King of the Ring 1996 1996-06-23

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Event
King of the Ring 1996

Date
Sun 23rd June 1996 (UTC)

Timestamp

Time

00:00:00 UTC

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League
WWE

Season
1996

Round
30

Status

Location

Video Highlights

Description

King of the Ring (1996) was the fourth annual King of the Ring professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), now known as WWE. The event took place on June 23, 1996, from the MECCA Arena, now known as UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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, with The Ultimate Warrior wrestling the WWF Intercontinental Champion Goldust to a double count-out and Vader defeating Ahmed Johnson. The qualification continued on June 2 episode of Superstars as Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw defeated Henry Godwinn. On 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 in a qualification match. On the June 10 episode of Raw, the qualification for the tournament ended as "Wildman" Marc Mero defeated Skip 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 Shawn Michaels and the British Bulldog over the WWF World Heavyweight 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 Earl Hebner awarded Michaels the victory, Bulldog's wife Diana Smith, brother-in-law Hart and manager Jim Cornette handed Bulldog the belt. The on-screen 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. 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 and Bart) defeated The Godwinns (Henry and Phineas) 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.

Reports

Result List

Result Description
Free For All Tag Team Match
The Body Donnas (Skip & Zip) (w/Kloudi) defeat The New Rockers (Leif Cassidy & Marty Jannetty) (8:06)

King Of The Ring 1996 Semi Final Match
Steve Austin defeats Marc Mero (w/Sable) (16:49)

King Of The Ring 1996 Semi Final Match
Jake Roberts defeats Vader (w/James E. Cornette) by DQ (3:34)

WWF World Tag Team Title Match
The Smoking Gunns (Bart Gunn & Billy Gunn) (w/Sunny) (c) defeat The Godwinns (Henry O. Godwinn & Phineas I. Godwinn) (w/Hillbilly Jim) (10:10)

Singles Match
The Ultimate Warrior defeats Jerry Lawler (3:50)

Singles Match
Mankind defeats The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (18:21)

WWF Intercontinental Title Match
Ahmed Johnson defeats Goldust (w/Marlena) (c) (15:34) - TITLE CHANGE !!!

King Of The Ring 1996 Final Match
Steve Austin defeats Jake Roberts (4:28)

WWF World Heavyweight Title Match (Special Outside Referee: Mr. Perfect)
Shawn Michaels (w/Jose Lothario) (c) defeats The British Bulldog (w/Diana Hart-Smith & James E. Cornette) (26:25)

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