| World War 3 (1996) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |||
| Promotion | World Championship Wrestling | ||
| Date | November 24, 1996 | ||
| City | Norfolk, Virginia | ||
| Venue | Norfolk Scope | ||
| Attendance | 10,314 | ||
| Buy rate | 200,000[1] | ||
| Tagline | Sixty Men... Three Rings... One Battle Royal... Total Destruction! | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| World War 3 chronology | |||
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The 1996World War 3 was the secondWorld War 3professional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced byWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on November 24, 1996, from theNorfolk Scope inNorfolk, Virginia.[2] Similar to theRoyal Rumble format, this event marked for the first time that the winner of theWorld War 3 battle royal would receive a future title shot at theWCW World Heavyweight Championship.
Eight matches were contested at the event. Themain event was the World War 3 battle royal to determine the #1 contender for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.The Giant won the World War 3 battle royal by last eliminatingLex Luger. Another major match on thecard was athree-way match for theWCW World Tag Team Championship, in whichThe Outsiders retained the title againstThe Faces of Fear andThe Nasty Boys.
The event featured wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds andstorylines. Wrestlers portrayedvillains,heroes, orless distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[3]Storylines between the characters played out on WCW's television programs,Monday Nitro,Saturday Night,WorldWide,Pro,Prime andMain Event.[3]
AtHalloween Havoc,The Giant defeatedJeff Jarrett by disqualification afterRic Flair attacked Giant during the match.[4] This led to an announcement on the November 11 episode ofMonday Nitro that Jarrett would be facing Giant in a rematch at World War 3.[5]
At Halloween Havoc,Col. Robert Parker turned onHarlem Heat during theirWorld Tag Team Championship title defense againstThe Outsiders by handing Outsiders his cane, which they used on Harlem Heat to win the titles.[4] On the November 9 episode ofSaturday Night,Amazing French-Canadians defeated Harlem Heat by count-out after Harlem Heat left the ring to rescue their managerSister Sherri from Parker. The two teams had a rematch on the November 11 episode ofMonday Nitro which ended in a no contest after Sherri went after Parker.[5] The following week, onNitro, Parker officially aligned himself with Amazing French-Canadians during their match againstThe American Males. This led to a match between Harlem Heat and Amazing French-Canadians at World War 3.[6]
At Halloween Havoc,Nick Patrick helpednWo memberSyxx in defeatingChris Jericho in a match by making slow counts during Jericho's pinfall attempts on Syxx. Jericho's managerTeddy Long protested on Patrick's actions, which led to Patrick's lawyer Al Sharp reminding everyone that Long used to be a senior referee and got suspended due to his dirty tactics.[4] Patrick continued his unfair officiating in matches. On the November 11 episode ofMonday Nitro, Patrick disqualified Jericho in a match againstKonnan when Konnan kicked Jericho into Patrick.[5] On the November 16 episode ofSaturday Night, Jericho challenged Patrick to a match at World War 3, with Jericho's one arm tied behind his back. The match was made official on the November 18 episode ofMonday Nitro.[6]
At Halloween Havoc,Dean Malenko defeatedRey Misterio, Jr. to win theCruiserweight Championship.[4] On the November 9 episode ofSaturday Night, Malenko defeated Misterio in a rematch to retain the title. On the November 11 episode ofMonday Nitro,Sonny Onoo introduced theJ-Crown ChampionUltimate Dragon to WCW as his newest client during a match between Misterio andCiclope. Malenko came to watch the match andPsychosis showed up to watch Malenko.[5] This would lead to a Cruiserweight Championship match between Malenko and Psychosis and a match between Misterio and Dragon for the J-Crown Championship at World War 3.
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentators | Tony Schiavone(also during Ring 2 of WW3) |
| Bobby Heenan(also during Ring 2 of WW3) | |
| Dusty Rhodes(also during Ring 1 of WW3) | |
| Mike Tenay(during Ring 1 of WW3) | |
| Larry Zbyszko(during Ring 3 of WW3) | |
| Lee Marshall(during Ring 3 of WW3) | |
| Interviewer | Gene Okerlund |
| Ring announcer | David Penzer |
| Referees | Randy Anderson |
| Mark Curtis | |
| Scott Dickinson | |
| Nick Patrick |
The first match that aired on the live pay-per-view featuredUltimate Dragon defending theJ-Crown Championship againstRey Misterio Jr. Near the end of the match, Dragon caught Misterio mid-air and executed asitout powerbomb for the win to retain the title.
Next,Chris Jericho took on thenWo refereeNick Patrick, with Jericho's one arm tied behind his back. Patrick took advantage of the stipulation for most of the match until Jericho pulled him from the top rope and nailed asuperkick for the win.
