STW: #47: King of the Ring 1996

On this episode: What happened when Steve Austin became "Stone Cold" and got his first major push in the WWF? Many argue that the "Attitude Era" started at this very Pay Per VIew. But no one could argue "Austin 3:16" would become the #1 selling t-shirt in the company and the business was never the same! Enjoy more than two hours of Bruce Prichard talking the show that made "Stone Cold" Steve Austin!
Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard is an audio podcast that discusses topics, events, wrestlers and memorable moments through the lens of former WWE executive Bruce Prichard co-hosted by Conrad Thompson.
The show was launched in August 2016 on MLW Radio. The episodes typically range from 2 hours to 4 hours in length, and include discussions about previous WWE pay-per-views and former WWE wrestlers.
iase gave their notice between the shows?! PLUS Bruce sing three songs!
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[@52Tmacfan]

9:32 Your welcome. Love the show guys!

[@jeshopgim]

Artie Langes Thanks for that 👍

[@freddyelder85]

Artie Langes You are an unsung hero

[@lennicodimo1208]

Thanks Artie

[@jayuppercase3398]

Thanks, I'm here in Ireland listening to bollox adverts for some cunt company in the state's,feck off

[@danieltempleton838]

Your a national treasure. Thank you.

[@quays07]

Bruce doing michael hayes voice is hilarious

[@bitesthedust]

Love Bruce's impressions of Randy Savage.

[@danieltempleton838]

The first comment should always be the actual time the show starts.

[@Dizzy1980]

41:37 "There's stink. There's stinky. Then there's Vader stinky. When you get to Vader stinky and the shit walks on its own? Time to go!" LMAO

[@khaledalhassan11]

19:33" you don't wanna be .. hit GO work with hogan again " fucking died 😂😂

[@skincarver1797]

Conrad look's like Steve Corino with a thyroid gland problem in that pic

[@ChannelEleven59]

The Corny at 1:01:08 had me laughing out loud!!!

[@masamune28954]

Owen is my favorite part about this ppv. He is a natural heel commentator with great comedic timing.

[@TennesseeJoshua]

"Hebner been knocked down more times than Glass Joe in Mike Tyson's punchout." Love it

[@josephboza7448]

This King of the Ring was very interesting to watch. The main event of Shawn and Bulldog II to me felt like that they were basically wanting to get Beware of Dog II the taste out of their mouth with that PPV. I wished Owen did more with the commentary side. He was a terrific heel to the point where I think King should have been fearful for his commentary job. The chemistry between Vince Owen and JR was perfect.

[@AIWFNW]

I love these 2. Best podcast out there. Thank You, Bruce..Thank You, Conrad...

[@CabbageFart]

I could listen to this stuff all day... Bruce Prichard is funny as shit

[@oscarcarrasquillo6355]

That macho man impression is my favorite one..cuz I'm gonna hit ya brother lol

[@chrissuswal2335]

Couldn't agree more with Bruce. The Warrior hat was bullshit. Killed his whole image to me.

[@quarantinebored1427]

This is probably the best king of the ring pay per views of all time. It was a great card but the build up and the storylines were amazing.

[@HurrikaneBEA5T]

Working for dixie carter would age a brother wouldnt it 😂😂😂

[@cryptozoomauler5505]

I guess he never actually watched Sesame Street.. "One of these things is not like the other..."

[@neilsun2521]

Bruce "Mantaur" Prichard gonna save the WWE yo!

[@frankbank0892]

Bottle of Thunderbird was always my favorite part.

[@branmakmorn]

Who had the guts to tell King Haku he looked goofy?

[@Cdubya]

I swear I was thinking this. Like he can wear what he wants lol who's telling him otherwise

[@instantshow4333]

a stunner is a sitout facelock jawbreaker and a cutter is a facelock front bulldog. Also pretty sure stone adopted it from mikey whipwreck when he was in ECW. Either way whipwreck did it first.

[@Cdubya]

Actually Jimmy Garvin did it first. Superbrawl IV check it out

[@TheVicious5150]

@@Cdubya and John Laurenitis did it, "The Ace Crusher"

[@Cdubya]

@@TheVicious5150 yeah but his is more of a back bump. This was a drop on the butt for the guy giving it

[@VulgarBerserker316]

Michael Hayes showed the move to Austin...

[@MrWhitewolf7]

Dick Murdoch was a former WWF/WWE tag team champion with Adrian Adonis. RIP to both of them.

[@GeoGuy388]

I actually thought Austin-Mero was the best match of the night. And that's no disrespect to HBK-Bulldog, which was also awesome. Austin was just really, really good back then. I still can't help but think what if he didn't have the neck injury.

[@apostolostvable]

I agree 100%. This was a damn fine match and a hell of a (basically) carry-job by Austin. His selling, pacing and psychology were beautiful to watch. It's no coincidence that the crowd started to love him by the end and gave him a pretty good pop.

