10 WORST WWE Matches Of 1996

From The Ultimate Warrior vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley at WrestleMania 12 to Jerry “The King” Lawler vs Jake “The Snake” Roberts at SummerSlam, these are the 10 WORST WWE Matches Of 1996.
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Cultaholic provides video coverage of professional wrestling - including WWE (including WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown,, and NXT), AEW, IMPACT Wrestling (formerly TNA), NJPW, ROH, and more with daily news updates, reviews, lists, highlights, predictions, reactions, podcasts and much, much more.

[@rabidsalvation9021]

Pushing Vader wasn't the problem Shawn was

[@schizzo8959]

Yes what a weird thing to say. Vader was awesome, but got screwed by Shawn and his pals.

[@dustinsonnier5602]

Exactly crybaby Shawn was the problem

[@philfmiller]

Idk. Vader was awesome. Shawn was awesome. But sometimes two fantastic wrestlers that are too accustomed to being at the top forget how to do business.

[@jimbo_1312]

Vader was basically washed, out of shape, his body had broken down by the time he got to WWE & his best years were long behind him. He'd have never got a sustained push even if shawn didn't do shawn things.

[@dizzy1369]

Maybe he should have taken care of his personal hygiene better

[@daltonpinell6251]

I honestly have to cut Terry Gordy some slack, by the time he was playing the Executioner, his abilities were SEVERELY limited because three years prior, he slipped into a five day coma, and after that he had learn how to do everything all over again including wrestle, the Executioner gimmick was just given to Terry because Vince didn't want the audience to know it was him, which would've embarrassed the poor guy even more

[@Joe90h]

It's honestly heartbreaking, and here's hoping the wellness policy and countless wwrestlers with a better understanding of how to protect one another means we never see these tragedies again.

[@rickylee1615]

Tbh though, just having plain Terry Gordy team up with Mankind & Paul bearer to take on the Undertaker would have been a bit weird looking, the executioner fitted this storyline very well

[@andrewharrison7559]

He also had a match for ECW against Raven who gave such a convincing performance many thought Gordy was as good as he ever was when sadly he wasn’t.

[@jamessteel9016]

Plenty of stinkers in 1996, although 1995 will be worse.

[@maxxxxx6511]

1995 is the main event!

[@TheThird1977]

I'm not sure if Adam is being sarcastic or misremembering, but Fake Razor and Fake Diesel were designed to be known imposters for Jim Ross' heel turn and from Razor's first second on screen the commentators immediately called Ross out for the fakery.

[@southbeachtalent]

Sometimes these I feel like these lads are just a tad bit too young to discuss 90's wrestling. They are wise to the sport and what works/ what doesn't and love the history, however I feel they miss the context of a lot of mid 90's stuff. You really needed to "be there" and old enough to understand

[@Joe90h]

Kind of, yes. The decision to reuse the gimmicks in this way was still motivated by spite though. Either the act took off and Nash and Hall's previous turns as the characters would be a footnote in the characters' histories, or it would bomb and potentially undermine Nah and Hall in some way. It didn't do either, mercifully.

[@TheThird1977]

@@Joe90h Oh, I know it was pure spite, but it was also never intended to fool the audience into believing it was the same wrestlers once Fake Razor debuted. The whole point was JR being a dick and fucking over the fans by giving them Razor and Diesel ("I never said Scott Hall or Kevin Nash...") as promised.

[@zlinedavid]

@@southbeachtalentAgree. Anyone that grew up during this era would still be calling it WWF, not WWE. And yes young’uns, there is a difference.

[@michaelsinger4638]

Warrior’s entire 1996 run was kind of a train wreck.

[@zlinedavid]

To be fair, most of Warrior’s career was a train wreck after the WM match with Hogan.

[@Speedyreedy1218]

It was only like 5 weeks.

[@StevenScodes]

Having seen most of these matches thanks to the Cultaholic Classic Raw Review, 1996 was a very up and down year. Still love hearing Tom and Jack Atkins discussions on these.