Next,Jeff Jarrett took onThe Giant. Near the end of the match,Sting made his return in a new attire under a crow paint and delivered aScorpion Death Drop to Jarrett behind the referee's back, allowing Giant to hit achokeslam on Jarrett for the win.
This was followed by a segment in which theWorld Heavyweight ChampionHollywood Hogan andRoddy Piper signed a contract for a match at the next month'sStarrcade event. After the contract signing, Piper tried to attack nWo but got attacked by the nWo members.
Next,Harlem Heat (Booker T andStevie Ray) took onAmazing French Canadians (Jacques Rougeau andCarl Ouellet) in a tag team match which stipulated that if Harlem Heat won then their managerSister Sherri would get five minutes alone with Amazing French Canadians' managerCol. Robert Parker. Booker nailed aHarlem Hangover to Ouellet for the win after Ouellet missed adiving senton on Stevie Ray. As a result, Sherri earned the right to face Parker in a match. The match ended abruptly when Amazing French Canadians pulled Parker out of the ring, causing him to lose via countout and then Harlem Heat chased him to the backstage.
Later,Dean Malenko defended theCruiserweight Championship againstPsychosis. Malenko pinned Psychosis with a bridge to retain the title.
In the final match on the undercard,The Outsiders (Scott Hall andKevin Nash) defended theWorld Tag Team Championship againstFaces of Fear (Meng andThe Barbarian) andThe Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs andJerry Sags) in a triple threat match. Hall hit Knobbs with Hart's megaphone, allowing Nash to execute aJackknife to Knobbs to retain the title.
The main event was the namesake World War 3 battle royal. Before they even got in the ring for the World War 3 match, theFour Horsemen and theDungeon of Doom battled outside of Ring #3, withChris Benoit,The Taskmaster andBig Bubba Rogers battling into the crowd. In the ensuing commotion WCW television announcerLee Marshall (working the ring withLarry Zbyszko), was knocked down and legitimately kicked to the head and chest by the Dungeon's Faces of Fear while lying on the floor and could be heard yelling "What the heck is going on out here?". After the fight moved back toward the locker room, Marshall managed to get himself up and, after some difficulty (and questioning why former wrestler Zybysko didn't come to his aid), finished commentating the match from his designated announcing position.[7][8]Lex Luger from WCW's side was left alone alongside the nWo members Kevin Nash, Scott Hall,Syxx and The Giant. Luger eliminated Hall and Syxx and then applied aTorture Rack on Nash and Giant tossed both men over the top rope to win the World War 3.
WCW earned $118,000 in ticket sales with an attendance of 10,314. The pay-per-view received a buyrate of 0.55.[9]
World War 3 received mixed reviews from critics. Jack Bramma of411Mania rated the event 6.5 out of 10, writing "A much better WW3, some good cruiserweight matches and a shockingly enjoyable triple threat power tag match make this a recommendation. The nWo had taken over but hadn't gotten but so lazy and hadn't siphoned everyone's heat and storylines just yet. Worth a look."[10]
Wrestling 20 Years Ago star gave the event a rating of 3 out of 10, considering the arena Norfolk Scope " the best part" of the event.[11]
Hollywood Hogan and Roddy Piper had signed a contract at World War 3 to compete in the main event of Starrcade, where Piper defeated Hogan.
The Giant's elimination of Lex Luger to win the World War 3 led to the two signing a contract on the December 9 episode ofMonday Nitro for a match at Starrcade, which Luger won.
Faces of Fear continued their rivalry with The Outsiders after World War 3, leading to a match between the two teams for the World Tag Team Championship at Starrcade, which Outsiders won to retain the titles.
^1 Other competitors wereArn Anderson,Marcus Bagwell,The Barbarian,Chris Benoit,Big Bubba,Jack Boot,Bunkhouse Buck,Ciclope,Disco Inferno,Jim Duggan,Bobby Eaton,Mike Enos,Galaxy,Joe Gomez,Jimmy Graffiti,Johnny Grunge,Juventud Guerrera,Eddy Guerrero,Scott Hall,Prince Iaukea,Ice Train,Mr. JL,Jeff Jarrett,Chris Jericho,Kenny Kaos,Konnan,Lex Luger,Dean Malenko,Steve McMichael,Meng,Rey Misterio Jr.,Hugh Morrus,Kevin Nash,Scott Norton,Carl Ouellet,Diamond Dallas Page,La Parka,Craig Pittman,Jim Powers,Robbie Rage,Stevie Ray,Lord Steven Regal,The Renegade,Scotty Riggs,Roadblock,Jacques Rougeau,Tony Rumble,Mark Starr,Rick Steiner,Ron Studd,The Taskmaster,Syxx,Booker T,Squire David Taylor,Ultimo Dragon,Villano IV,Michael Wallstreet,Pez Whatley andAlex Wright