10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE In 1996

1. An Irony Of Tribalism

Steve Austin Terry Funk
WWE

You can prefer one wrestling promotion to another - it's almost impossible not to do that, since that's how the concepts of taste and preferences work - but you can't or at least shouldn't be a demented loyalist without, at some point, looking foolish.

This week, for example, WWE fans questioned why MJF is allowed to perform with a torn labrum. Meanwhile, to use just one recent example, WWE's Rey Mysterio worked through a serious knee injury for months this year. The worst AEW fans continue to insist that WWE does not care about wrestling when GUNTHER exists. WWE fans will say that blood is bad when Vince McMahon himself bled more at Survivor Series 2003 than Jon Moxley has ever; AEW fans will bury WWE for criticising their fanbase, while Tony Khan recently told his fans to put their money where the mouth is and stop whinging.

And so on.

Tribal WWE fans - which is absolutely not to say all of them - mock Tony Khan's recurring Huge Announcement gimmick. And rightly so: it's increasingly very pathetic.

Those types of WWE fans don't know the half of it; the WWF promoted the "returns" of (the fake) Diesel and (the fake) Razor Ramon with more hype than AEW's First Dance. That is barely an exaggeration.

Tony Khan could hype an Important Announcement for a full month, reveal that he has signed Matt Hardy to a 35 year contract extension, and it still wouldn't come close to Vince McMahon's desperation in the autumn of 1996.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!