The Last Word IV

[Guest TSMAdmin]

Thoughts on this week in wrestling:color>

 

RAW was stellar this week if you ask me. Great ladder match, crazed fan run-in, and Chris Benoit’s semi-return to TV. Goldust dressed up in nWo colors was the icing on the cake.

 

Looks like the booking team is splitting up, with Heyman booking Smackdown from now on, and Brian Gerwitz handling RAW. Good move in my view, ANYONE, and I mean ANYONE can do a better job than Stephanie McMahon. Seriously, I don't think I could do that bad if I tried. Heyman should do a good job with the Smackdown roster; hopefully the talent will be utilized better. Gerwitz has a shoddy roster to work with; it’ll be interesting to see how he pulls it off. Should be an improvement though. If Benoit gets traded, he’ll have something more to work with.

 

The WWE’s two new Saturday shows seem to be off to a great start. Velocity had some solid wrestling, mainly Billy Kidman vs. Tajiri, which went for around FIFTEEN MINUTES. YAY! Their styles shone through more in the 15 minute match, spots didn’t look forced, and it gave them a chance to show some psychology. Nice little mat exchanges throughout too. Confidential was somewhat like Excess, but still an improvement over the magazine format. Shawn finally fessed up, and admitted he knew about the finish of the title match at Survivor Series 1997, making the show interesting to say the very least. It’s always been my theory that Shawn knew, but I’m not going to go into a Montreal rant… they’ve been done to death. The RVD segment was pretty cool if you ask me, and Trish’s was an interesting MTV Cribs styled segment. Mean Gene was Mean Gene, and that’s not a bad thing from my point of view. He talked about the naked female body being his favorite piece of art. Good ol’ Mean Gene. He and Jerry Lawler will become fast friends.

 

Anyway, on to this week’s addition of The Last Word:color>

 

King of the Ring: A kick in the right or wrong direction?color>

 

It’s one of the biggest (well, one of the only) tournaments of the year. It’s supposed to provide the basis for an upper-midcard or ever main event push for a midcarder. It’s supposed to be the launch pad for an up and comer’s career. It is the King of the Ring tournament. Back in the 80s- early 90s, the WWF held non-televised versions of the event, with kings like Harley Race, Haku, and Randy Savage. For the most part, the King gimmick wasn’t too successful, save for Randy Savage’s reign as king. In 1993, the WWF decided to take a new direction and televise the event. The first King of the Ring event was held in Dayton, Ohio, in front of a tiny crowd of 6,500. The show will be remembered for being the first KOTR event, the Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect match, and of course, the death (or so we thought) of Hulkamania.

 

At the time, it seemed as if the King of the Ring winner wasn’t meant to be a midcarder receiving a push, as the first televised KOTR winner was Bret Hart, fresh off a 6 month WWF World Heavyweight Title reign. Since then though, the crown has been awarded to a wrestler lower on the card, in an effort to form a new main event talent. However, the tournament hasn’t always been successful in doing so. Here’s a review of each KOTR win:

 

1993

Bret Hart is crowned the first televised King of the Ring. Fresh off a WWF title reign, Bret winning the KOTR was almost signifying that he’d be the new number one guy in the company. Hulk Hogan was headed out and the WWF had to take a new direction. They looked to Bret Hart, and by doing so, awarded him with the King of the Ring title. Most people will tell you that this reign didn’t really elevate Bret, which it really didn’t, but it helped establish him as the top dog in the company.

 

Thumbs up.

 

1994

The following year, the WWF decided to take a chance with Bret Hart’s little brother, the extremely talented Owen Hart. Owen had a strong first half of the year, turning on Bret Hart at the Royal Rumble, and sparking an awesome brother vs. brother feud. Wrestlemania X was a huge PPV for Owen Hart, defeating Bret in an upset victory, in one of the greatest matches this writer has ever seen. The show ended with Bret triumphantly winning the WWF title, and being hoisted on to the arms of the top faces in the company. Owen Hart was looking on, but didn’t join in on the festivities, continuing their feud.

 

The next big show for the WWF was the King of the Ring tournament, and it only made sense to award the crown to the WWF’s fastest rising midcarder at the time, Owen Hart. The now self-proclaimed “King of Harts” reign as King was more of a continuation of his feud with Bret, and to make Owen look even more credible in the ring with Bret. At Summerslam, the two squared off in one of the greatest matches in WWF history, in a steel cage. I had predicted Owen to walk out with the title here, but Bret ousted his brother and held on.

