Retro Reviews: WWE King of the Ring 1995

It was not the best of times in WWE in the middle of 1995. This was the toughest stretch in company history in a lot of ways with Diesel floundering as the WWE Champion so much that he didn’t even defend the title at this event, which is supposed to be a major show. When I think back to this point in WWE, it doesn’t make me smile. It makes me wonder how it could be so bad. Part of the problem was that the roster just wasn’t that good, but there were still some great performers on the show.

King of the Ring 1995 is regarded as one of the worst PPVs in WWE history. This event bombed in terms of PPV buyrates with 150,000 buys. That’s the lowest number of buys for WWE’s ten King of the Ring events although it did beat Survivor Series 1995 for some reason.

This show followed In Your House 1 in May 1995 and led into In Your House 2 in July 1995.

Here is the synopsis on WWE Network:

“Eight Superstars including The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and Yokozuna compete for the crown in the annual King of the Ring Tournament. Diesel & Bam Bam Bigelow face the team of Tatanka & Sycho Sid in the main event. Bret “Hit Man” Hart takes on Jerry “The King” Lawler in a Kiss My Foot Match and more.” PG (V)

Here’s what the VHS looked like.

Check out the full list of my WWE PPV Review archive right here. Let’s get to the show.

WWE King of the Ring
CoreStates Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
June 25, 1995

The show began with Vince McMahon doing voiceovers asking who will become King of the Ring?

They had Stephanie Wiand introduce us to the match that took place before the King of the Ring PPV. It was a Coliseum Video exclusive. The match saw Savio Vega beating Irwin R. Schyster with a spinning heel kick to win the match at 5:01. That led to the actual PPV.

Vince McMahon welcomed us to the show with the crowd in Philly looking like it was ready to go. Vince was on commentary with Dok Hendrik (Michael Hayes), who usually wasn’t in that spot on PPV commentary. Dok was very excited.

The first round of King of the Ring started the PPV with Yokozuna entering first with Jim Cornette. Yokozuna was one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions.

Savio Vega was interviewed with Razor Ramon. Savio won his matches less than 15 minutes earlier and had another match. Savio Vega made his entrance as the opponent.

By the way, the two men working the doors at the King of the Ring entrance? Matt and Jeff Hardy.

https://twitter.com/90swwe/status/1403156616841773058

King of the Ring Quarterfinals: Yokozuna (w/Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji) vs. Savio Vega (w/Razor Ramon)

Pre-match notes: Savio Vega was the face while Yokozuna was the heel. Razor was out of action due to a rib injury.

Yokozuna with a shoulder tackle leading to Vince’s first “fuggetaboutit” (forget about it) on commentary. Yokozuna missed an elbow drop when Vega moved out of the way. Vega with an armbar leading to Vega sending Yoko’s head into the turnbuckle ten times. Vega went for a spin kick, but Yoko ducked and Vega hit the mat. Yoko worked over Vega in the corner, Yoko wanted a Banzai Drop and Vega moved out of the way to avoid it. Yokozuna applied a nerve hold around the throat with Vega selling it like he was out on the mat. Yoko applied the move in very lazy way. After a couple of minutes like that, Vega charged, Yoko moved out of the way and tossed Vega over the top to the floor. Vega with punches, chops and Yoko came back with an uppercut to the throat. Yoko with a body slam, then he bounced off the ropes and missed a leg drop when Vega moved. Cornette slapped the match repeatedly, which led to “USA” chants so then Cornette was mad abut that. Funny how that works. It’s a great trick to get the crowd into it. Vega with several clotheslines, Yoko was staggered and Vega hit a spin kick. Vega punched Cornette off the apron to the floor. Owen Hart showed up with punches to the ribs of Razor. Vega left the ring, so Yoko left the ring too. Vega and Yoko battled on the floor with Vega sending Yoko into the ring post. Vega went back into the ring to win by countout at 8:24.

Winner by countout: Savio Vega

Analysis: * This was tough to watch. Bad match with Yoko looking slow and tired within a few minutes. The fans were dead for most it in part because of how boring Yoko’s offense was. Cheap finish to win the match, but that’s because they didn’t want Vega pinning Yoko.

