–A video package recaps how the Shawn Michaels-Rad Radford feature match was set up on last week’s show.
–Jim Ross and Todd Pettengill are broadcasting today’s edition of the show and they are still in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
–Opening Contest: The Blu Brothers (w/Uncle Zebekiah) (9-1-2) defeat Mike Khoury & John Crystal after Jacob pins Crystal after a knee drop at 4:01:
Ross says that despite the rib injury that Razor Ramon should still be at The King of the Ring. The Models Incorporated team of Khoury and Crystal make another appearance here but they fail to wear the similar jean short look they had on RAW. The Blus tower over their opponents and take delight tossing Khoury and Crystal around, especially Crystal as Jacob puts him on the top rope and hiptosses him off to set up the finish. This squash was too plodding and received no crowd reaction.
–Footage of Bob Backlund breaking Man Mountain Rock’s guitar on RAW is shown.
–Call 1-800-TITAN-91 to get your “Diesel Power” t-shirt for $16 (and $3.95 shipping and handling)! Barry Didinski must have been busy doing something else today, such as working on his upper body strength as Vince McMahon suggested on Superstars, since Pettengill has to do the hard sell for the merchandise.
–Kama (w/Ted DiBiase) (17-0) beats Jerry Flynn after a kick to the midsection at 1:46:
The Creatures of the Night are still following Kama, setting a black wreath down over the guardrail right before the bell rings. This is an interesting matchup, with a booked shoot fighter in Kama facing a legit kickboxer in Flynn. Flynn actually showcases his kicks here, taking advantage of the distraction of the Creatures of the Night, but it is a weak Kama kick to what Gorilla Monsoon would call “the bread basket” that ends today’s contest. Awful finishes like that are why this Kama character is getting nowhere, feud with the Undertaker notwithstanding.
–After the bell, Kama yells at the Creatures and throws their wreath on the arena floor.
–Ross and Pettengill recap the Bret Hart-Jerry Lawler feud.
–Call 1-900-737-4WWF to find out about some of the latest injuries affecting the WWF! Also, there are some newcomers that are headed into the company so call and find out who they are!
–The Smoking Gunns (12-2-1) defeat Doug Stahl & The Brooklyn Brawler when Billy pins Stahl after a side suplex/neckbreaker combination at 2:55:
Ross says that the Gunns will be facing the Blu Brothers “very soon” in a big tag team matchup with significant implications in the WWF tag team rankings. Stahl gets his arm worked over for a century before the Gunns finish with a sloppy side suplex/neckbreaker combination for the win.
–Waylon Mercy keeps slapping the worm in his weekly vignette.
–Ross and Pettengill provide The King of the Ring Report.
–Shawn Michaels (8-1) pins Rad Radford (5-0) after Sweet Chin Music at 9:30 shown:
Ross and Pettengill hype this match from different angles, with Ross selling it as an athletic contest and Pettengill putting it over a battle of lifestyles and hygiene. Radford makes a few noticeable mistakes, failing to go over the top rope after receiving a Michaels clothesline and then nearly forgetting to get back into the ring to break the referee’s count. That aside, Radford intelligently focuses his offense on Michaels recently injured back but a missed reverse body press sets up a Michaels kip up-infused comeback that he cannot stop. Radford never got a spot where an upset was believable but this was still a good match because both men’s styles meshed well. It is strange that they would go ahead and have Radford lose, though, as the company usually gave new wrestlers about ten or so squash wins before having them lose to a name talent. Rating: ***
–Stephanie Wiand recaps the inductees into this year’s WWF Hall of Fame.
–Hunter-Hearst Helmsley (5-0) pins Barry Horowitz after a Pedigree at 3:11:
Ross and Pettengill put over how Horowitz is bound to win a match sooner or later because of his acumen inside of the ring. The crowd actually works up a chant for Horowitz but it is all in vain as Helmsley gets incensed that Horowitz would pat himself on the back after a successful hiptoss and tears into him. A Pedigree keeps Helmsley undefeated.
