WWE: 10 Best Opening PPV Matches Ever 8

8. Steve Austin Vs. Marc Mero @ King Of The Ring 1996

When fans think about the 1996 King of the Ring the first thing that usually comes to mind is the infamous “Austin 3:16″ speech that Austin did after he won the King of the Ring tournament. While that’s certainly understandable, we shouldn’t ignore the opening match either.
Austin was a heel that was on the rise going up against a relatively new babyface in Marc Mero. They had both come over from WCW and WWE was trying to build them up into stars. It was smart to put them in the opener because they’re both really good workers that were able to start the show with an exciting 17 minute back and forth match.
There were several moments in the match where it looked like either man could pull off the victory: Mero used his speed to his advantage as well a number of athletic moves like a somersault attack over the top, a missile dropkick and a top rope hurricanrana that looked like it was the end of the match. Austin managed to fight back with a Stun Gun, which was his finisher in WCW and then it was the Stone Cold Stunner that won it for him. This was in the days when he was just starting to use the move, so it didn’t look as good as it does now.
The match was also notable because Austin had a bloody lip and needed 16 stitches to repair it. He actually went to the hospital during the show. He was fine for his second match in the show, a win over Jake Roberts, and of course that’s when he delivered the promo of all promos.