WWE King of the Ring 95'

WWE King of the Ring 95'

Philadelphia, PA - June 1995

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, Diesel is the reigning WWF World Champion, the Intercontinental Championship is held by Jeff Jarrett, Alundra Blayze is the WWF Women's Champion, and the WWF Tag Team Titles are held by Owen Hart & Yokozuna.

COMMENTATORS: Vince McMahon & Dok Hendrix

If you're catching this on the Network (like I did), the show begins with a Coliseum Home Video bonus match - Savio Vega vs. IRS in a King of the Ring Qualifying Match. Vega is accompanied by his longtime friend Razor Ramon, which, before I read up on it in Wikipedia, is actually based on some history in Puerto Rico and not just the fact that Ramon and Vega were the company's only two Hispanic characters (Hall not was actually Cuban, though). Not much to say about the action as its fairly pedestrian stuff. On his podcast, Stone Cold has always talked about how good a worker Vega was but I've still not seen what was so special about the guy. I've long said that Rotunda's best character was the IRS persona but that doesn't mean, under that persona, he's all of a sudden a must-watch worker. (1/5)

So...Vega, having defeated IRS in the pre-show match, now takes on Yokozuna in the first round of the actual King of the Ring Tournament. Yokozuna was either 600 pounds or more here and moves incredibly slowly. Vega is somewhat over but he's not flashy enough to counter how tired and out of shape Yoko is. Owen Hart eventually shows up to try to add some life into this match, but its too little too late as Yoko needed a respirator about 30 seconds into this match and Vega, having already wrestled once in the opener, has overstayed his welcome by a good 20 minutes by the time this one wraps up. The count-out finish is another non-interesting element as it seems that Yoko was constantly losing (or winning) by the 10-count as either a way to protect him or protect his partner (for example, Luger was bounced out of the tournament with a count-out loss to Yoko just a few weeks prior). I can see protecting Yokozuna when he's actually worth protecting, but in 95', he was not putting the effort in to remain a top guy and it showed. A year or so later, when he lost in embarrassing fashion to Austin at SummerSlam 96' (I was there!), it was one of the highlights of the night - even if it came at the once-powerful Yokozuna's expense. (0/5)

Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly vs. The Roadie is next in a match that could headline a car dealership in any city south of hell. While Holly and the Roadie work harder and have more energy than Yoko and Vega, neither guy is polished or exciting enough to give this match any real heat. The Roadie has to be the worst in-ring worker of the Armstrong clan by a country mile and Holly, while a solid hand, was always a bit generic in the ring (when he wasn't striaght up potato'ing dudes) and this is one of the all-time corniest gimmicks in wrestling history. I'm guessing that the reason they didn't want Jeff Jarrett to interfere too much was because he would likely play in a role in the next match - or at least I'm hoping that's the case because it doesn't really make all that much sense that the "untrained assistant" can hold his own against a former WWF Tag Team Champion. Whatever - from a technical standpoint, this match is an improvement from the one that came before, but when I looked it up and saw that it was under 8 minutes, I couldn't believe it. This one feels like an hour long death match where the loser is the viewer. Half-point for the pathetic "kick out at 2.99" by Holly, which is such an old school dick 'rasslin' move to try to protect your "heat" but is laughably misplaced here because nobody cared. (0.5/5)

Ted DiBiase's prize fighter Kama makes his way down the aisle next for his 1st round opponent - Shawn Michaels. If anyone ever tells you that Shawn Michaels never wrestled a bad match in his life (I'm not sure why someone would ever just tell you that but bear with me), you can show them this match and let them see that while Shawn Michaels is a great performer, he's not without his stinkers - even if its the fault of the bookers more than Michaels himself. Shawn is certainly the most over guy that's wrestled on this show so far, while Kama is disliked, but not necessarily viewed as the colossal threat that he probably should've been. Part of the problem is that, while Kama (the future Godfather) had undeniable size and look, he always seemed a little "soft," his offense rarely showing the sadism and power that, say, a Vader, could deliver in his prime. After getting some offense in early, Michaels goes into sell mode for 7-10 minutes straight as Kama applies some unremarkable submissions. As soon as Vince starts talking up the 15-minute time limit you can see the Draw coming from 10 blocks away. I think this match would've worked better if Michaels' showed more spirit and less like he was just going through the motions, overselling his way to a time limit finish. Even the last 2 minutes, where one would expect some urgency, Michaels was just not giving that message at all. Even an unmotivated HBK is going to put on a better match than Holly and the Roadie, but this was not great. (1/5)

This match is followed by a on-location video of Bob Backlund. It is laughably bad and very poorly edited. I don't know what Vince McMahon was even thinking putting this on the air. At one point, the camera sticks on Backlund for a good 5-10 seconds before he even begins speaking. Its not even "So Bad - Its Good!" territory. Its just plainly bad.