–Tune in next week to see Bret Hart and Henry Godwinn in a rematch of their battle on Superstars!
The Last Word: You knew in 1995 that Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were going to bring it in the ring and almost any match that they were in was going to meet *** if given enough time. Radford looked pretty good in the feature match outside of a few jitters at the beginning but his stock never went beyond the lower midcard. Shocking to think that a grunge rocker with a suplex fetish never worked out!
There were no additional matchups shown on Wrestling Challenge. As far as house shows were concerned, the WWF was on yet another global tour, this time going back to Germany and to Austria, while also doing a few shows on the West Coast of the United States. Here is a sampling of those results (courtesy of historyofwwe.com):
Berlin, Germany – Deutschlandhalle – June 16, 1995 (9,500): Jean-Pierre LaFitte defeated Duke Droese…Men on a Mission beat the New Headshrinkers…WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze beat Bertha Faye…Shawn Michaels pinned IRS…Adam Bomb beat King Kong Bundy…The Smoking Gunns defeated the Blu Brothers…Bret Hart defeated Hakushi…The Undertaker beat Kama.
Anaheim, California – Arrowhead Pond – June 17, 1995 (7,000): Tekno Team 2000 beat the Heavenly Bodies…Skip defeated Aldo Montoya…Hunter-Hearst Helmsley defeated Bob Holly…Man Mountain Rock defeated Bob Backlund…Henry Godwinn defeated Doink…WWF Tag Team Champions Owen Hart & Yokozuna defeated the Bushwhackers…Savio Vega beat Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett via count out…The British Bulldog (substituting for Bam Bam Bigelow) beat Tatanka…Sid defeated Bam Bam Bigelow (substituting for WWF Champion Diesel) in a steel cage match.
Zeltweg, Austria – Aichfeldhalle – June 17, 1995 (3,000): Jean-Pierre LaFitte beat Duke Droese…Men on a Mission defeated the New Headshrinkers…WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze defeated Bertha Faye…Adam Bomb beat King Kong Bundy…The Smoking Gunns defeated the Blu Brothers…Bret Hart defeated Hakushi…Shawn Michaels beat IRS…The Undertaker defeated Kama.
And here was some gossip about the wrestling world a week before The King of the Ring (courtesy of the June 26 edition of The Wrestling Observer):
*People in the wrestling industry think WCW is crazy for trying to challenge the WWF on Monday nights since RAW is wrestling’s highest rated show. WCW reportedly brought in Nancy Sullivan (also known as Woman) to do a tryout as an announcer but Eric Bischoff will probably be doing play-by-play. There is still not a definitive name of the show but the first episode will likely air from Sarasota, Florida.
*Vince McMahon made an appearance on Chet Coppock’s call-in show on the Sports Channel on June 15. He said WCW was foolish for trying to challenge RAW and that his version of wrestling is non-violent. He also said Hulk Hogan was past his prime and criticized Randy Savage’s decision to jump to WCW last year.
*The WWF is reportedly willing to accommodate Chris Benoit’s Japanese dates if he chooses to sign provided that New Japan gives them three months’ notice of their future tours.
*The West Coast house shows drew poorly, with 2,000 fans attending in Sacramento and only 7,000 in Anaheim. The shows were supposed to be headlined by Diesel vs. Sid in a cage and Bam Bam Bigelow had to substitute for Diesel. This is another sign that the Diesel-Sid matches are not drawing as the company had hoped. However, the company is happy with turnout for its shows in Germany and Austria.
*The Doink character appears to be on life support as he is losing continuously on house shows.
*People in the company appear to be very unhappy with how the Man Mountain Rock-Bob Backlund match went at Madison Square Garden. As a result, their matches on the West Coast have been kept at three minutes “so they [won’t] do the ten-minute stall.”
Up Next: Monday Night RAW from June 19, 1995!