Wrestling Headcanon Season 3: Everything Cliques

4/23/2025

The first two seasons of the Headcanon brought us from the rise of Hulkamania to the crowning of Bret Hart as the face of the WWE (then WWF). Season 3 is split into two parts, like a modern TV series with a rough shooting schedule.

Like last season, there’s a sorbet episode, which is going to take us to Japan for two hours of Deathmatch wrestling featuring mainly Japanese wrestlers but Mick Foley, Terry Funk, and Mike Awesome will all pop up in the episode to get absolutely destroyed by pyrotechnics and barbed wire.

Once the first half of the season starts in earnest, it’s a Hulkamania resurgence as Terrible Terry Six Moves arrives in WCW and we finally get to see Hogan vs Flair. It’s an all sports-entertainment affair with Terry but the undercard has some spectacular matches with Ricky Steamboat, Steve Austin, Triple H, Randy Savage, Bull Nakano, Alundra Blayze, Eddie Guerrero, and William Regal. And if you’re thinking those are all wrestlers who had better runs in WWE, you’re not wrong (except maybe about Ricky Steamboat).

WWE continues to push The New Generation but has some serious problems with terrible
booking, bad matches, and a saturation of the product as they begin putting on monthly pay-per-views despite a thin roster. We’re just watching the good stuff, so we’ll be quickly leaping through the mid-90s here despite all the potential content.

Meanwhile, ECW gonna ECW, introducing a ton of talent who are going to make their way through WCW to the WWE.

In fact, while it’s not the final match of the episode, the break between halves of the season occurs as Stunning Steve Austin departs WCW and has an ECW match in the final episode of this season. He will immediately show up in WWE during the next half season, first as The Ringmaster, and then he will very quickly evolve into the Stone Cold Steve Austin who ran rampant at the turn of the millennium.

Season Three:
Everything Cliqs

Sorbet Episode: FMW, Ring Of Torture (1990s)

We’ve seen some truly talented wrestlers from Japan pop up in WCW with amazing moves and incredible power. They’re not in this episode. This excursion to Japan features only barbed wire, explosions, and blood. It’s Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. If you like Hardcore Wrestling, this is the 90s organization you want to learn more about.

1. Bad Nurse Nakamura, Miwa Sato, and Shark Tsuchiya vs Combat Toyoda (as Mother-In-Law) and Megumi Kudo in a Barbed Wire Death Match at Super Dynamism 1995.

2. Mike Awesome vs Super Leather.

3. Atsushi Onita vs Terry Funk in a No Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Time Bomb Death Match at Genten 4th Anniversary Show 1993.

4. Hayabusa (FMW Champion) vs Masato Tanaka at Neo FMW 1998.

5. WING Kanemura vs Mick Foley (as Cactus Jack) in a Barbed Wire Barricade Spider Net Glass Crash Death Match at Fighting Creation 1996.

6. Atsushi Onita, Katsutoshi Niyama, and Mr. Gannosuke vs Hideki Hosaka, Mr. Pogo and Mike Awesome (as The Gladiator) in an No Ropes Barbed Wire Current Sea Mine Explosion Double Hell Death Match at Atsushi Onita Memorial Retirement Tour - Final Chapter 1994.

MAIN EVENT: MEGUMI KIDO vs COMBAT TOYADA in an NO ROPES BARBED WIRE CURRENT BLAST DEATH MATCH at FIGHTING CREATION 1996. 

Season 3, Episode 1: Everything Old Is New Again (1994)

Bobby Heenan’s personal disdain for Hulk Hogan gives me thrills in this episode that builds up to the inevitable Hogan/Flair match. Hogan had a ton of matches in the WCW in 1994 and 1995, but we’re going to only include the overbooked madness of the main event in this episode, and his surprise heel turn in the next half season.

The fun part of this episode is watching Steve Austin and the future Triple H have great early matches. Neither of them will be around for long, so enjoy their brief time wrestling WCW stars before the Season 5 InVasion angle.

