KING OF THE RING (1994)
Location: Baltimore Arena
WWE Title: Bret Hart © vs. Diesel
(Go to 1:18:15 on video.)
* Most people remember Bret's win over Diesel at the 1995 Survivor Series, but apparently this match wasn't bad, either (average rating: 3.75 stars). I certainly don't remember it, and it was apparently title vs. title, too (only the WWE title was up for grabs). But hey, I don't remember what I ate five minutes ago, so, yeah. Please enjoy the announcing talents of Art Donovan, one of Vince's all-time worst ideas (and that's saying something). Gorilla and Savage spent most of the PPV blatantly ignoring him. Bret has Jim Neidhart in his corner to counteract HBK in Diesel's. Bret goes behind with a waistlock and Diesel works him into a corner and starts blasting away. Bret fires back but obviously loses the battle. Diesel charges and misses a big boot as Bret dodges. Bret pounds away before slinging Diesel off the ropes onto the mat. Bret takes Diesel down and drops a headbutt into his gut. Diesel reverses a whip to the ropes, but Bret counters a slam attempt and rolls him up for two. Bret tries a crossbody, no chance as Diesel slams him. Diesel misses an elbow drop. Bret rams him into the turnbuckle three times, then Diesel pokes him in the eye. Diesel pounds away and whips Bret to the corner, but Bret dodges a high knee and Diesel rams it into the turnbuckle. Bret goes to work on the leg before applying a figure four. Diesel gets to the rope. Bret kicks Diesel's leg out again, drops an elbow across it, then drapes it across the rope and drops down on it. He uses a spinning leg lock, but Diesel kicks him off and through the ropes to the floor. From there, Bret pulls Diesel's leg out from under him and drags him to the corner to wrap his leg around the post twice. HBK runs over and clotheslines Bret out of his boots, and Anvil goes after HBK, who eventually cuts across the ring. Anvil follows but gets cut off by the ref, and this allows HBK to beat on Bret outside some more, nicely done. Diesel pulls Bret up on the apron, but Bret drives a shoulder into his gut, then climbs to the top. He leaps off and Diesel's supposed to catch him in a bearhug but instead Diesel falls and it becomes a Thesz Press by accident. Diesel powers Bret back up for the bear hug and slams him into the corner, then reapplies the bear hug. Bret bites Diesel to get out of it, then hits a running dropkick to Diesel's back to sent him partway over the top rope, with Bret throwing him the rest of the way out. I think the dropkick was supposed to send him completely out, so two half-botches in two minutes. Bret goes for a slingshot suicide dive over the top to the outside, but Diesel dodges and Bret turns a front flip and splats on the floor. Diesel picks Bret up and rams him into the post, then slides him in the ring. Diesel pounds away on Bret's back and whips him hard into the corner. A big side suplex gets two. Diesel hits a backbreaker and keeps Bret across his knee as he pushes on Bret's chin and knee, nice move. A big elbow drop gets two. Diesel chokes Bret across the second rope, then runs across and drops his weight on Bret. HBK slaps Bret from the outside. Bret fires back on Diesel but gets whipped chest-first into the corner for two. Bret hits a surprise rollup for two. Diesel hits a short-arm clothesline for two. A backbreaker gets two but Diesel looks a little gassed. Diesel looks like he's going for the jackknife, but instead keeps Bret up on his shoulder in a backbreaker (which doesn't make much sense given he can just finish the jackknife in theory). HBK loosens the turnbuckle padding. Bret's arm drops twice before he works his way out of the backbreaker and applies a sleeper. Diesel takes Bret to the corner to escape, then whips Bret into the corner but eats a boot charging in. Bret climbs to the second turnbuckle and jumps off with another sleeper, but Diesel again takes Bret into the corner. Bret gets whipped into the referee (I think that was actually unintentional, odd). HBK distracts the ref while Diesel removes the turnbuckle pad. He tries to pound Bret's head into it, but Bret blocks and slams Diesel's