I feel like I’ve been watching 1995 wrestling forever. As I’ve been promoting this during my podcasts or Instagram streams, I’ve made it sound a lot worse than it’s actually been. That statement will run into today’s show head first. Spoiler alert: this is one of the most infamous WWF PPVs of all time and it may become the worst up to this point. It’s not all bad, however.
There have been many different starting points and people credited as the start of the next wrestling boom and the Attitude Era. I honestly feel like the 1995 King of the Ring could have a case for that distinction, but it’s often forgotten because it’s fairly thematic. The credit that WCW and WWF get for becoming all the rage in pop culture should rightfully go to New Japan Pro Wrestling and ECW because their ideas were taken and amplified to larger audiences.
We will tackle NJPW in a few weeks and ECW will have their own shows in the diary sometime next year, but the latter makes its first “appearance” as a chant of rebellion breaks out as the bad booking and wrestling reaches a crescendo in Philadelphia one faithful June evening.
It is at the moment that the audience really becomes a part of our story because they are no longer afraid of telling us what they REALLY want. Sure, we’ve had instances of “bizarro world” reactions to faces and heels and bad segments, but we’ve never had people clamoring for a totally different product before. It was a regional thing at the time, but it will soon be a national one that changes the entire game forever.
It cannot come soon enough.
PAY PER VIEW NUMBER 88- WWF KING OF THE RING 1995
Written on 10/29/21
THE FIRST THING YOU SEE: The city of Philadelphia from the WWF blimp. Vince McMahon namedrops Kerwin Silfies and leans on some colonial American phrase before the opening video. Then, Stephanie Wiand for Coliseum Video tells us about the last King of the Ring qualifier prior to the PPV. We are getting it as a BONUS right now. This is unprecedented for the diary. Why here?!?! IRS finishes his entrance and Savio Vega follows with Razor Ramon. The Bad Guy is thankfully with him because Savio is barely over. Vince is effective at setting the stage early and Dok Hendrix is his partner once more. Savio has a silly vest and even worst initials shaved into the back of his head.
MATCH NUMBER ONE: KING OF THE RING QUALIFYING MATCH- IRS w/Ted DiBiase vs Savio Vega w/Razor Ramon
-Hat Guy already looks bored in the front row as Savio hits some quick roll ups for two early. Vince is his very obnoxious self with every close count.
-The Spanish team is shown as we miss the only high spot so far with Vega dumped to the floor. Kevin Dunn, everyone!
-Tony Garea gives DiBiase a message to give to IRS. He proceeds to miss a top rope attack and kickstarts the babyface comeback.
-IRS tries to leave, but he gets stopped and then beaten.
WINNER: Savio Vega at 4:01 with a running spin kick
FINAL WORD: That was a dark match for a reason. Good riddance, IRS.
-The opening titles appear again and Vince formally welcomes us. This is so fucking weird for me. The Spectrum is “ready” for action and the commentators talk about the “main event” on camera. Dok is over the top about the Kiss My Foot match, making him the first LVP again. He’ll probably settle like In Your House.
-Yokozuna’s music interrupts them. An announcer that isn’t Howard Finkel mentions the 15-minute time limit and announces Yoko at 641 POUNDS GOOD LORD!!! A recap of Yoko advancing because Lex Luger is stupid and gets counted out continues that character’s mind-blowing ineptitude. Todd Pettengill interviews Razor and a still sweating Savio. He speaks in and out of English and Spanish. Man, he’s a bad promo. I’m going to have his theme song burnt into my head after this. Dok “translates” his Spanish as a typical heel. Vega has to be an early LVP, too. There’s probably going to be a bunch of those.
MATCH NUMBER TWO: KING OF THE RING FIRST ROUND MATCH- Yokozuna w/Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji vs Savio Vega w/Razor Ramon
-Flags are waved to begin because that’s Yoko’s strong suit now. He’s all on offense early with knockdowns until he misses an elbow.