[@OptimumTaurus]

Austin was a very underrated mat wrestler before the neck injury. Go back and watch some of his WCW matches with Ricky Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes. And his Hollywood Blondes stuff with Brian Pillman. The injury basically forced him into brawling style for the remainder of his career, though he showed some flashes of his old self vs Kurt Angle (not that his brawls weren't fun, they just weren't the same as "Stunning" Steve)

[@Rschr101]

Had he not had been dropped on his head by Owen, Austin has said he could have worked another 5 years.

[@theslickrips5904]

It’s fun to see how hungry he is for success. He sells amazingly!!

[@nathanielmedina9166]

Even if the neck injury didn’t happen his knees would’ve eventually started bothering him too because he had knee problems also

[@robhunterart]

Between the embedded commercials, their appearance ads, and then KZbin ads this is almost unlistenable! Fcking PAINFUL!!!

[@kellijones6481]

You could argue about when the Attitude Era officially began, but in my opinion, the prelude to that era was Stone Cold’s “Austin 3:16” promo. That was the spark that ignited the biggest boom period in WWF history

[@robintst]

To paraphrase Jay Strongbow, you could have done those sponsor segues in an iron lung.

[@CreepyJoeMustGo]

19:13 caught me off guard!!! 🤣🤣

[@markmichel3855]

Alexa bliss is a heel and has tons of merchandise

[@theslickrips5904]

I was watching this last night and I definitely pondered who the knights were that were guarding the entrance lol

[@FreshStonedCider]

Off hand but i just noticed one of the songs playing in the background of an ad spot is Spoonman by Soundargen

[@borednow5838]

That Austin-Mero match was a great opener. Probably is Mero's best ever match. Never heard the Bulldog third man story. That's interesting.

[@apostolostvable]

It was a great match and a testament to how great Austin was. Honestly, it was one of the better WWF matches of that year. Yea, I went there. The story being told was great, and Austin's performance was so good that he began to get face heat and got a pretty decent pop at the end of the match.

[@Kylersinjin]

Cheers to Conrad for the Norman Applewhite reference

[@jeffreyriley8742]

I was at this event in Milwaukee. Thought Vader would win it. Thought Mero would go over Stone Cold. Was very surprised when he won it.

[@Super122291]

U are a liar Jeffrey

[@jeffreyriley8742]

@@Super122291 No. Not on this one!

[@nathanielmedina9166]

If you really want to see what a great worker and wrestler Austin was in the ring go watch this and even some of his early to mid 90s matches before the neck injury he was a great performer before the injuries started killing him

[@marioamaya2213]

whats the difference between the ace crusher and the stunner, mine was in Japan LMAO!!!!😂😂😂

[@almostmean4985]

There was a European Tour after Wrestlemania XII in April. Ist was called the Champions Tour and was filled with Superstars. Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin, Shawn Micheals vs. Diesel, Undertaker vs. Owen Hart, Jake the Snake Roberts vs. Razor Ramon... I was in Munich...

[@markmichel3855]

Their comments about Becky and Charlotte merchandise are ironic now

[@jesusestrada8311]

Shout out to Bryan,Tx!

[@faithfamilyandcountry7452]

On future episodes of STW I’m going to do a pool of how many times Conrad says “It’s important to remember”

[@TheWidgeon23]

Tied only by Bruce saying "It was simply a way..."

[@gothchicksbongrips5712]

Vader got a bye for his match because goldust and warrior fought to a draw. Vince mentions it on commentary

[@evilsWa]

Luvs2 Spooge no one was asking for the kayfabe reason.

[@rw8185]

What is the theme at 1.38.00? Recognise it like crazy.

[@rw8185]

Ah golly, Brian Pillman ofcourse

[@JUSTSHAUN80]

I was there

[@Dizzy1980]

1:50:20 Awkward, Bruce? Whether Shawn hugged Warrior or not, go back and watch the tape and listen to the HUGE pop that Warrior got, bigger than any pop Shawn got in his entire career. The biggest, brightest star was still shining, whether he was the WWF champion or not.

[@joeyzapata6786]

And yet, Warrior's career was NEVER as big as Shawn's after 1996.

[@Dizzy1980]

@@joeyzapata6786 And Shawn's was never as big as Warrior's before 1996. What's your point? Warrior was older and had his heydey first. So what?

[@joeyzapata6786]

@@Dizzy1980 *sigh* Shawn's career> Warriors career and it's not even close. Yeah, Warrior's peak was bigger than Shawn's but then Warrior fizzled out whereas Shawn's career, aside from taking 4 years off, was far more consistent and prominent.

[@Dizzy1980]

@@joeyzapata6786 Gotta love pointless youtube debates that change no one's opinions.

[@stevenhanna1434]

Million dollar man had a decent piledriver

[@strathroyaaron]

why do they keep referring to Al Snow as Allan Sarven?

[@skincarver1797]

Cause it's his real name. There's this thing called the internet where you could've figured that out in about 5 second's

[@Davidjon1946]

at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium those wooden chairs were used for every event when the ice was melted for the year and only the concrete floor served as every event so I'm not sure but those wooden chairs became Allegacy Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and we're very sought-after when the arena closed down those things could stand the test of time I'll tell you that the WWF stop using Buffalo Memorial Auditorium in the early 90s and would have the house shows at the Niagara Falls Convention Center for some reason

[@diamondj.4076]

Lit that ass up 🤣🤣🤣

[@xantastic6301]

13:10 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@ZoopSoulTheSequel]

Whose music is that at 1:38:11?

