I'm finishing up SS '96 and truly the changes the WWF went through during this time period are striking. In 1992 you had Hulk Hogan sitting out of the company due to the steroid allegations that were coming to light; goofy gimmicks such as The Natural Disasters, Nailz, Kamala and The Headshrinkers; and two men who were struggling to make their mark as smaller guys among the powerhouses - namely, Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. In a twist of irony, this anthology has them facing each other for the WWF title at SS '92 in the main event (Bret was champion while HBK was Inter-Continental Champion). I say ironic, given what happened at SS '97. But this was Bret's first pay per view title defense after winning it from Ric Flair in an untelevised match on Superstars. This SS also had your big names such as Flair, Mr. Perfect, Undertaker and Randy Savage.
Fast forward to SS '96 and you have HBK as your champion, Bret Hart feuding with a fiery, brash upstart named Stone Cold Steve Austin, Undertaker and Mankind tearing the hell out of each other - much more violent, much more 'real' things mixed in with the vestieges of the "family friendly" product of the early to mid 90's. There were still goofy gimmicks galore - The Godwinns, Crush, Flash Funk and arguably the stupidest of all, the fake Diesel and the fake Razor Ramon. (Which, hearing Jim Ross wonder outloud why the Madison Square Garden crowd was booing Razor, made me face palm. By this point, Razor {Scott Hall} and Diesel {Kevin Nash} were running wild in WCW alongside Hulk Hogan as the New World Order - the two fakes weren't fooling anyone in the Garden.)
Plus, who's stupid idea was it to put Barry Windham in a gimmicked name/identity? This guy was an original Horseman, yet he came into the WWF as "The Stalker." Give me a break!
I could feel the shift as I went from one disc to the next and by 1996 the Attitude Era was ready to bust out in full force. There was more violence, more aggression, more sexuality and even Bret Hart, who was the ultimate family friendly babyface, showed far more aggression first in '95 against Diesel but even moreso against Austin in '96. The times were changing. The lines were starting to blur between heel and babyface - despite Austin being the heel and Bret being the face, people were starting to cheer Austin. Same with Sid when it was him v Shawn (although HBK's pop clearly outdid Sid's).
I marvel at how they kept Undertaker's character fresh and interesting. Going from a silent, supernatural zombie, to a mortician, to a force of nature, to betrayed and tormented by Paul Bearer and Mankind.
I also marvel at how Shawn Michaels went to an egotistical, narcisstic heel who was hated by men and women (but also desired by both), to a strong, persistent, underdog babyface who still oozed sexuality but also portrayed as coming from humble beginnings to achieve his boyhood dream of becoming WWF Champion. The addition of his mentor and trainer, Jose Lothario helped in this transition. Hearing his ovation at The Garden when he came out for his match against Psycho Sid was interesting - and seeing him prance and grind, his raw sexuality fully on display, hearing the screams of the women, I could fully understand it. He looked amazing in the mid '90s.
Whereas I think Scott Hall had skill, Nash and Sid were those who were only as good as the people they faced. Good characters, good charisma, good promos but put them in there against someone that couldn't work and it fell to pieces. Austin, however, surprised me. I've been accustomed to seeing his work from 1999 onwards, so the fact he could be very technical in the ring as opposed to just out and out brawling shocked me. I enjoyed the hell out of him v Bret Hart and although I couldn't understand why Bret chose Austin to induct him into the Hall of Fame before, I sure do now. It was also surreal, seeing the past versus the present in this match and the feud overall.
I can't help but wonder at the changes, and seeing HBK in Bret's position and knowing what happens in '97. But normally wrestling doesn't have very many happy endings, and in this case I'm very glad both men have resolved things and are now friends.
I actually bought this anthology (and the one before it) because each had a year that had female teams in SS-style matches. I know, silly to buy a package for one thing, but both turned out to be good purchases since I've enjoyed watching more than just the female matches. However, I couldn't pass up the chance to see legends such as Aja Kong, Kyoko Inoue, and Lioness Asuka. The match was shorter than I would've liked, yet compared to what we get from the "Divas" today it was stellar and given more time. The exchange between Alundra Blayze (aka Madusa) and Aja was great and I do wish they could have had a proper program. I've heard rumours that some of the boys around that time didn't like being upstaged by Alundra and the other Joshis, which is what led to the end of the women's division after the former left. I can fully believe that. Alundra versus Bull Nakano or Lex Luger versus Tatanka? No contest in my eyes.
The very end of Sid v HBK highlighted the change clearly. Sid hit Shawn with a camera after hitting Jose with the same camera - and the crowd cheered. Some didn't, admittedly, but if it had been maybe just a year or two ago, that would've equated Sid as a full fledged heel. But in 1996, it only got him applause and the crowd really did go nuts when he won the belt. He played to the crowd, bumping fists around the ring and was even pulled into a hug which he returned. For me, this really brought home how times were changing in the WWF. You could start having faces with rougher edges, tweeners, anti-heroes - the lines were starting to blur.
The Attitude Era was coming.
I enjoyed this anthology more than the first, mostly because I knew more of the people therein, and a lot of the matches were faster paced. Even though I bought it for one match on one disc, I got a lot more entertainment out of the whole thing. A worthwhile purchase.
Matches I enjoyed:
*Ric Flair & Razor Ramon v Mr. Perfect & Randy Savage (1992). Great backstory to this which shows how they were able to turn Perfect so quickly so he could fill the fired Warrior's spot as Savage's partner.
*Bret Hart v Shawn Michaels, WWF Title (1992).
*Razor Ramon/Randy Savage/Marty Jannetty/1-2-3 Kid v Irwin R. Schyster/Diesel/Rick Martel/Adam Bomb (1993).
*Shawn Michaels/Diesel/Jeff Jarrett/Owen Hart/Jim Neidhart v Razor Ramon/1-2-3 Kid/British Bulldog/The Headshrinkers (1994).
*Jerry Lawler/Cheesy/Sleazy/Queasy v Doink/Dink/Wink/Pink (1994). This was a lot more enjoyable than I had originally thought it would be. Lawler's teammates turning against him and teaming up with the clowns was funny. Other people I've talked to have the opinion that Doink was a good wrestler in an originally creepy gimmick, who then turned face and was never really taken seriously. I agree.
*Undertaker v Yokozuna, casket match (1994). The addition of Chuck Norris was a nice touch. He got as loud a pop as their most popular wrestlers.
*Alundra Blayze/Kyoko Inoue/Sakie Hasegawa/Chaparita Asari v Bertha Faye/Aja Kong/Tomoko Watanabe/Lioness Asuka (1995). If it exposed at least one person to Joshi, it was worthwhile.
*Owen Hart/Yokozuna/Dean Douglas/Razor Ramon v British Bulldog/Psycho Sid/Ahmed Johnson/Shawn Michaels, Wild Card match (1995). This match basically mixed babyfaces and heels and it worked really well with the various conflicts adding to it.
*Diesel v Bret Hart, WWF Championship (1995). I don't know if it started here, but between Bret in '94 and here, he showed a lot more aggression in his character and wrestling style, which suited the match with Nash.
*Bret Hart v Steve Austin (1996).
*Shawn Michaels v Sycho Sid (1996).
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