10 Fascinating WWE SummerSlam 1996 Facts

7. Marc Mero's Wild Thing Was First Attempted In A Ring That Day

Stone Cold Yokozuna
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SummerSlam 1996 was certainly a show heavy on villains winning. Up until the main event, the only babyface that won their outing was Psycho Sid, which could lead one to theorize that WWE braintrust wanted the crowd to save their biggest pops for polarizing Michaels at the end (see: WrestleMania 32 booking theories).

It makes one wonder why Marc Mero got to debut a spectacular new finishing move if he wasn't going to be victorious. Mero busted out a shooting star press, dubbed "The Wild Thing", on Goldust late in their match. It awed the crowd for sure, but Goldust still won.

Mero had never performed the dazzling flip in a ring before that night, and had only been practicing it at a local gym shortly before the card. Thankfully, that first Wild Thing hit its mark.

Contributor
Contributor

Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.