Views from the Hawke’s Nest: The Best of King of the Ring – Disc 3

 

June 27, 1999
The Undertaker(C) vs. The Rock [WWF Heavyweight Championship]

I would have lost a lot of money if I bet on whether or not Taker held the belt in 1999. Completely forgot about that.

Taker started the match by punching the ref. Rock quickly hit the Rock Bottom for a phantom pinfall. A second ref showed up, but Paul Bearer took him out. Taker hit a chokeslam for a nearfall. They brawled up to the stage. Taker got control as they made their way back to the ring. Rock avoided Old School and fought back. They brawled into the crowd. Then they brawled to the ringside area. Taker got firm control and worked him over in the ring for a while. This was all very boring. Rock fought back after hitting a Samoan Drop. Rock hit the People’s Elbow, but the ref was out. Bearer tried to give him an ether-soaked rag, but Rock got the rag and used it on Taker. Triple H ran in and gave Rock a pedigree. Taker got a hand on Rock: 1…2…NO! Tombstone: 1…2…3

This wasn’t so much a styles clash (they both worked this style at the time in big matches), but an issue of chemistry or lack thereof. They did the Attitude Era brawl match, and it didn’t get over at all. I’ve never seen a good match between these two, and this was not the exception.

Match Rating: **

 

June 25, 2000

Triple H(c), Vince McMahon, & Shane McMahon (w/ Stephanie McMahon) vs. The Rock, Kane, & The Undertaker [WWF Heavyweight Championship]

The winner of the fall wins the title. I’m not sure which part of the match is stupider: the fact that the world title is being contested in a trios match or that the heels are clearly at the disadvantage. The former is worse for the long-term credibility of the belt, and the latter makes it hard to do this match well.

After the heels had trouble getting anything going, the match broke down. HHH hit Rock with a pedigree, but Rock kicked out in the least dramatic way possible. That was really fucking weird, and I would have to assume someone missed their spot to break it up. Regardless, Rock was then worked over after that. This went on for a while. The match broke down again, kind of. Kane and Taker actually went at it. Rock made his own comeback in the ring. Kane then gave Rock a chokeslam. HHH thought Kane joined his side, but Kane gave him a tombstone. Taker broke it up. He then hit Kane in the head with a chair and chokeslammed Shane from the top rope to the announce table. Vince went for a People’s Elbow on Rock, but Rock then hit him with a Rock Bottom: 1…2…3

There were some moments of entertainment here and there, but this was one odd duck of a match, main event, and title change. This is definitely one of the weaker moments in the vaunted 2000.

Match Rating: **

 

King of the Ring Finals
Kurt Angle vs. Rikishi

They started brawling during Rikishi’s entrance. Rikishi looked to have gotten the advantage, but Angle quickly cut him off. He worked Rikishi over for a while. Rikishi’s right arm was injured and taped up. He managed to made a comeback in spite of that. He hit a Diamond Cutter! Stinkface. Olympic Slam from Kurt: 1…2…NO! They were going back and forth by this point. Angle finished him with a super belly-to-belly.

This was yet another okay KOTR final. Both guys looked and worked tired, and there was just no creativity to the match. They worked a fairly basic WWE match, and few people seemed to cared about it. Again, it was okay. It’s just nothing you need to see.

Match Rating: **1/2

 

June 24, 2001

Jeff Hardy(c) vs. X-Pac [WWF Light Heavyweight Championship]

Jeff hit an early dive off a guardrail, but X-Pac then avoided Whisper in the Wind. X-Pac worked him over for a while. Jeff came back after avoiding the Bronco Buster. They botched something in the corner. It looked bad. Jeff then hit Whisper in the Wind for a nearfall. X-Pac hit the X-Factor for a three count, but the referee saw Jeff’s foot on the ropes right after and called off the bell. Jeff came back with a chinbreaker and then the swanton: 1…2…3

This was a solid match. It was easy on the eyes, as it featured lots of fun STUFF. Not much else left to say.

Match Rating: ***

 

King of the Ring Finals
Kurt Angle vs. Edge

Angle was trying to become the first two-time KOTR winner.

