WWF King of the Ring 1995

I first saw this show live, on pay per view – and was very pumped up for it as a ten year old mark. While the main event didn’t particularly intrigue me, the concept of the King of the Ring did, as I loved the first two shows – renting them from my local video store repeatedly – and was excited for the 1995 edition. Around the schoolyard I was sure Shawn Michaels would take the whole thing easily, and was excited to see Bret Hart finally get his revenge on Jerry Lawler.

From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Dok Hendrix (Michael Hayes).


King of the Ring Qualifying Match: IRS v Savio Vega: This took place on the preview show (not the Free For All, as that didn't exist until the '96 Royal Rumble, but just on the pay per view preview channel), which usually exclusively aired hype videos at that point, but since Razor Ramon was injured, and they needed to replace him in the tournament, they actually went to the trouble of putting together another qualifying match, and everything. Vega had just debuted (in this gimmick) at the first In Your House the month before as Razor's old 'friend from the streets,' and Razor accompanies him to the ring. Because the squared-circles of the WWF are more dangerous than any ghetto you can imagine. Any.  Savio catches him in a small package right away for two, and a sunset flip gets two. He works a mat-based side-headlock, but IRS dumps him, only to eat boot off of a flying splash. Savio with a suplex for two, but IRS bails, and decides to head up the aisle. Vega stupidly chases him, instead of taking the countout and advancing - but it works, as he clocks him with his spinheel kick to qualify for the tournament at 8:01. Well paced, and booked - if unspectacular. ½*

Opening King of the Ring Quarter Final Match: Savio Vega v Yokozuna: Yoko tosses him around to start, but misses an elbowdrop, and Savio works the arm. Spinkick, but Yoko ducks, and tries the Banzai early, but Savio scrambles away. Yoko grabs a nervehold to edumacate him about trying to keep the pace up, as the dumbass crowd chants 'USA' to motivate the 'Caribbean Legend.' Even Yoko gets sick of listening to the crowds misplaced jingoistic bullshit, and lets off, choosing instead to choke him. Big legdrop misses, and another 'USA' chant breaks out. Apparently, Savio didn’t spend a whole lot of time working of geography while out on ‘da streetz’ with Ramon, because it works, and he catches Yokozuna with the spinkick, sending him to the floor for the countout, and Savio advances at 8:24. Smart booking, making Savio work two matches back-to-back, getting him further over as the underdog, with the 'Cinderella-story, who just might make it,' etc. Match was dull, and plodding, however. DUD.

King of the Ring Quarter Final Match: The Roadie v Bob Holly: You know the roster's getting thin when these two make the cut for the tournament. No, no - you know it's thin when Tatanka's headlining the pay per view. Oh, wait - nope, that's not it either. You know it's thin when Savio Vega's the guy going all the way to the finals - against the fat(ter) guy from Men on a Mission. And loses. This wasn't a good time for the WWF, to say the least. Not that I really noticed as a kid - but wow. Holly with a powerslam right away for two, and he unloads with shoulderblocks. Sunsetflip gets two, and he gets an inside cradle for two, so Roadie bails to confer with Jeff Jarrett on the floor. Jarrett was Intercontinental Champion at this point. Also, not booked on the show. Inside, Holly gets the best of a couple of criss crosses, but gets powerbombed off of a rana attempt. Roadie whips him from post to post, and grabs a long chinlock. Piledriver, but Holly backdrops him, and catches him with a headscissors takedown. Holly with his always impressive dropkick to mount the comeback, and the SPARKS UP!! Fists of Fury get two. Powerslam for two. Flying splash, but Roadie feeds him boot on the way down, and that's enough to face Vega in the Semi Finals at 7:11. It lacked any psychology, and had a really long, dull chinlock segment (that didn’t bother to make use of the ropes, or help from Jarrett to spice it up) from Jesse James – who was still coming into his own as a worker – but overall a very solid outing, as both guys seemed very grateful for a spot on the show, and gave it a good effort. * ¼