They showed Jerry Lawler’s foot and dirty socks in the backstage area. Lawler did a promo about how Bret Hart was going to kiss Jerry’s stinking royal feet.

The Roadie made his entrance with his buddy Jeff Jarrett, who was the Intercontinental Champion.

King of the Ring Quarterfinals: The Roadie (w/Jeff Jarrett) vs. Bob “Spark Plugg” Holly

Pre-match notes: Roadie (later known as Road Dogg) was the heel and Holly was the face. Holly had an impressive mullet.

Holly with a belly to belly suplex along with a shoulder tackle for a two count. Holly got a couple of more quick nearfalls until Roadie bailed to the floor to regroup. Holly with a shoulder tackle followed by a hiptoss as well as a body slam. Holly went for a move where he jumped over Roadie, but Roadie caught him and hit a Powerbomb. Roadie with a hard whip into the corner two times in a row. Roadie with elbow drops leading to a chinlock. Holly fought back with a roll through into a pin for two while Roadie came back with a clothesline. Back to the chinlock for Roadie. Holly hit a back body drop to counter a Roadie move leading to Holly hitting a headscissors takedown. Holly with punches and then a powerslam got a two count. They battled on the turnbuckle, Holly punched Road Dogg down. Holly jumped off the top rope, Roadie got the boot up and Holly jumped into it. Roadie fell back on Holly with his back on him, the referee counted one…two…and three. Holly kicked out right at three. You could tell that Holly was looking at the referee Jack Doan’s count, but the referee counted him down. I think Holly did kick out in time. However, Doan counted the pin.

Winner by pinfall: The Roadie

Analysis: **1/2 It was an average match with Holly wrestling an exciting style while Roadie was okay at doing the basics. The finish was messed up because it looked like Holly did kickout in time. I guess they wanted Roadie to go over since he was a heel against a face Savio in the next round. It just looked weird on that final pinfall.

Shawn Michaels was interviewed by Todd Pettengill. They showed Shawn beating King Kong Bundy on Raw five weeks earlier to help Shawn qualify for King of the Ring. Michaels said no man is big enough to withstand the superkick of the Heartbreak Kid. Shawn did some posing to end it.

Kama made his entrance with Ted Dibiase. Kama had a necklace made of gold because he melted down The Undertaker’s urn. Some of The Undertaker’s “Creatures of the Night” were at ringside. Shawn Michaels got a big ovation for his entrance as one of the top babyfaces on the show.

King of the Ring Quarterfinals: Shawn Michaels vs. Kama (w/Ted Dibiase)

Pre-match notes: Michaels was the face that won the Royal Rumble in January 1995. Kama was the “Supreme Fighting Machine” that was a heel. It was a few years after he was Papa Shango and a few years before he was The Godfather.

This is where I should point out that there was a 15-minute time-limit for the quarterfinal matches.

Michaels avoided a slam and got in some punches. Michaels avoided a charging Kama leading to more jab punches. Michaels ran the ropes, Kama sent him to the apron, Michaels skinned the cat back in and hit a back body drop over the top to the floor. Kama came back with a kick to the ribs followed by a clothesline to the floor with Shawn taking a great bump. Kama drove Michaels back first into the ring post. Kama with a hard whip into the turnbuckle. They showed boxing legend Joe Frazier at ringside with Vince reminding us that WWE is family entertainment. Kama worked over Michaels with punches to the ribs. Kama working over Kama with punches along with a big kick to the ribs. Vince said it was “unbelievable” as if punches and kicks are tough to do. Kama with a backbreaker submission on the shoulders, but Michaels kicked himself off the ropes leading to a pin attempt. Kama with a hard whip into the corner leading to Michaels taking a bump over the top to the floor. Dibiase got in some cheap shot kicks on the floor. Michaels got back into the ring before the ten count. Kama grounded Michaels with a backbreaker submission holding Michaels across Kama’s knee for about two minutes. Michaels broke free with punches, Kama charged, Michaels with a springboard forearm and Kama took a delayed bump to the mat. Both guys were out in the ring until Kama went for an elbow drop, Michaels moved and Kama’s elbow drop hit the ring. There was a clock letting us know there were just over two minutes left. Michaels with punches, then he bounced off the ropes and hit a leaping clothesline. It was announced that two minutes were left in the match as Michaels punched Kama repeatedly. Michaels went up top and hit a double axehandle for a two count. There was one minute remaining as Michaels punched Kama ten times by the turnbuckle. Michaels with a cross body block with Kama rolling on top for a two count. Michaels got an inside cradle for a two count with 15 seconds. Michaels went for a sunset flip for the pinfall, but the referee waved it off because the time expired before there was a three count. That was it at 15:00.

