From The Shelf – WWE King of the Ring 1994

WWF King of the Ring 1994
6-19-94
Baltimore, MD

Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon, Randy Savage, and ART DONOVAN!!!!!

Jeff Jarrett, Owen Hart, Bam Bam Bigelow, and IRS mess around with a giant bracket and try to claim they are going to win the King of the Ring.

King of the Ring Quarterfinals- Bam Bam Bigelow w/Luna Vachon vs. Razor Ramon
Bigelow attacks from behind to start and he pounds away on Ramon. He overpowers Ramon and slams Razor. Leg drop by Bigelow and he goes up. Diving head butt by Bigelow misses and Razor crotches Bigelow against the post. Second rope bulldog by Ramon gets 2. Razor works the leg of Bigelow and Bigelow misses an enzuigiri. Clotheslines by Razor have no effect and Bigelow dumps him to the floor. Back in, Bigelow knocks Razor down with a head butt for 2. Enzuigiri by Bigelow gets 2. Bigelow throws some head butts to the back of Razor and he grabs the Torture Rack. Razor’s arm goes down twice and he eventually fights out. Back suplex by Ramon and both men are down. Rights by Razor and he slams Bigelow. Razor goes to put Bigelow on top but Bigelow blocks. Slam by Bigelow and he goes up. Razor catches him with a power bomb for 3!!!
Winner- Razor Ramon **3/4 ( Really solid opener, with Razor taking a nice beating from Bigelow but being strong enough to withstand the big man and catch him at the right moment to get the victory.)

IRS declares he’ll take care of Mabel and Razor Ramon and he hopes to get Tatanka in the finals. Mabel says to not overlook him and he’ll take things one man at a time.

King of the Ring Quarterfinals- IRS vs. Mabel w/Oscar
Donovan is just mesmerized by Mabel and has no idea who he is. Mabel rams IRS’ head off the turnbuckle repeatedly to tart and he slams IRS. Suplex by Mabel as Donovan asks, “How much does this guy weight?” Northern lights suplex by Mabel and he follows up with an elbow drop. Mabel misses an avalanche in the corner and IRS knocks Mabel to the floor. Back in, IRS hits a leaping clothesline and follows up with some elbow drops for 2. IRS goes for a slam but Mabel counters into a small package for 2. IRS goes to the chin lock but Mabel backs him into the corner to break. Rights by Mabel and he hits a back drop. Clothesline by Mabel and he hits a back elbow. Boss Man Slam by Mabel gets 2. Slam by Mabel and he goes up. IRS shakes the ropes to bring Mabel down and he covers while holding the ropes for 3.
Winner- IRS *1/2 ( This was pretty dull. It was basic, by the numbers stuff so the work wasn’t bad but this wasn’t interesting or engaging in the slightest. This match will forever live on in infamy due to Donovan’s commentary though. )

Jim Cornette rips the Coliseum Video crew for coming to their interview late and Mr. Fuji tells Crush and Yokozuna he wants the WWF Tag Team Championships.

King of the Ring Quarterfinal Match- Tatanka vs. Owen Hart
Back drop by Tatanka gets 2. Suplex by Tatanka gets 2. Owen pokes the eye of Tatanka and he overpowers Tatanka. Hip toss by Tatanka and he takes Owen over with a Japanese arm drag. Owen dumps Tatanka to the floor but Tatanka pulls Owen out and fires away on the floor. Owen fights back and he sends Tatanka into the post. We go backstage and Razor and IRS are in a pull-apart brawl. Back in, Owen chokes Tatanka in the ropes and jumps onto Tatanka. Owen rakes Tatanka’s face off the ropes and he hits a gut wrench suplex. Owen goes up and hits a missile dropkick for 2. Chin lock by Owen but Tatanka fights out. Owen catches him in the sleeper but Tatanka fights out. Tatanka gets fired up and he cleans house on Owen. Tomahawk chop by Tatanka gets 2. DDT by Tatanaka gets 2. Slam by Tatanka and he goes up. Tomahawk chop off the top by Tatanka gets 2. Tatanka catches Owen with the running powerslam for 2. Chops by Tatanka and he goes for the sunset flip but Owen blocks for 3!!!
Winner- Owen Hart **1/2 ( A decent match that took some time to build up steam but they pulled off a nice finish stretch and it was good to see Owen get a clean pin here. )

Diesel says that another Jackknife Power Bomb will be coming Bret’s way and that he have another championship on his other shoulder. Shawn Michaels isn’t concerned about the family member Bret Hart will have in his corner.

