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[1993-06-13-WWF-King of the Ring] Bret Hart vs Bam Bam Bigelow


Loss

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  • 2 months later...

Another tremendous Bret Hart match! This is a better match than I remembered -- as in not terribly far behind the Perfect match, and something I might even consider slightly better if not for the restart, which was completely unnecessary. Bigelow's offense was great -- especially the over-the-shoulder backbreaker and the diving headbutt, and I love the victory roll. The post-match angle with Lawler also started a hot feud, even though I always thought "Burger King" wasn't really too much of an insult.

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  • 2 months later...

I feel like KOTR 1993 should rate pretty highly on a list of the WWF's best pay-per-views ever. It has a compelling storyline throughout the show (Bret Hart having to run the gauntlet in a series of increasingly difficult matches), there's usually something interesting going on, and it does a good job in getting over the three main points that it has to establish (Yokozuna is evil and possibly unbeatable; Bret Hart is the most skilled wrestler in the company; Jerry Lawler is a louse). It has some really good matches, too, although that's mostly a result of having Hart wrestle three times. The crowd is hot, which is either further proof that this was a good show or merely something that enhances the show's atmosphere.

 

The tournament seemed like one of the few instances of the WWF's telling a story almost exclusively through matches. I don't really know if I can articulate this well - pretty much all of wrestling comes down to the matches in the end. I guess maybe it was that the matches mattered only for the tournament. At the end, Bret Hart really does look like the best wrestler in the company, a skilled, smart, courageous guy. Again, it's hard to put my finger on it, but it's different from, say, the WrestleMania iron man match; that match was supposed to make Michaels the best wrestler in the WWF, but there wasn't really anything in it that would make you believe that.

 

Anyway, whatever - I'll also add the commentary crew does a great job of pushing the tournament as incredibly important and the results of the prevous round's matches as important, too, which adds to the sense of realism (with regard to realism, I'd normally have preferred the guy with the bye to have won, but that's not really an option for the first installment of the tournament). Ross, Heenan, and Savage don't mesh particularly well, but they each contribute in their own way, with Savage especially determined to portray Bret Hart as a super wrestler.

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  • 1 year later...

This is one of my favourite matches ever, and I enjoy it more than most of the Sting/Vader matches, with the strap match maybe being better. So much is said about Bret's performance, and while it is outstanding I think some credit should go to Bigelow as well, as he was perfect in his role as the confident monster picking apart his prey.

 

The booking of the entire tournament should really be commended, as Bigelow breezed through his first round match and then had a bye, while Bret had two very physical matches that took their toll, making the perfect underdog story.

 

Bam Bam's offence is great, I especially loved the first back suplex, as he lifted Bret really high and then drops him STRAIGHT down, bouncing Hart off of the mat. I also liked Bigelow going back to the bearhug, building to Bret biting his way out. I also loved the cut off spot where after Bret had nailed him with a back suplex, on his second attempt Bigelow reverses into a splash, calling back to Bret's win over Razor. The finish is also perfect, with the smaller underdog using superior technique to get the win over the powerhouse. A great, great match made even better in the context of the night long storyline. I remember having a conversation on WKO about how much better matches such as this and Bret/Lawler from Summerslam are when put into the context of the storyline going into the match, and I feel that when watching matches such as this, you cannot really geta sene of how good they are when viewed as a standalone product, as they were intended to be viewed as part of a whole.

 

In keeping with the storyline aspect, I agree with Gregor about the commentary. i personally love this three man team, and I also agree that Savage in particular goes out of his way to put over Bret as the best in the company. I love how he jumps in the ring and celebrates with Bret at the end, it doesn't feel like a Hogan spotlight-stealing moment, rather it feels like Savage was SO impressed with the Hitman that he had to goin and congratulate him, going quickly back to the booth to not outshineor take away from the moment.

 

A triumph in storytelling from the WWF, one of their best efoorts of the decade.

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  • 5 months later...

Bret Hart came into the match with an injured knee and an injured hand. So Bigelow ignores them and works on the back. Erm what?