Match Result: Time-limit draw

Analysis: *** It was a good match even with that ending. That was a lame finish and a disappointing one considering it meant that Michaels didn’t move on in the tournament. It was one of the better Kama matches because he wasn’t known for having good matches, but at least Michaels carried him to something decent here. As for Michaels, nobody really remembers it because he has so many amazing matches in his career. Considering how bad this show was and how disappointing this tournament was, it was clearly the wrong decision to eliminate Michaels from the tournament this early.

Michaels said “bullshit” at the announcement of a draw, then Kama tried an attack and Michaels fought back with the Sweet Chin Music superkick. Good bump by Kama out of the ring. Shawn’s music played to end the draw. Shawn just shrugged his shoulders before posing in the ring.

Analysis: If you looked at the tournament brackets before the show, I think most people would have picked Michaels as one of the favorites, yet he was out of the tournament in the first round. Bad booking.

There was a video shown of Bob Backlund campaigning for President, which was a weird thing he did around this time. Backlund said the Philly Cheesesteak needed a carrot in it.

Mabel made his entrance for his first King of the Ring match. This came at a time when WWE went away from the Men on a Mission team with Mabel getting a singles push while Mo was put in a managerial role. Mabel was interviewed by Stephanie Wiand on his way to the ring with Mabel saying he was going to win. The Undertaker got a big ovation from the crowd. He was led to the ring by Paul Bearer as usual.

King of the Ring Quarterfinals: Mabel (w/Mo) vs. The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer)

Pre-match notes: Mabel was a heel that weighed an announced 568 pounds while Undertaker was a face.

Taker opened up with punches, then a corner whip and Vince did a “fuggetaboutit” for that. Taker with a running clothesline to stagger Mabel and then another clothesline knocked Mabel down. Taker walked the ropes leading to the clothesline to the upper back. Mabel tripped up Taker with a tackle-like move that didn’t look great. Mabel clothesline sent Taker over the top to the floor. Taker with a neckbreaker into the top rope and Mabel hit a double chop to the throat leading to Taker getting his foot tied up in the ropes, so Mabel got in some cheap shots. Taker with punches, then a choke, Mo with a distraction and Mabel hit a belly-to-belly suplex. Mabel sat on Taker’s back with a weak-looking chinlock as the fans chanted “Rest in Peace” for Taker with Bearer screaming excitedly about the chant. Taker left the ring, so Mabel sent him into the steps and Mo got in a cheap shot kick. Mabel with a hard whip into the corner followed by a suplex for a two count. Mabel with a body slam and sat on Taker for a two count. Mabel went for a corner splash, Taker got a boot up and hit a clothesline to knock Mabel down. Mabel bounced off the ropes and connected with a piledriver for a two count. Taker ran the ropes leading to a collision spot. Mabel went for an elbow drop, Taker moved and Mabel hit the mat. Taker whipped Mabel to the turnbuckle, he hit a running splash and choked Mabel against the ropes. Mabel countered a whip across the ring to send Taker into the ropes and Taker bumped into referee Mike Chioda against the turnbuckle. Taker ran the ropes leading to the leaping clothesline. Taker hit a Chokeslam on the big man. It was not easy to do it, but it looked decent enough. Taker punched Mo off the apron. Taker tried a pin with no referee, Kama ran down to the ring and kicked Taker in the back. Mabel with a leg drop. Mo woke up the referee and Mabel got the pinfall win at 10:44.

