Nickrj’s rant for King Of The Ring 1994
Live from the Balitmore Arena in Balitmore Maryland on June 19th 1994.
Ricky Medlock of Blackfoot kicks off things by singing our National Anthem.
Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon, Randy Savage and NFL Hall Of Famer Art Donovan.
The set in the background looks pretty cool with 2 guards opening up the doors for all the wrestlers to come out of and next to it is a throne with a bunch of steps.
Here are the 1st round results of this year’s King Of The Ring Tournament
I.R.S def. Scott Steiner
Mabel def. Pierre
Razor Ramon def. Kwang
Bam Bam Bigelow def. Bob Holly
Jeff Jarrett def. Lex Luger (!)
1-2-3 Kid def. Adam Bomb (!!)
Owen Hart def. Doink The Clown
Tatanka def. Crush
And here are the 2nd round matches here tonight
I.R.S VS Mabel
Razor Ramon VS Bam Bam Bigelow
Jeff Jarrett VS 1-2-3 Kid
Owen Hart VS Tatanka
Razor Ramon VS Bam Bam Bigelow (with Luna Vachon)
Razor throws his toothpick at Luna and Bammer jumps him from behind. Some shoulderblocks gets some heat. He slams Razor and hits a headbutt and a legdrop. Bammer goes to the top but misses the diving headbutt. Razor starts fighting back, he ducks the foot by going to the outside and he rams Bammer into the post. He hits something sloppy from the 2nd rope for 2. Razor starts going to work on the right leg but Bammer kicks out of it. He misses an enzuguri but he sends Razor flying over the top rope. They go back in and Bammer starts working over Razor and hits an enzuguri for 2. He works on the lower back of Razor and hits a headbutt. He hooks a torture rack. Razor keeps his arm out on the 3rd time as Bam Bam is getting sapped as well for holding him up that long. Razor gets up and hits a belly to back suplex. They get up and Razor hits some rights. He slams Bam Bam and he tries his back superplex but is elbowed. Bammer slams Razor and goes for a moonsault but Razor catches him and rolls him up for the pin at 8:25. Pretty good opener **1/4
I.R.S VS Mabel (with Oscar)
Irwin’s jump from behind backfires and Mabel rams his head several times to the corner. Mabel slams IRS. He hits a vertical suplex. He hits a another one followed by an elbow. Mabel misses a charge and knocks Mabel to the outside. Back in Irwin hits a flying clothesline followed by some quick elbows for 2. Mabel gets a small package for 2! Irwin goes to his favorite move, the chinlock. Mabel gets up and rams Irwin and starts hammering on him and he hits a backdrop. Clothesline followed by an elbow. Mabel hits a boss man slam for 2. He slams Irwin and goes to the 2nd rope but Irwin shakes the ropes and pins Mabel with his arm hooked under the ropes at 5:39. 1/2* Oh well at least Mabel will win it next year. (shudder)
Bret Hart won the KOTR last year so Owen wants to follow in his brothers footsteps. Tatanka jumps him as he enters the ring and hits a backdrop for 2. He hits a suplex for 2. Eye rake by Owen and he goes to the headlock. Tatanka with an armdrag and another one. Headlock by Tatanka and he gets sent to the outside but lands on his feet. He brings Owen out and is rammed into the post. We see Razor and IRS getting into a brawl backstage. Owen hits a butt splash on the ropes. Gut wrench suplex and he hits a missle dropkick for 2. He goes to the chinlock now. He hooks the sleeper. Tatanka gets up and he starts the wardance no selling everything Owen throws at him. He hits some chops and kicks Owen in the face. DDT for 2. He slams Owen and he goes to the top and hits a flying chop for 2. He catches Owen and powerslams him for 2. He does a sunset flip but Owen catches it and pins Tatanka at 8:18. Good match but the sleeper by Owen hurt it **1/2
The Kid tries to hit some kicks but Jarrett trips him and goes to work by throwing him hard in the corner. The kid rolls up Jarrett for 2. Jarrett hits an elbow and a clothesline. He misses a dropkick and the Kid hits a victory roll for 2. Jarrett gets a suplex by using the ropes and he hits a 2nd rope elbow. Kid hits a spinning heel kick for 2. He slams Jeff and he goes to the top and misses a cannonball. Jeff misses a rope butt splash and Kid goes to the top and is caught. Kid blocks a superplex and hits a flying bodypress for 2. Kid kicks Jarrett in the corner but he misses a flying kick in the corner. Jeff signals for the Figure Four and works on the leg. He tries the Figure Four but Kid rolls him up for the pin at 4:39. Good matchup ***1/4. Afterwards Jarrett goes crazy and hits 3 piledrivers and 3 top rope elbows. Kid sells a serious beating and has to be carried out.