Back to the ring we go for Mabel vs. The Undertaker. Surprisingly, this is the best match of the show so far as Mabel is motivated - most likely because this show was built around him - and The Undertaker is actually decent as well. Mabel botches his first offensive maneuver, but then there's a cool moment where Taker ends up hanging outside of the ring, his foot caught in the ropes. This could've been the set-up to a very extreme moment, but instead Mabel just kinda half-stomps him in the side. Lame. Still, just because the Undertaker was actually over with the Philly crowd and they cut a surprisingly upbeat pace, this isn't as dull as one might imagine. Its not a good match - not even average - but its closer. The finish is also decent, with Mabel hitting Taker with a big leg drop after Kama's interference. (2/5)

After a video package highlighting the WWE's Hall of Fame, which was a much, much, much lower key affair back in 95', we're back in the ring for The Roadie vs. Savio Vega. Savio Vega is one of those workers that other workers tend to really respect and perceive as being a solid hand, but I find him dull as shit. He's like Manny Fernandez but without the guaranteed blood. Maybe that's unfair because Vega was a bit more agile for his size, but I just don't "get it" whenever I see his name on a list of underrated workers. Just search "Savio Vega Underrated" and you'll see plenty of folks praising him on forums, but aside from his matches with Austin - which I, admittedly, have not revisited - I just don't remember anything that great he produced (at least in the WWE, which is the only place I ever saw him wrestle). This match doesn't change that opinion for me as its just a by-the-numbers match and The Roadie has to be the worst Armstrong brother in terms of natural ability (though, charisma-wise, he probably had the most). Another match that wouldn't be out of place on your average episode of Superstars from this time - meaning, instantly forgettable and not worth watching. (1.5/5)

Bret Hart takes on Jerry "The King" Lawler in a Kiss My Foot Match next. I'm a big Bret fan and I think Lawler was still very capable of putting on good matches well in the 90s so I was surprised by how unimpressive and lame this match was. The tone of this match and the entire rivalry just never connected with me. Part of the issue was that Lawler, as big a star as he was, never struck me as a legit "main event" level talent largely because he was introduced first and foremost as a commentator and then, over time, practically a manager for Doink the Clown and Isaac Yankem. He also didn't look the part of someone Bret Hart would have any trouble with - which made their months-long feud one of the reasons this era of WWE history is not so beloved. Vince tried to heap a ton of stakes onto their matches with the two battling over who the real "king" was (despite Bret never really claiming that title), for Hart family pride, and, in this case, for the winner to have the loser kiss his foot. But none of these things made the feud seem serious to me even if the dynamic was comparable to Batman and The Joker. And so on this show they have a fairly straightforward wrestling match with no interesting twists aside from seeing Bret kickout of three Jerry Lawler piledrivers. Even by today's standards its a ridiculous burial of a one-time feared finisher. Hakushi makes an appearance but is equally ineffective at stopping the Hitman. Eventually Bret locks in the Sharpshooter and Lawler taps. This wasn't actively bad as much as it was just boring and unremarkable. (2/5)


The finals of the King of the Ring are next, with Mabel taking on Savio Vega. Vega controls early, backing Mabel into the corner and hitting him with a series of big right hands. Vega is able to clothesline Mabel over the top rope and onto the arena floor and counter Mabel's attempts to use his size to overpower him for a little while. Mabel wears down Vega with a very poor-looking bearhug. The crowd is inexplicably alive for this stretch, at least for a moment or two. Mabel looks like he's in more pain applying the bearhug than Vega is receiving it - something even McMahon notes on commentary. Whoever told these two guys to work two minutes-long bearhug sequences in succession should've been more than fired, they should've been charged with war crimes. Mabel eventually levels Vega with a jumping clothesline-like maneuver and then both guys go to the mat with Mabel locking Vega in a side headlock. This match isn't highlighting either's guy strengths at all and the crowd erupts in a huge, loud "ECW" chant. Its not like every ECW match from 95' was even that great, but Mabel and Vega were doing alot of laying around. Mabel eventually hits Vega with a bodyslam off the ropes and then a splash to get the clean victory. I can understand why they wanted to keep Vega looking somewhat strong, but this whole thing would've been considerably more effective if they had let Mabel actually just squash him with splashes and slams instead of putting needless submissions into this match. In fact, the post-match scene of Mabel destroying Razor Ramon gets more heat and feels more vicious and interesting than anything we saw in the match before it (with maybe the biggest pop going to the arrival of the 1-2-3 Kid) and fans are so displeased with Mabel's coronation that he and Sir Mo get pelted with garbage a couple times too. Those moments save an otherwise poor match, but I have no plans to revisit any of this anytime soon. (1.5/5)