-There’s not much worse than really bad looking shots to the head into the buckle. I’m not sure who is to blame here. Owen Hart in a tuxedo is shown watching the match on the hotline.
-For those of you with bets at home, 3:34 is when the nerve hold gets applied.
-Dok claims to have a scoop and never gets it out between Vince interrupting and the Spanish team taking the focus. He finally mentions Savio being the reason why Razor got hurt through the Roadie.
-Jim Cornette is our first MVP just by getting the crowd into the match by slapping the mat on a missed leg drop double down.
-Savio finally knocks the big man down with a spin kick and hits Corny on the apron. Razor advances, but Owen comes down to attack. A brawl on the floor turns into a total mess, but it ends with Yoko running into the post and Savio getting back into the ring.
WINNER: Savio Vega in 8:23 by countout
-The crowd is decently hot for this and the commentators sell surprise well.
FINAL WORD: That previous comment aside, that wasn’t a good use of 8:23 in my life.
-UGH, look at that nasty foot of Jerry Lawler. He sprays and coughs as Vince tries to interview him. King claims he was “almost arrested for sock abuse.” This is way too silly for a Bret Hart story.
-IC Champ Jeff Jarrett leads his Roadie to the ring. Double J is wrestling Savio on Raw tomorrow? What’s up with the hard on for Savio? Roadie beat Doink to get here with a roll up. The heels strut together. Bob Holly acting like a super face runs out wearing a racing jacket. Boo, he beat Mantaur to advance. It takes forever to show the clip of him winning with a top rope cross body.
MATCH NUMBER THREE: KING OF THE RING FIRST ROUND MATCH- The Roadie w/Jeff Jarrett vs Bob Holly
-Another match that starts with a quick, repeated roll up for two flurry by the babyface. Roadie almost decapitates himself on the bottom rope taking a sunset flip.
-The stupid ref stops Holly from throwing a punch for a temporary Roadie advantage, but Bob gets back on top quickly. Roadie is the current MVP for taking 20 bumps in about two minutes and hitting a great powerbomb off a counter to wake the crowd up.
-Holly keeps stealing Bret Hart’s hard Irish Whip into the corner spot over and over.
-Bob tries to get the crowd support getting out of a headlock and gets nothing. Roadie does the stupidest little dance with some good heel shit.
-Another little jive before Holly blocks a piledriver and hits his damn good dropkick.
-Vladimir is in the front row in full King of the Ring gear cheering the goodies and booing the baddies. The goodie goes for a top rope attack and eats a boot. He then proceeds to kick out right at three in probably a botch, but a finish nevertheless.
WINNER: The Roadie in 7:31 with a boot counter off of a top rope attack
FINAL WORD: That was a nice little match that already left my brain
-Todd interviews Shawn Michaels wearing an OBNOXIOUS plate outfit. He’s shown beating King Kong Bundy with Sweet Chin Music to advance and is very disinterested cutting this promo. He’s trying to be the cool face, but it’s forced. The Million Dollar theme plays live and Kama is at ringside throwing a black wreath. Undertaker’s melted urn is around his neck and he’s trying to be a UFC guy so bad. He hit Duke Droese with a spinebuster to advance. The “creatures” are shown in the front row all catatonic. An odd dubbed and edited entrance for HBK follows. I think they removed the merch segment where he accidentally revealed the crown is too big for him, so he’s not winning. He’s wearing a fucking KOTR hat now, making him a full-blown good guy. He just became my number one guy at the time, but he’s very awkward in retrospect.
MATCH NUMBER FOUR: KING OF THE RING FIRST ROUND MATCH- Kama w/Ted DiBiase vs Shawn Michaels
-Shawn blows kisses at the camera to start and evades Kama’s punches before hitting a couple of jabs himself.
-Vince no sells all of Dok’s past King of the Ring facts. That’s sad. I’m calling for an LVP switch between the two of them. The crowd is very hot for Shawn early.