WWF Title Match: Bret Hart (with Jim Neidhart) VS Diesel (with Shawn Michaels)
Bret his bringing his longtime partner with him to counterbalance Michaels and Diesel was the IC champ at this point. They tie up to start and Diesel gets a shove. Bret gets a waist lock and is rammed to the corner. They slug it out in the corner. Diesel with the boot to the throat. But he misses a boot and Bret starts to fire back. He trips Diesel and hits a low headbutt. Bret gets a rollup for 2 but is slammed. Diesel misses an elbow. Bret rams him to the corner but takes an eyepoke. Diesel with some elbows now. He chokes Bret in the corner. He misses a knee in the other corner. Bret kicks Diesel in the legs and starts working on them. He hits some low kicks and continues to work on the right knee of Big Daddy Cool. Figure Four leglock by Bret but Diesel makes the ropes. Bret continues to work on the right leg. Spinning leg lock but he is kicked to the outside. Bret grabs Diesel and hits his leg on the post but Shawn nails Bret and Anvil starts chasing him around the ring. Diesel catches Bret from the 2nd rope and hooks a bear hug and he rams him to the corner. Another bear hug. Bret dropkicks Diesel to the outside. He misses a slingshot bodypress though. Diesel rams Bret into the post and he goes to work on the injured back of Bret. Diesel hits a sidewalk slam for 2. He hits a backbreaker and holds on to Diesel on his knee. He drops an elbow for 2. Diesel hits a butt splash on the ropes as Shawn is taunting him with a slap. Bret is rammed stomach first into the post for 2. Bret rolls up Diesel for 2. Diesel hits a clothesline for 2 and he goes to the chinlock. Diesel hits another backbreaker for 2. Shawn starts to loosen the top turnbuckle as Diesel gets a backbreaker type submission on the shoulder. Bret comes out and hooks a sleeper but is rammed to the corner again. Diesel runs into a boot and Bret hooks the sleeper but can’t hold on again. Diesel throws Bret into the ref but the ref gets up immediately. Diesel exposes the top turnbuckle but is rammed into the steel. Bret starts hammering on Diesel. He does the 10 punch count. Bret hits 3 clotheslines to knock Diesel down for 2. Bret starts the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM. 2nd rope elbow gets 2. 2nd rope bulldog and he goes for the Sharpshooter but Shawn distracts him so he nails Shawn and Shawn goes flying to the railing. Bret hits a 2nd rope clothesline for 2. He tries a backslide but gets a cradle instead for 2. Diesel catches Bret in the corner but is rammed to the turnbuckle. Bret runs into a big boot however. He stands over Bret but Bret trips him and hooks the sharpshooter but Diesel makes the ropes. Bret dropkicks Diesel to the outside and Diesel sends Anvil to the steps as Shawn hits Bret with the WWF title. Diesel drops an elbow and covers Bret for 2. He hits the Jackknife but Anvil runs in and clotheslines Diesel for the DQ at 22:50. Great match but it was marred by a bad ending. Still it’s ***3/4. Anvil then leaves the ring in disgust as the Two Dudes with Attitudes pound on the Hitman. It’s a DQ win for Diesel but he doesn’t win the title.