 

Short term, this was an effective King of the Ring win, proving Owen as a worthy contender for his brother. As soon as Jim Neidhart shipped out of the WWF, the whole Hart family feud died, and Owen was back lost in the shuffle, tagging with Yokozuna, as a contending team for the tag titles. However, the reign was successful in building Owen up as a credible upper-midcarder for the remainder of his career.

 

Thumbs moderately up.

 

1995

This year was a pimple on the ass of the WWF. One of the main reasons for the year being so laughably bad, is the winner of the King of the Ring that year. Mabel was already stinking up WWF rings with his partner Mo, and manager Oscar, wearing shiny purple and gold wrestling attire, and rapping on the way to the ring. His ringwork couldn’t save him from the poor gimmick, for newer fans, Mabel went on to become the fat guy in a trash bag, Viscera. Slow and lumbering in the ring, and MASSIVE, Mabel seemed to appeal to the younger fans, sending out the wholesome message, “Whoop There it is.” Anyway, Mabel’s year in the WWF started out innocently enough, with a minimal showing at the Royal Rumble. He did manage to toss Lex Luger out though, so that must count for something. He didn’t even compete at Wrestlemania 11.

 

King of the Ring rolled around, and the WWF had a few contenders for the crown. For some reason, the WWF decided to give Mabel the crown. Not an up and coming Shawn Michaels. Not The Undertaker. Not even Savio Vega (whom we were privileged enough to see wrestle THREE TIMES the night of the KOTR… ugh)! The PPV itself was atrocious, Savio Vega wrestling 3 times in one night, Shawn Michaels being eliminated by a time limit draw, and oh yeah, the Kiss My Foot match between Jerry Lawler and Bret Hart. The conclusion of the match led to the introduction of everyone’s favorite dentist with terrible teeth, Jerry Lawler’s personal oral hygienist, Isaac Yankem DDS. Mabel winning the KOTR made it THAT much worse though.

 

Mabel’s win lead to a MAIN EVENT PUSH (yes, you heard right), against another slow and lumbering lazy bastard, Diesel, the current WWF champion. The two squared off in the worst Summerslam main event of all time (ok, maybe Undertaker vs. Underfaker was worse, but it wasn’t the title match). After that, Mabel was kept floating around the top of the card for a little while, but eventually sunk back to his tag team status. Mabel disappeared from the WWF for a while, only to resurface as Viscera, part of the Ministry of Darkness angle.

 

Overall, Mabel’s reign did little for his career, and was a joke in the wrestling world. My pick for the worst King of the Ring ever.

 

Thumbs way down.

 

1996

The 1996 King of the Ring in a way planted the seeds for the Attitude era. As you all know, Steve Austin was the winner of 1996’s KOTR. Prior to the KOTR, Austin was dubbed The Ringmaster, and managed by Ted DiBiase. He had a lengthy feud with Savio Vega, jeez; it felt like he faced him every PPV in a strap match back then. Needless to say, the extremely talented and charismatic Steve Austin was on a fast ride to nowheresville. Soon, Austin’s character took a new direction, after losing the blowoff match with Vega, which also had the stipulation that Austin would lose his manager. Austin lost DiBiase as a manager, and DiBiase fled for Turnerville.

 

Stone Cold was born, an ultra badass heel that didn’t take shit from anyone, and only looked out for himself. Austin rolled over Marc Mero en route to beating Jake Roberts, now with a religious gimmick in the finals. When the crown and scepter were presented to Austin, he refused them, and coined one of the most popular phrases in wrestling history. You see, Roberts would quote the bible, and Austin with his take no crap attitude exclaimed, “You talk about your psalms, you talk about John 3:16, well, Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!”

 

The phrase has followed him throughout his career, and the KOTR win lead to a nice heel run. Eventually, he and Bret Hart would cross paths. Austin was getting more and more popular, even though he was the ultimate heel. Fans dug his don’t trust anyone, ultra bad ass attitude, which climaxed at Wrestlemania 13, where Austin and Hart put on one of the greatest matches ever, and Austin was established as a top line face. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, then you should know that Austin is now recognized as one of the greatest performers wrestling has ever seen, and was arguably a bigger draw then a man that said he’d never make it past midcard status, Hulk Hogan. Austin is a true legend in our “sport,” and it all seems to be stemmed from his KOTR win. Austin has had BY FAR the most successful King of the Ring victory, at least from my point of view.

