Podcast Wrestling Society

From Billionaire Ted's War Room to Missy Hyatt suing WCW, Jesse Ventura suing WWF, Hulk Hogan suing his former restaurant's PR person, to a crazy Royal Rumble and Clash of the Champions, January and February of 1996 saw a lot of crazy stuff and tons of change. WCW had just turned a profit for the first time ever in 1995 and was looking to capitalize. WWF was looking for their next big hit as Diesel and Razor were heading out the door. ECW was finally coming into their own and was about to hit their peak. This is just the start of this multi-part series where we dive into the news, notes, and big events of the year 1996!

(Special thanks to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter & Wikipedia)

"With a tear in my eye, this is the greatest day of my life!" Those were the words spoken by "Nature Boy" Ric Flair after winning the first Royal Rumble that the WWF/E Title was ever up for grabs in.

Hosts Troy & Greg go in-depth into what this Rumble was like to watch, what it meant to them, and whether or not it's the best. They also go into details about Vince McMahon being in the fight of his life during the infamous Steroid Trial at this time.

There were also a lot of big things going on storyline-wise, like the blow-up between Hulk Hogan and Sid Justice on the way to WrestleMania 8 and the angle that saw Ric Flair claiming he was once with Miss Elizabeth to goad "Macho Man" Randy Savage into a blood feud that also culminated at WrestleMania 8.

It was a Texas-fueled event! The soon-to-explode Stone Cold Steve Austin won the Rumble match in controversial fashion after some of the greatest character work we've ever seen in this match type. Shawn Michaels, with his mentor Jose Lotherio in his corner, took on WWF World Champion Sycho Sid in his hometown of San Antonio. Also, as WWF flirted with the idea of a working relationship with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, they featured a few of the Mexican stars in this event.

Greg is finally back to co-host this episode with your boy, Troy! They go in-depth into the storylines leading up to this event, the matches and stories unfolding at the Royal Rumble event itself, and all the fallout from the show going into WrestleMania 13.

In the build-up to WrestleMania 31, this show was panned by critics and fans alike as one of the worst Royal Rumbles in history. The Big Dog saw victory and was booed out of the building just one year after being cheered like crazy over Batista, Brock Lesnar took 500 finishers from John Cena and Seth Rollins only to emerge from the remnants of a broken table and retain the WWE Title, and the Ascension faced off against the "Middle-Aged" Outlaws. Delvin Cox from The Delvin Cox Experience & PlayStation Experience joins host Troy to dissect this historically bad Royal Rumble that came to us from the City of Brotherly Love.

Host Troy Adams is joined by 2chambz from the Big Gold Belt podcast to discuss the Japanese equivalent of WrestleMania; Wrestle Kingdom. For the 14th installment of New Japan Pro Wrestling's biggest show of the year, they've spread it out to two days in the Tokyo Dome instead of just one. Someone was also crowned both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion at the same time, Chris Jericho brought the AEW Title to Japan, and much more!

In this abbreviated episode to kick off the new year and new decade, host Troy Adams is hyped about the upcoming NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 show that, for the first time ever, will stretch across two days! On top of this, he also gives his opinions on the current state of pro wrestling across the world and runs down what's next for Becky Lynch, who should be the hood ornament for WWE in 2020, where AEW will take Dynamite next, how long it took them to sell out their Revolution pay-per-view, if "aliens" should be wrestling, what the hell is going on in Impact Wrestling, and where the former Sin Cara has landed.

CREDIT: The Wrestling Observer / Figure 4 Online

This was the first Clash of the Champions after Jim Crockett Promotions sold their properties to Turner Broadcasting, which changed the NWA to WCW. This was also big in building to the first December Starrcade, Starrcade 1988. This was the final Clash of the Champions for Dusty Rhodes in WCW before being fired. There's so much to cover on, before, and after this event!

On top of all of that, Troy goes solo to reflect on 2019 and the 2010's as a whole before taking a look forward into the 2020's. What's been good? What's been bad? What needs to change? What needs to stay the same? And your listener questions are answered to close the show!

After Bill Watts' territory went out of business, he sold it off to Jim Crockett Promotions. This was their first collaboration as The Wrestling Network. This was also the night that Vince McMahon directly competed with Starrcade on Thanksgiving night with Survivor Series '87. Dusty Rhodes took on a young, fresh-faced Lex Luger in a cage, Ric Flair faced the forgotten NWA Champion Ronnie Garvin (also in a cage), Arn Anerson & Tully Blanchard vs. The Road Warriors killed the town, the Midnights and Rock n Roll were on a scaffold again, and so much more!

For the first time in history, Kurt Angle defends his WWF Championship against 5 other men (The Undertaker, Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and Rikishi) inside a Hell in a Cell! Current AEW Champion Chris Jericho takes on Kane in a Last Man Standing match! The women show us how far we've truly come with women's wrestling in 19 years! And how many cringy Attitude Era things happened on this show? How good or bad was the event, really? Hear all the breakdown from host Troy & guest host Delvin Cox (from the Delvin Cox Experience & PlayStation Experience podcasts).

Also, before diving into the past, the guys discuss the latest craziness surrounding Jordan Myles/ACH. Also, who will go where after the latest round of WWE releases?

The main event was the much anticipated WCW World Title match between Hollywood Hogan and Sting, culminating a year-long buildup of their feud. Also on the show was an impactful pay-per-view debut of Bret Hart, Larry Zbyszko vs. Eric Bischoff for control of Monday Nitro, Curt Hennig vs. Diamond Dallas Page for the US Title, and more! Troy & Greg talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of one of the biggest wrestling shows of the 1990s!