-There are so many KOTR shirts and hats disbursed throughout the crowd. It looks like a little cult attending the show. Kama takes over on the floor with a post attack and back drop following a typically crazy bump out of the ring.
-Joe Frazier is shown looking on. I immediately hear Billy Crystal’s Muhammad Ali impression in my head. How about a famous impression reference challenge?
-Rough looking kicks and submissions by Kama. His strikes make Shawn bounce in the corner and a backbreaker into an HBK suplex counter is much better.
-A countout tease proceeds another backbreaker submission. Shawn gets out and Kama is out of position for a second rope attack, but they make it work. Besides, it’s not like HBK can be mad at Taker’s friend.
-Two-minute warning as Shawn explodes with a clotheslines and kips up. He pummels the Supreme Fighting Machine as a countdown briefly appears on screen.
-Hat Guy goes nuts at the countdown and near falls. A well-timed sunset flip is executed as the time expires.
WINNER: Time Limit Draw at 15:00
-Shawn lets out a very visible “BULLSHIT” once the announcement is made. That says it all. He hits a flush Sweet Chin Music and stares Vince down, possibly even threatening to pull his wig off? 1995 Shawn Michaels!
FINAL WORD: That’s not the best 15-minute Shawn Michaels I’ll ever see, but it was still a 15-minute Shawn Michaels match.
-Shawn poses some more and the crowd is obviously deflated. Todd previews Mabel vs Undertaker and the dichotomy of their qualifying wins: Mabel squashing Adam Bomb and Taker Tombstoning the current IC Champ. I can’t remember if I count those retroactive moves on the list because it’s so rare that I see Tombstones nowadays. Dok’s radio voice analyzing the finishing moves of the two men is funny.
-Earlier in the day, BOB BACKLUND is campaigning and yelling at kids and families. OMG this is absolutely for me! He yells at a black man to ask if he’s related to George Washington and wants a carrot in a Philly cheesesteak. This is an MVP pre-tape vignette. He yells on a horse drawn carriage while looking at his hands. He’s the absolute best. Speaking of Bob Backlund and carrots, here’s my favorite wrestling picture ever.
-Vince asks the Spanish and French teams for their picks and I have no idea why the French table as a tag title on it. The fun is over because here comes Mabel looking like he’s wearing a gold pool cover. Wiand interviews him on the walk down, grating as ever, and his promos is so barebones and bad. Both are now on the LVP list. GONG and big pop for the typical Undertaker entrance. The male creature in the front row is a dead ringer for Cara Noir. They go eye-to-eye before the bell.
MATCH NUMBER FIVE: KING OF THE RING FIRST ROUND MATCH- Mabel w/Mo vs Undertaker w/Paul Bearer
-Mabel is billed at 568 pounds and is so hokey selling punches and clotheslines. He’s finally downed and hit with Old School.
-What a sloppy belly-to-belly/STO reversal by Mabel that the crowd shits all over. Bearer reacts in disgust. I also notice the Flock-looking ECW fan in the front row.
-Taker’s leg gets stuck in the ropes for what feels like an eternity. Nobody but Taker can free himself.
-Mo distracts on a comeback and a real belly-to-belly is hit. Mabel applies a rough looking Camel Clutch; he’s all over Taker’s lower back. Remember that spot in a few weeks.
-The lack of urn and thus Taker’s power is brought up while he’s continually beaten up. Mo gets a couple shots in while Paul mugs in the camera.
-Vince makes fun of Hendrix’s facts and advice as Mabel almost slides off Taker’s chest on a sit-down pin attempt. He’s so dangerous and slow. He hits a thankfully good piledriver and Taker poorly kicks out.
-After a double down, Taker starts coming back until the ref bump. A flying clothesline and nasty spit by Mabel preludes somewhat of a chokeslam. He goes for the pin, but Kama runs in and simply kicks Taker. One move later and the crowd wants to follow their hero’s suit and die.
