The 1995 King of the Ring was the first time that it became painstakingly obvious that Vince McMahon was no longer in touch with what the fans of his promotion wanted. On a card featuring future Hall of Famers such as Shawn Michaels, Yokozuna, Undertaker and Bret Hart, it put Mabel, Savio Vega, Tatanka and The Roadie at the forefront and suffered for it courtesy of a dissatisfied Philadelphia crowd. Rather than delivering a strong show in which Michaels, Undertaker and Yokozuna battled it out for the right to be named King of the Ring, the company eliminated them all in the first round in order to deliver a semifinal round that saw Vega defeat the Roadie and a final round pitting Vega against Mabel. At what point McMahon thought Mabel was a more marketable star and a bigger draw than any of the men he beat out to win the crowd is a mystery. Why someone did not stand up to him and strongly protest that monumentally bad decision is an even bigger mystery. The uninspired tag team main event pitting Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow against Tatanka and Sycho Sid was a poor way to cap off a horrid show. Even Bret Hart appeared to approach his Kiss My Foot match against Jerry Lawler lethargically, which was disappointing given that it was the final high-profile match the two would wrestle against one another. A black mark on the history of WWE pay-per-view, King of the Ring 1995 stands tall among all others as an example of what can go wrong when the promoter becomes out of touch with his audience. The late Mabel would go on to become recognized as the worst King of the Ring of all-time and his championship match against Diesel at SummerSlam only solidified that reputation. As bad as that show proved to be, there would be one 11 years later that trumped it as the worst in company history.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
A black mark on the history of WWE pay-per-view, King of the Ring 1995 stands tall among all others as an example of what can go wrong when the promoter becomes out of touch with his audience. The late Mabel would go on to become recognized as the worst King of the Ring of all-time and his championship match against Diesel at SummerSlam only solidified that reputation. As bad as that show proved to be, there would be one 11 years later that trumped it as the worst in company history.