WWF King of the Ring 1995 (Version II)

Original Airdate: June 25, 1995

From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Dok Hendrix

King of the Ring Tournament Qualifying Match: Irwin R. Schyster v Savio Vega: Okay, so technically this is on the Sunday Night Slam preview show that aired right before the pay per view, but the Network version of the show includes it, so why not cover it? The idea here is that Razor Ramon had already qualified, but he has been sidelined due to an injury, so this is to determine his last minute replacement. Vega gets a quick small package for two, and a sunset flip gets two, but Schyster stomps him down. IRS manages a cross corner whip, but misses a charge in, and Savio schoolboys him for two, then works a headlock. Hiptoss and a dropkick get two, but IRS hits a bodyslam to set up a flying elbowdrop - Vega able to lift his boot to block. Backelbow and a vertical suplex get two, so Schyster bails and takes a walk, but Savio stupidly drags him back. Why? You advance on a countout just as well. Not to mention, it's a tournament! You're already at a disadvantage compared to the guys who didn't have to wrestle a qualifier tonight! Conserve your energy! And, in fact, he falls right into Irwin's ploy, and gets stomped after rolling Schyster back in. No matter, Savio quickly fights him off, and delivers a spinheel kick to advance at 4:01. What it needed to be. * (Original rating: ½*)

Opening King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Yokozuna v Savio Vega: The ECW faithful are all over ringside, so this should be a fun night. Yokozuna elbows him down in the early going, but misses an elbowdrop, and Savio works the arm. Series of turnbuckle smashes aim to daze Yokozuna enough for a spinheel kick, but the big man still manages to duck, and he pounds Savio down in the corner. Banzai Drop, but Savio gets out of dodge before Yoko is even done climbing the ropes. Yokozuna responds by choking him in the ropes, and a snapmare sets up a nervehold. Savio slugs free, so Yoko tosses him over the top, but Razor Ramon helps Vega beat the count. Yokozuna keeps hammering, but a legdrop misses, and Vega starts mounting a comeback. Spinheel kick connects, so Jim Cornette hops up onto the apron, but Savio takes him out. That leads to Owen Hart attacking Ramon as a means of distracting Vega, but Savio fights off the attack from Yoko, and advances via countout at 8:24. Yokozuna looked terrible here, like he could barely get around. And the dude was half of the tag champions at this point! It's hard to believe this is only a mere two years after his title win over Hulk Hogan, back when he was still really agile for a guy his size. He deteriorated astonishingly quickly after WrestleMania X, and sadly he'd only get worse going forward. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Bob Holly v Roadie: Holly catches him with a hiptoss right away for two, and a shoulderblock gets two. Sunset flip for two and an inside cradle is worth two, so Roadie bails to break the momentum. Back in, Roadie suckers Holly into a cheap shot in the corner, but runs into another shoulderblock as they criss cross, and Bob adds an armdrag. Hiptoss follows, an Holly uses a bodyslam for two. This feels like we've time traveled back fifteen years, with hiptosses and bodyslams warranting pin attempts. Holly tries a rana, but gets countered with a powerbomb to turn the tide. Should'a played it safe with the armdrags, son. Roadie with a pair of cross corner whips, and he stops to dance before dropping a couple of elbows. Some things never change. Chinlock, but Holly escapes with a schoolboy for two, so Roadie clobbers him with a clothesline. More dancing ahead of another elbowdrop for two, and it's back to the chinlock again. Piledriver, but Holly counters with a backdrop, then adds a headscissors takedown. Roadie tries to salvage things, but runs into a dropkick, and Bob throws a series of right hands for two. Powerslam gets two, but he runs into a kick in the corner, and Roadie takes him upstairs for a superplex. Bob manages to knock him off, but a flying splash ends up hitting boot, and Roadie advances at 7:30. Very basic stuff like you'd probably see at a house show, but watchable. ** ½ (Original rating: * ¼)

