Best Of 1996: By Matthew Evans (09/11/02)
Wrestler Of The Year: Shawn Michaels
Although his WWF World title reign didn't make any difference at the box-office, HBK still had some superb matches, the best being his mind-blowing Mind Games collision with Mankind.
Babyface Of The Year: Shawn Michaels
Going into Wrestlemania, HBK was a big hit with the fans. After that, the response to him was sometimes deafening (although ppv buy rates suggested that many people didn't see him as the next guy to carry the company to new heights). It seemed odd for Michaels to be in this babyface role, but at the time there was no one else and he did the best he could with it.
Heel Of The Year: Hulk Hogan
Nobody saw it coming. I know that phrase is used over and over for obvious and pointless turns on WWE tv, but the 1996 Hogan heel turn was one turn that caught everyone off guard. And when he was 100 % heel, Hogan took the ball and ran with it and developed a devious heel persona, intent on running WCW out of business.
Gimmick Of The Year: Mankind
The WWF were eager to put Mick Foley to good use on his arrival in 1996, but Vince Mcmahon wanted to leave the Cactus Jack persona back in ECW (for the time being, at least). So, they developed the character of Mankind, a masked weirdo who lived in a Boiler Room and would rock back and forth calling for his "Mommy" and sometimes ripping his hair out at the same time. To everyone's surprise, Mankind was not a watered-down character, in fact he introduced a brawling, sometimes violent style to the WWF which planted the seeds for "Attitude" in 97'. Mankind brought out the best in The Undertaker, and their feud woud be "Feud Of The Year" if it wasn't for a certain faction who declared "war" on WCW.
Feud Of The Year: WCW VS NWO
It came as a shock to a lot of people when Diesel and Razor Ramon packed their bags and headed to WCW. But then, many people thought that without their WWF personas, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall would have a short and forgetable stay in Atlanta. But Eric Bishoff had a plan so good that it put the WWF on the brink of extinction. First, Scott Hall arrived (thorough the crowd on Nitro), then Kevin Nash joined him, and at Bash At The Beach, the "third man" turned out to be Hulk Hogan. What made this feud so good was that the NWO looked like a geniune threat and were portrayed as being unstopable. As a result, WCW dominated the ratings for nearly two years. Angle Of The Year: Hulk Hogan turns heel (Bash At The Beach 96') In a turn that had fans bombarding the ring with rubbish, Hogan walked into BATB, leg-dropped Randy Savage three times and then cut the greatest interview of his career, declaring his allegiance to The Outsiders and formation of the NWO. Six years on, it's still remembered as possibly the greatest heel turn/promo of all time.
Match Of The Year: Shawn Michaels VS Mankind
(Mind Games, September 96')
We all know that HBK was capable of carrying less impressive opponents (like Sid) to great matches, but Mankind was one guy who didn't need to be carried. He and Michaels brought out the best of each other in a compelling encounter that included chairs, and a table. The only thing that tarnished it was the Vader run-in.