WINNER: Mabel in 10:46 with a leg drop
-Kama slaps Taker and he sits up and chases him to the back.
FINAL WORD: And here we go down the pit of despair.
-The Stridex indoor airship is focused on before the Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony is recapped. Is this the response to WCW Slamboree? Why does Savio have a plaque? Billy Gunn is wearing some stupid shit signing autographs outside the event AKA being Billy Bitchcakes. Taker shakes Freddie Blassie’s hand while Alundra Blayze laughs with Fabulous Moolah and Stephanie Wiand. Savio accepted on behalf of Pedro Morales, Antonino Rocca and Grand Wizard were inducted posthumously, Moolah is referred to by her shoot name and George Steele is honored by Bill Murray on set riding an elephant. You can’t even see his face!!! The Big Cat Ernie Ladd is the man and I’ll always here Rich Camillucci’s impression of Vince Russo when I hear that name (and yes, that counts as a famous impression, so we only have one more to go). At the very least, that impression is better than Ivan Putski’s singing which ended the recap.
-Dok is clapping and having a blast like an idiot back live before Savio enters for the third time tonight. Pettengill interviews Jarrett and Roadie, called Road Dogg for the first time. He gets mic time and shows off all the coolness and confidence he’s known for. I will reiterate his MVP case for that reason and his shimmy and antics upon entering. It’s a testament to this show that he may have this locked basically.
MATCH NUMBER SIX: KING OF THE RING SEMIFINAL MATCH- Savio Vega w/Razor Ramon vs The Roadie w/Jeff Jarrett
-All of the energy and action early on is met with indifference because the crowd is sitting through their second Brian Armstrong match and third Savio Vega match instead of Shawn Michaels and Undertaker.
-Vega saves the Roadie on a counter botch and a bad neckbreaker follow up really hurts those aforementioned locked MVP chances.
-Odd-looking second rope headbutt by Roadie to stay on top. He goes for another and misses. Savio tries to get the crowd back into it and doesn’t succeed.
-Jarrett trips Savio and gets on the apron. He naturally ends up colliding with his partner and the crowd pops for the finish for one reason or another.
WINNER: Savio Vega in 6:37 with a roll up
FINAL WORD: It’s almost over.
-Carlos Cabrera interviews Savio and Dok comes to translate like a heel. The crowd boos even though they can’t hear this. There’s a bad hubcaps line and Razor makes faces at him. I do think Savio said something about pants.
-God, look at that match graphic. Bret Hart cuts a pre-taped promo on “slimeball” Jerry Lawler. It’s your standard Bret promo and it’s crazy that this is finally wrapping up after two years. Another odd edit (probably because of the VHS version) and Lawler is already on the way to the ring. Steph interviews him and both sell the stench of his foot in a quick promo. He’s got longer hair than usual under his crown and it looks stupid. He gets mic time in the ring to threaten the crowd. The Hitman enters as the crowd’s salvation.
MATCH NUMBER SEVEN: KISS MY FOOT MATCH- Jerry Lawler vs Bret Hart
-Jerry cost Bret a match against Henry Godwinn the previous week? God, get him out of this story already! The face is all over the heel to start, but gets pulled into the steel steps to stop the momentum.
-A very early piledriver followed by two more. This is absurd. Bret kicks out. That’s some Hogan type shit.
-Hart is thrown to the floor and the boot on the smelly foot is removed and barely hidden on a strike. Hart still kicks out. Dok sells the smell and nobody else does.
-Bret blocks a choke with the nasty sock and Michael Hayes can’t focus because every comment is about the smell.
-During a battle on the floor, Hakushi comes out. He ends up accidentally hitting King and retreating.
-The typical series of moves is finally hit all the way up to the finish. The crowd is cheering again thankfully.
