STW - Shawn Michaels 1996 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Bruce on a recent Ask Conrad someone asked me when we were going to cover Shawn Michaels’ 96 and considering the 25 year anniversary of that year is coming to a close…I figured let’s do it!

We’ve covered most of these shows in long form so be sure to check it out in the Archives but today we’re going to be focused specifically on Shawn Michaels.

When 1996 starts Shawn Michaels isn’t seen on TV until he makes his return at the Royal Rumble from Fresno, CA. The Owen Hart enzuigiri put him on the shelf and his return is built up for the Rumble as a big deal. He enters at the 32 minute mark and lasts until the end when he superkicks Diesel out to win the Rumble making him the first consecutive winner of the Rumble. The rocket ship is already strapped to Michaels but the ego…was it already evident here?

The disappearance and return for the Rumble to push to Mania has been a staple over the years in creative. Was the success of this story the impetus to that?

Was Michaels going to bat for his friends like Razor who was suspended at the time and Diesel, HHH & the Kid to be pushed after he wins the title?

Do you think he knew what was going on with Scott & Kevin and WCW?

Did he see less competition at the top with Scott & Kevin talking about leaving or do you think he wanted his buddies there with him instead of the likes of Bret and Taker?

Michaels goes on a win streak over most of the mid level heels like Yokozuna, Tatanka, and Hunter and even works with Hunter at MSG. Was Shawn the one pushing for Hunter to move up the card?

HBK defeats Owen at In Your House #6 to retain his #1 contender spot and Bret defeats Diesel in the steel cage to set the stage for WrestleMania. The issues Kevin had with Bret over the finish…do you think that impacted the way Shawn looked at Bret?

In the run up to Mania and the Iron Man Match, Diesel & Razor are both leaving. The heels Shawn is looking at on the other side are as follows: Goldust, Triple H, Steve Austin, Vader, Owen & Davey Boy. Not exactly the hot list you’re probably looking forward to when you need to draw money as champion. Was he already feeling the pressure beforehand?

The epic Iron Man match takes place and it’s been talked about ad nauseum. I didn’t like it, you loved it, no need to talk about it more but…where do you rank it in terms of WrestleMania main events up until this point you’ve been a part of?

It’s setup right away for Diesel to challenge Michaels to get Shawn a big win to start his title reign but also to have Shawn beat Diesel on his way out. Are you looking at Shawn as a type of giant killer because of his size?

Michaels has his first European tour as champion after and he’s working the likes of Diesel, Steve Austin, Davey Boy Smith, and Triple H. The tour averages about 4500 people a show…is this looked upon as a business indicator for Shawn or is it too soon after the title change to really gauge it?

The epic match between Shawn Michaels & Diesel at In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies in Omaha takes place and it’s one of the more well remembered matches from the In Your House series. Did Shawn have any limits with the agents on what to do or was it more of a here’s the finish and go do your thing?

The messy angle with Jim Cornette accusing Shawn Michaels of hitting on Davey Boy Smith’s wife Diana…what did Shawn think of the angle and did he enjoy the idea of hitting on Davey’s wife?

The curtain call takes place at MSG for Diesel & Razor’s last night in the company and with Hunter coming in the ring and we all know the story. What we don’t know is what Shawn’s reaction is to the “punishment” Hunter got. We know Shawn was untouchable but how hard did he go to bat for Hunter after the fact to get his push back?

Did you see an attitude change with Shawn at this point?

Michaels & Davey Boy face off at In Your House “Beware of Dog” and the power outage and all that it was just a cursed show. Does Vince at any point go…maybe Shawn wasn’t the guy?

Kevin Nash said in an interview once that Bret wasn’t for the boys moving up the pay ladder but only for himself…what was Shawn like as a locker room leader?

At King of the Ring Michaels beats the Bulldog again and finally that whole storyline is put to rest and it’s about to transfer to Vader as the top heel. When you see matches from Vader’s past like against Sting do you think…this is going to bring out the best in both guys?

Warrior is scheduled to team with Shawn & Ahmed Johnson at International Incident to take on Camp Cornette…but we know that’s not going to happen and it’ll be Sid replacing him. Is Shawn excited to have Sid back with the company?

What was their relationship like?

Were Shawn & Vader just not compatible in the ring with each other?

Do you think this added to the issues between Shawn & Cornette?

At International Incident Vader pins Michaels for his first pinfall loss of 1996. Shawn’s always been known that he didn’t like losing. Any issues with him taking the fall instead of Sid or Ahmed?

Did he enjoy having Jose Lothario around? Do you think Jose added anything to the presentation of the World Champion?

How much influence does Shawn have going into SummerSlam about his direction and future programs?

Did he think it was the right idea to beat Vader at SummerSlam knowing the program was supposed to stretch for a couple of pay-per-views?

Coming off him beating Vader at SummerSlam and the issues in the match…does Shawn let people know that he doesn’t think Vader was at his level?

The reputation of Shawn is that the longer he was champion the more difficult he was to deal with. Do you think that’s accurate?

What did you think of the business Shawn was doing in 96? Was that a successful year for you in terms of money in your pocket?

Was Shawn happy to move towards working with Mick Foley at In Your House: Mind Games?

Is Shawn…too bland a babyface? Do you think the spark of Shawn is gone? You often talk about how Diesel changed when Jim Ross started calling him a college basketball player…was the edge of Michaels gone at this point?

Shawn gained a hell of an edge back though when he & Mick tore the house down in Philly at Mind Games. It’s a physical match and takes a big toll on both of them. Is Shawn feeling the schedule of being the WWF champion?

Does Shawn know at this point Sid is beating him for the WWF Title at Survivor Series?

Any issues with it?

Was Shawn ready to move on from having Lothario at ringside with him?

Sid defeats Shawn and we just recently covered it. Bret returns that night as well. What do you remember of Bret & Shawn and their interactions that night?

Do you think there was heat there from Mania or was that Bret’s attempt at working the boys?

Do you think Shawn was jealous of Bret’s return and combine that with the crowd reaction he got led to his attitude he showed during the match?

Was Shawn happy? I mean he knows the plan is to put the title back on him at Royal Rumble in his hometown next year. But at this point is it decided that Shawn & Bret will be facing off against each other at WrestleMania 13?

Was Shawn worrying about losing his top babyface spot to Bret?

Shawn is involved in the finish of Sid vs. Bret as we covered last week. He sports some more attitude in his promos afterwards calling Bret a whiner and how he’ll beat Sid at the Rumble like a man but won’t cry if he loses. Do you think that led to a lot of internal heat between the two?

What is the biggest misconception of Shawn during his 1996 run?

Was Shawn emotionally mature at this point to be the top guy?

Anything you think you would change looking back at it?

Was Shawn positioned to be successful with the amount of roster changes going on?