It's June 25th, 1995. Pocahontas is painting with the colors of the box office revenue, beating out Batman Forever. Bryan Adams was asking the billboard charts "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman"? But the question in the WWF is "Who will become the third King of the Ring"? Emanating from the CoreStates Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to an attendance of 16,590, up from last year's 12,000. However, the buyrate hit a 6.5, down from last year's 8.5. The continuing effect of 1995's dwindling returns.
What's been going down since May's "In Your House" PPV? The main storyline has been involving, not so much the WWF champion Diesel, but Bret Hart. After Jerry Lawler got his tainted victory over the Hitman back at In Your House, he went on a gloating streak. Bret however wanted none of it, and goaded Lawler to a rematch. Lawler would accept Bret's challenge, making it a "Kiss my Foot" match, where the loser had to kiss the foot of the winner. This would lead to several weeks of Lawler talking about how he wasn't washing his feet, getting them covered in manure, and promising corns and calluses. So, you know, great listening material for those with perhaps a weak stomach. Bret however promised that when Lawler lost, not only would he have to kiss Bret's foot, but Bret would make sure Lawler would kiss his own stinking foot as well.
Over in the WWF title situation, Diesel's championship was not set to be defended tonight, but instead we're continuing where we left off at In Your House. After Sid injured Diesel's elbow, the members of the Million Dollar Corporation wanted to finish what was left, along with getting rid of Bam Bam Bigelow. And thus led to a tag team match between Tatanka and Sid vs Diesel and Bam Bam. Not too much in terms of storyline as Diesel was out of action for the majority of the month and the rest worked mostly squashes during the time to build to the match.
And finally we have this year's eight entrants in the King of the Ring itself. An interesting lot to say the least. The newly heel Mabel, The Undertaker, Kama, Shawn Michaels, Bob Holly, The Roadie, Razor Ramon and Yokozuna. While far from the worst sounding eight, with big names like Michaels and The Undertaker, it's not exactly boding well for anything to the level of the previous two years in terms of match quality. It also doesn't help that the event is being held in a town synonymous with another more "extreme" promotion. But we'll get to that later.
Opening action is a dark match with Savio Vega taking on IRS in the final qualifying match, due to Razor being out with an injury. Vince and Dok Hendix are the commentators for the evening. "Irwin" chants rain as Savio gets a small package for a two count. Savio then follows with a sunset flip for two. Irwin whips Savio to the buckle, but misses a charge, allowing Savio to roll him up for two. Headlock by Savio as Irwin keeps trying to roll him over for two. Savio reverses a hip toss with a dropkick to the face of Irwin.
Savio locks in another headlock, as we cut to the Spanish announce team. We don't see how Irwin sent Savio outside of the ring. He stomps Savio. Both men return to the ring as Irwin hits a body slam. He goes up, but gets hit with a boot on the way down. Savio blocks a punch and hits several of his own, following up with a whip and an elbow. He lands a suplex and covers for two. Irwin avoids a boot and goes to leave, but Savio brings him right back in. Irwin gets a stomp and tries a whip, but Savio turns it around for a spin kick, granting him the three and the qualification. And since I forgot to mention Bam Bam beating Tatanka at the In Your House pre-show match, this brings the win/loss record for the corporation to 0-8.
As for the match, it was okay for a pre-show match. It moved fast enough and never felt like it dragged on too long. Still not sold on Savio, but despite that, it was the better call of the two to go over.
We open the Pay Per View proper with Yokozuna vs... Savio Vega. Jeez, we can't even get a break with Savio yet? Interesting note that the two door holders at the entrance way are a young Brother Nero and a not-yet-broken Matt Hardy. Savio gets a pop with a US/Puerto Rico flag, which gets a "USA" chants. Savio locks a headlock, but Yoko breaks out and hits a clothesline. Savio ducks another clothesline, but gets hit with a back elbow. Yoko tries an elbow drop, but Savio avoids. Savio locks in a top wristlock, and rams Yoko into the buckle ten times.