head. Bret pounds away, hitting a 10-punch in the corner. One last shot drops Diesel. A series of three clotheslines takes Diesel down again for two. Russian leg sweep leads to a second-rope elbow for two. Bret comes off the second turnbuckle with a bulldog that Diesel sells awkwardly (rolling through it), and Bret goes for the sharpshooter. HBK hops up on the apron, Anvil reacts by hopping up on the other side, and Bret walks over and slugs HBK. Bret goes to the second turnbuckle again and hits a clothesline for two. Diesel reverses a whip to the ropes, but Bret reverses a hip toss attempt into a backslide. Diesel's too strong to go down to it, so instead Bret uses the turnbuckle to backflip over Diesel and hits a small package for only two (thought that might be it). Bret tries to whip Diesel to the corner but for some reason Diesel stops running so Bret pounds away. Diesel reverses a whip to the corner (maybe that was what was supposed to happen the first time) and Bret tries to leapfrog over Diesel coming in, but Diesel catches him. He goes for snake eyes, but Bret slides out the back and shoves Diesel into the corner. Bret runs off the ropes and right into a big boot. Diesel calls for the jackknife but Bret pulls his legs out and works him into a modified sharpshooter but Diesel grabs the rope. Bret dropkicks Diesel over the top rope to the floor. Anvil creeps over for no real reason, and Diesel nails him and slams him into the post. HBK enters the ring while the ref watches the stuff outside and nails Bret with the IC belt. Diesel drops an elbow but gets only two. Diesel calls for the jackknife again and hits it, but Anvil slugs HBK outside, then enters the ring and attacks Diesel for the DQ, then vacates ringside. HBK and Diesel pummel Bret after the match. Anvil later says he saved Bret's title so Owen could win it, heel turn! So I know why I didn't remember this match, it wasn't anything super special, but it was really solid without any boring stretches. I'm gonna give it 3.5 stars.
Semifinals: Owen Hart vs. 123 Kid
(Go to 2:02:30 on video)
* Despite only lasting about 3 1/2 minutes, this averaged 3.25 stars. One guy called it the best sub-four minute match ever. Not sure about that. The good thing about a sub-4 minute match is I won't write War and Peace about it. Maybe. OK, you're right, it makes no difference. Kid is selling his injuries from his first match, and as he gets to ringside, Owen blasts him with a ridiculous sliding dropkick, ouch! Owen then dives through the ropes with a suicide dive that only clips the Kid's head as Owen goes flying over him. Owen tosses Kid inside and goes up top for a flying headbutt and a two. Kid reverses a whip to the corner and Owen takes it chest-first. Kid goes up top facing the crowd and hits a sweet twisting crossbody for two. Kid rolls Owen up in a pinning combination for two (the la magistral cradle, perhaps? I should know this but don't). Owen reverses an armringer with gymnastics and pulls Kid down by the hair. Kid kips up, does his own gymnastics, reverses the arm ringer and unloads with kicks, knocking Owen down with a spinning leg lariat for two. Owen reverses a whip to the ropes, then hits an enziguiri for two after Kid catches his first kick. Owen drops his head early and gets kicked, then Kid hits a nice bridging Northern Lights suplex for two, with Owen's foot on the rope. Owen tries to take a break outside but Kid launches himself with a fantastic slingshot somersault dive onto Owen. That guy might be right! Kid pounds away before rolling Owen inside. Kid whips him off the ropes and goes for another spinning leg lariat but Owen counters with a bridging German suplex for two. Owen hits a great belly-to-belly suplex for two. Kid counters a suplex and hops up on Owen's shoulders for a victory roll for two before Owen counters that with his own pin for two. Kid reverses a whip to the ropes and tries a hurricanrana but Owen powerbombs him and applies the sharpshooter for the win. That was awesome, easily better than Perfect/Owen at Wrestlemania V. I want to give it 4 stars but 3.75 feels more correct.
Last edited by antidan444; 10-02-2013 at 04:20 PM.