1. Steve Austin (WCW US Champ) vs Ricky Steamboat at Bash At The Beach 1994.

2. William Regal (WCW TV Champ) vs Marc Mero (as Johnny B Badd) at Fall Brawl 1994.

3. Arn Anderson vs Goldust (as Dustin Rhodes) at Halloween Havoc 1994.

4. Steve Austin (WCW US Champ) vs Ricky Steamboat from Clash Of Champions 28.

5. Vader vs Goldust (as Dustin Rhodes) from Clash Of Champions 29.

6. Alex Wright vs Triple H (as Jean-Paul Levesque) at Starrcade 1994.

7. Johnny B Badd (WCW TV Champ) vs Arn Anderson as Starrcade 1994.

MAIN EVENT: HULK HOGAN (WCW CHAMP) vs RIC FLAIR in a STEEL CAGE RETIREMENT MATCH at HALLOWEEN HAVOC 1994

Season 3, Episode 2: The Great Undertaking (1994)

I can’t make fun of the overbooking of the Hulk Hogan Main Event from the last episode without counterbalancing it with the incredibly overbooked casket match between Undertaker and Yokozuna. This is a rematch from last season where every villain in the WWE came out to shove Undertaker into a casket. This time, Chuck Norris is put at ringside to keep the villains at bay but a few manage to come through the other side of the arena and we have another wild free-for-all. Not quite as epic as last season’s but still ridiculous.

We also have a rematch between the Hart brothers, making this sort of a Backlash event from Wrestlemania 10. This match also has some outside shenanigans but it’s one of the best blue-cage matches from the 1990s.

1.Scott Hall (as Razor Ramon) (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Owen Hart from Raw.

2. Bret Hart (WWE Champ) vs X-Pac (as 1-2-3 Kid) from Raw.

3. Alundra Blayze (WWE Womens Champ) & Heidi Lee Morgan vs vs Bull Nakano & Luna Vachon from Raw.

4. Bret Hart (WWE Champ) vs Owen Hart in a Steel Cage from SummerSlam 1994.

5. The Million Dollar Corporation (WWE Tag Team Champs) vs X-Pac (as the 1-2-3 Kid) and Bob Holly from Royal Rumble 1995.

6. Scott Hall (as Razor Ramon) (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Jeff Jarrett at Royal Rumble 1995.

MAIN EVENT: YOKOZUNA (WWE CHAMP) vs UNDERTAKER in a CASKET MATCH at SURVIVOR SERIES 1994.

Season 3, Episode 3: November To Remember (1994, 1995)

I hope you got your fill of wacky storylines in the last two episodes because this one is just
violent, bloody ECW. With a few exceptions, everyone from this card ends up with successful careers in WCW, WWE, or both.

1. Dean Malenko vs Taz from ECW Hardcore TV.

2. Shane Douglas (ECW Champ) vs Farooq (as Ron Simmons) at November To Remember 1994.

3. Dean Malenko (ECW TV Champ) vs Taz at November To Remember 1994.

4. Public Enemy (ECW Tag Team Champs) vs Mick Foley (as Cactus Jack) & Mikey Whipwreck at November to Remember 1994.

5. Dean Malenko vs Ray Odyssey at Holiday Hell 1994.

6. Chris Benoit vs Hack Meyers from ECW Hardcore TV.

7. Tommy Dreamer vs Stevie Richards at Heatwave 1994.

8. Chris Benoit vs Al Snow from Double Tables 1994.

9. Mick Foley (as Cactus Jack) vs Sandman in a Texas Death Match from ECW Hardcore TV.

MAIN EVENT: PUBLIC ENEMY (ECW TAG CHAMPS) vs TAZ & SABU from DOUBLE TABLES 1994.

Season 3, Episode 4: No Jacket Required (1994/1995)

The Bret Hart grudge over a stolen jacket is one of my favorite short term rivalries in WWE history. His opponent, PCO, will disappear from our radar for Decades before resurfacing as a powerhouse in other promotions.

The other matches are high quality wrestling, minimal storytelling as WWE was at one of its creative nadirs at this point. Apparently, McMultipleFelon was distracted by all the time he had to spend in court for his various crimes against humanity.

We also see Bret battle Hakushi. We only get to see Hakushi a handful of times in WWE but I’ve created a Headcanon storyline that will get us a couple of glimpses in him in Japan as well.

A couple of these matches are from Raw, which was having a bit of a resurgence in 1995.

1. Shawn Michaels vs British Bulldog from Raw.

2. Bret Hart vs Hakushi at In Your House.

3. Road Dogg (as The Roadie) vs X-Pac (as The 1-2-3 Kid) at In Your House 2: Lumberjacks.

4. Kevin Nash (as Diesel) (WWE Champ) vs Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 11.

5. Bret Hart vs PCO (as Jean-Pierre Lafitte) at In Your House 3: Triple Header.

6. Hakushi vs The 1-2-3 Kid at SummerSlam 1995.

MAIN EVENT: JEFF JARRETT (WWE INTERCONTENTAL CHAMP) vs SHAWN MICHAELS at IN YOUR HOUSE 2: LUMBERJACKS.