[@Super122291]

My balls itch

[@rustykuntz94]

Savage really laid into Warrior with that septor shot at the 91 Rumble, that entire Macho attack on him was stiff AF...I wouldn’t blame Warrior for being worried about getting stiffed again with a over the head glass shot. Hence the baseball cap

[@Ziki-P]

What’s the al snow broken taillight joke?

[@cousinkevin13]

After watching the Mero-Austin match again, when Mero goes for the pin by flipping Austin's body over using his legs (the move Owen Hart says he beat him with), you can see Mero catch Austin in the mouth with his left foot before he hooks it on. That's where Austin cut his lip. Which was right before Mero does the backwards jump off the ropes, when the bleeding starts, which is why Bruce thought it was then.

[@Rschr101]

Bruce needs to lay off the peace pipe

[@soko2407]

There was an european tour in 96 after wm 12 i was there😅

[@rackballjones6585]

Prove it

[@thebigmarvinski]

Marco!!!!!!!! :D

[@michael47359]

@12:15 bret being the leader of nWo woulda flopped

[@stevenhanna1434]

So dave meltzer didn't rate the iron man match from wrestlemania 12🤔

[@darklordvo1demort]

Saturn Bomberman was the best Saturn game.

[@gothchicksbongrips5712]

Vince gets a lot of shit from everyone, but if half the stuff about warrior is true. Hes a fucking saint

[@MrCurt123]

1:17

[@gothchicksbongrips5712]

Dave Meltzer complaining about a match going too long. That's funny

[@EL_Chapo187]

26:35 to 26:55 lol lol lol lol lol lol

[@thunercattt6018]

No mention of Jerry Lynn piledriver? His has to be top 2

[@cjrich7720]

Top 5

[@markmenning1804]

How about king of ring 1995

[@doctorrobotnik4209]

King Mabel!!!

[@tysonprior2587]

Some smart business on the tail of a sell out to pump the ppv as the only way you can see it.... damn I'm from Newfoundland and I'm the same age as Conrad so i wasn't fixin to go to the show anyways haha.... but... saying you can only see it on ppv absolutely made me need to get the ppv bahaha..... y'all clever

[@codystrader7594]

IT'S TIME. IT'S TIME. IT'S LAUNDRY TIME.

[@rhanon5305]

Come do mine

[@Super122291]

@@rhanon5305 do mine next babe

[@Somefn90sguy]

I can’t believe so many people hate on the 10 punch. These are wrestling staples! No it’s not real, NONE of it makes sense lol. A 10 punch is too fake but a Stone Cold Stunner is “real”? Wrestling is wrestling, it’s a performance all it’s own. Things like the 10 punch are exactly what makes wrestling, wrestling..

[@thomasbechhansen6907]

The two guys opening the Doors at the entrance were The Hardy Boyz if I’m not mistaken

[@rackballjones6585]

Prove it

[@Rschr101]

In 97

[@Super122291]

@@Rschr101 prove it

[@hahajaxsontv]

We need a Vader stinky shirt

[@fifadoc6179]

those impressions are excellent vince McMahon is my favourite lol i like it hot wet and sweet get outta here howard my 2nd fave is johnny ace and close third is jim cornette y do u not dress up and do these impressions on stage id pay to see it lol

[@officerperez]

I start laughing immediately for anything Vince related. Stu Hart and Terry Funk also make me laugh. Favorite Stu impression was when Stu was ribbed into thinking Bruce was on the phone saying that they were going to bend over Diana and have sex with her. "Ehhh...what are ya? Some kind of pervert?"

[@joespitler3929]

I always get a pop off the Cornette impersonation. I don't think he really sounds like Corny but how he ends every sentence with motherfucker gets me every time LOL

[@lachlanbrunton3264]

The whole line of 'there were 3:16 signs everywhere on Raw the next night' is such a lie. Go and watch the show, it didn't happen. Austin didn't get any reactions until he started talking about Brett. His promo at Mind Games got him over way more than this promo. 'If you put S in front of Hitman'.

[@MJAce85]

You're exactly right. I happened to have watched this the other night, Stone Cold got next to no reaction on his entrance. Ok gotta edit this. I was referring to Royal Rumble of 1996. I have to re-watch KotR

[@joemama7163]

Jake's were dog years.

[@jasonbattaglia2390]

God conrad is so off n corny w his segways....sheesh

[@Super122291]

“ when u mention Conrad being off and corny what would that sound like ? “

[@officerperez]

"God damn, pal...Nobody knows what Mike Tyson's Punch Out is."

[@dianab66]

1 million percent not the best kotr card in history. 94 is better. 2000 2001 and 2002 are all better

[@RazorShalom]

Anti The baby face is a great band name