King of the Ring Quarterfinals- Jeff Jarrett vs. 1-2-3 Kid
Jarrett trips up Kid and slams his leg off the apron. He sends Kid hard into the corner and Kid catches him with the O’Connor roll for 2. Jarrett stomps away and he hits a back elbow. Clothesline by Jarrett and he misses a dropkick. Victory roll by Kid gets 2. Slingshot suplex by Jarrett and he hits a fist drop. Spin kick by Kid gets 2. Slam by Jarrett and he goes up. Cannonball leg drop off the top misses and Jarrett goes to jump on him in the ropes but misses. Kid goes up but Jarrett crotches him and follows up. Kid blocks a superplex and he hits a crossbody off the top for 2. Kid throws kicks in the corner and he charges in the corner but Jarrett sweeps the legs sending Kid crashing to the mat. Jarrett works the leg of Kid and he goes for the Figure-4 but Kid catches him with the small package for 3!!! Jarrett lays out Kid with repeat pile drivers after the match.
Winner- 1-2-3 Kid **1/4 (They tried to pack as much stuff in as they could here and it was fun for the amount of time it lasted. )

Bret Hart says Diesel won’t Jackknife Powerbomb him again and he says Diesel made a mistake underestimating Bret and overestimating himself. Bret has taken guys Diesel’s size down before and he says he has a backup plan for Shawn Michaels.

WWF Championship- Bret Hart © w/Jim Neidhart vs. Diesel w/Shawn Michaels
This is Jim Neidhart’s return to the company. Diesel is the Intercontinental Champion but his title isn’t on the line. Diesel fires away on Bret in the corner to start and he chokes Bret with his boot. Rights by Bret and he crotches Diesel in the ropes. Dropping head butt to the midsection by Bret and he gets the O’Connor roll for 2. Bret goes for the cross body but Diesel blocks and slams Bret. He misses an elbow drop and pokes Bret in the eye to come back. Diesel works over Bret and he chokes away on Bret in the corner. Diesel goes for a knee strike in the corner but Bret moves. He throws some kicks to the leg of Diesel and begins to work over the leg of Diesel. Figure-4 by Bret and he lets go when it becomes apparent Diesel was not going to quit. Bret continues to work over the leg but Diesel kicks Bret to the floor to end that. Bret takes Diesel down and slams Diesel’s leg off the post a few times. Shawn clotheslines Bret on the floor and Neidhart chases after him. Back in, Bret goes up and leaps but Diesel blocks, bringing him down to the mat. Bear hug by Diesel but Bret rakes the eyes to break. Dropkick to the back by Bret and he dumps Diesel to the floor. Slingshot pescado misses and Bret crashes hard on the floor. Diesel rams Bret into the post and back in, Diesel throws some forearms to the back of Bret. Diesel sends Bret hard into the corner and he hits a sidewalk slam for 2. Back breaker by Diesel and he stretches Bret across his knee. Diesel releases and quickly hits an elbow drop for 2. Diesel chokes Bret in the ropes and he jumps on the back of Bret. Diesel sends Bret hard into the corner sternum first for 2. Roll-up by Bret gets 2 and Diesel hits a short arm clothesline for 2. Neck crank by Diesel but Bret fights out. Back breaker by Diesel gets 2. He grabs a gut wrench submission on Bret as Shawn begins to untie one of the corner turnbuckles. Bret counters into the sleeper but Diesel rams him into the corner to break. Bet goes back to the sleeper but again, Diesel rams Bret into the corner to break. Diesel sends Bret into the ref and Diesel exposes the turnbuckle. Bret blocks Diesel’s attempt to ram his head into it and he drives Diesel into the exposed corner!!! Rights by Bret and he hits some punches in the corner. Bret rocks Diesel with some rights and he hits some clotheslines that take Diesel off his feet for 2. Side Russian leg sweep by Bret and he hits a second rope elbow drop for 2. Second rope bulldog by Bret and he goes for the Sharpshooter. Shawn distracts the ref so Bret knocks him off the apron. Second rope clothesline by Bret gets 2!!! Small package by Bret gets 2!!! Bret tries to leap over Diesel but he catches him. He goes for Snake Eyes but Bret escapes. Big boot by Diesel and Bret takes him down into the Sharpshooter!!! Diesel quickly grabs the ropes to break and Bret dropkicks Diesel to the floor. Diesel nails Neidhart from behind and Shawn nails Bret from behind with the belt!!! Back in, Diesel hits an elbow drop for 2!!! Neidhart nails Shawn on the floor as Diesel hits the Jackknife Powerbomb on Bret. Neidhart attacks Diesel for the DQ!!! Neidhart leaves in frustration as Diesel and Michaels get some more cheap shots on Bret.
Winner by DQ- Diesel **** (Terrible finish to a great match. Diesel got more fatiqued and exhausted as the match progressed so Bret withstood the beating and tried to catch Diesel on multiple occasions toward the finish. This was an awesome showing by Diesel and I believe this performance likely led to Vince having faith to make him the man by the end of the year. Also, how sweet would a Hart Foundation vs. Michaels/Diesel feud had been.)