 

OK so I found the body part psychology bewildering and the restart was hideous. But the narrative was excellent over the tournament and made Bret look great.

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  • 7 months later...

I dislike referees/officials coming down and reversing decisions but the placement of this was in middle of match so after the action the proceeding this I barely remembered it. Bigelow looked great and seemed like he could be a strong upper carder on the heel side. Love the victory roll finish especially since it plays a part in my favorite match in 94. Hart wins three matches with different finishes. What a night for him. Well, until Jerry shows up and clocks him. ;) Lawler was laying in some of those shots.

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  • 1 month later...

I always hated how inconsistent the WWF was about reversing referee decisions. Luna whacking Bret with a chair draws another official out to restart the match, but an exploding camera that results in a WWF title change only results in a backstage "congratulations" from Jack Tunney? Ric Flair letting Undertaker tombstone Hogan onto a chair went by without a second glance, but when Flair whacked Hogan with a foreign object a few days later that brought out the brigade. Regardless of that, even though a lot of it is similar, this was a stronger match than Barcelona because the narrative of Bret coming in so banged up against such long odds was so much more compelling.

 

Lawler's attack is one of the most glorious things in history, even if he was careless as hell throwing that throne and cost me a chance to see Bret live at the Challenge tapings the next night. And the context--that Bret was so kayfabe-beaten-up going into the ceremony just adds to the heat--Lawler immediately became a major player as a result of this and I think his push could have gone a lot farther.

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  • 1 year later...

This was some inconsistent rulings but I digress and Tunney was presented as a Roger Godell level dope. I really enjoyed this one too and it caps a great night for the Hitman wrestling three distinct matches. The false finish works out well and they go long after that leading to the victory roll allowing Bret to pull it out. I did think the crowd was fairly quiet during the transitions of this match overall. Lawler's attack is awesome with the throne shot being my favorite. WWF has some momentum coming out of this show. ***3/4

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  • 1 year later...

Let's start with the finish and work backward. I'll be interested to see how they spin what Lawler did in Memphis, because if I as a Memphian ordered this pay-per-view and saw Lawler act like such a crybaby after Bret got the hell kicked out of him three separate times to win the tournament, I don't think I'd be cheering him come Saturday morning. He'll probably have a logical point of some sort or other, but the nature of the attack would (or at least ​should​) cancel that out for anyone with two eyes.

 

Honestly, I'm surprised Lawler was willing to go as far as he was, knowing that USWA fans were most likely watching. If I'd been in his shoes, I might have settled for some trash-talking that I could spin positively for my home folks to start, then possibly build up to an attack in a few weeks once I was sure that they were on my side no matter what. I'm guessing that Vince must have promised him some pretty good money to come to the WWF full-time if business in Memphis would have tanked as a result of this, maybe even a title program if Bret should regain the belt at some point. It had to be something fairly substantial for Lawler to take that much of a risk.

 

The restart was absolutely useless unless they'd planned to have Bammer attack Bret instead of Lawler, which wouldn't have been a bad way to go. As it was, it seemed like it was there more to give Bret a timeout than anything else. I'm not sure if Finkel really made a mistake by saying that Marella had reversed the decision or not, but regardless it was awful form for Savage to throw him under the bus like that. It's doubly bad if the announcement was planned that way (Howard stumbles, then corrects himself) because you're then going after someone who's just doing his job as instructed, which you (Savage) haven't been for quite a while. It was nice to see Luna out of nowhere, and I guess this appearance was what led to her being put with Bammer full time.

 

The match wasn't much to talk about; it was an epic squash for the most part, and Bammer looked better here than he ever has on offense. I actually liked him picking out a new body part of Bret's to work on (the lower back); he's always been a loner at his best, and it's like he was saying "I don't care what anyone else did, I'm winning this match ​my ​way." The only move of Bret's that really stood out to me was the over-the-top dive. I agree with Heenan here; that was crazy. especially in the context of the story being told. Than again, you could say that about Bret's entire performance in this match.

