Marc Mero

King of the Ring (1996) was the fourth annual King of the Ring. The event took place on June 23, 1996 from the MECCA Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The main event was a standard wrestling match for the WWF Championship. Shawn Michaels competed against British Bulldog, with Mr. Perfect serving as the special guest enforcer. The undercard featured the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, won by Stone Cold Steve Austin. Other matches on the undercard included a WWF Intercontinental Championship match between champion Goldust and challenger Ahmed Johnson, Mankind versus The Undertaker, Ultimate Warrior versus Jerry “The King” Lawler and a WWF Tag Team Championship match between champions The Smoking Gunns and challengers The Godwinns. Austin’s victory speech after winning the 1996 King of the Ring tournament gave rise to the “Austin 3:16” tag line, and the event has been cited by WWE as the starting point of the Attitude Era.