Savio Vega tries a spin kick, but Yoko manages to quickly duck. Yoko takes Savio to the corner and lays in some punches. Vince and Hendrix wonder where Owen Hart is, but the tag partner of Yokozuna is busy backstage on the WWF Superstar line. Though to be fair, I'd pay two bucks and more to have Owen Hart banter at me. That would have been money well spent. Yoko tries for a Banzai drop, but Savio gets out from under him. Chop by a wobbly legged Savio, but Yoko continues the offense with a choke on the ropes and a long nerve hold. We get the arm drop spot, with Savio waking up at the third drop, and after almost another minute, he finally gets up to break the hold.
Savio goes for an attack, but gets thrown over the top rope by Yoko. Razor brings Savio back in as Yoko goes for some slaps, but Savio blocks the rights with some of his own. Hard chops by Savio, but Yoko follows with a hard slap of his own. Yoko chokes down Savio in the corner. He hits a body slam and calls for the lag drop, but Savio avoids it. More rights and clotheslines that don't take Yoko down. He follows with the spin kick. He knocks down Jim Cornette as Owen Hart arrives to go after Razor. Savio follows as Yoko goes to attack Savio. But Yoko ends up ramming into the ring post. Savio rolls back in to win yet again.
A pretty boring match honestly. I don't really blame this entirely on Savio. It ws just your basic Yokozuna match. Lots of strikes, slow offense, and slow rest holds. I do feel Savio put in a lot of energy, and things got exciting with the outside interference. But that aside, this was not a good match.
We go backstage to Jerry Lawler's gross foot as even he is choking on the stench. But he still promises to make Bret kiss his stinking royal feet tonight. Tonight, the King will be Bret's Achilles heel.
Roadie goes for an attack, but gets hiptossed by Holly who covers for two. Shoulder blocks and covers by Holly only get two. Sunset flip by Holly, but Roadie grabs the ropes. Small package by Holly, but Roadie kicks out and exits the ring to take a breather and get some advice from Double J. When he returns to the ring, Holly takes Roadie to the corner, but the Roadie manages a chap shot and some strikes to the back. Holly reverses a whip, gets a leapfrog and lands a shoulder block. Roadie tries to reverse an arm drag, but gets countered. Cover by Holly only gets a two.
Holly tries another leapfrog, but gets caught and powerbombed by The Roadie. Roadie follows with a hard irish whip to the corner and a grind of the face to the mat. He lands another hard whip. Roadie takes this time instead to strut a la Double J, following up with a chinlock. Holly breaks free and gets a roll up, but Roadie grabs the ropes and comes back with a clothesline.
After some more dancing by the Roadie, he eventually tries for a piledriver, only for Holly to reverse it. Roadie goes for a whip, but Holly turns it around with a headscissor takedown. Holly ducks a clothesline and lands a great dropkick. He lands some strikes and covers for two. Holly lands a powerslam and covers for two. Roadie gets a kick out of the corner and sets Holly up top for a superplex. Holly breaks free, sending Roadie crashing. Holly dives off the top, only to eat a boot. Weak cover by the Roadie, but Holly kicks out as the third count is dropped. However, the count is still made and oddly, the Roadie advances. What.
Other than the strange finish, this wasn't that hot a match. Lots of basic offense from both men with really nothing spectacular in terms of the in-ring. And with how bad the finish was, it made what was an average match much worse due to the fact. Don't know what I expected, but that something a bit better than that.
Todd Pettengill is backstage with Shawn Michaels. Shawn seems less enthused to remember his match with King Kong Bundy. Shawn says that if he nails you with a little chin music, it's over and done. He doesn't know if he should be warmed up or oiled down.
Up next, it's Kama vs Shawn Michaels in the next quarterfinal match. Kama once again spots a black wreath and smashes it on the ground. An exchange of hammerlocks early on until Shawn dodges some punches and lands a couple of his own. Kama take Shawn to the corner, but Shawn avoids a punchs, reverses a whip and lands a few more punches, quickly backing away. Headlock by Shawn as Kama tries to break out. Kama tries to use Shawn's momentum to throw him over...
