May 23, 1993
From the Exposition Building in Portland, ME
Your hosts are Jim Ross and Bobby Heenan
The show starts off with Jerry Lawler telling us how we will witness the greatest talk show segment ever later with his “King’s Court.” And, like on “Superstars,” the announcers here put over the upsets on RAW
In action are Yokozuna, Smoking Gunns, Tatanka, and Kamala vs. Mr. Hughes in a King of the Ring qualifying match.
Yokozuna vs. Scott Taylor
Heenan makes fun of Ross and how he will love Dayton, OH, joking Ross could be mayor and make $8 a month. Yokozuna beats down Taylor then skies him with a back drop. A USA chant breaks out as Yokozuna flattens Taylor with a belly-to-belly suplex then a leg drop before the Bonzai Drop gets the win (3:03).
Thoughts: Heenan goofing on Ross and Dayton, OH was hilarious as Taylor once again impresses in getting the crap kicked out of him. Another win for Yokozuna to build him up for his title match against Hogan at the PPV.
Smoking Gunns vs. Mike Bell & Tony DeVito
Heenan laughs at Ross’s mention of Billy getting a rodeo scholarship at Sam Houston State then jokes how he’d let him do his taxes now. The Gunns work over Bell then do the same to DeVito before putting him away with the back drop into the piledriver (2:46).
Thoughts: Another win for the Gunns as their gimmick is not exactly catching fire among the fans.
Randy Savage tells us about the WWF Fan Club.
King’s Court with host Jerry Lawler. He welcomes guests Giant Gonzalez & Harvey Whippleman as the crowd cuts to a fan holding up a sign that reads “loser.” Whippleman says its an honor to be the first guest on the King’s Court then Lawler asks him about Undertaker ruining what he had in Kamala so he had to get Gonzalez for revenge. Gonzalez then tells Undertaker “I own you” to end the segment. Not a good debut for the King’s Court. The interview itself lacked focus and any mystique Gonzalez had went away after seeing him in the ring so there was little heat for his feud and really the only thing it had going for it was the fans loving The Undertaker.
Tatanka vs. Gus Kantarakis
Kantarakis mocks Tatanka’s dance and ends up getting clotheslined over the top rope. Tatanka hits a few chops as the announcers talk about the recent upsets in the WWF. Tatanka continues to beat on Kantarakis and puts him away with a Samoan Drop (3:01).
Thoughts: Much like we heard on the “Superstars,” the announcers here kept putting over the upsets we saw this past Monday on RAW. There was also some talk about the Tatanka/Bigelow feud, which seemed like it was going to be pushed strong with the angles a few weeks ago but has been stalled with other things getting more attention.
WWF Special Report with Lord Alfred Hayes. Same as the Update segment on “Superstars” that focused on The Kid defeating Razor Ramon on RAW and Marty Jannetty returning to beat Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Title.
We get a video package on Randy Savage at an elementary school telling kids to take advantage of their opportunity in school and to stay away from drugs and be a leader instead of a follower. In all honesty it was a good speech for these kids and Savage did a good job.
“The Narcissist” Lex Luger vs. Tim McNeany
McNeany shocks Luger with an arm drag as Luger laughs while Heenan warns about how anyone can be defeated after Kid beat Razor Ramon. Luger then misses a charge in the corner as McNeany uses a flurry of offense until he gets dropped with a clothesline. Luger now drops McNeany across the top rope and stays in control until he uses the running forearm smash for the win (2:34).
Thoughts: We saw Luger first take his opponent lightly and get in trouble as the anything can happen narrative continues, which again I like because it strays away from the formulaic rut the company has had for the past few years.
King of the Ring Report airs.
King of the Ring Qualifying Match: Kamala vs. Mr. Hughes w/ Harvey Whippleman
Hughes attacks Kamala from behind then hammers away. Hughes continues to beat on Kamala as the announcers say that Kamala is lost without Slick. Kamala then fights back but Hughes cuts him off and hits a dropkick. Kamala lands a few chops but then a splash but is still unable to turn over Hughes. Kimchee runs out and Kamala chases him around and ends up getting counted out as he splashes Kimchee in the aisle (2:45) 1/4*. After the match, Kamala attacks Hughes then chases Whippleman through the curtain.
Thoughts: The match sucked and dragging Kimchee back for the DQ was dumb. No reason Hughes couldn’t have pinned Kamala clean. Kamala just lost on RAW and no longer has Slick, meaning there is no storyline for him at the moment.
We get Face to Face for the 6/12 MSG show. Kids under 12 can get a ticket for $2. The show still only did about 9,000 fans which shows you how lousy they were drawing at the time and to be honest how the other American companies were drawing at the time too.
Next week in action are Crush and the featured match of Virgil vs. Adam Bomb. Plus, Luna Vachon on the “King’s Court.” We then hear from Adam Bomb & Johnny Polo to hype his match. We didn’t even get to hear from poor Virgil so you can pretty much expect what will happen next week even with the new company narrative.
Final Thoughts: The KotR qualifier was not good and the same can be said for the debut of “King’s Court” and the rest was PPV hype and constant mentioning of the upsets we saw on RAW as the PPV is now three weeks away.