7. Steve Austin Invades Brian Pillmans Home (November 4, 1996)
At the beginning of 1996, the then-WWF were still very much a cartoon come to life that the whole family could enjoy. Ratings were down however, and there was a general malaise over the entire company. Looking to shake things up, Vince McMahon decided that he needed to ruffle some feathers if he was ever going to fight off the new threat posed by WCW's Monday Nitro. In November of that year, guns were introduced to programming for the first time in history. Those in charge of the USA Network's relationship with the WWF were less-than-thrilled when Brian Pillman pulled a firearm out and started waving it about as part of a show-long angle. Pillman was feuding with Steve Austin, the promotion's bright new hope for the future. Throughout the episode, Austin attempted to invade his former tag-team partner's home, and eventually gun shots were heard. The insinuation was that someone had been shot on Raw and fans would have to tune in the next week to see what had happened. It was an incredible scenario, one that changed how the WWF went about business.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
