Wrestling has produced countless memorable moments, matches and shocking incidents. Tuesday marks the 30th anniversary of the “Curtain Call” — a controversial moment that arguably helped pave the way for the WWE Attitude Era and the eventual rise of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin as we know him today.
The background
In 1994, real life friends and WWE wrestlers Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Sean Waltman formed The Kliq. It wasn’t an official on-screen stable like DX but existed backstage among the friends. The group became highly influential backstage due to close friendships and their growing star power in WWE. They traveled together for tours and other wrestling events, influencing creative decisions and developed a reputation for holding significant power backstage.
What happened on May 19, 1996?
On May 19, 1996, Hall and Nash competed in their final WWE matches before becoming free agents and eventually signing with WCW. At an event in Madison Square Garden, Hall faced Triple H while Michaels defended the WWF Championship in a steel cage match against Nash.
The shocker came after the main event when Hall entered the ring and embraced Michaels. Later, Nash and Triple H joined in the group hug, bidding farewell to the two who were departing the company.
The incident pre-dated the social media era when it was difficult for videos and photos from wrestling events to quickly spread. However, a couple of fans had snuck in their camcorders into the venue, captured the incident on tape, causing it to spread like wildfire.
Why it created an uproar
The crowd gasped and were confused at what unfolded. It was an unusual sight because they were breaking a sacred WWE rule by breaking kayfabe in public. Vince McMahon was particular about feuding wrestlers being spotted together at outings so as to maintain their rivalries and good/bad guy personas they had going.
The curtain call incident shattered the illusion of wrestling which undermined the product’s presentation.
The fallout
Nash and Hall escaped any form of punishment since they were done with WWE. Michaels was the WWF Champion and a top star in the company. So, the only person who took the fall was Triple H.
The irony is that without the curtain call incident of 1996, there wouldn’t be a “Stone Cold” Steve Austin or the birth of the Attitude Era. But how were they related?
Triple H became the scapegoat since he lacked championship status and didn’t have an expiring contract. On June 23 that year, WWE held their annual King of the Ring event. Triple H’s growing stature was leading to him winning the tournament and skyrocketing his career. He did not get a suspension or indefinite leave of absence after the controversial incident, but instead was punished by not winning the tournament.
That accomplishment went to Austin who defeated Jake Roberts to win the event, followed by him proceeding to give the legendary and revolutionary Austin 3:16 promo in a post-match interview.
The following week, fans started bringing “Austin 3:16” posters to events signifying the impact it had among WWE fans which led to Steve Austin’s trajectory as the next top star to take over the WWE landscape.
All of that seemed unimaginable back 30 years ago.