King of the Ring Quarter Final Match: Shawn Michaels v Kama: Shawn had just completed a face-turn, returning to action off of an injury angle where his bodyguard Sid powerbombed him three times - which set up the main event of this show, along with the first two In Your House pay per views, as Diesel swore revenge on Sid. Shawn was massively over upon his return, and as noted above, I had my hopes on him winning the whole tournament. Shawn dodges Kama's (who's a Supreme Fighting Machine, in case you didn't know!) vast array of punches to start, and unloads with some of his own. Well, 'move like a butterfly, sting like a bee,' and all that. Backdrop puts Kama on the floor, but Shawn chooses not to follow out with any of his vast array of dives. Yep, we should have seen it coming already. Inside, Kama gets the best of a lock-up, and dumps him, posting him on the outside. Back in, Kama hammers the back. Overhead backbreaker, but Shawn counters, and hits a Northern Lights suplex. He's still battered, however, and Kama Flair flips him to the floor. They tease a countout, and Kama at least has the sense to leave him out there as opposed to dragging him back in, like so many guys tend to do. Shawn makes the count, so Kama locks a backbreaker submission. Blind charge misses, however, and Michaels hits a 2^nd rope forearm. Slugfest won by Michaels, and the diving forearm hits - as the time limit starts to run down. Flying axehandle gets two. Ten punch count, and a springboard bodypress, but Kama rolls through for two. Criss cross, and Shawn cradles him for two. Sunset flip for the pin, but the time limit expired just as the referee counted two, and therefore the match is called a draw at 15:00. Really good timing there, considering how many wrestling 'clocks' are off by full minutes during draws, but this one actually had it countdown on the screen during that finish. I was majorly disappointed with that ending as a kid, but I had Savio Vega's building underdog run to believe in - and I tied my hopes up into that instead. Strange match, as 1995 Shawn Michaels was one of the best wrestlers you could ever hope to see, but here he was just treading water towards the time limit expiration - which is a shame, because they could have easily worked fifteen minutes without breaking a sweat. It had some decent psychology with Kama's assault of the back - but that never went anywhere towards a dramatic finish - or even finisher, so it was essentially pointless. This was just Shawn phoning it in. ¾*

King of the Ring Quarter Final Match: The Undertaker v Mabel: Staredown to start, and 'Taker takes quick control, swiftly hitting the ropewalk forearm. He walks into a slam, however, and Mabel dumps him, then ties him upside down in the ropes. Great, make the big, plodding guy even more immobile. Inside, Mabel with a belly to belly suplex, and he grabs a reverse chinlock. Mabel with a suplex, and he sits on him for two. Avalanche meets boot, but 'Taker's backdrop attempt gets him piledriven. Double knockout spot (see: they wanted to lie around), and 'Taker hits a Stinger Splash. Chokeslam, but the referee goes down off of an Irish whip reversal, and that allows Kama to run in and nail him (they had been feuding... about the urn, of course), and Mabel finishes with a legdrop at 10:44, advancing to the finals via a bye. That certainly surprised me when it happened (The Undertaker? Losing to the guy from Men on a Mission who once dressed as Doink at a Survivor Series?), but even as a kid I thought that 'King Undertaker' was too strange a concept for such a one dimensional character. Aside from the ending, the match was well booked, and well timed (they transitioned well, and made the come backs at the right moments), but that sort of Wrestling 101 stuff helps make a great match, but doesn't make a match great all on its own. ¼*

King of the Ring Semi Final Match: Savio Vega v The Roadie: Vega must still have that awesome 'USA' chant on his mind, because he's a house of arson to start, beating Roadie to the outside. Back in, Vega works the shoulder, but gets caught with a knee, and a neckbreaker for two. You know, though, technically, the neckbreaker very rarely breaks necks. In fact, I've never seen it break a wrestler’s neck. That’s just bad billing. It really needs a new name - perhaps Neckaggravator, or Neckfuckerupper. Roadie with a 2^nd rope falling headbutt for two, but a second try misses, and Savio's BRO'ING UP!! Back elbow! Slam for two! Roundhouse kick! Jarrett tries to stop the effort, but a heel miscommunication spot allows Savio to schoolboy him, and advance to face Mabel in the finals at 6:36. As a kid, I was getting pretty into the underdog story at this point, and truly believed Savio had a chance. I mean, of course he did! He was a Caribbean Legend who palled around with Razor Ramon, and his final competition was Mabel, who even ten year olds didn't take seriously. Match was well paced – making good use of Jesse James' limited move set at the time – and kept appropriately short. ½*

Kiss My Foot Match: Bret Hart v Jerry Lawler: The back story here goes all the way back to the first King of the Ring, in 1993 (review posted now!), when Lawler attacked Hart. They continued to feud through the rest of the year, with the entire Hart Family getting in on the feud. The blowoff was set for Survivor Series '93 (review coming very soon, as part of the Survivor Series series!), but Lawler missed the show due to real-life sexual assault charges (that's not very PG!), and by the time he was back on WWF TV, Bret had already moved on to feuding with Owen Hart, and wrestling for the WWF Title. Still, the feud simmered, as Lawler (the WWF's main color commentator), continued to take jabs at Hart on the air through 1994 and 1995, all leading to the first In Your House the month before this - scheduled for Mother's Day 1995 - where Lawler would face Hart after reigniting his feud with Bret by insulting his mother. Lawler cheated outrageously to win that one, setting up a rematch here, with the gimmick that the loser would have to kiss the winners feet. Throughout the buildup, Lawler had been hanging out barefoot in horse stables and pig pens, and not bathing before the match to get his foot good and ready - and the WWF had the makeup team do a number on his foot, making it appear to be truly repulsing. Or, Jerry Lawler is just a disgusting dude in real-life. Whichever. Lawler goes right at him for once, not even bothering to stall, but gets pounded from one end of the ring to the other. He tries to bail, but that just gives Bret an excuse to kick his ass on the floor, until Lawler trips him up, and into the steps. Inside, Lawler with a gorgeous piledriver, but he gets annoyed when the crowd doesn't honor him for it. Another one, to show the peons who their king is - but they still boo. They learn slowly, so he does it a third time (If they were wrestling this one in Memphis, doctors in the audience would be jumping the rail to check Hart's vitals), but it only gets two! Okay, at that point the same doctor would be stabbing Hart. Lawler sees he's tired, and dumps him to try to get the countout - which is smart psychology - but Bret makes it back just in time for Jerry to take his stinky boot off, and clock him with it. He chokes him with the barefoot, and a 2^nd rope fistdrop gets two. To the outside, Hart posts him, and inside it's Russian legsweep time. Backbreaker and the 2^nd rope elbow connect, driving the crowd wild for the Sharpshooter finish at 9:20. Afterwards, Hart feeds Lawler his foot, as well as his own disgusting foot. You'd think this would be a pretty definitive ending to the feud, but the 'oral damage' caused by the match forced Lawler to go seeking a dentist - and Bret's SummerSlam opponent - Dr. Isaac Yankem, DDS. Match was fun, well paced, and well booked - but Bret wasn't exactly reaching deep here, or putting on one of his psychological masterpieces. ¾*