Winner by pinfall: Mabel

Analysis: 1/2* This was a terrible match. It was probably one of The Undertaker’s worst matches ever although I don’t think it was his fault. Mabel could move pretty well for a man of his size, but it featured some boring spots, a lame finish and it was tough to enjoy what they were doing out there. It was rated -1.5* by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, so he hated the match more than me. The Undertaker rarely lost clean in this era. That’s why they did the finish that they did.

Post match, Kama was celebrating what he did. The Undertaker sat right up, Kama left the ring and Undertaker slowly walked towards to back to go after Kama.

The win by Mabel meant that he will advance to the finals while Roadie faces Savio in the semifinals.

There was a video shown honoring WWE Hall of Fame inductees. They showed superstars meeting fans. They showed some clips. The inductees were Ernie Ladd, Pedro Morales, The Grand Wizard, Antonino Rocca, The Fabulous Moolah, George “The Animal” Steele, and Ivan Putski.

Savio Vega made his entrance for his third match of the night with Razor Ramon joining him. The Roadie and Jeff Jarrett were interviewed backstage by Todd Pettengill with Roadie showing confidence going into the match. Dok: “Pettingill is such a dork.” They mentioned the “Road Dogg” name for The Roadie, but the wrestling name for him is still The Roadie.

King of the Ring Semifinals: Savio Vega (w/Razor Ramon) vs. The Roadie (w/Jeff Jarrett)

Pre-match notes: Vega was a face and Roadie was a heel.

Vega with a hiptoss followed by a clothesline that sent Roadie to the floor with a silly bump. Vega with an armbar that was turned into a pin attempt. Roadie hit a sloppy-looking swinging neckbreaker for a two count. Roadie worked over Vega with punches and a headbutt off the middle rope for two. The fans were distracted by something happening in the crowd as Roadie whipped Vega into the turnbuckle. Roadie took way too long on the middle rope, so he missed a diving attack. Vega with an elbow to the chest followed by a body slam for two. Vega with a whip into the rope leading to a boot to the face. Jarrett grabbed Vega’s foot after a whip into the rope, so Roadie punched Vega. That led to Vega hitting a knee to Roadie’s back to knock Jarrett off the apron. Vega hit the ROLLUP OF DEATH~! for the pinfall win at 6:36.

Winner by pinfall: Savio Vega

Analysis: *3/4 They worked hard, so I’ll give them that, but it was a slow-paced match without much exciting action. Roadie’s offense was the usual cheap stuff that heels do while Vega was just a midcard babyface. Vega sold for most of the match until the finish with the deadliest move in the business – the ROLLUP OF DEATH~! for the win.

Savio Vega was interviewed in Spanish, Dok showed up to translate even though he didn’t speak Spanish and made some bad jokes including a comment about how Mabel was going to beat him. Vince: “I think we’ve had enough of this.” He was speaking about the translation, but I would say the same thing about most of this show.

Bret Hart did a promo earlier in the day talking about how he’s had issues with Jerry Lawler in the past. Bret said with confidence, Jerry Lawler will kiss Bret’s feet. Bret said that he’s going to rip Lawler apart.

Jerry “The King” Lawler made his entrance with Stephanie Wiand interviewing him. Lawler said that Bret is going to know what it’s like to kiss his royal feet. When Lawler got into the ring, he told the crowd he’ll make them kiss his feet too. Bret “Hitman” Hart was up next to a big pop. Vince: “Listen to this ovation!” It was pretty loud and the pyro helped make it feel special too.

Analysis: I remember the vignettes leading up to this match with Lawler talking about how he would make his foot look and smell dirty to make it humiliating for Bret to kiss his foot. Most of us assumed Bret would win, but it was a way to tease something else happening.

Kiss My Foot Match: Bret “Hitman” Hart vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler

Pre-match notes: Bret was the face while Lawler was the heel. Lawler was 44 years old at the time of this match. Lawler was a commentator/wrestler at this point. They had a rivalry in 1993 after Bret won King of the Ring and it was renewed again with Lawler getting the win in their May 1995 PPV match.

The stipulation was that the loser of this match must kiss the feet of the winner.