WINNER: Bret Hart in 9:20 with the Sharpshooter
-After the bell, there’s a little call back to their SummerSlam match with Bret not releasing the hold right away before finally doing so prior to the five count.
FINAL WORD: I haven’t disliked a Bret Hart like that in quite some time and it’s still somehow the third best match on the night so far.
-Bret undoes his boot and King tries to escape. Hakushi and Shinja come back out and Hart avoids a second attack. The heels are booked like total shit in this. An absolutely disgusting close up of Bret’s toe in Jerry’s mouth. Then, he takes Lawler’s own gross foot and pulls it up into his nose. It’s sold like a champ. Classic heel comeuppance. Vince wonders if Bret’s toes tasted like chicken. Fucking what???
-A Special Olympics commercial means I will forgive Billy Gunn for the face he makes in a picture because of the cause. It’s the final match up of the tournament and past coronations are shown. It’s funny that the two winning Harts were MVP of their show and Mabel enters to hatred and talks in the camera poorly on his walk-out. Vince puts over the fact that it’s his second match compared to Savio’s fourth. I just noticed that the Hardy Boyz are the entranceway’s gatekeepers! Put them in the ring! The Rocky statue is shown outside in comparison to Vega’s story.
MATCH NUMBER EIGHT: KING OF THE RING FINALS- Mabel w/Mo vs Savio Vega w/Razor Ramon
-You can hear people in the nosebleeds whistling. Loud chops by Savio try to elicit any reaction.
-Mabel’s selling of 10 punches and a missed clothesline are an absolute embarrassment. Savio finally slowly clothesline Mabel over the top rope.
-A skirmish by the steps causes the heel to take over and a lazy bearhug to be applied. Razor heats the crowd up for a second, but they move on because the hold is applied for too long.
-The bear hug is broken; an Irish Whip takes place and the move is REAPPLIED WHAT THE FUCK?!?! This is your big finale idea??? It’s broken again and Mabel hits a nonsensical, barely leaping clothesline for two. Now it’s a chinlock that give Vince time to talk about arm size.
-“ECW! ECW! ECW! ECW! ECW! ECW!” The revolt has begun. A hope spot roll up for two and Savio hits the spin kick for a believable near fall.
-The World’s Strongest Slam only gets a two, but it’s finally good night and good luck for the Puerto Rican Cinderella.
WINNER: Mabel in 8:34 to win the King of the Ring with a splash
FINAL WORD: Off with their heads. It’s king shit. Get it?
-Mo jaws at Razor and the Bad Guy starts punching both men, but his injury is too much and he gets slammed by the new King and takes a second rope elbow that Mabel has to use the ropes for support to hit. The Kid enters for the save and Mabel poorly sells for him, but he gets grounded and blocked.
-Todd tries to interview the new king, but Mo wants that mic time. Mabel gets caped and handed a fucking sword. Mo reads/growls from the big ass scroll. That man is working that gum chew! Some garbage is thrown at them. It’s not good heel heat, it’s straight Philly rebellion. Something hits him RIGHT IN THE FOREHEAD! It takes Mo forever to finish every word. Mabel gets crowned and Savio yells at him. The faces try to get at him, but are stopped by officials.
-Lawler is shown throwing up and drinking mouthwash and brushing his teeth. He’s squeezing the tube into his mouth. This seems like an analogy for this show. Earlier in the day, Wiand interviews Ted DiBiase and Sid and Tatanka. Diesel’s injured elbow from Sid’s chokeslam and powerbomb is shown while the Sycho one whispers “crunch” a bunch. Tatanka is all cocky and looking like Bo Dallas regarding Bam Bam Bigelow being on the other side of the tracks this time. It’s a fine promo.
