Tagline(s) "You've been WARNED!" Date 21 January 1996 Promotion WWE | Attendance 9,600 | |
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Other Instances Royal Rumble (2017), Royal Rumble (2016), Royal Rumble (2015), Royal Rumble (2014), Royal Rumble (2013) | ||
Royal Rumble (1996) was the ninth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on January 21, 1996, at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California.
Contents
The main event was The Undertaker versus Bret Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, with Undertaker winning via disqualification due to interference from Diesel.
Featured matches on the undercard were the 1996 Royal Rumble match which was won by Shawn Michaels, who last eliminated Diesel to win the match, making it his second straight Royal Rumble win; Goldust defeating Razor Ramon for the WWF Intercontinental Championship; and The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart) defeating The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship.
In a match occurring on the Free For All preshow, Duke "The Dumpster" Droese defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley. WWF president Gorilla Monsoon stepped in after Droese was pinned and reversed the referee's decision, disqualifying Helmsley for using brass knuckles to knock Droese out. As a result, Droese won the right to be entry number 30 in the Royal Rumble match, while Helmsley had to enter first.
Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations
A new entrant came out approximately every 2 minutes.
Aftermath
The 1996 Royal Rumble marked the first pay-per-view appearance of Steve Austin, here using the name "The Ringmaster," a blond-haired master ring technician and the featured wrestler in the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase's stable. His elimination was accidental as he was supposed to be in the final four, but he slipped on the ropes and fell out when he was doing a spot with Fatu. In the weeks following the Royal Rumble, "The Ringmaster" gimmick was met with lukewarm reaction from fans, prompting Austin to create a new look and gimmick for himself: the "Stone Cold" gimmick, that of a foul-mouthed individual who drank beer and freely spoke his mind, uncaring of who he angered or whether he had friends (he often attacked heel and face alike), openly disregarded the rules and fought until his last breath. As "Stone Cold," Austin -- who began his first major feud, with Savio Vega, under "The Ringmaster" moniker and continued it after changing his gimmick -- went on to become one of the WWF's biggest stars and helped usher in the promotion's Attitude Era.