Season 3, Episode 5: Uncensored (1995)

Much of this era of WCW was centered around making Hogan, Flair, Savage, Jim Duggan, The Nasty Boys, and Brutus Beefcake the Kings of The Assisted Living Facility. We're skipping those matches. Apart from Savage/Flair who continued to have a fantastic feud, the 1980s WWE guys were just lumbering bores with silly storylines. Sting was fun to watch.

I'm going to try and get as many undercard people in as I can here, though, as they were putting on the better matches before they were inevitably fired and popped up in WWE.

1. Sting & Randy Savage vs Earthquake & Big Boss Man (as Big Bubba Rogers) at SuperBrawl 5.

2. Nasty Boys vs Harlem Heat in a Falls Count Anywhere Match at Uncensored 1995.

3. Arn Anderson (WCW TV Champ) vs Alex Wright at Slamboree 1995.

4. Ric Flair vs Randy Savage at Great American Bash 1995.

5. Alex Wright vs Brian Pillman at Great American Bash 1995.

6. Sting (WCW US Champ) vs Haku (as Meng) at Great American Bash 1995.

MAIN EVENT: RIC FLAIR vs RANDY SAVAGE in a LUMBERJACK MATCH at BASH AT
THE BEACH 1995

Season 3, Episode 6: In Your House (1995)

1995 was a particularly bad year for the WWE. The roster was thin, there were more pay-per-view events that year than there were good matches. It was a disaster. I’ve really moved a bunch of matches around the timeline to keep the episodes from this era being Bret, Shawn, Bret, Bret, Shawn, Bret, Shawn, Shawn, Bret.

We start off with a match from Japan that might be the best of the matches between Blayze and Nakano. There is no commentary, so it’s a bit weird to watch, but they put on a great show.

Everything else is pretty basic good wrestling without great storylines. I’ve tried to spice the episode up a bit by putting in some of the commercials from that year, as the WWE’s marketing department was doing better work than the writers of the shows.

1. Alundra Blayze (WWE Womens Champ) vs Bull Nakano at Super Woman Great War 1994.

2. Bret Hart vs Hakushi from Raw.

3. Kevin Nash (as Diesel) (WWE Champ) vs Psycho Sid at In Your House 2: Lumberjacks.

4. Bull Nakano (WWE Womens Champ) vs Alundra Blayze from Raw.

5. The Body Donnas vs The Underdogs at Survivor Series 1995.
Rad Radford, Skip, The 1-2-3 Kid, and Tom Prichard vs Barry Horowitz, Bob Holly, Hakushi, and Marty Jannetty

6. Kevin Nash (as Diesel) (WWE Champ) vs Bret Hart at Royal Rumble 1995.

MAIN EVENT: SHAWN MICHAELS (WWE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMP) vs SCOTT HALL (as RAZOR RAMON) in a LADDER MATCH at SUMMERSLAM 1995.

Season 3, Episode 7: Hardcore Heaven (1995)

More violent fun from Paul Heyman's House Of Bouncing Checks!

I remember Luna Vachon as such a fun character in WWE but she wasn’t involved in that many matches so I’m delighted to see her in two matches here. They’re both intergender matches involving Stevie Richards, who will have an awful gimmick in WWE next season.

1. Shane Douglas (ECW Champ) vs Tully Blanchard at Double Tables 1995.

2. Raven vs Tommy Dreamer at Three Way Dance 1995.

3. Terry Funk vs Mick Foley (as Cactus Jack) at Hostile City Showdown 1995.

4. 2 Cold Scorpio (ECW TV Champ) vs Eddie Guerrero at Three Way Dance 1995.

5. Terry Funk vs Mick Foley (as Cactus Jack) in a No Ropes Barbed Wire Scramble Bunkhouse Death Match at New Japan’s Bound To Break 1995.

6. 2 Cold Scorpio vs Taz from ECW Hardcore TV.

7. Stevie Richard & Raven (ECW Tag Team Champs) vs Tommy Dreamer & Luna Vachon at
Hardcore Heaven 1995.

8. Stevie Richards vs Luna Vachon in a Steel Cage at Heatwave 1995.

MAIN EVENT: PUBLIC ENEMY vs THE GANGSTAS in a STEEL CAGE MATCH at HEATWAVE 1995.

