WWE Confidential Report - 12/06/03 Hosted by: “Mean” Gene Okerlund Reported by: David Sutton of WrestleView.com
Segment 1: A Look Back at 1996
The segment begins by telling of the WWE’s struggles during the mid 90’s to develop new talent. They show the Wrestlemania XII iron man match between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. Next they talk about Steve Austin winning King of the Ring. They talk about the rise and success of Stone Cold. Next they talks about the emergence of Golddust, Ahmed Johnson and Farooq. Next they show the feud between Mankind and Undertaker. Next they talk about the birth of Livewire, WWE’s live Q&A show. Livewire may not have been much of a hit, but it brought about the arrival of Sonny. She was followed soon thereafter by Sable, arguably, the beginning of the “Diva” era. Next, they talk about Sid taking the belt from Shawn Michaels at the end of the year. In 1996, we also had the arrival of Hunter Hearst Hemsley and they talks about his original feud with Stone Cold and his winning of the Intercontinental title. Next, we have the arrival of Rocky Maivia, The Rock.
Great segment. It’s nice to be able to see the state of affairs of the WWE in the past and to see where some of the blue chip superstars got their start. It’s always interesting to see things like The Rock with bad hair, Stone Cold without the knee braces and Mankind with some of his craziest matches. I like these look backs, it helps to put things in perspective and let you know where some of these wrestlers came from and how they started.
Segment 2: Match of the Year for 1996, Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind
A good match between these two, lots of Mankind putting his body on the line, and Shawn with most of the offense. Mankind wins with the Mandible Claw, but when he goes to roll Shawn into the casket, the Undertaker emerges and chases him to the back.
This was a great match and in true Mick Foley style, he puts his body on the line all match long. I think that Mick truly had the most cringing moments in the WWE’s history. I watch those Mankind matches and cringe in pain every time Mick takes a bump. I’d love to see somebody come along who can rival some of the things Mick has done, but if not it is at least great to see him back on RAW. I think the longer he stays on board, the better.