After some pre-taped interview, its main event time - Deisel and Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Sid and Tatanka. The story coming into this match was that Sid had injured Deisel's elbow by chokeslamming him (barely) at the inaugural (?) In Your House event and then powerbombing him on RAW (I think?). Bigelow, meanwhile, had recently turned face after splitting with Ted Dibiase's Million Dollar Corporation, the stable that Tatanka, on the other hand, had turned heel to join. Sid and Tatanka come out first followed by Bigelow, who has on some extra gear that makes him look like one of the gladiators from The Running Man, and then Deisel, who actually gets a pretty sizable pop considering the Philly crowd wasn't always super supportive of Vince's hand-picked heroes. The match is built around Deisel's injury, which at least gives the match some weight and a narrative that makes up sympathize with Deisel and actually consider Tatanka a threat to anybody. As Deisel plays face-in-peril, the crowd (noticeably high-pitched) chants his name, but the older fans in the first few rows look none-too-impressed. Sid misses a leg drop and Bigelow comes in for a hot tag, taking out both men. He hits an impressive dropkick on Tatanka and then drops Sid with a DDT too. Bigelow connects with a headbutt from the top, but the ref is distracted by DiBiase so he can't make the count. Sid kicks out of Bigelow's second attempt and Bigelow goes after the Million Dollar Man, only to get struck in the back by Sid. With Bigelow standing on the middle rope, Sid goes for a choke and then hits him with a huge chokeslam (credit to Bigelow for that one). The kids in the audience boo, but its noticeable that some of the audience cheers (the same segment of the audience that would famously cheer him at Survivor Series 96' in his title match against Shawn Michaels a good 15 or so months later). Tatanka then comes in to beat on Bigelow, eventually even hitting him with a back suplex. Sid comes back in and hits a running boot on Bigelow in the corner and then another one dead-center in the ring. The Bammer fights out of the corner, but then runs into another big boot that sends him to the floor. Tatanka inflicts some more punishment on the outside, preventing Bigelow from hitting a splash. Back outside and Sid hits yet another running boot to Bigelow. Back in the ring, Sid applies a chinlock. See? You can complain about Sid overrelying on big boots, but is him applying a chinlock any better? Bigelow tries to get to the corner but Sid applies a front-face lock. Bigelow makes the tag and rallies, slamming Sid with a bodyslam and then an elbow drop - but it hurts Deisel even more than Sid! Deisel is forced to make the tag, as is Tatanka. Tatanka hits a crossbody for 2 on Bigelow and then applies a headlock as Deisel sells serious pain on the outside. The Bammer shrugs him off and catches Tatanka off the ropes, but the legit Lakota hits a jumping DDT. Moments later, Bigelow and Tatanka crash in the center of the ring and both men go down. Bigelow tries a cover, but only gets 2. Tatanka reapplies a headlock, trying his best to wear down Bigelow. Off the ropes they go and Tatanka dodges the Bammer with a leapfrog only for Bigelow to squash him with a frontflip cannonball! Bigelow makes the tag and Deisel takes over. Tatanka attempts a belly-to-back, but Deisel grabs the ropes and shoves him off. Deisel calls for the Jacknife Powerbomb to a huge pop but struggles to even lift Tatanka. He makes a cover, but instead of taking the 3 count he pulls up Tatanka and begs for Sid. Sid, in a great show of cowardice, backs out of the match as the rowd pelts him with garbage. Nash hits another elbow drop for the win. I'm guessing this was done to protect both guys, but the crowd was certainly robbed of a real finish. This match was better than I expected and, on a show this terrible, was arguably the best match on the card. That still doesn't mean it was anything better than average and, because of the weak ending, even calling it average seems like giving it too much praise. (2/5)


With a lowly Kwang Score of 1.27-out-of-5, there is nothing recommendable from this show - save for maybe the Bob Backlund sketch and, if its your bag, the Hart/Lawler match. The King of the Ring tournament features nothing but duds, talents like Shawn Michaels and Scott Hall are completely wasted, and the main event would've been underwhelming even on your average episode of Raw from this era. I'm not sure how or why anyone bought tickets for this show if this was the advertised card (I'm guessing it was not). Is this the absolute worst WWE show of all time? I haven't reviewed every show, but I'm willing to bet that if I did, this would certainly be in the bottom 5%. Of all the WWE shows I have reviewed, though, it is the lowest by a wide margin.

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville