–A video package plays up the ongoing Bret Hart-Jerry Lawler feud, including Bret’s challenge to Lawler on Monday Night RAW.
–Vince McMahon and Dok Hendrix are the commentary team for today’s show and they are taped from Danbury, Connecticut.
–Opening Contest: Men on a Mission (11-2) defeat Ross Greenberg & Tim McNeeny after Mabel pins McNeeny after a belly-to-belly suplex at 1:51:
Despite Mabel qualifying for the King of the Ring Tournament, Men on a Mission are still being pushed in the tag team division so it is not clear at this point that Mabel is getting a big singles push. However, Mabel does continue in the role of winning the match for his team, avalanching Greenberg against the buckles and immediately catching McNeeny, who tags in, with a belly-to-belly suplex. After the bell, Mabel gives McNeeny a big fat leg drop for good measure.
–McMahon recaps Shawn Michaels victory over King Kong Bundy in a King of the Ring qualifying match on RAW and how he reunited with Diesel.
–Footage of Stephanie Wiand showing Matt Pomposelli the house that he won at In Your Houseis shown.
–King of the Ring Qualifying Match: Kama (w/Ted DiBiase) (13-0) beats Duke Droese (11-1) after a spinebuster at 2:50:
It may seem weird that of all the babyfaces on the roster that Droese is getting a King of the Ring qualifying match but his win/loss record justifies it. This is also Kama’s first match against significant competition, something that he has been screaming for over the last few months, and he struggles as Droese dominates the entire match. However, Kama kicks out of a powerslam and hits a spinebuster out of nowhere to qualify and earn the right to face Shawn Michaels in the first round of the tournament. McMahon immediately sends the broadcast to the next segment so this did very little to put over Kama as a big threat, a very curious booking decision when he is slated to feud with the Undertaker in the near future.
–Wiand keeps encouraging the audience to buy tickets for the New York area house shows. She has a lot of enthusiasm but she gets a little tongue tied when trying to put over some of the angles.
–Shawn Michaels (6-1) pins Tom Prichard (w/Jim Cornette & Jimmy Del Ray) (0-1) after Sweet Chin Music at 7:12 shown:
As expected, Del Ray comes out with his tag team partner to assist him in this match against Michaels, attacking Michaels on the floor after he gets the early advantage. The match is wrestled at a brisk pace and Michaels finds a way to avoid a final Bodies double team where Del Ray tries a maneuver off the top rope, allowing him to catch Prichard with Sweet Chin Music. The ending was never in doubt but this was a match that could entertain you despite that. Rating: **½
–Hendrix interviews Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow, with Hendrix saying that they will face Sid and Tatanka at King of the Ring. Bigelow says that he is happy to have Diesel as his partner and Diesel cracks jokes about how crazy Sid is, which takes the edge off of some of the promo. Bigelow pledges to be Diesel’s friend and they promise to bankrupt the Million Dollar Corporation. As was the case on RAW, Bigelow’s character is just as cringe-inducing as Diesel at this point and he just seems like a big goof.
–Hunter-Hearst Helmsley (4-0) pins Brian Walsh after the Pedigree at 2:00:
Stephanie Caprio is the guest fan ring announcer for this bout, with Helmsley not liking the work she does. Walsh was a staple of WWF squashes around this time period, looking like a cruiserweight and usually showing a few aerial moves in his matches. I believe he later became a wrestling trainer. Helmsley blows through his offense, not relying much on the knee in this period of his career, and wins with the Pedigree.
–The Bushwhackers say hi to the announce team and say that they need a doctor, to which Hendrix replies that he is one. They say they have bad breath and breathe in Hendrix’s face, which he is not very happy about.
–We get our first full-screen Bodydonna vignette (the previous ones were shot on a small camera) and they reiterate how none of the WWF fans will ever have their physiques.
–Tekno Team 2000 defeat Barry Horowitz & The Brooklyn Brawler after Troy pins Brawler after a suplex-reverse flying body press combination at 1:58:
Tekno Team 2000 is composed of former WCW standout Erik Watts (named Troy) and fellow University of Louisville football player Chad Fortune (named Travis). They had wrestled a few matches against the Heavenly Bodies on house shows prior to this and got a push, getting a big poster in an edition of WWF Magazine in 1995. It is unclear what the gimmick is other than two young guys who are supposed to represent the future of wrestling, which fits with the WWF’s “New Generation” theme. Like Rad Radford, though, they did not get any vignettes prior to debuting so that does not show that the company had a lot of big things planned for them, although Watts in a later shoot interview claimed that the team was supposed to win the WWF tag team titles from Owen Hart and Yokozuna. McMahon and Hendrix put over the new team’s abilities, which feature Watts doing a reverse flying body press and the team using a suplex-reverse flying bodypress combination as a finisher. The finisher needs work as it takes too much time to set up but the team looked good in this quick debut.
–Wiand does more Live Event News about the house shows in the New York area. Razor Ramon says that his mystery partner to face Owen Hart and Yokozuna for the tag team titles will be Savio Vega.
–A clip of Bret Hart’s acting in the TV series Lonesome Dove is shown. Bret only gets two lines in the clip. He had hopes that his appearances on the show would lead to an acting gig beyond wrestling but the show was cancelled later that year. The WWF did try to get people to watch the show, though, and Bret’s poster in the June 1995 edition of WWF Magazine showed him as his character Luther Root.
–Tune in next week to see Doink face the Roadie in a King of the Ring qualifying match! Also, Bob Holly, the Allied Powers, and the Undertaker will be in action and Skip will make his debut!
The Last Word: This face turn is doing nothing for Bam Bam Bigelow. The best they could do at this point, especially considering the lack of good heels on the roster, is to have Bigelow turn on Diesel at King of the Ring, argue that he got close to Diesel to “learn his secrets,” and then book a match between the two of them at SummerSlam. And putting the Roadie in the King of the Ring Tournament next week is a really weird decision since the Roadie has only wrestled one match up to this point. Why not put in a heel like Jean-Pierre LaFitte, Hakushi, or Henry Godwinn?
Up Next: The Action Zone from May 28, 1995!