-The heels enter and Vince calls the two lines (essentially eye black) on Tatanka “war paint.” Pettengill interviewed the faces earlier in the day. Diesel calls Tatanka “Pocahontas” and at least it’s a topical reference if not offensive as hell. Bam Bam does some math on his confidence and stumbles a little over his words. In other words, our reference challenge is over because that’s one hell of a Scott Steiner impression! He’s inherited LT’s music and he shoots fire out of some wrist things now. That jacket is out of control. Diesel enters by ducking through the entrance and being over the top confident about his elbow despite a big brace on it. All four men brawl to start and the heels retreat to the floor.
MATCH NUMBER NINE: Sid and Tatanka w/Ted DiBiase vs Bam Bam Bigelow and Diesel
-Lots of stalling before the champ and Tatanka lock up at 1:52. Sid sneakily kicks the injured elbow and Bam runs in to do nothing to help. Tatanka goes on the warpath with shitty chops to the injured arm and a rude spit.
-Awkward slam and even worse strikes by Sid on Nash’s elbow. His leg drop misses and Bam is a house of fire on the hot tag, but everyone is just a half step off. A DDT and top rope headbutt on Sid aren’t sold and I think he may be an LVP, too. A distraction allows for a kick out.
-Bigelow is chokeslammed off the second rope and I just noticed that Vladimir changed into a tank top for this and has a Sid sign. Fuck it, is he the MVP?
-Very boring heel offense to keep Bigelow down. Every time he’s going to do something cool, he’s cut off. Is that the story of his career? Meanwhile, Sid screams and unleashes some bad boots.
-The blind tag spot for the faces isn’t missed by the ref as it’s supposed to be, so they just go with it as things get even messier. Diesel stupidly lands an elbow drop and sells in pain, so he tags back out.
-Rest hold on the already rested Bam Bam. I hear an ice cream truck outside. I could be right back and not miss anything.
-Jumping DDT for a two count and Bigelow starts hulking up until a double down clothesline resets the action. The new, fiery babyface almost snaps his neck on a flipping senton. Nash tags in and uses his bad elbow and arm exclusively.
-The champ hits the big boot and calls for his finish while looking right at Sid. He hits a shitty version of the Jackknife, but pulls Tatanka up on two. The ropes impeded the count anyway. Sid leaves. What a lucky guy. He gets garbage thrown at him while DiBiase is confused. One more simple move and it’s over.
WINNER: Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow in 17:35 when Diesel pins Tatanka with an elbow drop
FINAL WORD: All that fucking talk about the injury and HE WINS WITH A MOVE DIRECTLY USING THE GODDAMN THING!!!!! What a cherry to the shit sundae this entire show was.
-The faces hug and high five as Vince warbles about Big Daddy Cool being back. Ring fireworks and overhead pyro blasts off as Vince has the nerve to say that he hopes we enjoyed the show. The champ does a little shimmy as we fade to black. The last image should have been this goddamn bracket.
THE LAST IMAGE: Diesel
THE WRAP UP
FINAL MVP of PPV: I find it appropriate that this show’s MVP is a comedy character from a pre-taped promo. Bob Backlund made the most of his short time while The Roadie’s lackluster second match cost him this surefire award. My bias has no chill this go-around.
FINAL LVP of PPV: It’s the biggest night of your career and you show everyone exactly how and why you are not ready. Mabel is a punchline in the annals of King of the Ring history for good reason.
MY FAVORITE MATCH: Shawn Michaels vs Kama
MY LEAST FAVORITE MATCH: Mabel vs The Undertaker
FINAL THOUGHTS: Without question, this is the worst WWF PPV of all-time up to this point. You’re finally off the hook, WrestleMania IV! What was the mindset going into this show? There’s no energy or momentum. They are pushing the wrong guys and giving others too much time. Philadelphia is a tough crowd to begin with and this show drained them and punished them. ECW wasn’t a revolution. It was a cry for help. MULLET DOESN’T RECOMMEND
NEXT TIME: You know what will put me in an even more surly mood after this show? A 1995 WCW show on the fucking beach. I hope Hat Guy makes the trip and doesn’t look out of place when he starts that chant.