10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE In 1996

6. The Triple H Narrative Was FAKE

Steve Austin Terry Funk
WWE.com

In May, when Diesel and Razor Ramon worked their last matches with the company at a MSG house show, each member "broke" "kayfabe" by banding together, face and heel alignments be damned, and bowing out.

The Curtain Call is a Mandela Effect phenomenon in and of itself; somehow, the idea has taken root in some circles that Triple H was squashed by the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania XII as punishment for his role in it. This cannot possibly be true, since 'Mania XII took place before May, and if Vince McMahon could see into the future, he'd have probably made a call to the Wall Street Journal.

Moreover, it was apparently some huge transgression that incensed every corridor of Titan Towers. That wasn't the case. Measured against everything else, it was tame by Kliq standards, although Triple H was punished as a fall guy - it couldn't be WWF Champion Shawn Michaels - to pacify some old head road agents.

He was barely punished, even though Trips himself maintains a lie that has taken root seemingly everywhere.

The Curtain Call happened on May 19 - an infamous day in WWE history, incidentally! - and Hunter Hearst Helmsley dethroned Intercontinental champion Marc Mero on the October 21, 1996 Monday Night Raw.

Yes, Hunter didn't win the King of the Ring, but it was only delayed a year - and his punishment lasted a whopping 155 days. There were no firm plans to actually punish Hunter; it was an exercise in optics, and a halfhearted one to boot.

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!