It's June 13th, 1993. Jurassic Park has just hit theaters two days prior, The Montreal Canadiens have just won the Stanley Cup, and Prince changed his name to a symbol. But more importantly for this blog, it's the inaugural King of the Ring Pay Per View, being held live from the Nutter Arena in Dayton, Ohio The attendance is 65,000, and a 1.1 buyrate.
The King of the Ring itself has been a concept used in years prior starting in 1985 with Don Muraco winning the event. The following year would see Harley Race take the win and make it his gimmick, transforming him into that of King Harley Race. The crown would end up with the likes of Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Haku, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage. In terms of the tourney itself, Savage would win a tournament in 1987, and would be followed in years with Ted Dibiase, Tito Santana, and Bret Hart.
With the WWF beginning to expand their pay per views to more than the standard four a year at this point, the fifth annual event would end up using the King of the Ring concept complete with the tournament gimmick, which we will see in action tonight. Along with that, we have an eight man tag team match, along with Hulk Hogan making his first in ring appearance since winning the WWF championship back at Wrestlemania IX. The very same championship he would call a "trinket" in Japan. He'll defend said trinket against former champion Yokozuna, who gets his rematch before Bret Hart can even sniff the leather of the strap any time soon.
After a classic screamy promo with Vince running down the card for tonight, we're taken to the arena and our announcers for tonight, Macho Man Randy Savage, Bobby "the Brai" Heenan, and Jim Ross. And opening our night of action tonight is the first round match of the tournament, Razor Ramon taking on Bret Hart. The crowd chants "1-2-3" at Ramon, constantly reminding him of his loss to the 1-2-3 Kid a month ago. Bret also gets a great reaction from the crowd, and gives his sunglasses to a young fan in the front row. Interestingly enough, this is the second time we've seen Bret vs Razor on pay per view on this blog, as they faced off for the WWF Championship back in January at the Royal Rumble.
Both men lock up to start, and are evenly matched in strength. Headlock by Bret is shoved off by Razor, but neither go down on a shoulder block. Bret takes Razor down with an arm drag and beginsto put holgs on the right arm. Razor breaks out, goes for a whip, and hits a clothesline off an attempted hip toss. Razor misses an elbow, and Bret gets the arm back into a lock. Razor breaks out, but gets put back in quickly.
Razor attempts a body slam, is unable to break the hold. Razor breaks out with a thumb to the eye. But just as quickly as Razor regains offense, he's put right back into a hammerlock. He escapes again, and manages to get a knee into Bret, and tosses him shoulder first into the ring post. A club to the chest on the apron by Razor, who quickly throws him back in as the crowd pipes up with the "1-2-3" chants. Stomp on the hands of Bret, and he follows up with a fallaway slam for a two.
A kick to the face by Razor is followed with a running powerslam for another near fall. Hard elbows to the sternum is followed up with a sidewalk slam. Razor goes once more for an elbow, but Bret avoids multiple attempts. Bret lays in rights and takes Razor to the corner. Inverted Atomic Drop and a clothesline for two. Bret then hits the side Russian leg sweep for two. Backbreaker gets another two followed by an elbow off the turnbuckle for yet another near fall. Razor tries a clothesline, but Bret rolls him up for two. Bulldog gets countered into Bret going sternum first into the turnbuckle. Razor sets Bret for the Razor's Edge, but Bret escapes and tries to lock a back slide. He slides over the buckle for a roll up for a really close two count. Razor goes for the back suplex off the top turnbuckle, but Bret turns it into a cross body for the three.
A far better match than their one at the Royal Rumble. It's been such a long while since I've seen Bret Hart in action, that it just shows how much better things are when he's involved. While it started slow, it picked up big time by the end, and neither man looked weak by the end, especially Razor. And this means we're due one more match with Bret tonight, and it's against whoever wins over Mr. Perfect or Mr. Hughes.
Speaking of Mr. Hughes, we're recapped to this weekend's edition of Superstars where Mr. Huges and Giant Gonzalez have teamed up to take out Harvey Whippleman's main anatagonists Paul Bearer and the Undertaker. Hughes would use the sacred urn while to attack the Undertaker, denting it in the process. It also appears that he actually put in some hard smacks on both Bearer and Taker in the process.