Season 3, Episode 8: Seasons Beatings (1995, 1996)

More jumping around the WWE timeline as Alundra Blayze moves into a feud with Bertha Faye that will cause them both to leave the company. We also have two unusual Survivor Series matches.

The big news is the arrival of two new WWE wrestlers, fresh from WCW. Dustin Rhodes returns, now as Goldust, the most unusual 90s superstar, and Vader arrives and just begins destroying everyone and everything in his path. I believe this is the only time WWE has introduced a new Monster Heel character by having them show up and knock the previous Monster Heel character out of action.

1. Alundra Blayze (WWE Womens Champ) vs Bertha Faye at SummerSlam 1995.

2. Triple H (as Hunter Hurst Helmsley) vs Henry Godwin in an Arkansas Hogpen Match at In Your House 5: Season’s Beatings.

3. Bret Hart (WWE Champ) vs British Bulldog at In Your House 5: Season’s Beatings.

4. Wildcard Match at Surivor Series 1995.
Ahmed Johnson, The British Bulldog, Shawn Michaels, Psycho Sid vs Owen Hart, Scott Hall (as Razor Ramon), Shane Douglas (as Dean Douglas), Yokozuna

5. Vader vs Savio Vega from Raw.

6. Scott Hall (as Razor Ramon) (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Goldust at Royal Rumble 1996.

7. The Whipplewomen vs House Of Blayze at Survivor Series 1995.
Bertha Faye, Aja Kong, Tomoko Watanabe, Lioness Asuko vs Alundra Blayze, Kyoko Inoue, Sakie Hasagawa, Chaparita Asari

8. Shawn Michaels vs Owen Heart at In Your House 6: Rage In A Cage.

MAIN EVENT: VADER vs YOKOZUNA from RAW.

Season 3, Episode 9: World Cup Japan (1995, 1996)

While the WWE's Kliq Days are numbered, over in WCW (and, simultaneously, ECW), we start to see the rise of The Radicalz, some of the best wrestlers to come out of the 90s WCW. This episode focuses mainly on the future WWE Radicalz taking on Japanese wrestlers. There’s also a Japanese match where Hakushi, a Japanese wrestler who spent time in WWE, battles The Great Muta, a Japanese wrestler who spent time in WCW. It's a cool metaphor match where Hakushi is a monk who traveled to America and has returned to Japan to destroy the demon, Muta, who is bent on destroying Japanese wrestling.

I went back and forth on including the Flair/Savage match. We’ve already had several, and this one isn’t The Best. It’s good but has a ton of shenanigans. In the end, I decided to include it because this is a drout time for WCW but also because it gets referenced in the next half season when WWE goes after WCW for having their aging stars. It wasn’t good enough to be the Main Event, though.

1. Bull Nakano & Akira Hokuto vs Cutie Suzuki & Mayumi Ozaki at World War 3 1995.

2. Jushin Thunder Liger vs Chris Benoit at Starrcade 1995.

3. Koji Kanemoto (IWGP JR Heavyweight Champ) vs Alex Wright at Starrcade 1995.

4. Shinjiri Otani vs Eddie Guerrero at Starrcade 1995.

5. Nasty Boys vs Public Enemy in a Hardcore Match at SuperBrawl 6.

6. Marc Mero (as Johnny B Bad) (WCW TV Champ) vs DDP at World War 3 1995.

7. Konnan (WCW US Champ) vs One Man Gang from WCW Worldwide.

8. Randy Savage (WCW Champ) vs Ric Flair in a Steel Cage Match at SuperBrawl 6.

MAIN EVENT: THE GREAT MUTA vs HAKUSHI (as JINSEI SHINZAKI) at BATTLE FORMATION AT THE TOKYO DOME.

Season 3, Episode 10: Transitional Era (1995)

What a great time to be an ECW fan. A ton of the most talented, hungriest, WCW wrestlers were getting passed over in order to continue shining the spotlight on Hogan, Savage, Flair, Sting, and the rest of the aging 80s superstars. But the WWE wasn't yet convinced that they were future superstars, so Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, Mick Foley, Dean Malenko, and Steve Austin all mix it up with ECW's homegrown talent like Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, and Mikey Whipwreck (I think Raven belongs to Everywhere since he has bounced back and forth between every major promotion in the late 20th/early 21st century.) Some of ECW's best-ever matches take place here, and we end on one of their few-ever 5 Star matches, which really belonged on the last show, but I like it as the closing match here.