Jerry Lawler throws insults at Art Donovan and he says Piper rose from obscurity and he’ll knock him into oblivion.

King of the Ring Semi-Finals- Razor Ramon vs. IRS
Man, I.R.S’s promos on this show are god awful. Razor attacks IRS and sends him into the post. Back in, IRS hits a knee to the midsection and he snap mares Razor into an elbow drop for 1. Back breaker by IRS and he charges but Razor moves, sending IRS crashing to the floor. IRS pulls Razor to the floor and Razor works IRS over on the floor. Back in, Razor hits some rights but IRS clips the leg of Razor to end that. Back elbow by IRS and he goes to the rear chin lock. Razor begins to fight out and he hits a back elbow on IRS. Razor sends IRS hard into the corner and he tosses IRS down by the tie. Clothesline by IRS and Razor catches him with the Razor’s Edge for 3.
Winner- Razor Ramon **1/4 ( Not long enough to mean anything, but at least with the short nature of the match IRS couldn’t resort to his assortment of rest holds so they work a more physical sprint of a match. )

Bret Hart is looking for Neidhart backstage but can’t find him.

Owen Hart vs. 1-2-3 Kid
Baseball slide by Owen and he hits a suicide dive to the floor. Back in, Owen goes up and hits a flying splash for 2. 1-2-3 Kid sends Owen sternum first into the corner and he goes up. Crossbody off the top by Kid gets 2. Inside cradle by Kid gets 2. Kid throws some kicks and ends with a spin kick for 2. Enzuigiri by Owen gets 2. Northern lights suplex by Kid gets 2 as Owen gets his foot on the ropes. Owen bails and Kid hits a slingshot summersault pescado to the floor on Owen!!! Back in, Kid goes for a spin kick but Owen catches him with a German suplex for 2!!! Belly to belly suplex by Owen gets 2. Victory roll by Kid gets 2 as Owen rolls through for 2. Owen blocks a hurricanrana with a powerbomb and he grabs the Sharpshooter. Kid taps.
Winner- Owen Hart *** (I know this match has gotten tons of praise in the past for how much action they packed in a short amount of time but today, it’s a pretty good match for three minutes. They got criminally short changed and if this was drawn out and told a better story over more time, this could have been a classic. )

Roddy Piper talks about the trash talk that Lawler has been throwing his way and he claims Lawler isn’t a true king.

WWF Tag Team Championships- The Headshrinkers (Fatu and Samu) © w/Captain Lou Albano and Afa vs. Yokozuna and Crush w/James E. Cornette and Mr. Fuji
They brawl to start and everyone trades head butts. The Headshrinkers knock the challengers to the floor and back in, Yokozuna officially starts with Samu. Chops by Samu and he goes for a slam but Yokozuna blocks. Spin kick by Samu and he dropkicks Yokozuna, knocking him back to the floor. Back in, Crush tags in along with Fatu. Crush fires away but Fatu comes back with the piledriver. Second rope diving head butt by Fatu gets 2. Fuji nails Fatu in the back with his flagstick, allowing Crush to clothesline Fatu. Piledriver by Crush gets 2. Drop toe hold/leg drop combo by the challengers gets 2 as Samu saves. Nerve hold by Crush but Fatu begins to fight out. Slam by Crush ends the momentum and Yokozuna tags in. Yokozuna misses the hip check in the corner and Samu tags in. Powerslam by Samu and he clotheslines Yokozuna. They collide mid-ring and the Headshrinkers super kick Yokozuna to the floor. Samu goes up but Yokozuna crashes into the post on the floor, crotching Samu. Crush follows up and hits the superplex on Samu. Leg drop by Crush and Yokozuna follows up with one of his own. Lex Luger comes out and distracts Crush, allowing Samu to roll him up for 2. Crush clotheslines Samu to the floor and Fatu super kicks Crush for 3!!! Crush attacks Luger after the match but the Headshrinkers help make the save.
Winners and Still WWF Tag Team Champions- The Headshrinkers **1/2 ( Oh man, this match was kind of fun before it collapsed at the finish. It was just four big guys throwing bombs and working at a shockingly fast paced considering the weight of three of the guys in the ring. The Luger interference took some of the enjoyment away but I liked way more than I should have. )

Owen Hart says he will win the King of the Ring and declares that tonight Bret Hart was a loser.