 

Not much was needed from the commentators here; the story of the match told itself quite nicely. In fact, it got a little annoying to hear JR, Savage. and Heenan try to top themselves constantly with new and better ways of saying how gutsy Bret was. It especially felt out of place for Bobby; unlike Jesse Ventura, he doesn't function as well when he has to be an impartial journalist. He tried his best to pull for Bigelow, but with JR in no mood to play straight for him and Savage a hundred percent for Bret to the point of being suffocating he never really found his voice. Savage trying to intimidate him into cheering for Bret and shaking his hand if he won was the low point. What was he going to do if Heenan refused, go up to the top rope and drop a double axhandle on him? Savage needs to be somewhere where he's the one and only commentator, preferably with Vince, where he can actually be a voice of reason on occasion.

 

Interesting to hear JR pull out some of the phrases and quirks he used in WCW here: the thin layer of carpet on the floor "for aesthetic purposes", talking about how much satellite time is left, etc. I read somewhere once that during his first go-round, Vince encouraged JR to call the matches as he always had, and boy, did JR take that to heart. Unfortunately, as I said above, that also extended to guzzling his colleagues, which is far from a good thing. Believe it or not, he sounded like he was having more fun during the Attitude Era with Lawler than he does here; of course, it helped that he and Jerry, much like Gino and Booby, were (and probably still are) extremely close friends outside the ring as well.

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  • 4 months later...

Bret Hart vs Bam Bam Bigelow - WWF King of the Ring 1993

 

Never seen this match before, really good extended squash before the upset victory. Bret is coming into this banged up with injured fingers from Razor and knee from Perfect. He has also wrestled for 30 minutes in two minutes compared to Bam Bam's one which went 8 minutes. I liked how this started as a fight as Bret just threw all he had at Bam Bam. First Press slam does not end well for Bam Bam with Bret falling on top. Finally Bigelow chucks Bret out onto the floor in a gnarly bump. Bigelow destroys Bret's back with an array of suplexes and holds (bearhug, Argentine backbreaker). Bret's first hope spot is when he whips Bigelow hard into the railing. He mounts a bit of a comeback before Bigelow catches him off the apron (no wonder Bret kept trying to repeat that spot it worked here just never after) and Bam Bam drove Bret's back hard into the post. Then Luna comes out and hits him with a chair in the back. Bam Bam hits a diving headbutt and 1-2-3! WAIT WHAT THE FUCK! My jaw dropped because I had never seen the match before.

 

Earl Hebner comes out and says the match should continue because Luna's interference that's pretty inconsistent at best and weak at worst. What I liked about this match is that it was so different tan your typical Bret match. It was basically this extended squash with Bam Bam just beating the tar out of the Hitman, but Bret was actually good about hope spots in this match. Like the back suplex and senton. I thought the sleeper set up by a face rake out of the Argentine Backbreaker was perfect. The exact move Bret needed to regain some of his strength and sap the big man of his. I really think that is the perfect use of a sleeper. To follow up Bret just starts using his body as a weapon first with a dropkick to send Bam Bam to the floor and then a pescado! Great comeback! I really liked how Bret set up for the second rope elbow but because Bigelow got up he transitioned to a bulldog. That's a great kayfabe way to show someone thinking on their feet. Bam Bam blocks Sharpshooter and back to bearhug. Bret makes him eat a boot on a charge. He hops up to the top rope and then onto Bam Bam's shoulders to get the victory roll.

 

The fun does not end there, the post-match with Jerry Lawler, which sets up a two year feud was excellent. Lawler rants he is the real king. Bret kind of blows him off by getting the fans to chant "Burger King" only for Lawler to kick the royal shit out of Bret. Including throwing the throne on top of him.

 

Jerry Lawler can rest peacefully though because he still has the honor of having Bam Bam Bigelow's best match. This is the second best Bam Bam match I have ever seen. Thought he looked great as a monster here and Bret was perfect as the underdog babyface. Really different Bret match than normal, check it out! ****

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  • GSR changed the title to [1993-06-13-WWF-King of the Ring] Bret Hart vs Bam Bam Bigelow

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