The audio on this card is unbalanced which is what happens when you record events at high school gyms and pool halls. I did not attempt to fix it.

For me, the highlight of this episode is seeing Steve Austin drop in for a beer between his Stunning WCW run and his Stone Cold rise to power in WWE.

1. Psicosis (Mexican Welterweight Champ) (Mexican Trios Champ) vs Rey Mysterio at November to Remember 1995.

2. Mikey Whipwreck (ECW Champ) vs Steve Austin at November To Remember 1995.

3. Sabu vs Hack Meyers at November To Remember 1995.

4. Tommy Dreamer and Terry Funk vs Raven and Mick Foley (as Cactus Jack) at November To Remember 1995.

5. Rey Mysterio vs Psicosis in a Mexican Death Match at November To Remember 1995.

6. RvD vs Axl Rotten at House Party 1996.

SEMI-SEASON FINALE MAIN EVENT: EDDIE GUERRERO (ECW TV CHAMP) vs DEAN MALENKO at HOSTILE CITY SHOWDOWN 1995

Intermission Between Semi Seasons:

The doorway to The Attitude Era and The Monday Night Wars is now wide open. Steve Austin is in the WWE, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash are on their way out of the WWE. While still not acknowledged as anything other than an announcer, things start to get weird as Vince McMonster starts to get more and more involved in storylines.

One of the highlights of this season is Bret Hart, who has been a wrestling highlight since Season One but has only really had one interesting storyline: My Brother Is Mean To Me. Over the course of this semi-season, he evolves into a completely justified villain who will do whatever it takes to win a title…since that’s what everyone else is doing. The Hart Foundation Story is our coda to this season, and they’ll be the top villainous stable in the WWE portion of Season Four.

In WCW, this season sees the arrival of Nash and Hall, which can only mean one thing: New World Order. We begin this semi-season with “You know who I am but you don’t know why I’m here.” We end with the NWO spray-painting the WCW Heavyweight belt. NWO is going to lift WCW to new heights before crashing it down into oblivion. A lot of the dreck near the end is no fun to watch, so we’ll be skipping it, but the setup and the first few months of NWO are wrestlecrap gold.

The other fun part of this season is the evolution of Mick Foley. Foley was a fun little side attraction from WCW in Seasons 1 and 2. Then he made his way, as Cactus Jack, into ECW and put on some amazing hardcore matches. In this semi-season he pops up in WWE as Mankind, has a series of fun, broody matches with The Undertaker before putting on an absolute classic with Shawn Michaels. All the while, he’s still putting in the occasional performance as Cactus Jack in ECW. 1996 was wild.

Season 3, Episode 11: Tony Stark's Favorite Episode (1996)

One of the most divisive Wrestlemania main events in the history of pay-per-view is the Iron Man match (where two competitors have sixty minutes to get the most pinfalls or submissions) between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. Was it filled with impactful moves and intriguing storytelling? Yes. Was the result correct? Absolutely. Was it excruciating to sit through an hour long match with zero pinfalls or submissions? Kind of. Would the match have been more universally loved if it was half as long and had at least a couple of finishes? Definitely. But it’s still one of the best Iron Man Matches of all time, and an important part of wrestling history.

The Backlot Brawl is not one of the best matches ever at Wrestlemania but it’s the first cinematic match in the Headcanon. I had previously included the King Of The Road Match from WCW but it’s not really fun to watch, so I ended up cutting it. This match, somewhat based on the OJ Simpson Bronco chase from about a year earlier, isn’t great. It’s a bit problematic near the end. But it was definitely entertaining, especially as it wound its way around other matches at Wrestlemania.

And say hello to The Ringmaster, fresh from the ECW at the end of last season. By the time we get to his first match, they’ve already rechristened him as Stone Cold Steve Austin. Gimme a Hell Yeah.

1. Bret Hart (WWE Champ) vs Kevin Nash (as Diesel) at In Your House 6: Rage In The Cage.

2. Roddy Piper vs Goldust in a Backlot Brawl at Wrestlemania 12.

3. Steve Austin vs Savio Vega at Wrestlemania 12

4. Undertaker vs Kevin Nash (as Diesel) at Wrestlemania 12.

MAIN EVENT: BRET HART (WWE CHAMP) vs SHAWN MICHAELS in an IRON MAN MATCH at WRESTLEMANIA 12.