King of the Ring Finals- Razor Ramon vs. Owen Hart
Owen slaps Razor to send an early message so Ramon comes back with a slam into an elbow drop for 2. Ramon blocks a dropkick and he catapults Owen into the corner. Roll-up by Razor gets 2 and he counters a backslide attempt into his own for 2. Leg lariat by Owen and he rakes Razor’s face against the ropes. Abdominal stretch by Owen and he uses the ropes for added leverage. Razor hip tosses out of the hold and he catches Owen with a choke slam for 2. Fall-a-way slam by Razor gets 2. Owen counters a suplex into the side Russian leg sweep. Owen goes up but Razor crotches him and follows up. Back superplex by Ramon and he goes for the Razor’s Edge but Owen backdrops him to the floor to block. Jim Neidhart comes out and he clotheslines Razor!!! He sends Razor into the post and back in, Owen goes up. Flying elbow drop by Owen gets 3!!! Owen and Neidhart attack Razor after the match and
Winner and the 1994 King of the Ring- Owen Hart **1/2 ( They were trying to go with a fatigue story with Razor but the matches with Bigelow and IRS didn’t give off the impression that Razor was on his last legs, so from that standpoint this didn’t really work. It was OK for what they had to work with though, but the show was packed with so much stuff this didn’t get the time to develop like it probably deserved. )

Bret Hart is shocked by what just happened and refuses to give an interview.

Owen Hart gets his coronation as King of the Ring and Neidhart dresses Owen in the King’s outfit. He declares himself the King of Hearts.

Video package for Lawler/Piper airs.

Jerry Lawler vs. Roddy Piper
Lawler cuts a pre-match promo that he’ll make sure that Piper doesn’t win and give his earnings to some sick kids in Canada. Piper brings out the kid that Lawler forced to impersonate him on Raw. Piper attacks to start and he bites the head of Lawler. Piper tosses Lawler across the ring and Lawler bails to get a break. Piper follows and he lets the kid poke Lawler in the eye. Back in, Piper throws some jabs at Lawler and he hammers Lawler on the mat. Atomic drop by Piper knocks Lawler all the way to the floor. Piper works Lawler over on the floor and he slams Lawler’s hand off the post. Lawler goes after the kid but Piper stops him. He drags the kid into the ring and stomps away on Piper, who is shielding the kid from Lawler’s assault. Jabs by Lawler and he chokes away on Piper. Sleeper by Lawler but Piper goes into the ropes to force a break. Piledriver by Lawler gets 2. Jabs by Lawler and Piper fights back. Bulldog by Piper and he connects with a second one. He goes for a third but Lawler blocks, sending Piper crashing into the ref. Lawler nails Piper with a foreign object and he covers for 2 as the kid knocks Lawler’s feet off the ropes he was using for assistance. Back suplex by Piper and he rolls Lawler up for 3.
Winner- Roddy Piper * ( I understand making this the main event due to the special appearance from Piper, but this match was garbage. This match would have worked for a run on a house show circuit, but it came across as so cheesy and lame in 1994. The kid took away from the match and this was the first match that really showed the deterioration of Piper as a worker that would become more evident in his WCW run. This is up there as one of the worst main events the WWF ever put on. )

Shawn Michaels tells Diesel backstage that he will become the WWF Champion.

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

Thank god for Bret Hart and Diesel otherwise this would go down as an all-time bad WWF show. You had Art Donovan put on the worst commentary in company history that made me long for Rob Bartlett from the early episodes of Raw. The King of the Ring tournament itself was pretty bland, as the matches involving Razor, Owen, and Kid didn't get enough time to put on anything memorable. Lawler/Piper was garbage and just attrocious as the main even of a PPV, so overall skip this show completly but try to seek out Bret/Diesel, as it was an early sign of the chemestry they had as opponents and it probably was the performance that made the company choose Diesel as their guy later in the year.