Angle was buddies with E&C at this point. He tried to convince Edge to lay down for him because Angle had a street fight with Shane later on in the show. Edge obviously declined.

Angle got control quickly with a belly-to-belly to the floor. Angle worked him over for a while. He was mostly targeting Edge’s injured midsection. Edge came back after hitting a Frankensteiner. Christian ran in just as Edge was on the verge of victory. That distracted Edge and the ref. Ref bump. Angle made Edge tap out to the ankle lock for a phantom submission. Shane McMahon ran in and speared Kurt. Edge-o-cution: 1…2…3

They were finally getting the crowd into it, and then Shane McMahon won the King of the Ring tournament for Edge. Just unbelievable arrogance. The match was not terrible, but the finish just left too much of a sour taste in my mouth.

Match Rating: **1/4

 

Kurt Angle vs. Shane McMahon [Street Fight]

Angle dominated for a bit, but Shane won a fluke grappling exchange. Kurt was irate and offered Shane his back. Kurt obviously quickly got control that way and went back to working over Shane. Shane got control by playing cat & mouse. He then used a kendo stick and turned the match into a brawl. Shane used a ton of plunder. Angle avoided an ankle lock, but Shane got the sharpshooter. Angle needed a kendo stick to escape. Shane went back to dominating the match lol. Just as I was getting very, very cynical about this one, Shane busted out a shooting fuck star press onto a garbage can. They battled up the ramp. Dear lawd, Angle gave Shane a belly-to-belly into a part of the stage that did not break. Shane fell on his head as a result. They repeated the spot, and Shane went through the glass pane. From inside the stage, they did the belly-to-belly into the pane spot twice, but the glass would not break. Angle then just gave up and tossed Shane through the glass. Angle wheeled Shane back to the ring: 1…2…NO! Shane fought back with some trash can lid shots an Olympic Slam. Angle came back and used a wood board to hit Shane with a super Olympic Slam: 1…2…3

I appreciate this match on a number of levels and am annoyed by this match on a number of levels. They worked their asses off. The crowd responded well overall to it. They worked the kind of hardcore match that I can behind while doing spots that are not common for the company. However, the match was such a McMahon wank-fest, and that is just so unnecessary. They had to do one thing to make this match much more palatable: give Shane very little offense. If you want to make Shane look tough, that’s fine. It doesn’t take being a wrestler to be a tough person. There’s no reason why he should look so legitimately competitive with Angle though.

Match Rating: ***1/2

 

June 23, 2002

King of the Ring Finals
Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. Rob Van Dam
he winner would not only be King of the Ring, but they would receive a world title shot at Summerslam.

RVD got a MONSTER reaction. RVD had a surprising amount of success early on. That is until Brock destroyed RVD with a powerbomb. Brock dominated RVD for a while. RVD eventually came back with some kicks, including his diving thrust kick. RVD got a nearfall with a Rolling Thunder. RVD then hit the Five-Star Frog Splash. Heyman interfered, but he accidentally caused RVD to fall on Brock: 1…2…NO! RVD shoved Heyman and dove at Brock. Brock caught him and hit a F-5: 1…2…3!

I loved this for what it was. It was a competitive squash (oxymoron!?!?) that established Brock as a major threat. This reminded me of the Austin/Roberts KOTR final in the sense it did a great job making the winner look great without burying the challenger.

Match Rating: ***

Watch this match here.

 

Hulk Hogan vs. Kurt Angle

Angle was using amateur headgear to keep a wig on. He recently had lost his hair to Edge.

If Angle bumps all around for Hogan, this has a chance. I don’t think of Angle as being that kind of wrestler though. They tried to do that match early on, but Angle was just not a natural at that style. Angle low blowed Hogan to get control. Angle continued to work a Hogan match as he worked the legend over. Hogan started to fight back, but Angle hit the Olympic Slam: 1…2…NO! Hogan Hulked Up. He took off Angle’s wig. Angle was walking out, but Hogan mocked him some more. Angle grabbed a chair and then accidentally hit himself with it! Hogan went for the Legdrop, but Angle got the ankle lock!!!!! Geezus, this match picked up. Hogan got to the ropes twice, but Angle pulled him back to the center twice! HOGAN TAPS OUT!