Season 3, Episode 12: The Outsider (1996)

We’re officially in the Nitro Era of Raw, barreling towards the introduction of the NWO. We open up with Alundra Blayze making a historic statement by putting the WWE Womens belt in the trash because WWE barely used her and had zero women except for her, Bull Nakano, and Bertha Faye. WCW then benched her and barely used her because they had zero women except for Alundra Blayze and….checks notes…Bull Nakano. Not even a Bertha Faye in sight. We also meet Mongo (RIP)’s dog, Pepe, one of the lesser- known members of the WCW announce team.

Konnan’s run as WCW’s US Champ was easily the best part of his career. We see him in a couple of matches with other future legends in this episode. Also, William Regal and Fit Finlay have the sort of match you’d expect to see out of Gunther and Drew McIntyre in modern times. They were a very underrated part of this era of WCW.

The big news? Scott Hall (the former WWE star known as Razor Ramon) interrupts a match and begins his war against WCW. This is one of the most important storylines in wrestling history.

1. Ric Flair vs Eddie Guerrero from Nitro.

2. Randy Savage (WCW Champ) vs The Big Show (as The Giant) from Nitro.

3. Konnan (WCW US Champ) vs Eddie Guerrero at Uncensored 1996.

4. The Mauler vs Steve Dalton from Nitro.

5. William Regal (as Lord Steven Regal) vs Fit Finlay (as The Belfast Bruiser) at Uncensored 1996.

6. Ric Flair and Randy Savage vs Arn Anderson and Eddie Guerrero at Slamboree 1996.

7. Legion Of Doom vs Sting and Booker T at Uncensored 1996.

8. Konnan (WCW US Champ) vs Jushin Thunder Liger at Slamboree 1996.

MAIN EVENT: THE BIG SHOW (as THE GIANT) (WCW CHAMP) vs STING at SLAMBOREE 1996.

Season 3, Episode 13: Just Another Night (1996)

Prime ECW in 1996 presents a ton of future Hall Of Famers from WCW and WWE. Chris Jericho puts on a banger against Mick Foley but also gets completely annihilated by his future AEW announce partner, Taz. Thirty years later, Jericho will be feuding with Taz’s son.

Rey Mysterio and Juventud Guerrera put on a clinic.

Sabu and Rob Van Dam have a couple of great gimmick matches.

We close out with Mick Foley's final ECW match against his former tag team partner, Mikey Whipwreck.

1. Chris Jericho vs Mick Foley (as Cactus Jack) at Big Ass Extreme Bash Night 1 1996.

2. Rey Mysterio (WWA Welterweight Champ) vs Juventud Guerrera at Big Apple Blizzard Blast.

3. Sabu vs Rob Van Dam in a Stretcher Match at The Doctor Is In.

4. Too Cold Scorpio (ECW TV Champ) vs Sabu at Cyberslam 1996.

5. Taz vs Joel Hartgood at Cyberslam 1996.

MAIN EVENT: MICK FOLEY (as CACTUS JACK) vs MIKEY WHIPWRECK at BIG ASS EXTREME BASH NIGHT 2 1996.

Season 3, Episode 14: Good Friends, Better Enemies (1996)

While he’s still going to pop up in ECW, Mick Foley arrives in the WWE as “the deranged
Mankind” and immediately begins a feud with The Undertaker .

This is also the last time we’ll see the real Diesel and Razor Ramon in WWE for a very long time.

1. Mick Foley (as Mankind) vs Bob Holly (as Sparky Plugg) from Raw.

2. Scott Hall (as Razor Ramon) vs Vader at In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies.

3. The Undertaker vs JBL (as John Hawk Bradshaw) from Raw.

4. Shawn Michaels (WWE Champ) vs Diesel in a No Holds Barred Match at In Your House7: Good Friends, Better Enemies.

5. The Undertaker vs Mick Foley (as Mankind) at King Of The Ring 1996.

6. Shawn Michaels (WWE Champ) vs The British Bulldog at King Of The Ring 1996.

MAIN EVENT: CAMP CORNETTE vs SHAWN MICHAELS (WWE CHAMP), PSYCHO SID, and AHMED JOHNSON at IN YOUR HOUSE 9: INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT.

