We open Raw with a recap of the qualifyers for the King of the Ring. First IRS, then Razor Ramon, followed by Bam Bam Bigelow, Jeff Jarrett, Owen Hart and as of this point, the 1-2-3 Kid. And we end the qualifyers with Crush (not Jimmy Del Ray. I guess the KOTR wanted none of the gyration sensation) vs... sigh... Tatanka. It's Vince and Savage at the table as we are midway through this trilogy of tapings in Youngstown, Ohio. Also on the card tonight is the King's Court with WWF Champion Bret Hart as we near his title defense against Diesel.
Tatanka vs Crush opens our episode of Raw this week. Tatanka isn't doing his sprint to the ring due to being accompanied by Chief Jay Strongbow. Some arm wringers From Tatanka to start followed by a cross body for two. A lot of stalling follows until Crush gets in a cheap shot. Tatanka ducks an elbow and lands three clotheslines to dump Crush out of the ring. Crush regains momentum with some more cheap shots including a thumb to the throat. He misses a corner splash, which Tatanka turns into a clothesline off the second rope for two. Tatanka rams Crush into the corner multiple times, but Crush does not have the magic no-sell powers. Tatanka and Chief Jaw Strongbow are distracted by Fuji as Crush gets in a cheap shot to go to break.
When we return, Crush locks in a bearhug and a belly to belly. Small package by Tatanka for two. Another rake to the eyes by Crush, who then proceeds to do what
EVERY
SINGLE
PERSON
HAS
DONE
IN
A
FRIGGING
TATANKA
MATCH
He rams Tatanka head first into the top turnbuckle, which activates the war dance. So Crush rams him into the buckle again. Dude stop, it's just going to make him stronger! Tatanka gets in a face buster followed by several chops including one from the top rope. Cover gets a two. He drops Crush with a Rude Awakening style neckbreaker. Mr. Fuji takes a year trying to get on the rope as Strongbow chops him. Inverted atomic drop from Crush (which Vince calls a "reverse piledrive"). He confronts Strongbow as Tatanka cones to the save. Both men brawl on the outside to a double count out. Crush celebrates like Lex Luger at Summerslam until he realizes, oh right, I lost too. More brawling as referees do a terrible job in breaking it up.
Didn't like this match much. Very slow and lacking in any excitement. A very by-the-books Tatanka performance and Crush continues to be mediocre at best in-ring. We get not one, but two Tatanka buckle spots, some dull brawling and a double count out to add drama, but feels like a fart in the wind. It just stinks. What is it with Tatanka and count outs when it comes to the King of the Ring?
State of your shirt, Todd! It's the King of the Ring report for the week. With the exception of the situation with the last entrant, the card is set in stone. Diesel vs Bret Hart, Roddy Piper vs Jerry Lawler, The Headshrinkers vs Crush & Yokozuna and the eight-man King of the Ring. We get an interview with Owen Hart who says that Jack Tunney shouldn't allow either Tatanka or Crush to get a second chance. Owen should get a bye in the tournament.
We go back to the previous weekend's Superstars as we see Ted Dibiase at a funeral parlor. The week prior he was at a cemetary. A funeral parlor smells like money. Dead or alive, everyone's got a price for the Million Dollar Man. Dibiase claims he has made contact with the Undertaker and soon, like Nikolai Volkoff, Undertaker will be property of the Million Dollar Man.
Up next is the 1-2-3 Kid in action against George South. Lots of Flintstones references tonight since the movie came out that weekend. 1-2-3 is the Al Unser Jr. of the WWF. Well screw Sparky Plugg then, you know, the actual racer. Bleeding reds Vince and Savage congratulate Rush Limbaugh on his recent marriage and tell the liberals to watch out. Slow to start until the Kid gets a kick and a hiptoss. More kicks and a leg drop. Body slam for two. South gets a back suplex off a headlock and works some stomps. Kid ducks and jumps over South and lands a spin kick and a cradle for three. A very bland squash, even for the Kid.
It's time for this week's King's Court. With his guest being Bret Hart, he gets right into the parents jokes. "I told Stu to act his age, so he died". He introduces Bret to the ring to a great pop. Lawler brings up the King of the Ring last year to the ire of the hitman. But Lawler has some more guests, that being Shawn Michaels and the intercontinental champion Diesel. Bret promises Diesel that he'll find out why Bret is the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. Bret will get the VIP treatment from Big Daddy Cool. The being Very Intense Pain. A sucker punch from Diesel and a jacknife powerbomb. Lawler and Michaels join in as the officials try to stop the assault.
Todd Pettengill gives us some answers from Jack Tunney. Next week, Tatanka and Crush will face off again in a lumberjack match to fill the last slot of the King of the Ring. There will be a definite winner next week. So, I get to see the same dull match again only with more wrestlers around ringside. Yay.
Our last match of the evening is Jeff Jarrett vs Chris Hammrick. Hammrick starts with an arm drag and an arm bar. Jarrett cries hair pulling as he breaks out. Back to the same spot until Jarrett drops Hammrick neck first into the ropes followed by a drop kick. Vince tries to compare Jeff Jarrett to Barney Rubble, which I think is the closest thing to a Rick Moranis refrence we'll get out of the WWF. But since Vince knows jack about the Flintstones outside of that reference, he doesn't seem to know who Dino is.
And then we get out weekly Clinton dig over the Gennifer Flowers stuff. Jarrett lands a fist drop and drops a leg to Hammrick on the rope. this is followed by a big back body drop. Elbow to the face and an irish whip. Hammrick gets a dropkick, but misses a splash off the buckle. Jarrett locks in the figure four for the win. A dull squash. We didn't even get the Hammrick bump.
We end Raw running down Crush vs Tatanka in the lumberjack match for the final King of the Ring spot. We then cut to Jerry Lawler, he promises a big guest next week. He doesn't want to say names, but he's from Scotland and wears a shirt named "Hot Rod". Methinks the king be pulling a ruse.
Overall, a pretty dull episode of Raw. The big Tatanka/Crush match was underwhelming and felt more like an angle than a match. The other enhancement matches were no better either. The highlight was easily the King's Court for once as this finally provided some decent build towards Bret and Diesel at the pay per view. Other than that, it's one you can easily skip. A D episode.