The match was an okay Hogan-nostalgia match for a while there, but the final couple of minutes were much more enjoyable once they started working an Angle match. I’m not sure if they could switched to that style earlier, but it may have been worth a try.

Match Rating: ***

 

May 21, 2006

King of the Ring Finals
Booker T (w/ Sharmell) vs. Bobby Lashley

Bobby was in control until he crashed into a ringpost. Booker worked him over for a bit. Bobby made a comeback after tackling Booker. A Sharmell distraction gave Booker a brief reprieve, and she then saved Booker from the spear. Booker hit his kick and then hit the Book End: 1…2…NO! Running powerslam from Bobby: 1…2…NO! Booker hit his kick again and then hit the craziest scissors kick: 1…2…NO! Bobby took that all wrong. SPEAR! Finlay ran in and whacked Bobby in the head with his stick. Scissors Kick: 1…2…3

Bobby speared Booker through the throne after the match.

This was not terrible. They worked hard, but these two were never going to have an overly impressive match. They did the WWE-style match as well as Bobby Lashley was capable of at the time. King Booker would go on to be a far more entertaining than it had any right to be. ALL HAIL KING BOOKAH~!

Match Rating: **3/4

 

April 21, 2008

King of the Ring Finals
William Regal vs. CM Punk

Regal was actually the GM of Raw. Remember those brief ten seconds when we thought The Sandman was the GM of Raw? Those were good times.

Punk appeared to have an injured back. Punk was firing away with strikes (KAWADA KICKS!) early, but Regal quickly dropped him with a variation of the backdrop driver. Regal proceeded to target the back. Punk fired back with slaps and kicks. Punk went for the GTS, but Regal escaped and hit a short-range knee trembler. Punk resisted, but Regal got the Regal Stretch! Punk tapped out!

These two absolutely made the most of their time in the ring. Punk didn’t look like a chump for losing because he had the injured back, and Regal winning clean as a heel in a competitive match is always refreshing in the WWE.

Match Rating: ***1/4

 

November 29, 2010

King of the Ring Finals
Sheamus vs. John Morrison

There was a special guest ring announcer. I do not recognize her.

Morrison’s left arm was injured during his semifinals match against Alberto del Rio. Sheamus immediately went after the left arm. Morrison started to fight back, and he was building momentum. Sheamus turned him inside out with a lariat though. Sheamus went for Razor’s Edge, but Morrison avoided it and hit his satellite DDT. Sheamus pulled him off the top rope by the injured arm and then applied an armbar. Morrison struggled for a bit, but he eventually escaped. He hit a variation of the Pele. He managed to go for Starship Pain, but Sheamus got his knees up. Morrison injured his arm on that Sheamus block and then ate a Brougue Kick. Razor’s Edge: 1…2…3

Sheamus was crowned by Miss USA (CM Punk finally informed me who she was).

This was a really strong match and shows how good Sheamus was by 2010. I don’t remember him being this consistently good at this time, but he definitely was in the middle of a strong series of matches with Morrison. The only thing that could have put this over the top for me would have Morrison not being able to perform Starship Pain because of his injured arm. That type of selling is generally not something WWE tends to do though.

This also pretty easily the best King of the Ring Finals that I have ever seen. That’s more of a comment on the other finals though.

Match Rating: ***1/2

Watch this here.

 

Watch WWE matches for free!

Sami Zayn vs. Alex Riley

CM Punk vs. John Cena

Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger

The Shield vs. Rey Mysterio & The Usos

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton [Street Fight]

Goldust vs. Randy Orton

Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho

CM Punk vs. Sheamus

Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler

Daniel Bryan vs. Chris Jericho

The Undertaker vs. CM Punk

Kurt Angle vs. Shelton Benjamin

Rey Mysterio vs. John Cena

RVD vs. Shawn Michaels

Brock Lesnar vs. RVD

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

Obviously, this set was actually "The Best of the King of the Ring PPV (Until 2006, 2008, and 2010!)." I do not have a problem with that, as the non-tournament matches were better as a general rule than the majority of the tournament matches that we got to see. The set is too inconsistent to recommend though, and there's no need to watch it unless you really want to see the finals of the great majority of King of the Ring tournament finals.