Season 3, Episode 15: Where The Big Boys Play (1996)

The title of this episode is somewhat ironic. It was the WCW tagline of the time, and the announcers said it ad nauseum. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall use the phrase mockingly whenever they cross paths with Eric Bischoff. Also, this is the episode where we really delve into the WCW Cruiserweight Division, which is going to be the highlight of WCW wrestling pretty much from here until WCW gets bought out by the WWE.

We have three Dean Malenko matches, and three Rey Mysterio matches on this card, and they’re all great. Malenko even pulls a great match out of Disco Inferno.

Chris Benoit and Kevin Sullivan had a lot of real life drama at this point in their careers as Benoit ends up marrying Sullivan’s girlfriend, who Sullivan had written a storyline about how she left him for Chris Benoit which caused her to leave him for Chris Benoit. It didn’t end well for any of them.

Our main event is the most important match in WCW history, and one of the most important matches in wrestling, period. Is it because of the wrestling? No. The wrestling is ok. But the story changes the industry forever.

1. Sting (WCW US Champ) vs William Regal (as Lord Steven Regal) at Great American Bash 1996.

2. Dean Malenko (WCW Cruiserweight Champ) vs Rey Mysterio at Great American Bash 1996.

3. Chris Benoit vs Kevin Sullivan in a Falls Count Anywhere Match at Great American Bash 1996.

4. Rey Mysterio vs Psicosis at Bash At The Beach 1996.

5. Dean Malenko (WCW Cruiserweight Champ) vs Disco Inferno at Bash At The Beach 1996.

6. Dean Malenko (WCW Cruiserweight Champ) vs Rey Mysterio from Nitro.

MAIN EVENT: THE OUTSIDERS & THE THIRD MAN vs RANDY SAVAGE, LEX LUGER, STING at BASH AT THE BEACH 1996.

Season 3, Episode 16: 316 (1996)

Austin 3:16 becomes a catchphrase and a best selling t-shirt in this episode, and that’s the bottom line because history says so. This is the show that made Stone Cold a legend. Not even for the matches, which were okay, but for the promo he cut after winning the King Of The Ring title.

This is the event that most people mark as the beginning of WWE’s Attitude Era.

1. Steve Austin vs Marc Mero at King Of The Ring 1996.

2. Vader vs Jake Roberts at King Of The Ring 1996.

3. Shawn Michaels (WWE Champ) vs Marty Jannetty from Raw.

4. Mick Foley (as Mankind) vs The Undertaker in a Boiler Room Brawl at SummerSlam 1996.

5. Steve Austin vs Jake Roberts at King Of The Ring 1996.

MAIN EVENT: SHAWN MICHAELS (WWE CHAMP) vs VADER at SUMMERSLAM 1996.

Season 3. Episode 17: Buried Alive (1996)

Buried Alive matches are pretty much the goofiest stipulation in modern wrestling. Here we have the first one ever. It’s all downhill from here. I don’t believe I’ve included another one in the entire chronology. It makes sense that if you’re going to include one, it’s going to be from the pages of The Undertaker vs Mankind feud.

We also see how WWE regimmicks ECW wrestlers, as Al Snow and 2 Cold Scorpio do battle as Leif Cassidy and Flash Funk. Luckily, they still wrestle well, even under the dumb gimmicks.

1. Steve Austin vs Triple H (as Hunter Hurst Helmsley) at In Your House 11: Buried Alive.

2. Shawn Michaels (WWE Champ) vs Mick Foley (as Mankind) at In Your House 10: Mind Games.

3. Al Snow (as Leif Cassidy) vs 2 Cold Scorpio (as Flash Funk) at In Your House 12: It’s Time.

4. Goldust (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Marc Mero at SummerSlam 1996.

5. Survivor Series Match at Survivor Series 1996.
Doug Furnas, Philip Lafon, The Godwinns vs Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, Marty Jannetty, and Al Snow

6. Bret Hart vs Steve Austin at Survivor Series 1996.

MAIN EVENT: UNDERTAKER vs MICK FOLEY (as MANKIND) at IN YOUR HOUSE 11: BURIED ALIVE.

Season 3, Episode 18: The Royal Screwjob (1996, 1997)

The Original Screwjob took place back in Season 1 when Vince McMahon and The Fabulous Moolah colluded to steal the belt from Wendi Richter, who then left the industry. Next season is the most famous Screwjob, The Montreal Screwjob, where Vince and multiple accomplices steal another belt from an outgoing champion. This season’s Screwjob, The Royal Screwjob, is not perpetrated by Vince (apart from probably co-writing it) but by Steve Austin whose actions in The Royal Rumble screw Bret Hart out of a chance at the title at Wrestlemania. This pushes Bret to leave behind his babyface persona and lead his family in a battle between Canadian wrestlers and American wrestlers. It’s some of his best character work of all-time.