It's time for match two of the first round. A battle of Mr's. Mr. Perfect vs Mr. Hughes. Perfect cockily throws his towel at Hughes as he goes to pose on the turnbuckle. Heenan uses his "brain scan" to artistically show us that Perfect is a "foul ball". It's great to hear Jim Ross actually talking about the history of both men, and not like Vince who really adds nothing.
Big throws by Hughes to start. Perfect ducks some attacks by Hughes and hits a massive arm drag. Dropkick by Perfect doesn't take Hughes down. A right from Hughes knocks Perfect down, and it appears he hurt his leg a bit from the landing. More clubbing blows by Hughes is followed by a headlock. Perfect attempts offense again, but gets a big boot. A big clothesline is folled with another chinlock. Perfect grabs the tie of Hughes to escape, but Hughes grabs the hair. Hard whip to the buckle sees Perfect bounce over.
Bret is being interviewed mid-match, and his best answer for who he thinks will win this match is Mr. Perfect not so much for who has the better odds, but more who he'd rather wrestle, and honestly I'd rather he wrestle Perfect as well, no offense to Hughes. Back in the ring, both men brawl some more, and Hughes gets in a rake to the eyes, followed with some chokes on the ropes. He goes for a leg on the rope, but gets a groin full instead. Perfect gets another big hiptoss and a solid back drop for a man with known back issues. Perfect gets his neck snap and lays blows in the corner. However, Hughes hits Mr. Perfect with the urn to get himself disqualified. Not a bad match. I honestly don't find Mr. Hughes all that bad for a big man, and I thought he handled himself well with Mr. Perfect.
In a pre-match interview with Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji, Fuji tells us that Hogan cheated at Wrestlemania to win the title, despite, you know, it being himself that issued the challenge to hogan, and it being himself that threw the salt into the eyes of Yokozuna that cost his champion the match. Regardless, tonight Hogan will face a bigger, hugrier Yokozuna, and that America and Hogan will go down.
Up next is the third match of the first round. It's Bam Bam Bigelow taking on Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Duggan does his 2x4 gunshots in before we get into action. Headlock by Bam Bam is pushed off quick. A series of collisions between both men leads to neither men being able to go down. Eventually Hacksaw gets in enough momentum to clothesline Bam Bam. More blows by Duggan takes Bam Bam into the corner. Bam Bam manages to whip Duggan into the corner, but crashes and burns on an avalanche attempt. Duggan tries a body slam, but gets nothing as he sells injured ribs.
Bam Bam continues offense on the ribs, and locks in a bearhug. Duggan manages to break out, only to be taken down again. Bam Bam misses a diving headbutt, and Duggan tries a body slam, but gets countered for a two. Bam Bam tries a bearhug, but Duggan breaks out of it again by biting him. Bam Bam misses a knee to the head as Duggan finally gets the body slam. He sets up the three point stance, but misses the battering ram, going head first into the buckle. Bam Bam lands a flying headbutt off the top rope for the three.
Wasn't all that jazzed with this one. Thought Bam Bam did fine, but it was just a bunch of boring clubbing blows and little interesting offense. At least the right guy went over in the end, so I can hardly complain.
Terry Taylor is in the babyface locker room with the Smoking gunns and the Steiner Brothers. We haven't seen Taylor on Raw in months as it's turned out that he's pretty much retired from in ring competition to now take on the interviewer position. He asks the Gunns about being the underdogs in the match, and Billy is fine with this since it could turn into a battle royal, and the Gunns have great partners in the Steiners. Scott in a very subdued interview just says they'll win the match with the frankensteiner. It's weird to hear Scott talk and not be an absolute lunatic. Rick however is more energetic.
And now we enter my own personal spot in hell. It's the final match of the first round. "The Narcissist" Lex Luger against Tatanka. The battle of the boring in ring. The big selling point of this first round match up is that neither man has been defeated since their debut. The referee tells Luger to put a protective pad on the steel plated arm before the match, much to the chagrin of Lex. However, he's forced to lest he be immediately eliminated.
