycho Sid) (with José Lothario) in a Six-man tag team match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

August[]

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
August 1	FMW	Summer Spectacular	Tokyo, Japan	Terry Funk (with Víctor Quiñones) defeated Mr. Pogo via knockout in a No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Glass Crush Spider Net Double Hell Deathmatch
August 3	ECW	The Doctor Is In	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Sabu defeated Rob Van Dam in a Stretcher match
August 10	WCW	WCW Hog Wild	Sturgis, South Dakota, United States	Hollywood Hogan defeated The Giant (c) (with Jimmy Hart) in a Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship[15]
August 18	WWF	SummerSlam	Cleveland, Ohio, United States	Shawn Michaels (c) (with José Lothario) defeated Vader (with Jim Cornette) in a Singles match for the WWE Championship
August 23	ECW	Requiem for a Pitbull	Reading, Pennsylvania, United States	Rob Van Dam defeated Tommy Dreamer (with Beulah McGillicutty and Pitbull #1) by pinfall in a Singles match
August 24	ECW	Natural Born Killaz	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	The Gangstas (Mustafa and New Jack) (c) defeated the Eliminators (John Kronus and Perry Saturn) by pinfall in a Steel cage weapons match for the ECW World Tag Team Championship
August 24	WWF	Xperience	Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Shawn Michaels (c) defeated Goldust (with Marlena) in a Ladder match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship[16]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

September[]

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
September 13	ECW	Unlucky Lottery	Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, United States	Sabu defeated Rob Van Dam by pinfall in a Singles match
September 14	ECW	When Worlds Collide	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Brian Lee and the Eliminators (John Kronus and Perry Saturn) defeated the Miracle Violence Connection (Steve Williams and Terry Gordy) and Tommy Dreamer (with Beulah McGillicutty) by pinfall in a Six-man tag team match
September 15	WCW	Fall Brawl	Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States	nWo (Hollywood Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and nWo Sting) (with Ted DiBiase) defeated Team WCW (Lex Luger, Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Sting) (with Miss Elizabeth) in a WarGames match
September 20 September 27	CMLL	CMLL 63rd Anniversary Show	Mexico City, Mexico	September 20: Rayo de Jalisco Jr. (c) defeated Gran Markus Jr. in a Best two-out-of-three falls match for the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship September 27: Emilio Charles Jr. defeated Silver King in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas hair vs. hair match[17][18]
September 22	WWF	In Your House 10: Mind Games	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Shawn Michaels (c) (with José Lothario) defeated Mankind (with Paul Bearer) by disqualification in a Singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship[19]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

October[]

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
October 5	ECW	Ultimate Jeopardy	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer (with Beulah McGillicutty) defeated Stevie Richards and Brian Lee (with the Blue Meanie, Lori Fullington, and Super Nova) by pinfall in a "Ultimate Jeopardy" tag team match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
October 20	WWF	In Your House 11: Buried Alive	Indianapolis, Indiana, United States	The Undertaker defeated Mankind (with Paul Bearer) in a Buried Alive match[20]
October 26	ECW	High Incident	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Tommy Dreamer defeated Brian Lee in a Scaffold match
October 27	WCW	Halloween Havoc	Paradise, Nevada, United States	Hollywood Hogan (c) defeated Randy Savage in a Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

November[]

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
November 15	CMLL	Torneo Gran Alternativa	Mexico City, Mexico	Rey Bucanero and Emilio Charles Jr. defeated Héctor Garza and Mr. Niebla in a tournament final match[21]
November 16	ECW	November to Remember	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer defeated Shane Douglas and Brian Lee (with Francine) in a tag team match
November 17	WWF	Survivor Series	New York, New York, United States	Sycho Sid defeated Shawn Michaels (c) (with José Lothario) in a Singles match for the WWF Championship
November 24	WCW	World War 3	Norfolk, Virginia, United States	The Giant won by last eliminating Lex Luger in 60-Man World War 3 battle royal for a future WCW World Heavyweight Championship match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

December[]

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
December 7	ECW	Holiday Hell	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Raven defeated The Sandman (c) by pinfall in a Barbed wire match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
December 11	FMW	Year End Spectacular	Tokyo, Japan	Atsushi Onita, Mr. Pogo, Masato Tanaka and Tetsuhiro Kuroda defeated Funk Masters of Wrestling (Terry Funk, Hisakatsu Oya, Headhunter A and Headhunter B) in a Texas Tornado Street Fight Deathmatch
December 15	WWF	In Your House 12: It's Time	West Palm Beach, Florida, United States	Sycho Sid (c) defeated Bret Hart in a Singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship[22]
December 21	CWA	Euro Catch Festival in Bremen	Bremen, Germany	Rambo defeated Ludvig Borga (c) in Round 12 in a Singles match for the CWA World Heavyweight Championship
December 29	WCW	Starrcade	Nashville, Tennessee, United States	Roddy Piper defeated Hollywood Hogan (with Ted DiBiase and Miss Elizabeth) by submission in a Singles match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