 

Thumbs WAY up!

 

1997

Ah, the days when Hunter Hearst Helmsley could wrestle. Helmsley was already emerging as a good midcard heel, following his punishment for the MSG incident (long story short, break of kayfabe, as the clique members all hugged in the ring following Razor Ramon and Diesel’s final WWF matches). He had held the IC title for about 4 months, before losing it to the upstart Rocky Maivia at Final Four. A feud with Goldust took up the first part of the year, involving Chyna and Marlena as well. After his feud with Goldust, it was near KOTR time.

 

Helmsley went over Ahmed Johnson (gah!) on PPV, and then Mankind in the finals. Upon receiving his crown and scepter, he beat his opponent, Mankind with the crown, putting Helmsley over more as a bad ass heel. Not long thereafter, Helmsley would team up with Shawn Michaels, to form one of the most influential stables in ringing in the Attitude era, Degeneration X. The rest, is so called history, as HHH would slowly make his way up the card, establishing himself as a pretty awesome worker, and eventually capturing the WWF title in 1999. Then of course he got injured in the summer of 2001, and hasn’t been the same since. He’s become a prime target for smart mark hatred. But yes, there was a time when The Game was THAT DAMN GOOD!

 

As for the King of the Ring victory, it was somewhat successful. The win pushed him in his friend Shawn Michaels' direction, though I’d venture to say that HHH would have teamed with his amigo HBK either way. The win didn’t lead to a huge push towards the top or anything, so I’d say it was a mildly successful reign.

 

Thumbs slightly up.

 

1998

The World’s Most Dangerous man reigns supreme this year. Ultimate Fighting legend (or so I’m told) Ken Shamrock had signed a WWF contract. Almost immediately, he was pushed as a force to be reckoned with, and as a psychotic animal that would force people to tap. He had a nice feud with The Rock, and put on a good match with him at Wrestlemania 14, one of my personal favorite Wrestlemanias. After defeating Rocky Maivia in the finals, Shamrock suffered a loss to Owen Hart in the Hart Family’s dungeon match, but soon there after, set his sights on Triple H’s Intercontinental title, which he won in October of that year.

 

Eh, the reign itself sort of helped Shamrock, but didn’t exactly make him an upper-midcarder. It did lead to him holding the IC title, but eventually, he’d be lost in the Corporation teaming with the Big Bossman.

 

Thumbs in the middle.

 

1999

It was one of the most boring and ridiculous years in wrestling. Attitude was in full swing, and the WWF was reaching new heights in popularity every week. The roster was kind of weak though; the midcard was shoddy as hell. Billy Gunn wasn’t a great wrestler at the time; he was just mediocre, not really hurting anyone (as opposed to dropping Benoit twice on his head in 2001). Mainly a tag team specialist, who showed no real extra *umph* to him. He was basically one of those guys that were just there. Or at least he would have been, except he was saddled with the lame Homoerotic Mr. Ass gimmick. Early on in the year, Billy had parted way with his Road Dogg and his fellow DX cronies. The WWF for some reason thought they had someone with real superstar potential on their hands. They were seriously wrong. He beat former DX friend X-Pac in the finals (ugh, imagine X-Pac as KOTR) and was pushed as a heel.

 

First this lead to an angle where Gunn and Chyna would fight Road Dogg and X-Pac for the rights to the DX trademark. Basically a war over royalties. You can imagine how great those matches were! Anyway, Gunn lost his first feud after winning the King of the Ring, as Road Dogg pinned his former tag team partner in a tag match at Fully Loaded. After that, Gunn was placed in an angle with The Rock, in an attempt to get him over big time as a heel. It failed miserably; the fans didn’t seem to care about Gunn, as they just saw him as “some jabroni that The Rock laid the smackdown on.” Gunn lost the blowoff with The Rock too, a Kiss My Ass Match, well, it involved kissing the ass of a fat woman, and again, I bet you can imagine how wonderful that match was. 20 minutes of boring buildup, and then to quote Jim Ross “The Rock just shoved Billy Gunn’s face in that large women’s ass!” Truly the highlight of Gunn’s career. Soon there after, Gunn was injured, and returned as one of the ABSOLUTE WORST wrestlers I’ve ever seen. Chris Benoit couldn’t get a good match out of him, and almost died twice while trying.