[@MarvelMTs]

Tom: Colonel McMahon, did you order the Code Red!? Jack: You want answers? Tom: I think I’m entitled! Jack: You want answers!? Tom: I want the truth! Jack: YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

[@StageRight123]

You should check out Wrestling Bios Reliving The War series if you want to see everything that happened in both WWF and WCW starting with the first episode of Nitro.

[@Kalel2.0]

As much as i respect Warrior(R.I.P) for his contributions to the business he was god awful in the ring and had to be carried by everyone he set foot against and a nonsensical promo that theyre so bad its actually good😅

[@assclown452]

Dude Jim helwig wasn't the original warrior.

[@schizzo8959]

He had charisma and presence in spades, nothing more was needed at the time.

[@dustinsonnier5602]

@@assclown452seriously I didn’t even know that

[@woobgamer5210]

@@dustinsonnier5602 dont listen to him, he's spreading bs.

[@jessesinclair3642]

​@@six6thdisciplelol

[@mgfan81]

ME: Remember when Vince used to do commentary? KIDS: J.R. did commentary. ME: He did...with Vince & Lawler. KIDS: WTF?!

[@HatfulofHallow]

Ultimate Warrior no-selling The Pedigree is one of The great Mania moments. It was beautiful...

[@anonamatron]

I liked it. I thought Warrior was awesome and HHH was some uninteresting jobber.

[@Speedyreedy1218]

​@@anonamatronThe BodyDonnas were uninteresting jobbers.

[@palpatinerocks3260]

That Roberts vs Lawler match is very uncomfertable watching. Especially nowadays.

[@jaxonjaxoff3291]

9 wasn’t terrible considering how green Mark Henry was. And if you ask anybody, Mark Henry is the nicest guy this side of Kane.

[@Rob_Thorsman]

Mayor Kane has proven himself to be a douchebag repeatedly.

[@chrisxavier3147]

"I hate the Young Bucks"

[@rickylee1615]

Really great as always Adam, i particularly love your burials of mantaur & king mabel whenever u get the chance, looking forward to 1994 ☺️

[@t.jefferson6365]

Ahhh Mr. Pacitti always a pleasure to hear your snark and excitement mix on wrestling lists! While I am not sure how much joy it brings you, i just wanted to say i still beings me great joy to hear ya Lad. Thanks for being there and as steady as you are man.😎🤘👑🏆

[@heisensaul5538]

The best part of Goldust-Warrior match from IYH: Good friends, Better enemies is when Goldust got on the mic and told the audience on hand that if they didn't shut up he would come out into the crowd and kiss each and every one of them. Something I would have paid good money to see lol

[@rhedosaurus2251]

Undertaker vs. Diesel at WM 12 was actually a solid match.

[@Kalel2.0]

It was honestly the first good Undertaker WM match

[@michaelsinger4638]

Agreed.

[@rickylee1615]

I loved that match & storyline (back when I thought wrestling was real), diesel seeing himself in a casket haunted me for months on end

[@jasmith85]

I love the comment about Cornette, to be fair anyone with any common sense hate the Dull Bucks

[@tinotica]

I can already predict 1995’s top 5 worst matches. #5 Taker vs King Kong Bundy #4 Diesel vs British Bulldog #3 Bret Hart vs Isaac Yankem #2 Diesel vs Mabel #1 Mabel vs Savio Vega

[@mjdf122]

1996 was a good year for WCW ECW AJPW NJPW AAA CMLL NWA

[@TheThird1977]

Man, Warrior's run in 1996 was absolutely awful.

[@drew.reviews]

I enjoyed the Armageddon match. Nothing funnier than water pouring from Gordy's boots during a tombstone

[@malicyoung9293]

Were there any good In Your House matches?