King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Kama v Shawn Michaels: Hey, the guys holding open the doors at the entrance are totally a young Matt and Jeff Hardy! As was often the case for most of 1995, Shawn looks terribly washed out here, like he's drugged out of his mind. Feeling out process to start, with Shawn sticking and moving. The crowd is very solidly behind HBK here. Kama manages to dump him to the outside for a trip into the post, and back inside, Kama puts the boots to him. Kama with a cross corner whip, as Vince goes on about how this is "family entertainment, WWF style!" Man, even back then they were up their own asses, weren't they? Kama works Shawn over in the most mundane way possible, punching and kicking his way through it, with Michaels pinballing all over the ring to try and make it work. Cross corner whip sees Shawn flip to the outside, where Ted DiBiase takes a few cheap shots, and Michaels fights to beat the count in. He's welcomed with a three-alarm no-release backbreaker, and it looks like the production crew is getting as bored with this match as I am, because we get to check in with the French commentary team while Kama holds Shawn in a backbreaker submission. Shawn escapes, and manages to fight Kama off in the corner, leaving both men down in a double knockout. The only thing making this match at all bearable is Shawn's selling and impeccable timing. Both guys stagger up for a slugfest, and Shawn hits him with a jumping clothesline to signal his comeback. Shawn with a flying axehandle for two, but Kama rolls through a 2^nd rope flying bodypress for two, as thirty seconds remain in the time limit. Kama with a backdrop, but Shawn counters with a small package for two, and a sunset flip follows, but time expires at 15:00. Look, I get it. Yeah, everyone and their mother thought Shawn was a lock to win this tournament. And it would have been awesome if he had. But, I get what they were going for here. Shawn winning the tournament would have been a great moment for the character, but they needed to build up a heel challenger for Diesel, and given how little credibility Mabel had, it makes sense to want to put him over. It may not have worked out for them they way they wanted, but I get the logic. ½* (Original rating: ¾*)

King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Mabel v Undertaker: Even as a kid, I thought the concept of Undertaker in the tournament was weird. This version of the character as king just doesn't fit. Undertaker comes right at him at the bell, and dominates the big man, putting him on his ass with a clothesline. Ropewalk forearm connects, followed by an awkward exchange that sees Mabel counter a whip into the ropes by basically falling onto Undertaker. Looked like he was trying for a scrapbuster, but there was a miscommunication. Clothesline sends Undertaker over the top, but he lands on his feet, so Mabel knocks him off the apron as Undertaker is climbing back in, and he ends up tied up in the ropes out there. Back inside, Mabel hits a proper belly-to-belly suplex, and he slaps on a reverse chinlock. He dumps Undertaker to the outside, and follows to send the Dead Man into the steps out there, with Mo getting in a cheap shot as well. I love the way Mabel plops onto the apron with the full weight of his ass every time he exits the ring. Inside, Mabel hits a vertical suplex for two, and a bodyslam is worth two. Avalanche, but Undertaker gets hit boot up to block, and he puts the big man down with a clothesline. Backdrop, but Mabel is moving so slowly that 'Taker totally telegraphs it, and he gets countered with a piledriver for two. Elbowdrop, but Undertaker rolls out of the way (kinda), and he delivers a stinger splash. Jumping clothesline follows, and the chokeslam looks to finish, but the referee is down, and there's no one to count. That allows Kama to run in, and Mabel capitalizes with a legdrop to advance at 10:44 - marking Undertaker's first televised pinfall loss since late 1991. It looked like they were trying, but the finished product wasn't very good. ¾* (Original rating: ¼*)

King of the Ring Tournament Semifinal Match: Roadie v Savio Vega: Yes, this is your SEMIFINAL! Keep in mind that Roadie was being sold as a total rookie who had his first match only a month before this, and Vega (though sold as an experienced Caribbean legend) was completely unfamiliar to WWF audiences before the last pay per view. Savio is fiery at the bell, knocking Roadie around, and sending him to the outside with a clothesline. Roadie stalls out there, but still ends up in a wristlock on the way back in. He manages a swinging neckbreaker for two upon escaping, and a 2^nd rope flying headbutt is worth two. Corner whip sets up another 2^nd rope flying headbutt, but Vega rolls out of the way this time, and he starts mounting a comeback. Bodyslam gets two, and a big boot is worth two, so Jeff Jarrett trips Savio up from the outside. That allows Roadie to pounce, but he ends up colliding with Jarrett on the apron, and Vega uses a rollup to advance at 6:36. Pretty amateurish stuff. ¾* (Original rating: ½*)

Kiss My Foot Match: Bret Hart v Jerry Lawler: Lawler is in all his glory here. Hart destroys him at the bell, knocking Jerry to the outside in short order. Bret follows to send him into the guardrail out there, and back inside, he keeps pounding on the King in the corner. Jerry bails, but Bret is right on his tail to continue the beating on the outside - only to get sent into the steps in the process. Jerry sends him into the rail next, and the King is drawing great heel heat here from the ECW crowd. Perhaps someone should capitalize on that with an angle. Inside, Jerry delivers a series of three Piledrivers, but it only gets two. It's kinda unbelievable that Bret wouldn't have been able to counter him considering how little Lawler did to buildup the moves. Like, literally, I think he had two moves before going for the finisher. He dumps Bret to the outside, and decides to pull off his boot - whacking Bret with it on the way back in for two. Using the bare foot, Lawler tries to choke Hart in the corner, but Bret sweeps him down, and delivers a headbutt drop to the groin. Jerry pops him with the boot again to keep control, and a 2^nd rope flying fistdrop gets the King two. He tries sending Bret into the post, but gets reversed, so Hakushi runs out. That's enough to distract the Hitman, but the actual attack backfires, and Bret gives Lawler a Russian legsweep as they head back inside. Backbreaker sets up the 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop, and the Sharpshooter finishes up at 9:20. As usual with Hart/Lawler matches, this was a lot of fun, but not especially good. Wow, this show features both Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels at the peak of their powers as workers, and combined their matches total one-star? That's quite a feat. ½* (Original rating: ¾*)