Tatanka runs to the ring, and Luger starts off with cheap shots and a toss over the rope. He goes to pose in the mirror still in the ring, but Tatanka gingerly pushes it on Luger so it doesn't end up smashing all over him. Chops by Tatanka sends Luger over the rope as they finally remove the mirror. Body slam on the outside from Tatanka. Luger pleads for mercy, but a whip and a back body drop by Tatanka followed with a clothesline for a two. He works on the arm for a while while Jim Ross and Bobby Heenan argue with one another at the table. Luger tries a slam but Tatanka keeps the lock on, and follows with a leg drop, and puts the lock back on, laying clubbing blows on the shoulder.
Bam Bam is interviewed mid match, and his preference of opponent is "the Indian", that being Tatanka. Which makes sense since the two have had a feud for the last few months. Back in the ring, Tatanka gets two on a cross body, and continues the arm bar. Luger counters a hammerlock, which is placed back on by Tatanka. A cheap elbow by Luger finally breaks it as he lays in boots in the corner. He gets in a knee to the guy, and lays an elbow for the two. Luger gets a back breaker and walks around for a minute or two since he looks winded. Elbow for a two followed by a nice jumping elbow that he takes forever and a day to cover for a two. He argues with the ref, but Tatanka rolls him up for two.
Tatanka regains momentum for a second with chops and clubs, but Luger gets a cheap shot to regain offense, locking him in a headlock for quite some time. Tatanka breaks out, but once again gets taken out with a clothesline. Another elbow and a slow cover for a two count. Tatanka gets an inside cradle for a two, and Luger is quick to recover with a stomp. Irish whip is turned into a sunset flip for a two, as Luger gets another shot in to Tatanka. Kick to the ribs of Tatanka as Lex Luger is huffing and puffing. Boots in the corner by Lex who insults the crowd before fixing his constantly trunks. And much like every single person has done, he foolishly rams Tatanka face first into the turnbuckle, which channels his war dance.
Now in no-sell mode, Tatanka lays in several chops, followed by another chop for a two count. Powerslam by Tatanka only gets a near three. Tatanka hits a top rope chop which only gets another two count. He tries a cross body, but Luger avoids it. Stomps by Luger and a hard clothesline for another two count as the commentators make mention of the 15 minute time limit coming close. A rather ugly powerslam by Luger only gets a two. Luger fixes his trunks as one minute remains. Ugly back body drop by Lex is followed with a suplex for a two. Backbreaker by Luger, he goes for a cover, and another kickout as the time limit is reached. Both men are eliminated, meaning Bam Bam Bigelow goes right to the finals.
Didn't care for this match to be honest. Tatanka is still boring to see in the ring, and Luger is just a mess. Constantly needing to fix his trunks and easily winded. And since the match was intended to go to the full 15 minutes, it meant a lot of stalling and a lot of kicking out of basic moves and even some finishers. And in the end it was all to try to make sure neither men lose their undefeated streaks and keep them strong. But to be honest, I think both look even worse than they already did. At least in my eyes.
Post-match, Luger grabs a mic and says he came here to be king of the ring, and wants five more minutes. Please god no. Luger takes the elbow pad off and gets a cheap shot on Tatanka with the steel plated forearm. Referees send Luger to the back and check on Tatanka.
Mean Gene is with Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect, who will square off next. Gene starts up trouble by claiming that Bret preferred wrestling Perfect over Hughes because it would be easier. Perfect is certain that won't happen, because he owes Bret for their match back at Summerslam in 1991. Perfect says that the mutual respect is out the window, and that tonight he's going to prevail.
And we go right into the only semi-final match of the show, Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect. The last time the two wrestled on Pay Per View was the 1991 Summerslam event for the Intercontinental Championship, where Bret would defeat Mr. Perfect to win the gold. This would also lead to Perfect taking the better part of a year and a half off television due to back injuries. But now here we are with two of the best workers in the company's history still in their prime. This should be a great one.
Bret is sporting tape on his fingers due to dislocations caused by Razor Ramon earlier. Stalemate early on with grapples from both men. Bret locks a headlock, which Perfect breaks, but Bret gets a shoulder block and a hip toss. An attempt at a headlock is turned into a leg scissors by Perfect. Bret manages to turn it into another headlock, but Perfect breaks it with a loud chop. Body slam by Bret is met with boots to the face by Perfect. A body slam by Perfect is also met with boots to the face by Bret, who reapplies the headlock. This match has had more energy and momentum in three minutes than the entire Tatanka/Luger match had in fifteen.