[@kyleolson8977]

There are some really random choices. 10, 8 are just nothing matches - not really the worst for their card. 7, 6 are pretty normal PPV matches which seem bad on paper but were fine as matches. Of the matches on the list, the only truly foul match took any time is #1, which was 8 minutes of garbage. Assuming you actually do the work of checking out the non-enhancement TV matches, pre-show matches, and what else is released on tape you might replace every match but Warrior-Goldust.

[@nicktaylor2657]

Fake Diesel and Fake Razor Ramon were never called Fake by WWE Just Diesel and Razor Ramon 🤨

[@MudSluggerBP]

They didn’t rebrand them as fake anything, we were supposed to believe they were the same characters 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Speedyreedy1218]

Warrior no sold finishes before Cena.

[@tomsanders9106]

Arthritic at worst 😂 you crack me up.

[@jasoncerda8048]

HHH vs Drose was a decent match for me.

[@Speedyreedy1218]

Same for the Hogpen match v Henry late 95.

[@LibraJohnny]

Nice definition of a an Armageddon match. :)

[@williamsmith666]

Think I'll take a "I Hate the Young Bucks" tattoo over the alternative..

[@andrewharrison7559]

Gordy deserves a break. Due to health issues he was a shell of his former self but a match in ECW against Raven who did such a great job selling some higher ups in WWE were fooled into thinking Gordy could still go

[@Kian30398]

How many In Your Houses were there in 1996??

[@TheForeverRanger]

Hunter doing the j-o-b to Warrior was punishment for The Curtain Call. Shawn was champ and Scott/Kevin were out the door so Hunter was the odd man out.

[@alanguages]

No it wasn't. WrestleMania 12 was in March. The Curtain Call was in May. Warrior wanted to squash Hunter, and nothing could convince him otherwise, and that was that for his return.

[@Njpro]

I’m pretty sure the hog pen match at the rumble was the punishment for the curtain call?

[@Graniteheart]

@@Njpro that and not winning that year's King of the Ring as originally planned. that honor went to Steve Austin, who wound up cutting a promo that was somewhat memorable. something about his name and the numbers 3:16. kind of obscure, I know.

[@Rob_Thorsman]

Shawn was champ yet Shawn won the strap at WM12 which is where Hunter jobbed to Warrior? Your timeline is wrong. alanguages above has it right.

[@Avalanche8181]

As someone who witnessed fake razor and fake diesel, it was hilarious at the time

[@gibjohnson5720]

You know cultaholic running out of top 10 video Ideas 😂 such a random top 10

[@yadielenielbellecolon982]

Thank For the Top 10 Video 🙊🤯🥰😍😁💗💐🌟🥇🏆

[@multiyapples]

I can’t fault Mark Henry or Jerry Lawler for the match. Mark needed training but management thought otherwise.

[@marvelsProtege]

Jim kicked out of I think 8 in a row back when no one kicked out and named stars that never I believe he still hold the record for the most ever

[@AlMoSiCe210]

Fun fact: Jim Cornette today is about the same age as Jose Lothario in the match

[@WooRidersDg]

ULTIMATE Warrior is my favorite wrestler of all time 💪🤙🖖💯

[@I_Drank_WHAT_TTV]

I was at that In Your House Good Friends Better Enemies (it was in my hometown of Omaha Nebraska. The arena it was in was called Civic Auditorium and no longer exists sadly). That whole show was a total clusterfuck including Shawn Michaels dropping his trunks and covering up his crotch with the championship belt. The only goood thing that night was the Dark Match between Taker and Mankind and the Free-For-All before it.

[@BassManSTS]

Remember in 1996, Triple H was serving a severe downpush as a penalty for his involvement for the curtain call

[@Rob_Thorsman]

This was a Mania match. The down push happened after Mania, when Hall and Nash left.

[@warlock12uk]

I don't think I've ever seen your no.1 choice. The first eight or so In Your House events weren't available in the UK, so unless you bought the tape you never saw these lower tier PPVs.