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[]

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[]

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[]

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame[]

Category	Inductee
Individual	Abdullah the Butcher
	Perro Aguayo
	André the Giant
	Bert Assirati
	Giant Baba
	Jim Barnett
	Red Berry
	The Destroyer
	Freddie Blassie
	Blue Demon
	Nick Bockwinkel
	Paul Boesch
	Bobo Brazil
	Jack Brisco
	Bruiser Brody
	Mildred Burke
	El Canek
	Negro Casas
	Riki Choshu
	Jim Cornette
	The Crusher
	Ted DiBiase
	Dick the Bruiser
	Alfonso Dantés
	Dynamite Kid
	Jackie Fargo
	Ric Flair
	Tatsumi Fujinami
	Dory Funk
	Dory Funk, Jr.
	Terry Funk
	Verne Gagne
	Cavernario Galindo
	Ed Don George
	Gorgeous George
	Frank Gotch
	Karl Gotch
	Billy Graham
	Eddie Graham
	René Guajardo
	Gory Guerrero
	Georg Hackenschmidt
	Stan Hansen
	Bret Hart
	Stu Hart
	Bobby Heenan
	Danny Hodge
	Hulk Hogan
	Antonio Inoki
	Rayo de Jalisco, Sr.
	Tom Jenkins
	Don Leo Jonathan
	Gene Kiniski
	Fred Kohler
	Killer Kowalski
	Ernie Ladd
	Dick Lane
	Jerry Lawler
	Ed Lewis
	Jim Londos
	Salvador Lutteroth
	Akira Maeda
	Devil Masami
	Mil Máscaras
Dump Matsumoto
Earl McCready
Leroy McGuirk
Vincent J. McMahon
Vincent K. McMahon
Danny McShain
Ray Mendoza
Toots Mondt
Sam Muchnick
Bronko Nagurski
Pat O'Connor
Kintaro Oki
Atsushi Onita
Pat Patterson
Antonio Peña
John Pesek
Roddy Piper
Harley Race
Dusty Rhodes
Rikidōzan
Yvon Robert
Billy Robinson
Antonino Rocca
Buddy Rogers
Lance Russell
Bruno Sammartino
Billy Sandow
El Santo
Jackie Sato
Randy Savage
The Sheik
Hisashi Shinma
Dara Singh
Gordon Solie
El Solitario
Ricky Steamboat
Joe Stecher
Tony Stecher
Ray Steele
Ray Stevens
Nobuhiko Takada
Genichiro Tenryu
Lou Thesz
Satoru Sayama
Jumbo Tsuruta
Frank Tunney
Maurice Vachon
Big Van Vader
Johnny Valentine
Fritz Von Erich
Whipper Billy Watson
Bill Watts
Jaguar Yokota
Stanislaus Zbyszko
Group	The Dusek family
	The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello, Roy Heffernan, and Don Kent)
	The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal)

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
unsanctioned championship
Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
May 28	Abandoned	N/A

Debuts[]

• Uncertain debut date

• Mari Apache

• May - The Rock

Births[]

• June 2 Jacy Jayne
• October 11 Rhea Ripley

Retirements[]

• Akio Sato (1970–1996)
• Biff Wellington (1986–1996)
• Billy Jack Haynes (1982–1996)
• Damian Kane (1980–1996)
• Tom Zenk (1986–1996)
• Tyler Mane (1986–1996)
• Dick Slater (1972–1996)
• Dynamite Kid (December 24, 1975 – October 10, 1996)
• Espanto Jr. (1971–January 1996)
• Jerry Stubbs (1970–1996)
• Mr. Fuji (1965–1996)
• Steve Regal (1977–1996)
• Wahoo McDaniel (1961–1996)
• Rocky Iaukea (1981–1996)
• Tom Lister, Jr. (1989–1996)

Deaths[]

• May 3 – Ray Stevens, 60^[32]
• June 15 – Dick Murdoch, 49
• June 26 - Octavio Gaona, 94
• July 20 - The Missouri Mauler, 65
• July 23 – Herb Abrams, 41
• August 23 - Neil Superior, 33
• August 30 - Chris Colt, 50
• September 11 – Sapphire, 61

See also[]

• List of WCW pay-per-view events
• List of WWE pay-per-view events
• List of FMW supercards and pay-per-view events
• List of ECW supercards and pay-per-view events

References[]