Here are the semifinal matches for the King Of The Ring
Razor Ramon VS I.R.S
Owen Hart VS The 1-2-3 Kid
These two have had some bad blood in the past. Razor attacks Irwin on the outside and rams him to the post. Back in IRS hits a knee in the gut. Snap mare followed by an elbow for 2. Weak back breaker by Irwin and he goes flying to the outside on a clothesline attempt. They slug it out outside and Razor rams Irwin into the steps. Irwin with some kicks to the right leg but then goes to the gut and he works a chinlock and uses his feet on the ropes for leverage. Razor gets up and hammers on Irwin and he shoots him into the corner. Razor grabs the tie of Irwin and dumps him on it. IRS hits a flying clothesline however and he stalls. Razor kicks him on a headdown and hits the Razor’s Edge for the pin at 5:13. Boring match 1/4*
Kid still sells the beating he took earlier as he’s a little woozy but he comes out to a big pop and he’s greeted with a baseball slide by Owen. Owen hits a 2nd rope plancha. Back in the ring Owen hits a top rope splash for 2. Kid rams Owen to the turnbuckle and he hits a top rope moonsault for 2. He rolls up Owen with the right arm for 2. Owen comes out of an armwringer but Kid reverses it and hits some kicks for 2. Owen hits an enzuguri for 2. Kid kicks Owen on a headdown and does a German suplex and the ref counts 3 but Owen’s foot was on the bottom rope. Kid hits a Slingshot moonsault on Owen on the outside. Back in Owen catches Kid and hits a German suplex for 2. Belly to Belly by Owen for 2. Kid comes out of a suplex and does a victory roll but Owen reverses it for 2. Kid tries a hurrcurana but Owen counters with a power bomb and Owen hooks the sharpshooter for the submission at 3:35. But it’s 3:35 of non stop action! ****1/4. Another few minutes and this probally would’ve been ***** easily.
Tag Team Title Match: The Headshrinkers (with Capt. Lou Albano and Afa) VS Yokozuna and Crush (with Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette)
Let me say this right now. CAPTAIN LOU IS THE MAN!! All four men staredown to start and they slug it out. The heels make the mistake with some headbutts on the Shrinkers and they knock Yoko to the outside. Samu continues with Yoko and he chops away and tries a slam but Yokozuna is JUST TOO FAT. Samu hits a kick on Yoko in the corner though and he knocks him out once again. Crush is in and he and Fatu stare down and Crush goes to work and counters a head down with a faceslam and Fatu no sells it and hits a piledriver. He goes to the 2nd rope and hits a headbutt which looked like it missed for 2. Fuji nails Fatu with the Japanese flag and Crush takes advantange and hits a reverse piledriver for 1. Yoko gets the tag and hits a legdrop. Samu makes the save. Crush covers Fatu for 2 and goes to the nerve pinch. Crush slams Fatu and tags Yoko. Yoko misses an avalanche and Samu gets the hot tag. He hammers on Crush and hits a powerslam. He hammers Yoko outside. All 4 men are in and a double super kick sends Yoko to the outside again. Fatu works on Yoko outside as Samu goes to the top but is crotched as Yoko was rammed into the post. Crush hits a superplex and a legdrop. Yoko comes in and hits a legdrop of his own as Lex Luger comes out. He distracts Crush and Samu rolls him up for 2. Samu is clotheslined out but Fatu hits a superkick for the pin at 9:33. Well this match pretty much reeked but there were some high spots. 3/4* Crush then hammers Luger but a brawl erupts which the faces win.
