King of the Ring (1995) (TV)

User Rating:

4.3/10   

Director:

Kevin Dunn

Release Date:

25 June 1995 (USA)

Plot:

The third annual King of the Ring tournament, featuring Mabel, Savio Vega, Yokozuna, The Undertaker...

Plot Keywords:

King | Foot | Roadie | Tournament | Undertaker

Cast

Nelson Frazier Jr.	...	Mabel
Juan Rivera	...	Savio Vega
Brian James	...	The Roadie
Mark Calaway	...	The Undertaker
Shawn Michaels	...	Himself
Charles Wright	...	Kama
Bob Howard	...	Bob Holly
Rodney Anoai	...	Yokozuna
Mike Rotunda	...	Irwin R. Schyster
Kevin Nash	...	Diesel
Scott 'Bam Bam' Bigelow	...	Himself
Chris Chavis	...	Tatanka
Sid Eudy	...	Sycho Sid
Bret Hart	...	Himself
Jerry Lawler	...	Himself

Runtime:

180 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Trivia:

Fans can be heard chanting ECW during the Mabel / Savio Vega match.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in WWE: The Rise & Fall of ECW (2004) (V)

A bizarre tournament highlights a rather lackluster event

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Bret Hart finally got some revenge on Lawler, Diesel continued his feud with Psycho Sid, Razor Ramon pulled out with injury and we got a bizarre winner on this third annual King of the Ring PPV, one that's frequently mentioned in discussions regarding the worst WWE PPV of all time, I think unfairly.

The big story going into the King of the Ring Tournament was that Razor Ramon, scheduled to face Yokozuna in the first round, had been forced out of the event by injury, so immediately before the event a match was held between Ramon's friend Savio Vega and the Million Dollar Corporation's Irwin R Shyster. Vega won the match and so advanced.

The first match of the event proper saw Vega in action again, taking on former WWE Champion, and currently one half of the tag team champions, Yokozuna. There were shenanigans aplenty with Razor, Mr Fuji and Jim Cornette all at ringside. Vega won a real rubbish match by countout.

Next up saw the Roadie, accompanied by Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett, taking on and defeating Bob Holly. Neither one of these guys was the most exciting to watch, even at this stage. While this isn't terrible, it isn't good either. So Roadie wins through and will Savio Vega in the semi.

Here's where things take a turn for the worse. In our next match we see reformed bad guy Shawn Michaels taking on the Million Dollar Corporation's Kama. In probably the best match of the night, Michaels and Kama fight to a time limit draw. Both are out, meaning the winner of the next match gets a bye through to the final.

The next match was between Undertaker and Mabel, unfortunately, the Undertaker was in a feud with Kama at this stage, who of course interfered in a poor match and Undertaker was defeated and knocked out. This meant that the only men who could win the King of the Riung in 1995 were The Roadie, Savio Vega and Mabel.

You can cross The Roadie off after our next match, in which he defeated the Roadie, overcoming the antics of Jeff Jarret at ringside. This was a decent match. So it would be Vega and Mabel in the King of the Ring final.

The next match saw Bret Hart finally get some revenge on Jerry Lawler. Hart and Lawler had been feuding on and off since Hart had won the King of the Ring Tournament in 1993. At the previous PPV, In Your House, Hart had been forced to face Yakushi and then later lost to Lawler by interference. But tonight saw Hart victorious in a Kiss my Foot match. And that on deep kiss I can tell ya.

Next up came the King of the Ring Final which saw Mabel defeat a gallant Savio Vega in a pretty poor wrestling match. All hail King Mabel, and that's all I've got to say about that.

Finally brings us to the main event which saw WWE Champion Diesel teaming up with Bam Bam Bigelow to take on the Million Dollar Corporation's Psycho Sid and Tatanka (with Ted DiBiase at ringside). This match also stemmed from the In Your House PPV. At that event Tatanka had interfered in a title match between Diesel and Sid to prevent Sid from winning. Tatanka and Sid then destroyed Diesel with a vicious beatdown before Bigelow, who had recently been kicked out of the MDC, came to the Champion's aid. Well there'd be no disqualifications here as the good guys won, with Bigelow getting some revenge on he group that betrayed him, pinning Tatanka in a passable main event.

This was not a great event. Mable was a strange choice for a winner, and Vega an even stranger choice as his opponent. The matches weren't great either. But there is a certain charm to this show, and, while missable, this is nowhere near the worst WWE PPV of all time.