Doesn't pan out too well.
Shawn starts working on the arm of Kama with some wringers and an arm bar, but Kama escapes and lands a kick to the midsection and a clothesline that sends Shawn over the top rope. With the ref distracted by Kama, Ted Dibiase lands a few stomps. Kama then takes Shawn and rams him back-first into the steel ring post. He brings Shawn back in and lands a few stomps.
Smokin' Joe Frazier is spotted in the audience as Kama continues his striking offense. He lands some kicks to the ribs of Shawn and follows with a half crab, punching the ribs of Shawn. Shawn tries some punches, but is quickly takes down. Kama sets Shawn on the top rope, laying in a few uppercuts. He then locks Shawn in a backbreaker, but Shawn gets to the corner, and turns it around into a cover that only gets two.
Hard whip to the buckle with Shawn's patented flip oversell sends Shawn to the outside. Dibiase continues to lay some cheap stomps on the outside until the referee sends him back. Shawn makes it back in the ring at the 9 count, only to eat a few more stomps and a series of rib breakers. He follows with another long backbreaker. Shawn finally gets in some punches to break the hold, but he's still weakened. Kama gets a punch to the midsection and whips Shawn to the corner, only to miss the charge. Shawn hits a slingshot cross body out of the corner, finally taking Kama down.
Kama tries an elbow drop, but misses. Vince brings up that there's only under two and a half minutes left on the clock. Shawn lays in some punches, managing to get a clothesline. He kips up and lays a stomp and some peppered rights. Michaels lands an ax handle and covers for two. He takes Kama to the corner and lands more punches as one minute remains. Kama reverses a whip, but Shawn gets a body press, only for Kama to turn it around, covering for two. Shawn gets a small package for two as 15 seconds remain. Kama reverses a whip as Shawn gets a sunset flip, only for the 15 minute time limit to happen. Due to this, we get a draw and both men are gone. Because that's what this show needed. Less Michaels. Kama tries to get a sneak attack on Shawn...
And what you'd expect to happen happens.
Lame finish aside, this actually wasn't a bad match. Granted, a lot of padding to reach the time limit ending, but Kama put in a lot of good offense and looked like a threat to Shawn Michaels. Shawn, as always put in some great spots and some excellent overselling as always. It's just a shame that after the screwy ending with Bob Holly and the Roadie we follow with a somehow even lamer finish. Shawn is also not happy with this outcome, visibly mouthing the word "Bullshit" and staring at Vince quite angrily.
Bob Backlund is out in the streets of Philadelphia continuing his campaign for presidency. He talks about how the people of Philadelphia have scrutinized their city by littering. He yells at a cheese steak and says that there needs to be a carrot in it. It's just some great classic Backlund mania.
Up next, it's the last quarterfinal as Undertaker takes on Mabel. With Shawn and Kama's draw, the winner goes right to the finals. Stephanie Wiand interviews Mabel mid-way through his entrance, only to get the stock "I'm going to beat the Undertaker because I'm going to be King" response.
Mabel shoves Taker into the ropes, tying Taker's foot in the rope. This gives Mabel time to lay in some stomps to the prone dead man. You can hear some guy in the crowd chant "you suck and you'll never be a king. Never! Never!". Oh that poor deluded man. Taker gets back in the ring and hits some chops to the throat and another choke in the ropes. Mo distracts Undertaker, allowing for Mabel to land a belly to belly. Mabel lands a camel clutch , putting all of his weight on the back of the dead man. After a "Rest in Peace" chant from the crowd, Mabel breaks the hold and works in some forearearms and tosses Taker out of the ring, where he rams Taker into the steps.
With the referee distracted, Mo gets in a cheap shot on Undertaker. Taker comes back in, only for Mabel to put all his weight on the back of Taker. Hard whip to the buckle. Suplex by Mabel who covers for two. After a few headbutts, Mabel lands a body slam. Nonchalant cover only gets two for Mabel. Mabel whips Taker in the corner, but his charge is met with a boot and a clothesline from Undertaker. Taker tries a back body drop, but gets caught in a piledriver from Mabel. Cover only gets two.