They left the ring quickly with Bret sending Lawler into the barricade. Back in the ring, Bret worked over Lawler with punches. They left the ring again with Lawler sending Bret into the blue steel steps. Lawler sent Bret into the barricade as well. Back in the ring, Lawler hit a piledriver. Lawler hit a second piledriver with no attempt at a pinfall. Lawler hit a third piledriver on Bret with Vince calling it a “devastating piledriver” and Lawler covered for a two count. The fans chanted “Burger King” at Lawler, so Jerry sold it like it bothered him. Bret with punches, Lawler with an eye gouge and Lawler tossed Bret out of the ring. Lawler took off his right boot and he had a dirty sock. Lawler hit Bret with his boot to the face while the announcers sold that Lawler’s foot smelled. Lawler got a two count with the boot to the face. Lawler wanted to put his nasty right foot to Lawler’s face, but Bret blocked him, then a trip and a headbutt to the stomach. Hart delivered elbows to the head, but Lawler jabbed the boot into Bret’s face. Lawler put his boot back on. Lawler with a fist drop off the middle rope for a two count. Bret drove Lawler face first into the ring post. Hakushi and his manager went to ringside, Bret avoided a punch and Hakushi hit Lawler by accident. Hakushi went to the back. Back in the ring, Bret hit his patented moves beginning with a Russian legsweep. Bret hit a backbreaker followed by the diving elbow smash off the middle rope. The crowd was on fire for Bret as he locked in the Sharpshooter in the middle of the ring. Lawler quit to give Bret the win at 9:20.

Winner by submission: Bret Hart

Analysis: **1/2 An average match that was the right ending with Bret getting the win to put an end to the feud. It was the right result for this match to have Bret get the win. In terms of Bret PPV matches, this is one of the worst matches he had during this part of his career. This was more about the personal storyline between them with Bret getting revenge and humiliating Lawler after the match.

Bret held onto the hold for about ten seconds after the match. Bret took his right boot off while the ring announcer said that Lawler had to kiss Bret’s foot. Bret delivered a headbutt to Lawler. Hakushi was back, but Bret avoided him again and Hakushi hit Lawler with a shoulder tackle by accident. Bret with a clothesline that sent Hakushi out of the ring. Lawler put his foot in Bret’s mouth and you could actually see some of Bret’s toes in Lawler’s mouth. Bret also took Lawler’s shock off and Bret shoved Lawler’s own foot into Jerry’s mouth. Bret celebrated some more while Lawler sold it like it was disgusting.

Analysis: It was a fun way to humiliate Lawler by having him taste Bret’s foot and his own foot. It put an end to the story at least at that point. Lawler would sell the disgusting foot in his mouth leading to the debut of the evil dentist Isaac Yankeem DDS, who would go on to become WWE Hall of Famer Kane.

There was a video about WWE supporting the Special Olympics.

They showed video highlights of Bret Hart winning King of the Ring 1993 and then Owen Hart winning King of the Ring 1994.

Mabel made his entrance with Mo by his side. Savio Vega entered with his buddy Razor Ramon joining him. There wasn’t much of a reaction to Vega for his fourth match of the night (third match on the PPV).

King of the Ring Finals: Mabel (w/Mo) vs. Savio Vega (w/Razor Ramon)

Pre-match notes: Mabel was the heel while Vega was a face. This was Mabel’s second match on the show. Vega was wrestling in his fourth match since he was in the Kickoff Show match as well.

Vega was aggressive right away with punches while Mabel was against the turnbuckle. Mabel missed a clothesline because Savio moved. Mabel with a body slam, but then Vega avoided an elbow splash. Vega hit a clothesline that sent Mabel over the top to the floor. Mabel pulled Vega out of the ring, Vega sent Mabel into the steps and then Mabel sent Vega into the steps. Mabel applied a bearhug while the crowd was dead, so Razor slapped the mat repeatedly to get them going. Mabel’s bearhug lasted for about two minutes with Vega trying to feed off the dead crowd. Mabel sent Vega into the turnbuckle leading to another bearhug. Mabel sent Vega into the ropes leading to a jumping shoulder tackle. Mabel grabbed a chinlock on the mat. Mabel splashed Vega against the turnbuckle and fans were bored so they chanted “ECW” out of boredom. Mabel missed a corner splash when Vega moved, so Vega got a rollup for two. Vega with a running spin kick to the face for a two count. Vega ran the ropes, Mabel caught him in his arms and hit a falling powerslam. Mabel bounced off the ropes and hit a running splash for the pinfall win at 8:32.