Perfect breaks out, but Bret gets a crucifix pin for a two, and reapplies the headlock, as a couple female fans cheer him on. Perfect breaks out, but Bret gets a cross body for a two. Bret gets a sunset flip over the apron for another two, and quickly locks the head once again. Perfect gets a cheap kick on the ropes, and lays in some boots to the ribs, followed by a dropkick sending Bret to the outside. Showing some shades of heelishness, he holds the ropes for Bret to come back in, and gets another cheap kick to the leg of Bret, suckering him in on the belief of sportsmanship.
Hard chop in the corner followed by forearms into the back of the head of the Hitman. A knee lift to the head only gets a two. Perfect takes Bret outside and rams him head first into the ring apron. Before Bret can get back in, Perfect shoves him off the apron into the steel railing. Bret holds his knee in pain as Perfect brings him back in. Another knee lift only gets a two count. Perfect ascends the top rope, and hits a flying dropkick. Cover, but Hart manages to kick out. Hard whip chest first into the buckle only gets another two. Perfect goes up top again, but Bret stops him long enough land a beautiful superplex that only gets a two count.
Bret works on the leg of Perfect with kicks, and then goes not for a sharpshooter, but a figure four leg lock. Perfect writhes in pain, but eventually manages to grab the ropes forcing the break. Bret doesn't waste motion and goes for a leg grapevine to continue the pain. Perfect manages to break it, but is limping, He gets Bret in the corner and tosses him by the hair. A sleeper hold is applied by Mr. Perfect. He gets to the rope, but Perfect keeps it in until referee Earl Hebner forces the break. Perfect's knee continues to act up on him, but he gets up and locks the hold right back in, and uses his foot on the ropes for added leverage. Bret smacks Perfect face first into the buckle. Forearm by Bret who hair pulls Perfect, sending him sliding groin first into the ring post.
Inverted atomic drop and side Russian Leg sweep for two. Leg drop and a back breaker is followed with the patented Bret Hart elbow for another two. Bret sets up the sharpshooter, but Perfect grabs the injured fingers to break it. He sets up the Perfectplex, but Bret reverses it, causing a suplex that sends both men over the top rope. Both men get back in, but Perfect can barely stand. Perfect goes for a cradle which is turned around by Bret for the three. Post-match, Perfect is frustrated over his loss, but in the end, they handshake as Bret celebrates in the ring. One more match for him to go, and it will be against Bam Bam Bigelow.
Absolutely incredible match by two of the absoulte best ever. Tons of offense, never felt slow, some great near fall moments. There was really nothing flawed with this match. But what I loved the most out of it was Mr. Perfect, still a babyface, managed to dig back into his heel roots, using deception and cheating to try to get himself the victory. Also for a guy with known back problems, taking a bump like the suplex to the outside was incredible. This is a definite must-watch match.
We go to a pre-recorded video with Mean Gene talking to Hulk Hogan... or what appears initially to be the eerie spray painted face of Hulk Hogan on the jacket of Jimmy Hart. Hogan pretty much says that there will be no Pearl Harboring from Yokozuna tonight, and that he will hold on to that trinket toy around his waist. Jimmy Hart recites the WCW theme of Hogan, as Hogan says the hulkamaniacs are going in the ring. By crook or by hook, America and Hulk Hogan will destroy Yokozuna. Essentially, this was yet another awful Hogan promo that tries to remind us that despite not being around for the better part of three months, the world still revolves around Hogan-Senpai.
It's time for the WWF Championship match between Hulk Hogan and Yokozuna. Yoko is being followed to the ring by Japanese cameramen, including one with a rather large beard. Hmmm, I wonder if that will play into this match somehow? Nah.
An admittedly great pop for Hogan, though how much of that is piped in, I don't know. Match starts a bit slow as Yoko does his ceremonial salt throwing and posing. After about two minutes, both men lock up, but Hogan is unable to outstrength Yoko. Yoko manages to throw him to the mat to the dismay of the Hulkster. Hard chop to the chest of Hogan followed by an elbow to the head. Chops and blows to the neck of Hogan is met with a quick body slam. He works down Hogan with more chops and a hard whip to the corner. He goes for a splash in the corner, but Hogan avoids it, and lays in Yokozuna with punches and a bite to the face. Whip in the corner and a clothesline. Hogan tries a body slam, but Yokozuna denies it.