[@lonewrestling]

Where is the raw matches because sure I understand not putting in smash matches with no names but come on I feel like there had to be some matches on raw that only featured the main roster that would have made this list

[@deevacookseycooksey9662]

Wow, triple h had alot of bad matches back in '96.

[@Dim4323]

Triple H said bad things about the warrior but how time wound all that heels for him, Triple H it was a honnor to wrestle him.

[@Speedyreedy1218]

HHH didn't say anything bad about Warrior. He said he was unprofessional. He was. HHH thought it was an honor to face an icon, and didn't have a problem losing. He just thought Warrior was unprofessional no selling his finish and outright squashing him.

[@EggEarl]

If only Jake the snake could bring a 13 year old to Jerry Lawler to make things fair

[@jakec7669]

10 isn't going to be enough for the "Worst Matches of 1995". You probably going to need a Top 100 list, due to how horrible 1995 was.

[@Evs78101]

Before I watch this….is Shawn vs Bret on here?

[@Rob_Thorsman]

Why would it be? It was a slow match, but not bad.

[@DJDoubleCee]

Triple H got squashed at WrestleMania 12. Too bad Ultimate Warrior wasn’t around long in 1996.

[@zanethind]

Learn your lesson. Don't run In Your House ppvs

[@hassamali8887]

Everything envols warrior was horrible

[@hhtptai]

Triple H isn't everyone's cup of tea, but Jesus Christ you can't say that he didn't pay his dues.

[@alienlife7754]

I was never a Warrior fan. Even as a kid I saw how lame and fake he was. His entrance was more exciting than his matches. His Mic skills sucked. And he couldn’t wrestle to save his life.When Hogan is actually the better wrestler in the ring you know you suck. Warrior was all hype and nothing else. And when the attitude era started he got left behind as he should have been.

[@SuperArtie]

MANTAUR

[@MrAce-lm8es]

Mid and Late 1990s HBK Shawn Michaels in The World Wrestling Federation was a total dickhead. But what the hell of a performer!

[@CarbonRollerCaco]

The Ultimate War… ning of a bad match.

[@scottcochrane]

Warrior defeating Triple H like that makes it one of the best matches ever. Have that one saved on KZbin and watch it every once in a while.

[@babarazamsucks]

Same. Especially after knowing what Triple H did himself in his Reign of Terror and the backstage politics he played against others. Whether they were a part of The Kliq, DX, or Evolution.

[@woobgamer5210]

@@babarazamsucks as if warrior also didnt do politics (like squashing everyboyd he goes against, demanding more money from Vince)

[@Speedyreedy1218]

​@@babarazamsucksShame, you don't understand what backstage politics is. And accusing someone with the worst WM record of all time, and who has lost almost a 1K matches as a person who "buries and politics" is hilarious.

[@JoseFlores-xc7wu]

The Ultimate Warrior destroying HHH like a jobber was awesome the only reason he made it to the main event was because he married the bosses daughter and seeing get destroy like that was great

[@Kalel2.0]

He didn't even know Steph in 1996 plus HHH was already a Two time World Champion by the time he established himself as WWE's big bad heel and got over after becoming leader of DX and he and Steph started dating by like mid-2000 and got married in late 2003 long after he was in the main event scene yeah his marriage into the family probably caused a lot more titles to his name but he was gonna get pushed regardless

[@Graniteheart]

jobbing to Warrior was part of HHH's punishment for the MSG Curtain Call. the other participants were untouchable(Michaels had the world title, and Hall and Nash had gone to WCW), so HHH took the hit for breaking kayfabe. he was also originally scheduled to win that year's King of the Ring. instead, that was given to Steve Austin, leading to the legendary Austin 3:16 promo. basically HHH got buried for the better part of a year. the thing of it is, he took his punishment like a man the whole time, not complaining about it. that actually increased the respect guys like the Undertaker had for him. for a while at least

[@Rob_Thorsman]

​@@GraniteheartNo. Mania was in March. Curtain Call was in May. The Mania where HHH jobbed to Warrior is the Mania where Shawn won the title before the Curtain Call!