The episode starts with a Headcanon decision I made. At the end of last season we saw The Great Muta “kill” Hakushi in Japan. In the last episode, we saw The Undertaker get buried alive by Mankind. This match imagines The Undertaker and Hakushi meet up in the afterlife and battle for the chance to return to the mortal plane. It’s an oddly paced Japanese match where Hakushi wears the outfit splattered with his blood from the Great Muta match and The Undertaker wears…well…what he always wore in the 90s.

1. The Undertaker vs Hakushi at Michinoku Pro Dioxine From Sasuke.

2. Mick Foley (as Mankind) vs Steve Austin from Raw.

3. Bret Hart vs Owen Hart from Raw.

4. Undertaker vs Mick Foley (as Mankind) at Survivor Series 1996.

5. Steve Austin vs Vader from Raw.

6. Royal Rumble at Royal Rumble 1997

Crush, Ahmed Johnson, Fake Razor Ramon, Phineas I. Godwinn, Steve Austin, Bart Gunn, Jake Roberts, The British Bulldog, Pierroth Jr, Rikishi (as The Sultan), Mil Máscaras, Triple H, Owen Hart, Goldust, Cibernético, Marc Mero, Latin Lover, Faarooq, Savio Vega, Road Dogg, Bret Hart, Jerry Lawler, Kane (as Fake Diesel), Terry Funk, The Rock, Mankind, 2 Cold Scorpio (as Flash Funk), Vader, Henry O. Godwinn, The Undertaker

Season 3 Episode 19: Shawn Michaels Loses His Smile (1997)

As The Attitude Era looms, storytelling becomes much more important, which means more promos. There are two and a half epic ones in this episode alone. Bret Hart effectively turns heel, Shawn Michaels surrenders the WWE Championship, and then Bret Hart speaks on Canadian family values. It’s a lot of talking but it’s good talking.

Much of this episode is taken up by determining a new WWE Champion going in to Wrestlemania, and of The British Bulldog and Owen Hart having their Rockers split. It was great TV and helped propel everyone on this episode (except for Furnas and LaFon) into superstars.

Plus, the debut of Chyna!

1. Owen Hart & The British Bulldog vs Doug Furnas & Philip LaFon at In Your House 13: Final Four.

2. Steve Austin vs The Undertaker from Raw.

3. Owen Hart vs The British Bulldog for The European Championship from Raw.

4. Steve Austin vs Bret Hart vs Vader vs The Undertaker for The WWE Championship at In Your House 13: Final Four.

5. Goldust (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Triple H (as Hunter Hurst Helmsley) from Raw.

WWE SEASON FINALE MAIN EVENT: OWEN HART (WWE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMP) vs THE BRITISH BULLDOG (WWE EUROPEAN CHAMP) from RAW.

Season 3, Episode 20: Hog Wild (1996)

The rise of the NWO gets running here. First, they interfere in a completely unrelated match and by the end of the episode they have their own corrupt referee, and the WCW Heavyweight title which is rebranded the NWO Heavyweight title.

For storytelling purposes, since we’ve seen a series of their matches, I’ve included the Alundra Blayze (rebranded as Madusa) vs Bull Nakano match but it is a pale imitation of their WWE and Japanese work.

The rest of the matches are bangers from one of WCW’s all-time best pay-per-views.

1. Lex Luger (WCW US Champ) vs Big Boss Man (as Big Bubba Rogers) from Nitro

2. Alundra Blayze (as Madusa) vs Bull Nakano at Hog Wild 1996.

3. Ric Flair, Mongo, and Chris Benoit vs Randy Savage, Lex Luger, and Sting from Nitro.

4. Chris Benoit vs Dean Malenko at Hog Wild 1996.

5. Ric Flair (WCW US Champ) vs Eddie Guerrero at Hog Wild 1996.

6. The Outsiders vs Lex Luger & Sting at Hog Wild 1996.

SEASON FINALE MAIN EVENT: THE BIG SHOW (as THE GIANT) (WCW CHAMP) vs HULK HOGAN at HOG WILD 1996.

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