Tie up to start and Razor gets a right hand. They get a hammerlock sequence and Owen gets a slap Razor catches Owen and slams him for 2. Owen gets another slap but is caught on a dropkick and is slingshoted into the turnbuckle and rolled up for 2. Owen gets a head scissors and Razor bridges out of it. Razor gets a backslide for 2. Razor gets into another headlock. Owen gets a spinning heel kick to take advantage. Owen gets an uppercut followed by an Ab stretch using the top rope for leverage. Razor comes out of it with a hiptoss. He blocks a hiptoss and gets a chokeslam for 2. Razor gets a backslam on Owen for another 2. Owen comes out of a suplex and hits a Russian Leg Sweep. He tries a moonsault but is spanked and Razor hits his back superplex. He signals the Razor’s Edge and sets up Owen for it but he’s backdropped over the top rope to the floor. Jim Neidhart comes out and he helps Razor up and clotheslines him and rams him to the post. Owen goes to the top and hits a flying elbow for the pin at 6:36 to win the King Of The Ring. Decent final match **. Afterwards Owen and the Anvil attack Razor and hit the Hart attack and a “We want Bret!” chant starts.
Here then is the coronation ceremony.
Todd Pettingill: (reading from a scroll) Ladies and Gentlemen, whereas the 1994
World Wrestling Federation King Of The Ring tournament has now been concluded.
It is time for the coronation ceremony to commence. After having successfully
endured and triumphed thru 3 grueling tournament rounds. May I call upon the
Rocket Owen Hart as we proclaim him the 1994 King Of The Ring. (Todd tries to
get a word with Owen and Owen grabs the mike)
Owen: Wait a minute here Pettingill. I just want you to know and all you dumb people out there, I did what I said I will do. I am the King Of The Ring and I want everybody to start giving me the respect of a King.
Todd: Ladies and Gentlemen, President Jack Tunney will now do the honors in
presenting this cape this—(Owen grabs the mike again)
Owen: You wait a minute here Pettingill, I don’t want Jack Tunney, I want the only person in this (Hart) family that I can trust. My main man Jim The Anvil Neidhart. He’s gonna present the cape with his crown. Get down on one knee Pettingill, get down and salute the king. Down on your knees! Down! (Jim gives him the scepter and puts the cape on Owen.)
Jim: Please your majesty, Won’t you please sit down on the royal throne? (Owen does so and Jim puts the crown on Owen’s head)
Todd: Ladies and gentlemen, May I present the 1994 King Of The Ring. Ladies and gentlemen The Ro—(Owen grabs the mike again)
Owen: Wait a minute here, My first procolmation as king is to be from this day forward known as The King Of Harts, The King Of Harts and I want you people to remember with respect for the King Of Harts. (Owen and Jim leave)
This is a blowoff to the feud where Jerry mocks Piper by bringing a kid who imitates Piper. Piper comes out with the same kid and they insult Lawler. Piper hammers on Jerry with his kilt over Lawler’s head. Piper continues to pound on him in the corner and he hits a potato punch. Lawler tries to leave but it doesn’t work. He hooks a full nelson outside and the kid pokes him in the eye. Piper with some more punches and another right hand sends him down. Piper kicks Lawler in the head. He catches a boot and kicks him low. He hits an atomic drop sending Lawler to the outside. Lawler starts going after the kick but is caught by Piper. He blocks a right hand and rams it to the post. Lawler goes after the kid again and Piper catches him. Lawler nails Piper though and Piper covers the Kid taking the beating himself. Lawler gets some right hands and knocks Piper down for 2. Jerry gets another right hand and hooks the sleeper. Piper gets up but takes some more right hands. Lawler hits his piledriver which I think he originated. But he wastes time before covering Piper for 2. Lawler continues to hammer away as I’m yawning away. Piper gets up and hits a right and they both slug it out. Piper hits a bulldog and another one. He tries a third but Lawler throws him to the ref. Lawler pulls out some knucks and hits Piper with it. He covers Piper with his feet on the ropes but the kid pulls Lawler off just in time. Lawler is distracted and Piper gets a back suplex for the pin at 12:18. Why they gave these two men who were beyond 40 12 minutes is beyond me. –**
Summary: Well bad main event aside this was a pretty good card otherwise. Everybody except Lawler and Piper seemed to try to put on a good show. RECOMMENDED