1996 was a very historic year for the WWF. However, they nearly stumbled over their own feet and cost themselves what turned out to be one of the most profitable times in the history of wrestling. The Rock made his debut as Rocky Maivia, and Steve Austin debuted (in mid-December 1995, but the point remains) as The Ringmaster. Neither gimmick worked, because they were just that... gimmicks. They didn't represent who either man really was, and crowds didn't buy into it. By the end of 1996, Austin had become "Stone Cold" and his career skyrocketed. A few months later, Maivia had returned from an injury and became The Rock, where his career skyrocketed. Before long, they were feuding with each other over the Intercontinental Title. It showed people that they had bright futures. Everyone knew they would both advance in their careers and begin feuding over something bigger than just a midcard belt. Obviously, they did just that. They began feuding over the WWF Title, and that is one of the main feuds that helped to take the company into the stratosphere. They were facing each other at the very tail end of the New Generation Era, and then moved on to become the faces of the Attitude Era, followed by battling in the early stages of the Ruthless Aggression Era. Three different "eras", and three different stages of their careers, but their personalities, chemistry, and desire to be the best helped to make it work.
Columnist/Podcaster/Director at LordsOfPain.net for nearly seven years, with nearly 2000 total columns written. Interviewed and/or involved in interviewing the likes of Tyler Black/Seth Rollins (twice), Diamond Dallas Page, Jimmy Jacobs, Christopher Daniels, Uhaa Nation and more.