Both men collide into each other. Mabel gets up first and goes for an elbow drop, but barely misses. Taker hits a few strikes and whips Mabel into the corner. He hits a splash in the corner, followed by another choke. Mabel sends Taker crashing into the referee. Taker lands a flying chothesline. He calls for the finish, and manages a chokeslam. Mo gets a shot to the head for his problems. Taker covers...
But Kama gets involved with a kick to the back. Mabel lands a leg drop as the referee recovers and gets the three to advance to the finals. Undertaker gives chase to Kama.
Not a very good match. Mabel tried, putting in some decent enough work, but in the end it's every single Undertaker vs a big man match we've seen. Granted, not as bad as the matches with Giant Gonzalez, but about as average as the match with King Kong Bundy back at Wrestlemania XI. Just basic Taker offense and occasional no-selling with the majority of it being basic big man spots throughout. And the baffling booking continues as right after fan favorite Shawn Michaels is out of the tourney, Undertaker is quickly gone as well, leaving us with three lukewarm names in the final bunch. Overall, not the worst match, but meh.
We get a recap of the Hall of Fame inductees for 1995, including the likes of Fabulous Moolah, Big Cat Ernie Ladd, Ivan Puttski, the late "Grand Wizard" Ernie Roth and George "The Animal" Steele. Savio Vega accepted in the name of Pedro Morales, the wife of Antonino Rocca accepted on the late star's behalf. Hell, George Steele was inducted by Bill Murray, live via video atop an elephant. That seems about right.
Speaking of Savio Vega, it's time for the only semifinal match of this tournament. It's Savio Vega vs the Roadie. We get a backstage promo with Double J and the Roadie, who is actually being referred to as the Road Dogg. Roadie takes Savio in the corner with rights early, but Savio turns it around with some strikes, a hiptoss, and a clothesline to the outside. Jarrett tries to tell Roadie to "Stick with the plan" as Roadie holds his nose in pain.
Roadie comes in and gets caught in a wristlock by Savio who pounds down Roadie with some strikes to the back. He keeps the momentum with some chops and strikes in the corner. He keeps the arm bar locked until Roadie tries to reverse, only to get countered in a roll up for two. Roadie lands a neckbreaker, akin to the Honky Tonk Man's "Shake Rattle and Roll" and covers for two. Roadie chokes Savio in the ropes and follows with some hard chops and punches. Roadie goes to the middle rope and hits a headbutt for a two count.
Roadie continues with some offense and goes back up for another diving headbutt, but Savio gets out of the way. Savio lands a punches and a whip, following up with an elbow and a scoop slam, covering for two. Big boot by Savio who covers for another two. Roadie reverses a whip, allowing Double J to trip the leg of Savio. Roadie gets a cheap shot and tries to whip Savio in the ropes into Jarrett, but Savio reverses, sending the Roadie crashing into Jarrett. Roll up gets a three for Savio.
Another bland match. Basic offense from both men and nothing really amazing to talk about. But really, the fact that we now have to deal with a fourth Savio match tonight is already getting on my nerves. I wasn't impressed when he was Kwang, I'm still not being amazed with the "Caribbean legend".
Carlos Cabrera interviews Savio, causing Dok Hendrix to show up to interpret Savio's Spanish as essentially "I'm going to lose to Mabel. I'm gonna go back home and steal hubcaps" and a whole lot of other slightly racist remarks. Yeah, that seems about up the alley of what a Micheal Hayes would say.
Bret is backstage talking about being prepared for tonight's "Kiss My Foot" match. When he thinks of all the humiliation he and his family have gone through via Jerry Lawler, he feels he's failed everyone. But he can say one thing with confidence, when this match is done, Jerry Lawler will be kissing his feet. He's not into Lawler slobbering on his feet, but he will get satisfaction.
Up next, it's the "Kiss My Foot" match between Jerry Lawler and Bret Hart. Lawler says that Bret will be kissing his foot and yells at Stephanie Wiand to kiss his foot right now. Something tells me that Lawler is more into this than he should be.
