As we have seen from previous installments, sometimes the biggest stories in WWF/E happen off screen rather than on screen. Last time, in 1995, we learned that Buddy Landell was supposed to be bigger than Steve Austin, there was more to the Shawn Michaels nightclub beating than was reported, and Triple H debuted with a Diamond Cutter finisher. Moving on to the next installment of this series, we take a look at 1996. 1996 was a year of transition for the WWF. While their rival WCW would begin their ratings domination over WWF with the introduction of the nWo, the WWF quietly planted the seeds that would soon become the Attitude Era. While Bret Hart, who represented the old guard of the previous couple years, was on an extended hiatus following Wrestlemania, 1996 brought about Austin 3:16, the first championship reign of Shawn Michaels, and the debut of the guy who would be known as The Rock. Thats what happened on television. But what are some of the juicy trivia nuggets that this year bore? The top 10 will be ranked in order from Yeah, I probably already knew that to Wow, really? As always, big thanks goes to the historians over at TheHistoryOfWWE for the research.
10. The Rock Debuted As Duane Johnson
If you need to win a bar bet with another wrestling fan, and the question of what moniker The Rock used in his very first match in the WWF, the fan might think hes slick and answer Flex Kavana, but hed be wrong. The correct answer isDuane Johnson. The Rock wrestled his very first match in the WWF against the Brooklyn Brawler as part of a dark match for a WWF Superstars taping on March 10, 1996. In the match, he wrestled as Duane Johnson. He would wrestle two more dark matches throughout the year as Flex Kavana, once in a win over David Haskins during a Monday Night Raw taping on August 19, and again in a loss against Owen Hart the next day at another Superstars taping. As everybody else knows, The Rock made his TV debut at the Survivor Series later that year as Rocky Maivia, and the rest is history.