WWF King of the Ring: Savio Vega v Mabel: Mabel overpowers him to start, but misses an avalanche, and gets chopped in the corner. Ten punch count, and a clothesline puts Mabel over the top, to the outside. Vega follows, but gets sent into the steps, and inside, Mabel grabs a long bearhug. Shoulderblock gets two, and apparently that crazy amount of effort has re-winded him, as he needs to go to a chinlock next. Mabel misses a blind charge, and a schoolboy gets two for Savio. Spinkick gets two. Bodypress, but Mabel catches him with a splash, and wins the King of the Ring at 8:32. The crowd shits all over that one, and not in a good 'heel heat' sort of way, but in a 'are you fucking kidding us' sort of way. You'd think they'd take the hint there, but no - Mabel would go on to main event SummerSlam that year. Match was essentially an eight-minute resthold, disappointing to anyone who took the time to get invested in the Cinderella-story they spent the whole night developing for Savio, and considered one of the biggest booking flops the WWF ever made. DUD.

Main Event: Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow v Sid and Tatanka: This was set up at the first In Your House, when Diesel faced Sid, but Tatanka interfered, and then Bigelow made the save - ensuring this crackerjack of a tag match, as well as another Diesel/Sid one-on-one blowoff. It's not bad long term booking, but when Ta-fucking-tanka is main eventing, it might be time to rethink strategy. Diesel and Bigelow clean house to start, but the crowd isn't buying them - either too deflated from the tournament finals, or just because, like, they suck. Not exactly the Mega Powers, these two. Diesel and Tatanka start all proper-like, which goes exactly as you'd imagine (Diesel anally rapes Tatanka with a wrench!), until Sid sneaks in a cheap shot from the apron, and Tatanka unloads with his war dance routine. They work Diesel's injured arm, which treats us to the brilliant visual of Sid working Diesel's arm by simply punching it - as I don't think he knows any simple holds. Tag to Bigelow, and he's a house of arson (even his tights say so!), and a flying headbutt looks to finish Sid, but the referee is out of position. Sid with a chokeslam, and Tatanka hits a side suplex, and Bam Bam's in trouble, and stuff! The heels cut the ring in half with punchy-kicky-restholdy stuff, until Bam Bam catches him with a senton off of a criss cross, and gets the tag. Diesel with a sidewalk slam, and the big boot hits. Sloppy looking powerbomb, but he pulls him up at two, as he wants Sid. Sid bails, however, so Diesel takes the easy pin on Tatanka at 17:35. Well, it had its moments. Wait, no. No, it didn't. It had no moments. Zero moments. Match was overlong, with a brutal heat segment on Bigelow, and the whole thing came off like a giant, flashing ad for the second In Your House, where Diesel would face Sid again, one-on-one. DUD.

BUExperience: As mentioned, the roster was very thin at this point – giving us some less than enthralling match ups for pay per view – but they had a deeper bench than this card suggests, which they chose not to work with, for whatever reason. Where were Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith, Lex Luger, or WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett? Those four in the tournament (along with Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, and any two others) would have made for a much more exciting bracket than what we had going in. Even with what we did have going in, the booking around the Cinderella/underdog story for Savio Vega certainly worked, and should have put him on the throne (if they were really against going with Michaels, for reasons I still don't know), and the crowd let them know it. The booking ended up ruining my infatuation with the King of the Ring event, as after watching this show live, I never was quite as interested in the idea of the tournament anymore. Sometimes it really does take one bad apple.

With the addition of the In Your House shows to the WWF’s calendar the month before, they were still clearly in an adjustment period – and it shows, as one of their major pay per views seemed to take a backseat, and act in a hype capacity for the next In Your House card more than worrying about putting on a good show by-itself. The end result was that the first and second In Your House cards (considered minor shows) actually did bigger numbers for the WWF than the King of the Ring did. DUD.