Hogan evades a clothesline and tries another body slam, but gets nothing. Hogan evades some clotheslines and goes for some of his own, but is unable to knock Yokozuna down. Yoko instead lands one of his own. He attempts a splash, but Hogan escapes. He tries another shoulder block, but gets knocked down by Yoko, who then applies a bearhug. Hogan tries to escape, but gets locked into a wastlock instead.
The crowd chants USA as Hebner goes for the arm drop spot. And of course on the third drop, Hogan regains his momentum and hulks up. He breaks out of the bearhug with punches, but Yoko gets in an elbow. He hits a belly to belly, and takes a shile to get the cover for a two. Hogan begins to fully hulk up now, not selling any of his offense, laying more punches and a big boot that dosen't phase Yoko. He goes for it again, he stays up, but the third time does the charm. Hogan drops the leg for a two count. He attacks Fuji and signals that he's going to attempt the slam, but the bearded photographer goes on the ring apron. Hogan tries to deal with him, when suddenly...
The flash bulb lets off a fiery explosion right into Hogan's face. This gives Yokozuna enough time to drop the leg for a three. Yokozuna is the new WWF champion, despite that obviously being something that should be grounds for a disqualification. As Hogan stumbles in the ring still blinded by the flash, Yokozuna attacks him, and hits the banzai drop, as Kevin Dunn instructs the cameramen to focus on crying children.
I can't really say that was a bad match. Yoko did fine, I think Hogan did a good enough job. But in the end the cheap ending of the flash bulb does kind of ruin the moment. But the world that revolves around Hulk Hogan has finally stopped on its axis, and the belt he devalued is back on someone who actually seems to care about the championship.
But what's most important about this moment is that this will be the final televised wrestling match for Hulk Hogan in the WWF for almost nine whole years. Hogan would shortly after cut an interview with Vince McMahon announcing his departure from the company. His intention was pretty obvious from minute one. Hogan was bored with the wrestling industry and tried his damnedest to pursue that pipe dream of becoming a successful movie and television star. This is just around the time he signed on to Thunder in Paradise. He will also continue to wrestle for New Japan for several matches throughout 1993.
But we've now entered that crossroads point. The biggest wrestling star of this era is finished with the WWF. One of the last bastions of the rock and wrestling era, the man who arguably carried professional wrestling from the low rent bingo halls to world famous arenas has left the very business he helped expand. And thus while we still sit on the cusp of it, we've now officially entered the new generation. Hogan's gone. Warrior's gone. Savage is stuck at the announce table despite much to his own chagrin. It's up to the young bucks of the roster to try to keep things going in what is going to be a few stormy years ahead.
Terry Taylor catches up to Mr. Perfect who is still upset over his loss, but gives his props to Bret Hart before leaving in a huff. This is followed up with an interview with Shawn Michaels. Mean Gene wonders if lightning can strike twice, but Shawn tells it like it is. Hogan's a dinosaur, and not unlike the Flintstones, Yokozuna ate him up like brontosaurus burgers. We also finally get Diesel named by Shawn.
Up next is the eight man tag team match. The Steiner Brothers and the Smoking Gunns to take on Money Inc and the Headshrinkers. On the last episode of Raw, we saw the heel teams have some issues with each other, but money solves everything, and I'm certain they gave Afa some more delicious jeffersons to keep him content.
Ted Dibiase and Scott Steiner start things off. Arm drags by Dibiase start it slow. Scott leapfrogs Dibiase and lands a dropkick before throwing him over the top rope. Rick takes him back in, and he gets taken right back out. Tag to Fatu and a tag to Bart Gunn. Both men counter hip tosses, but Bart gets a dropkick, and a face slam, but it has no effect as Fatu lays in a savat kick. Tag to Samu who hits a headbutt after a double team. Tag to IRS, who hits an elbow to the face of Bart followed by a leg drop. Tag back to Dibiase who chops down Bart and hits an elbow off a whip.