Bret starts early with some punches to Lawler in the corner. Lawler tries to get a breather, but Bret stays on him with more rights. Lawler gets back in, but gets raked in the ropes. Bret continues with more punches and headbutts. Lawler exits again as Bret gets more punches. However Lawler manages to send Bret crashing into the ring steps. "Burger King" chants annoy Lawler as he continues offense by ramming Bret head-first into the barricade. He finally brings Bret into the ring and taunts the crowd some more.
Lawler lands a piledriver, but continues to be nonchalant. He lands a second piledriver and signals for a third. After some delays, he lands a third piledriver, continuing to be cocky. Delayed cover only gets a two. He rams Bret into the ropes as "Burger King" chants get into his head. Bret comes back with some punches, but Lawler rakes the face and tosses Bret to the outside. He unbuckles his boot to reveal his filthy sock. He rams Bret with the boot and covers for another two.
Lawler shoves the smelly foot into Bret's face, but Bret grabs it and takes down Lawler, landing a headbutt to the lower area. Lawler grabs the boot as Bret hits some elbows. However Lawler smacks Bret with the boot, and puts his foot back in. Lawler lands a fist drop and covers, only to get another two count. Lawler tries to pull Bret groin-first into the post, but Bret pulls back,sending Lawler smacking face first.
Hakushi and Shinja arrive. Hakushi tries a strike on Bret, but accidentally hits Lawler. This gives Bret the chance to land his side Russian leg sweep. Bret follows with the backbreaker and the patented second rope elbow. Bret calls for the sharpshooter and locks it in for the win. Bret keeps the locks in, but unlike Summerslam 1993, Bret actually lets go of it this time to make sure he doesn't get disqualified.
Bret takes off his boot and headbutts Lawler. Hakushi and Shinja return as Lawler attacks Bret. Hakushi tries to attack Bret again, but hits Lawler. Bret easily takes out Shinja and Hakushi...
And makes Lawler suck foot.
But he also makes good on his word and shoves Lawler's own foot into his mouth. Lawler gags as Bret celebrates.
Overall, this was a dumb stipulation that did lead to a decent match. Basic Lawler heeling with him being overconfident, which makes sense considering his past victories over Bret. Lots of basic Bret offense for the most part, as this wasn't exactly meant to be considered a more scientific matchup. Hakushi ends up looking like a geek however with not one, but two misses on Bret. But you do finally get a solid payoff for what has been two years of feuding with Lawler always getting the upper hand on Bret. But at least it's finally all over.
Wait? It's not over?
Jerry's what is going after Bret?
Oh dear.
It's finally time for the finals of the 1995 King of the Ring. It's Mabel in his second match of the night versus Savio Vega in his fourth friggin' match of the night. Dammit D'lo! Vince is making a lot of Rocky references, billing Savio as an underdog of Balboa proportions. Honestly, in this case he feels more like a Spider Rico.
Mabel shoves Savio into the corner early on. Savio tries to grapple Mabel again, but gets pushed in the corner. Savio dodges a splash and lays in some chops. He hits some punches in the corner as Mo tries to distract the ref. Mabel whips Savio in the corner, but Savio is quickly back in with some strikes until Mabel gets a splash. Mabel tries an elbow drop, but Savio avoids and sack of crap clotheslines Mabel over the top rope.
Mabel pulls Savio out of the ring and attempt to smash him head first into the steps, but Savio reverses smashing Mabel into them instead. Mabel comes right back in by tossing Savio into the steps. Razor shoves Savio into the ring, but Mabel is there to choke Savio on the rope. He saunters over to Savio and locks in a long bearhug, though it looks more like Mabel is wicked gassed already. This spot is losing the crowd quickly as we go to the arm drop spot, with Savio recovering on the third drop. However, he's still locked in the bearhug for almost another good minute.