Winner by pinfall and NEW King of the Ring: Mabel

Analysis: DUD Yawn. This sucked. The long bearhugs by Mabel put me to sleep and I wasn’t even tired while the show was on, but it was just so boring to watch. Mabel getting the win wasn’t a surprise because he was a big guy and we know WWE loved pushing big guys in every era. Vega put up a fight, but he was not a top star in WWE while this KOTR win was supposed to build Mabel into a bigger star. This one was rated -* by Dave Meltzer, so he hated it more than me. The best part of the match was when it was done.

Post match, the heels tried to go after Razor Ramon, so Razor fought back with punches. Mabel punched Razor in the ribs and hit a body slam. Razor had his ribs taped up. Mabel with an elbow drop to the chest. Mo held Razor’s legs, so Mabel went to the middle ropes and hit another elbow drop on Razor. The 1-2-3 Kid showed up to try to save Razor, but Mo and Mabel beat him up too. Mabel wanted to splash Kid, but referees stopped him.

Analysis: This put over the dominance of Mabel some more. Mabel beating up three guys in one night made him look dominant and that’s what WWE wanted for a guy that would get into the WWE Title picture soon after this.

There was a stage with Mabel sitting on the throne. Mabel grabbed the cape and put it on Mabel while the fans booed him. Mabel was also given a sword instead of a scepter that the they have given the kings in the past. Mo read off a scroll and while he did it, fans were throwing drinks at Mabel. Vince: “Let’s get this over with.” Mo was reading very slowly so Dok mocked how slowly he was reading. Anyway, Mo ended it with this: “Long Live King Mabel.” The king music played to end it. Mo put the crown on Mabel’s head. Razor, Savio and Kid tried to go after Mabel, but referees held them back.

Analysis: Mabel would go on to get a big push leading to him challenging Diesel for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 1995. That match sucked too.

They showed Jerry Lawler in a washroom brushing his teeth, he had Listerine and Lawler was selling that it was a disgusting taste in his mouth.

There was an interview from earlier in the day with Sycho Sid, Tatanka and their manager Ted Dibiase. Sid did a promo about how he dropped Diesel and crushed his right elbow. Tatanka said he’s done battle with Bam Bam before. Tatanka said he’s there for the money while Bam Bam was fired from the Million Dollar Corporation. Dibiase said that the champagne is on ice and their opponents will be on ice as well.

The introductions took place for the main event match. Sycho Sid and Tatanka walked out to Sid’s music with Ted Dibiase joining them. The announcers were trying very hard to talk about Diesel possibly being hurt with an elbow injury.

The WWE Champion Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow were interviewed in the locker room by Todd Pettingill. Diesel said he’s not 100%, but he’s ready to go and called Tatanka “Pocahontas” at one point. Bigelow talked about how they have confidence and they are going to set this place on fire.

Bam Bam Bigelow made his entrance to a decent reaction. It was not a big pop. Diesel got a much bigger ovation since he was the babyface WWE Champion. Diesel had a significant black brace on his right elbow. Vince: “Listen to the Spectrum! Listen to this!” Keep trying, Vince. It wasn’t that loud at all.

Diesel & Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Sycho Sid & Tatanka (w/Ted Dibiase)

Pre-match notes: Diesel was the babyface WWE Champion while Bigelow was also a face. Sycho Sid and Tatanka were heels.