After a vertical suplex, the tag goes back to Fatu as the headshrinkers hit a double back drop. Tag to IRS who lays in a flying forearm off the top rope. Leg drop for a two count. Bart manages a sunset flip, but gets a two count. Irish whip from IRS leads to a double clothesline taking both men out. Tag to Billy Gunn and Dibiase. Big back body drop and a series of clotheslines by Billy, but Dibiase slingshots him into the rope and locks in the million dollar dream. He lets go of the hold while Billy is out cold. He goes for a body slam, but Billy rolls him up for a surprise three. Post-match, the faces throw out the heel team.
Could have been better honestly. Way too little Steiners involved. Hell, Rick was never even tagged in. Way too much focus on Bart Gunn being the face in peril, and the roll up pinfall kinda felt hollow. I was really let down with this one as I honestly have enjoyed all four teams. Then again I prefer them more when it's basic tag matches and not a multitude of workers at one time muddling things up.
Mean Gene catches up with Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji, along with WWF President Jack Tunney, as cameramen take pictures. Tunney congratulates Yokozuna, despite, you know, clearly cheating. Fuji says that he told everyone that Hogan would go down, and that his Yokozuna would become the WWF champion. Gene equates this night as a piece of Americana dying. Fuji promises the big celebration will be held in America.
Up next is the WWF Intercontinental Championship match between champion Shawn Michaels and Crush. It feels weird to see a belt that isn't the top title being defended further into the card, but it's definitely refereshing. Crush starts with a headlock followed by a shoulder block that sends Shawn flipping out of the ring. He reapplies the headlock. Shawn leapfrogs Crush and lays a jab in, following up with an armbar. Crush leapfrogs Shawn and hits two dropkicks taking Shawn back out of the ring.
Crush trips the leg and follows up with a military press slam. Savage believes that Crush could slam Yokozuna, despite you know, Shawn being about 300 pounds less than Yoko, so that's not the best way to judge that. Crush then hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Diesel drags Shawn out to help him get his bearings back. Crush goes out of the ring and stares down Diesel as Shawn sneaks up behind, sending Crush head first into the ring post. Diesel adds an extra smack of the head into the buckle.
Shawn bangs him into the post several more times as the ref argues with Diesel. Shawn stops the 10 count and drags him back into the ring and goes for a cover, but it only gets a two. Shawn stomps Crush furiously and goes up top for an axe handle. He tries another cover, but only gets a two. He goes for a front face lock while the commentators mention that Shawn was stupid to bring Crush back in and not try for a count out victory. Crush breaks out of the lock by tossing Shawn off him, but Shawn tries again, and gets tossed even higher. Shawn tries once more, and gets tossed over the top rope landing neck first on the rope during the fall. Shawn goes on the top rope, but Crush slams him head first into the mat. Big back body drop by Crush followed by a big back breaker for a two. He lands a boot and a leg drop for a two. Crush tries a military press, but Shawn escapes, only to be clotheslined over the top. However...
The double Doinks walk down the aisle, with the main one just puffing on a cigar. The double Doinks distract Crush, as Shawn gets a superkick to the back of the head for the three. The Doinks run off with Crush giving chase. Not an amazing match, but definitely nothing really worth complaining about. I may not be a big fan of Crush, but compared to the likes of Tatanka, he's far better in the ring. And for a massive difference in styles with both men, they meshed together quite well for a fine enough in ring performance.
Mean Gene interviews a well rested Bam Bam Bigelow, who is so well rested that he doesn't even want to wait. He's ready to take out the far more burned out Bret Hart. And with that, it's time for our main event of the evening. The King of the Ring finals between Bam Bam Bigelow and Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Heenan brings up how much more injured Bret's been throughout while Bam Bam's been relaxed throughout.
Bret comes down to the ring with a limp, but despite that starts the match with right hands to Bam Bam, but Bigelow gets more clubs into Bret. Bret ducks a clothesline, but gets caught in a slam, but Bret turns it into a cross body for a two. Bret works on the arm of Bam Bam until his eyes get raked. A clothesline by Bam Bam takes Bret down, and he follows with a military pressslam sending Bret over the top rope to the floor. Bam Bam brings him back in to land headbutts to the kidneys.