Whip to the buckle and right back into another bearhug as audible boos can be heard. Savio claps the ears of Mabel to escape, but Mabel is still in control. Mabel hits a sloppy sidewalk slam for a two count. And we go right into a long chinlock. Some of the crowd gets behind Savio as Savio tries to escape. Loud "ECW" chants can be heard as the crowd is officially done with this match. Mabel misses a charge in the corner as Savio rolls up Mabel for two. Savio lands a spin kick, covering weakly for two. Mabel reverses a whip, catches Savio and falls on him for two. Splash by Mabel gets the three, winning him the King of the Ring.
That was a terrible match. Granted, Savio tried to add some fire early on with some great offense, but once the two bearhug spots and the chinlock happened, this died a death. You can tell that Mabel got gassed quick in this match and it was going to be a slow, dull crawl. And for a crowd that already got what was so far a dull show for the most part, even they were tired of it, and chanting for a whole other promotion. Fun fact, those chants were what helped Vince take notice of one Extreme Championship Wrestling. But we'll talk about that relationship somewhere else down the line.
Post-match, Mo badmouths Razor. Razor gets in some shots on both members of Men on a Mission, only for Mabel to gets some shots in and a body slam, followed by an elbow drop.
And then out of seemingly nowhere, The 1-2-3 Kid shows up and starts kicking and punching both Mabel and Mo. Mo gets a clubbing blow to the back of the Kid, laying him out. Mo stomps down the Kid as Mabel needs a breather. He goes for a second elbow, but the officials put a stop to it.
We then go immediately to the coronation as Mo tells the crowd to shut up as he gives the cape, and sword to Mabel. He then reads the scroll saying that the proclamation states that from this day forward Mabel will be known as King Mabel. The crowd is throwing cups at Mabel with some even hitting the big man (which you can actually see from Mabel's face is bothering him). Razor, the Kid and Savio try to get at King Mabel, but are held back.
So, the question you may be asking is "why Mabel"? Simple. Vince wanted another big man for Diesel to feud with after the Sid feud wraps up. And while I understand the choice, both of Mabel's matches on this show don't exactly scream "red hot heel", but a guy who gets burned out faster than even Diesel does. I am not looking forward to Summerslam.
We see Jerry Lawler backstage vomiting in a washroom. Unfortunately no amount of mouthwash and Crest can wash off the taste of Lawler's manure footed hubris coming back to haunt him. He yells at the cameraman to leave as Vince wonders why Jerry would chug down half a tube of toothpaste.
Stephanie Wiand is backstage with the Million Dollar Corporation. Sid gives us his basic whisper yell recap of the elbow injury to Diesel back at In Your House. Nothing else really worth recapping.
That leads us to mercifully our main event. It's Sid and Tatanka of the Million Dollar Corporation taking on Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow. Sid tries an ambush early, but both Diesel and Bam Bam take the Corporation down. Lots of stalling on the outside as the crowd chants "Sycho Sid". Tatanka and Diesel eventually start with both men reversing arm wringers until Diesel gets a right to the Native American. Diesel gets a cheap kick to Diesel and smashes the elbow into the ropes and the post while Bam Bam inadvertently distracts the referee.
Tatanka gives us a war dance and hits some chops to the elbow and follows with a boot to the face. Tatanka works the elbow, allowing for Sid to get a few cheap shots. Sid is tagged in and continues the work on the elbow on the ropes, laying in some clubbing shots. Sid follows with a body slam and more pounding blows on the elbow. Sid goes for a leg drop, but Diesel escapes. He tags in Bam Bam who hits some clothesline to SId and takes down Tatanka. Cover on Sid, but Tatanka misses an elbow, landing on Sid. Bam Bam dropkicks Tatanka and DDTs Sid.
Bam Bam lands a headbutt off the top rope. Cover, but Dibiase distracts the referee. Bam Bam gets distracted by Dibiase, allowing for Sid to get some shots to the back. He gets Bam Bam up and sends him down with a chokeslam to the second buckle. Sid stalls for time as he goades Diesel. Cover by Tatanka, despite Earl Hebner clearly not seeing the tag. Tatanka lands some kicks and follows with a back suplex. He boots Bam Bam in the face and follows with a stomp. Tag to Sid who lands a boot to Bam Bam in the corner and a second following that.