 

I think it’s safe to say that Billy Gunn Billy gunned his King of the Ring victory.

 

Thumbs way down.

 

2000

A can’t miss prospect had debuted in the WWF a few months before the start of 2000. 1996 Olympic Gold Medallist, my hero, Kurt Angle debuted at Survivor Series the year before. He defeated Shawn Stasiak, and then went on an undefeated streak, which Taz broke at the Royal Rumble. He was pushed as an arrogant geek, trashing the city he’s in, and wondering how people could cheer an “American Hero.” He went on to win the Intercontinental title at No Way Out from Chris Jericho, and also won the European title, becoming the Euro Continental champion. Angle was quickly on the rise. He lost both belts at Wrestlemania, to both Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho, though he wasn’t pinned. Fast-forward a few months, and Angle’s rapid approach to the top was christened again with a King of the Ring win. After followed a feud with The Undertaker, and several months later, Angle had won the world title, in October of 2000. The fastest rise to the top of the WWF, BY FAR. Incredible and it couldn’t have happened to a better wrestler. I don’t know how much the King of the Ring victory played in Angle’s rapid rise to the top, but it sure as hell helped and looks good on his XXXL shirt. Angle is currently regarded as one of the best wrestlers the WWF has, and the total package in wrestling, if you ask me.

 

Thumbs up.

 

2001

Another push for a tag team specialist. I’m no Edge head, but I see the talent the young kid has. Edge had been teaming with his brother Christian for about 3 years, and they established themselves as one of the best tag teams in recent memory in the WWF. It was time that the hilarious duo split though, and Vince saw star potential in Edge. He had won the IC title back in 1999, but it was only a 1-day reign. Edge’s year started off strong winning the TLC match at Wrestlemania X-7. Heading into the King of the Ring tournament, there was a bit of jealously detected in Christian. When it was all said and done, Edge came out of the tournament triumphantly, and Christian slowly turned on Edge, leading to an angle between the two, which could have been executed a lot better. Edge didn’t do much after his win, or at least it seemed that way. He won the IC title in August, and lost it to Christian, only to gain it back quickly. Edge hadn’t really risen much on the card, but I don’t blame it on Edge.

 

The Invasion angle was taking up much of the TV time, so there wasn’t really time for Edge to get a huge push on TV. I wouldn’t say he Billy Gunned his victory, but the WWF almost put his push on hold, and held off until now, with his recent involvement with Hulk Hogan, and a feud with Kurt Angle, his former friend. Edge seems to be getting a nice push right now, but you’ve got to believe that if Invasion didn’t happen, Edge would have been pushed a year ago. I’m no Edge head, but I’m happy to see someone with talent is being pushed.

 

Thumbs in the middle.

 

Looking back, it appears that not all King of the Ring winners heavily benefit from their win. It’s actually split 50/50 Bret Hart, Mabel, Ken Shamrock, Billy Gunn, and Edge all didn’t really do much with their wins, while Owen Hart, Steve Austin, Triple H, and Kurt Angle all seemed to have benefited from their reigns as king. Only two wrestlers have severely “Billy Gunned” their victory, and they are Billy Gunn of course, and everyone’s favorite 550-pound rapper, Mabel.

 

2002

As for this year’s King of the Ring, my choice is Brock Lesnar. It seems logical that he’d continue his unbeaten streak through the tournament, and truly become the next big thing on the RAW brand. Rob Van Dam was my original choice to win, but he has the IC title now, so he doesn’t really need a KOTR win. Outside shots are Chris Benoit, Booker T, Christian and Lance Storm. It should make for an interesting tournament. My one hope is that they put more than the semi finals and finals on the PPV card, as wrestling just 2 matches in one night doesn’t make winning the tournament look as prestigious as when wrestling 3 in one night. Anyway, I’m pulling for Lesnar as the heavy favorite. Though I’d like to see Booker T win and turn face, the RAW roster needs a top face. Let’s hope that this year’s winner doesn’t “Billy Gunn” their win. Or should I say “Mabel” their win…

 

“Longfellow couldn’t have said it better.”

 

FakeRazorcolor>

 

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