[@ShinGoukiSan]

1996 was WWF. Hate that Revisionist WWE crap

[@woobgamer5210]

but its also legally mandated thanks to the world wildlife fund

[@ShinGoukiSan]

@woobgamer5210 by WWE not people on youtube

[@NateTheGnat]

No TL Hopper? 🚽 🪠

[@stevenpagnani7005]

Hbk was a prick back then

[@Deadguy2322forreal]

HGH was not a fast-rising star in 1996, he was just another crappy cartoon gimmick in WWF's circus of losers who needed day jobs.

[@Graniteheart]

he was on the rise at the time, including being scheduled to win that year's King of the Ring(which usually led to an IC title win and later a World title shot). however, his participation in breaking kayfabe in the Curtain Call led to him getting buried for the better part of a year. as a post script, the King of the Ring win was instead given to Steve Austin, where he cut the now legendary Austin 3:16 promo

[@Rob_Thorsman]

​@@Graniteheart But the Curtain Call had nothing to do with the job to Warrior at Mania.

[@Speedyreedy1218]

Who is HGH?

[@MrSeahawk113]

The year I was born

[@GryHen-pg9iy]

Was that Harvey whippleman as the referee for the king and Jake?

[@bolaabdelmasih2284]

I want see 10 best matches but the end is fuck

[@babarazamsucks]

First!

[@Graniteheart]

Hunter Hearst Helmsley getting squashed by the Ultimate Warrior was part of Hunter's punishment for participating in the MSG Curtain Call. for the uninitiated, at a house show at Madison Square Garden, HHH, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall broke kayfabe by embracing each other in the middle of the ring. Hall and Nash were on their way to WCW, but since the quartet were a mix of heels and faces, acting friendly to each other in the middle of the ring was a no no. WWF actually cared about kayfabe back then. admittedly, since it was a non-televised house show, it normally wouldn't have been a huge problem. however, more than one person in the stands had snuck in a camera and recorded the thing, the videos circulating on the internet. Vince was pissed. since Hall and Nash were gone, and Shawn was the world champion, HHH was the one who took the brunt of the punishment. the squash match was one part of it. he was also originally scheduled to win the 1996 King of the Ring Tournament(which was traditionally the start of a big push, usually leading to an IC title win, and then an entry into the World title picture). however, the KoR win was given to Steve Austin instead. as fate would have it, after beating Jake Roberts to win the tournament, Austin cut a promo that introduced the now legendary Austin 3:16 quote. we all know what happened after that. through it all, HHH took his punishment like a man, without complaining one bit, which led to him building a fair bit of respect in the locker room.

[@LibraJohnny]

Actually WM XII took place before the Curtain Call.

[@LongLiveRockAnRoll]

No, that was just Warrior playing backstage politics because it was a few months before the curtain call. The rest of this is pretty much correct, for example losing King of the Ring.

[@Joe90h]

Yeah, the curtain call was almost a full 2 months after Wrestlemania 12. If it's true he was meant to win King Of The Ring, that is really the beginning and end of his punishment because he was Intercontinental champion not all that long afterwards and had Mr Perfect in his corner for a bit too.

[@markmyers6756]

I have I hate Jim cornette tattooed on my butt.

[@keithsmith5433]

first

[@Deltrottersvan]

Loser

[@playthatfunkymusicrobot]

Pacitti always embarrasses himself being a young buck mark when discussing anything about Cornette.

[@vulcandor2573]

Fuck cornette though man would actively sabotage the business so he could have it when he was semi-relevant. It’s a massive pet peeve of mine so many people put too much stake in nostalgia they actively resist anything that isn’t what they remember Star Wars Star Trek any form of entertainment suffer from this delusion of adult children where new creative directions are actively scorned for tired worn out tropes.

[@schizzo8959]

Cornette is out of touch and lives in the past.