Sid and Tatanka tried to jump the faces, but Diesel and Bigelow punched them to clear the ring. Diesel with a clothesline on Tatanka. Sid hit Diesel’s elbow and then drove the elbow into the turnbuckle while the referee wasn’t looking. Tatanka delivered chops to the right elbow and a boot to the face. Sid tagged in to pull in the right arm/elbow against the ropes. Sid continued to punch the right elbow of Diesel across the top rope. Sid went for a leg drop, Diesel moved and Bigelow got the tag. Bigelow was on fire with clotheslines, a back elbow on Tatanka and Bigelow hit a dropkick to knock Tatanka out of the ring. Bigelow hit a DDT on Sid. Bigelow went up top and connected with a head drop on Sid, but the referee was distracted by Dibiase. Sid took control with punches to the back while Bigelow wanted to go after Dibiase. Sid grabbed Bigelow by the throat on the middle rope with Sid hitting a Chokeslam off the ropes to the mat. Great bump by Bigelow there. Tatanka back in with kicks to the back of Bigelow followed by a belly to back suplex. Tatanka continued his boring offense with kicks to the back. Sid was back in with a running kick to the body and then a kick to the shoulder. Sid worked over Bigelow with more kicks to the body, Bigelow tried to fight back, but Sid hit him with a boot to the face to knock Bigelow out of the ring. Bigelow went for a move on Sid, but then Tatanka was there to pull Bigelow off the apron to the floor. Sid with a boot to the face.

They were back in the ring with Sid applying a chinlock on a grounded Bigelow. Diesel got the tag, then he whipped Sid into the turnbuckle and hit a running forearm. Diesel with a body slam followed by an elbow drop with Diesel selling his right arm injury. Bigelow was back in with Tatanka hitting a running cross body block. Tatanka applied a chinlock on Bigelow. This put me asleep for about a minute. Tatanka hit a jumping DDT for a two count. Bigelow did a no selling routine just like Tatanka would do as a face. Both men ran the ropes leading to Bigelow/Tatanka hitting a double clothesline. Tatanka went back to another chinlock, Bigelow broke free, avoided a move and Bigelow hit a senton splash on Tatanka. Diesel got the hot tag against Tatanka with Diesel hitting forearms followed by a sidewalk slam. Diesel missed a clothesline, but he came back with a running boot to the face. Diesel hit the Jackknife Powerbomb on Tatanka, but he didn’t hit it perfectly as Diesel covered Tatanka for a two count because Diesel pulled him back up. Diesel pointed at Sid because he wanted to face him, so Sid walked away and was like “sorry pal” to Dibiase on his way to the back. Diesel with an elbow drop on Tatanka for one…two…and three. What? An elbow drop. That was lame. It went 17:34.

Winners by pinfall: Diesel & Bam Bam Bigelow

Analysis: *1/2 A poor tag team match that dragged on for too long. The right team won to send the fans home happy, but it’s not like Diesel and Bigelow came across as a great team together. Sid and Tatanka were so boring to watch with the most basic-looking punches and kicks as their offense. They tried to make us care about Diesel fighting back from a right elbow injury although the selling wasn’t that great and the lack of submissions made working on the arm seem like just a waste of time. The ending of the match was an elbow drop, which was also a terrible way to end it. Sid walking away from this match would lead to him getting another WWE Title match, Diesel won that and that was the end of the feud.

Diesel and Bigelow celebrated the win. Vince was screaming about how “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel was back. Some pyro went around the ring. That was the end of the show.

This event had a runtime of 2:35:39 on WWE Network.

Final Thoughts

Show rating (out of 10): 3

This is one of the worst PPVs in WWE history. Rating it 3 out of 10 might be generous by me. That’s how bad it is. Choosing Mabel to win King of the Ring meant two bad matches from him while the great Shawn Michaels only got to wrestle once. Meanwhile, there was a lot of Savio Vega and I don’t know if people were clamoring for him. The show was also hurt by the lack of a WWE Title match since Diesel only wrestled in a tag team match that really didn’t feel like that big of a deal.

FIVE STARS

1. Shawn Michaels
2. Savio Vega
3. Bret Hart
4. Diesel/Bam Bam Bigelow
5. Kama

I guess I can mention Mabel winning King of the Ring, but it’s not like he had good matches.

OPINIONS

Best Match: Shawn Michaels vs. Kama (*** out of 5)

Worst Match: Mabel vs. Savio Vega (DUD)

Most Memorable Moment: Bret Hart making Jerry Lawler eat Bret’s foot and then Lawler’s own foot as well.

That’s all for me. Check out the full list of my WWE PPV Review archive right here. Thanks for reading.

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My contact info is below.

John Canton

Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter @johnreport