WWF King of the Ring Tournament Final Match: Mabel v Savio Vega: Mabel overpowers him to start, but Savio is fiery again, and unloads on the big man with chops in the corner. Ten-punch count follows, and a clothesline sends Mabel over the top, so he sweeps Vega out after him for a trip into the steps. Back in, Mabel grabs an extended bearhug, before finally moving with a jumping clothesline for two. That winds the big man though, as now it's chinlock time. Oh, come on! The crowd grows so bored with this that they start up an 'ECW' chant. Mabel misses an avalanche to allow Vega the spinheel kick, but it only gets two. Bodypress, but Mabel catches him in a slam for two, then just kind of adds a splash for the pin at 9:32. The bulk of this was restholds. Again, I get what they were going for with Mabel, but this one pretty much killed the prestige of the tournament single handedly, and it never really recovered. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

Main Event: Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow v Sycho Sid and Tatanka: If this doesn't scream 'main event,' what does? The heels try a sneak attack before the bell, but get fought off, and cleared out of the ring. That leads to some stalling on the outside, which I'm sure made Dok Hendrix proud. The dust settles on Diesel and Tatanka to start, but it doesn't take more than a minute before Sid is taking a cheap shot, and he bashes Diesel's bad arm (injured at In Your House the month before) into the post. That allows Tatanka to take control, and he works the arm in dull fashion. Over to Sid for some equally dull arm pounding, but a legdrop misses, and Bam Bam gets the tag. He knocks both heel around with ease, and drops Sid with a DDT to set up the flying headbutt, but the referee is being distracted by Ted DiBiase, and the count is delayed for, like, a full minute. It only gets two by the time the official gets around to it, and as Bigelow goes after DiBiase, Sid jumps him from behind. Chokeslam connects, but Sid is too lazy to even make his own covers, and actually tags in Tatanka to hook the leg for two. The heels cut the ring in half on Bigelow, but Diesel gets the tag - only to stupidly try and elbowdrop with the bad elbow, and hurt himself. How dumb can you be?! That results in a tag back to Bigelow after less than thirty seconds of recovery time, and he gets quickly put down by Tatanka with a bodypress. They go back to cutting the ring in half, as I literally fight to stay awake. That Forward-10-Second button on the Network's video player is looking mighty appealing at the moment. Bam Bam finally gets the tag after hitting Tatanka with an enzuigiri, and Diesel actually manages to come in without hurting himself after ten seconds. He blitzes Tatanka with a sidewalk slam and a big boot, followed by a sloppy Jackknife, but he pulls him up at two. He wants Sid instead. The same dude too lazy to make his own pin attempts? What makes you think he's up for that? And, indeed, Sid has no interest whatsoever, and simply walks out on the match, leaving partner Tatanka to eat the pinfall at 17:35 - a good ninety seconds after the Jackknife hit. That must have been quite the powerbomb. Well... it was certainly the appropriate main event for this particular show... give it that. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

BUExperience: In many ways, this is less a story of what was, than what wasn't. Unlike the previous two King of the Ring pay per views, this one was almost entirely focused on the tournament, with no title matches, and a throwaway main event that would have been at home on Saturday Night's Main Event in the previous era. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with wanting the tournament to be the big focus, but if you’re going to do that, you might want to, I dunno, book a tournament people actually want to see! The majority of the field used here wouldn't have made it past the qualifying round in previous years. I mean, Roadie versus Savio Vega is your SEMIFINAL?! Undertaker and Shawn Michaels don't even make it past the Quarterfinals?! Savio versus MABEL is your FINAL?!? That sounds more appropriate for a random house show version, or something.

Choosing to focus almost entirely on the tournament, and then booking one of the weakest fields in history, proved to be a major mistake, and one that resulted in little fan interest for this show, as well as savage reviews. Where was Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett? Tag Champion Owen Hart? Davey Boy Smith? Lex Luger?

I’ve heard this referred to by some as the worst pay per view of all time. It isn’t. It isn’t even the worst of 1995 (WCW has it ‘beat’ several times over). But it certainly feels like they gave it the old college try, though.

The thing with the WWF is that, even if sometimes the in-ring action wasn’t any great shakes, their pay per view shows were almost always entertaining. This is one of the very few you could classify as outright boring.


DUD