Behind The Secret Classic WWE PPV Nobody Ever Talks About

2. A Changing Of The Guard

Bret Hart Bam Bam Bigelow King of the Ring 1993
WWE.com

King of the Ring 1993 represented Hulk Hogan's last WWF/WWE PPV appearance for nine years, with Hogan returning to the market leader as part of the nWo at No Way Out 2002.

While the steroid scandal led to Vince McMahon taking a punt on Bret Hart as WWF Champion in October '92, the company still had the shadow of Hulk Hogan looming large, as the WWF stumbled out of its Golden Era.

At King of the Ring '93, the PPV served somewhat as a changing of the guard; an indication of what was to eventually become the New Generation.

Hogan dropped his WWF Title to Yokozuna in the middle of the card, while Bret Hart's win over Bam Bam Bigelow served as the show's main event and headline attraction. Likewise, KOTR would mark the final PPV appearance of Money Inc. as a team, with veteran heel Ted DiBiase departing the company just two months later after SummerSlam. As for the other Golden Era star on the KOTR card, Jim Duggan was perfect as the seasoned hero who was there to get dominated in a matter of minutes by the villainous Bam Bam Bigelow.

When reflecting back on the WWF landscape of just one year prior, King of the Ring '93 felt fresh, new and exciting. Bret Hart was the new poster boy, Shawn Michaels was the bumping workhorse Intercontinental Champion with his eyes on the main event scene, Mr. Perfect was embracing his new babyface role, Razor Ramon and Bam Bam Bigelow were established as fantastic heels, Lex Luger and Tatanka were protected stars on the rise, the Steiner Brothers, Smoking Gunns and Headshrinkers brought fresh faces to the tag team ranks, and in Mr. Fuji's Yokozuna, WWF had the ideal final boss to swat away the promotion's babyface challengers.

WWF wasn't referring to the New Generation by this point in time, but that era was just around the corner.

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