Hard irish whip causing Bret to smash into the buckle, as Bam Bam hits another headbutt. Cover attempts only get two counts. He continues to work on the injured lower back with axe handles and a big back suplex for a two. Bret fights out of the corner, but Bam Bam throws him hard into the corner yet again. Another headbutt this time to the chest, which only gets another two. He follows it up with a bearhug, which leads to the arm drop spot, but Bret recovers at 1. However Bam Bam hits another back suplex for a two count. He tosses Bret back out of the ring and goes for a whip, but Bret reverses it sending Bam Bam into the guard rail.
Bret smacks Bam Bam once more on the guard rail and follows up with an elbow drop off the ring apron. Bret tries a dive off the apron again, but it caught, and smashed back first into the steel post. Bam Bam follows it up with a body slam on the unprotected floor.
But if that wasn't enough hardships for the Hitman, Luna Vachon arrives and hits Bret with a chair while the referee is distracted by Bam Bam. Bam Bam brings him back into the ring and hits a body slam to set up his flying headbutt off the top rope. He hits it, and gets the three. However, before Bam Bam can celebrate, Earl Hebner shows up to tell Referee Joey Marella about the chair shot by Luna. So the match is forced to continue.
Bam Bam works down Bret with more blows to the abdomen. Another hard whip to the corner as Bret staggers out and takes another headbutt. He reapplies the bearhug. This is followed by a submission backbreaker. The referee does the arm spot, but Bret recovers at the three like always and manages to escape and land a big back suplex. But Bam Bam is the first to get up. He tries a seated senton, but Bret manages to avoid it. Bam Bam regains the offense with yet another hard whip. He puts him back up in the back breaker, but Bret rakes the eyes and turns it into a sleeper. Bam Bam throws him off, but is winded enough for Bret to dropkick him and toss him over the top rope.
He then follows with a cross body over the ropes and some peppered punches. He hits a clothesline for a two count. Russian leg sweep and a bulldog off the second turnbuckle. He attempts the sharpshooter, but Bam Bam powers out. Bam Bam put the bearhug back in, but Bret bites the face. He tries for another back suplex, but Bam Bam turns it into a cross body for a two. Another whip to the corner, but Bret counters it into a victory roll for the three. Bret Hart wins the King of the Ring.
Absolutely awesome match. Both men worked incredibly well in it, it told a great story with the beaten Bret never giving in to the onslaught of offense by Bam Bam. Not to mention the fake out victory for Bigelow thanks to Luna's interference. This goes to show just how underrated a worker Bam Bam is, and how well he can work with damn near anyone. And on a night with three great Bret Hart matches, this one may have been even better than the one with Mr. Perfect. For a final match to the King of the Ring tournament, this was definitely worth it.
Bret heads to the coronation with Gene Okerlund. He's given his robe, scepter and crown and is proclaimed by Mean Gene to be the king of the ring. But before Bret can celebrate, Jerry Lawler shows up and calls Bret a pretender to the throne. He might allow him to be a prince if he'll kiss Lawler's feet, but Bret graciously turns down that offer and mentions that Lawler never even entered the tournament. He then calls Lawler "Burger King".
Enraged, Lawler gets a cheap shot on Bret with his scepter and breaks Bret's over his back. He stomps Bret's crown, and tosses the throne over the back of Bret before choking him with the scepter. He then boots Bret right off the stage. And thus with this one heinous act, we'll begin a feud which we'll see go on for the better part of the next two years.
After a massive turd in the punch bowl that was Wrestlemania IX, we come back in a big way with the King of the Ring. An absolutely awesome pay per view from start to finish. Three amazing Bret Hart matches, the death of Hulkamania, an ending that will push storylines further in the coming months, and a decent remaining card that only had one real bad match, that being Tatanka and Lex Luger. If this is what's to come in terms of post-Mania stoylines and pay per views, then at least for now we're in for some great wrestling. If you're looking for any King of the Ring to go back to, this is definitely the one to do so. Sure you don't have Mick Foley falling off the Hell in a Cell, but if you're looking for great wrestling and top notch storytelling, you really can't look much further. Even with Tatanka/Luger, I give this show an easy A.
So, now things have been shaken up big time. Hogan's gone, Yokozuna's champion, Bret Hart has been royally screwed by Jerry Lawler, and the midcard actually looks strong right now. The road to Summerslam will be an interesting one indeed as America needs a new hero to take on the daunting Yokozuna. Who will it be? And will he truly be our hero? Stay tuned to this blog to find out.