THIS Was WWE's Most Creative Year Ever

Bret Hart Steve Austin
WWE.com

One got over, at least - the Buried Alive concept, one that basically made a casket match slightly more dynamic, made it through to and beyond the Attitude Era as a respectable draw. The Caribbean Strap Match, a great, snug, fight that harkened back to the best of the WWWF, almost, indirectly propelled Steve Austin to megastardom. His performance in it was so good that it convinced Vince McMahon to crown him King of the Ring, which while overstated in its importance - a push and its success isn't that dependent on that or the Royal Rumble win or what have you - he made millions and millions by successfully marketing Austin's off-the-cuff "Austin 3:16" gag.

The old glory aesthetic remained in place, but the WWF was painting from every hue of the colour wheel in 1996 before it settled for the blood red darkness of that which followed.

The WWF also expanded and matured the scope of its storytelling from the goofy, kiss-footing fare of the '95. The notorious Brian Pillman incident - in which he ostensibly shot Steve Austin at the climax of a jaw-dropping home invasion angle - felt like it belonged and fast-forwarded to a dystopian future, not the family-friendly WWF.

That was an infamous lightning rod moment, but the thunder of transformation rumbled ominously for Bret 'Hitman' Hart as the WWF approached an epoch of sorts in which it asked, even unconsciously, its maturing audience to look introspectively. Was Bret Hart still their hero? Or was the clearly reprehensible but compelling Steve Austin better, or more interesting?

CONT'D...(3 of 5)

Advertisement
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!