Sid tries to stomp Bam Bam in the corner, but Bam Bam fights back, only to eat another boot that sends him tumbling through the ropes. Bam Bam knocks Sid down and tries a slingshot splash, only for Tatanka to yank Bigelow down. Sid lands yet another boot to Bam Bam on the outside. Sid goes in to a chinlock. A big skirmish for a few minuts as Diesel makes the tag. He gets a scoop slam and goes for an elbow drop, only to miss and land on the bad elbow. Tag right back to Bam Bam, who gets hit with some chops and a cross body by Tatanka for two.
Tatanka locks in a long chinlock to Bam Bam, who eventually escapes, but gets himself caught in a jumping DDT from Tatanka. Cover for two. More stomps from Tatanka until Bam Bam decides he's had enough of selling and whips Tatanka. Both men hit clotheslines, taking them both down. Bam Bam rolls to a cover for two. Bam Bam escapes a chinlock, leapfrogs Tatanka and hits a really ugly rolling senton. Enziguri to Tatanka and a tag to Diesel.
Diesel hits some forearms and a sidewalk slam.He misses a clothesline, but easily comes back with a big boot. He taunts at Sid and calls for the Jackknife Powerbomb.
After sack of crapping Tatanka, he covers the Native American, but instead wants Sid instead. Sid however just leaves up the entrance way as he gets pelted with garbage. Elbow drop by Diesel for the win, ending the show with 0-10 for the Corporation on PPV.
Good lord was that a boring match. Very basic tag team work with a lot of slow spots and basic work. This was far from a pay per view caliber main event and more something that would be suitable for a main event of Monday Night Raw. But then again, any match that is a majority Tatanka will tend to do that. And we end with what clearly is the beginning of a huge push for Bam Bam right? Well...
If Bam Bam can be believed in a shoot prior to his death, he wasn't exactly a good friend with the Kliq, the combined group of Shawn, Razor, Diesel, Hunter, and Kid. He wasn't particularly happy with their control over the company and power over Vince, particularly how they would work to get others fired and destroy their careers. This issue with the Kliq will come further to a head through the summer with the debuting Dean Douglas, and issues with Skip and Sunny. We'll get more into that issue as we get to In Your House 3. Speaking of issues, Michaels and Diesel were also unhappy with Bam Bam getting the main even over them, and that followed into this storyline. Overall, the signs of the kliq's poisoning of the product is here and it's going to get much, much worse.
And that ends the 1995 King of the Ring. It was... definitely a thing that happened. Was it a bad show? Definitely. Can I say that it made me angry or annoyed like Wrestlemania IX or Wrestlemania XI? Not really. It was just a really, really boring show. None of the King of the Ring matches were any good, save for maybe Shawn and Kama, and that went to a frigging draw. Four Savio Vega matches made me tired of seeing him by the end. And Mabel winning, while I like the guy, he just didn't look very impressive. I know the Yokozuna ship has sailed, but good lord, he might have been a bit better. Though he was already gassed in match one. I can't imagine him working two matches in his shape.
Overall, the problem with the tournament really is that there was no interesting story. Where the 1993 King of the Ring had a great story with Bret overcoming the odds of mounting injuries, and the 1994 King of the Ring had the story of Owen wanting to prove he was better than Bret, this had a sleepy Rocky analogy for Savio Vega, but that just never felt believable. The Caribbean Legend is no Italian Stallion. As for the rest of the show, Bret vs Lawler was fun enough with Bret finally getting the revenge two years in the making. But good lord was that tag match a slog to sit through, definitely the worst non-Hogan at Wrestlemania IX. main event for a PPV so far for this blog. In the end, King of the Ring gets a D-. You can easily skip this show. If you need your foot kissing fix, watch highlights. Other than that, there's nothing worth coming back to.
And now we set our sights to yet another In Your House event. A show where Diesel and Sid battle with lumberjacks at ringside, Shawn Michaels returns to the IC division, and Bret Hart is relegated to a dark match. Oh dear. Tune in next year to find out how it all goes down.