WWE King Of The Ring 1995 | WORST Wrestling Shows Ever

WWE King Of The Ring 1995 may be widely regarded as one of the worst wrestling PPVs of all time, but why? What is it about this show that leaves a sour taste in the mouths of the wrestling community? Fraser Porter is here to break it all down and examine exactly why KOTR 95 is one of the Worst PPVs EVER!
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Cultaholic provides video coverage of professional wrestling - including WWE (including WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown, NXT and 205 Live), AEW, IMPACT Wrestling (formerly TNA), NJPW, ROH, and more with daily news updates, reviews, lists, highlights, predictions, reactions, podcasts and much, much more.

[@TheThird1977]

I love that HBK during his entrance telegraphed the winner by trying the crown on and showing everyone it was designed for someone with a much larger head.

[@dylanogg347]

Normally Michaels ruins the party when he pulls out his schtick, but this is one of the very rare instances where Shawn Michaels at his pill-popping peak was one of us and shared the rightfully ill-sentiments.

[@flamboyant480]

As a kid I didn't understand, as an adult... mind blown! 🤣

[@CarbonRollerCaco]

A larger head than Shawn Michaels's? How TF is that possible?

[@davidlewis5312]

while normally I might consider this just a product of Michaels being a dick, I feel like this time he was trying to warn us.

[@TheAaronChand]

I think Shawn Michaels should have won the King of The Ring tournament in 1995.

[@matthewdennion6477]

I actually won free tickets from a radio channel to this show. Even free tickets couldn’t help make this show enjoyably

[@davidlevy706]

I pirated this PPV - and I _still_ felt like I got ripped off.

[@TexasAmericana]

Yarrr The Pirate Bay not be returning yer treasure.

[@erics8192]

you overpaid

[@hihowareyouhi]

My mom got this ppv for me. The price at that time was $24.95. King of the ring was my favorite ppv. This was not my least favorite, but it sure as hell is not my favorite 😂🤣.

[@huguinho03]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@denisesiddon7241]

Arrr

[@Braylon1997]

Ahh yes the infamous 1995 KOTR. I still remember where Mabel injured The Undertaker & had to wear the phantom mask.

[@ChrisDarnell001]

IIRC, Mabel injured Undertaker in October 1995

[@hihowareyouhi]

@@ChrisDarnell001 yup 😎

[@davidlewis5312]

@@ChrisDarnell001 don't worry, he injured plenty of people before then. Nash included!

[@pteroid11]

It’s a shame Michaels never won this tournament, The Heartbreak King woulda been a killer moniker

[@meztizo_americano86]

He didn't to be king of the Ring. He was Vinny Mac's boy toy

[@dallascowboysnumber1fan]

Shawn was my favorite wrestler around this time,wish he has won because then the king of the ring would've been memorable.

[@azapro911]

Michaels likely would have won it had he still been heel.

[@hhtptai]

Now I got a list of PPVs you guys need to look at in depth: - Uncensored 1996 - December to Dismember 2006 - The Great American Bash 2004 - Victory Road 2011

[@paulweston8408]

All bad, but each is Wrestlemania 17 compared to my pick, WRESTLEMANIA 2 😵🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮🙈🙉🙊

[@BShortTheDev]

Also victory road 2009

[@hhtptai]

@@BShortTheDev why is Victory Road such a cursed PPV 😫

[@The7DeadlyChins]

Hell, Uncensored 1995 is even worse 1996's Uncensored debately

[@Thechezbailey]

I know it's over-done, but maybe Wrestlemania 9 as well

[@devious187]

"Not particularly talented" is probably the kindest way to describe Mabel's skill that I've ever heard lol

[@bryanmcneil9872]

I cannot believe that “Sparky Plugg” is the best they could do with Bob Holly…

[@JayBarkerBrownbear]

Always a pleasure to see more on camera from you Mr Fraser Poitier! Shout out to Luke for the fantastic as always edit too! I really enjoyed this - I look forward to more Worst Shows EVER to come!

[@SgtCrumpet]

Fraser, fair fucking play for doing this series, son. You've truly grown into a muuuuch better presenter, and I remember the 2018 (?) days when you first debuted then disappeared. You're a good lad, keep it up!!!

[@fraserporter98]

Appreciate it! The years at uni in between my first appearances and my return really helped, thanks for watching!

[@TexasAmericana]

I agree. Fraser has really come into his own. I admire watching these presenters grow. Fraser feels much more genuine and confident. I love it!! Can't wait for more!

[@harry69007]

​​@@fraserporter98 you're doing well man. Keep it up 🐐👊, love the haircut also btw suits you.

[@JamesMMcCann]

Shawn, Taker and Razor were in the brackets. Owen and Bulldog were on the roster. Let's go with Mabel.

[@shady3legend]

🤣🤣🤣 seem like wwf didn't give a shit, instead of going with one of those guys they give it to Mabel...94-95 bad years for them especially for gimmicks

[@JamesMMcCann]

@@shady3legend Vince just loved his big men....

[@StevenScodes]

Well done to Fraser on this video! Excellent job on this video. I'm sure there will be many more and I'm excited to see them. Amazing job Fraser!

[@josephfoxon3488]

Really enjoy seeing more of you Fraser, really enjoy the news vids you do with Tom and Ross. The natural CAVORKER you have and the much discussed arrogance of youth have made you one of my favorite presenters 🤘🏻 Much love from South Africa brother brother brother

[@Thechezbailey]

Sounds like you watch OSW brother brother

[@LongLiveRockAnRoll]

Everybody: Why are you replacing Razor Ramon with Savio Vega? Vince: Goddamn pal, they're both Cuban aren't they? Everybody: Errrm, Savio is Puerto Rican and Razor is just Cuban in Kayfabe. Vince: Godammit that's the same thing... YOU'RE FIRED!!!

[@Jiren261]

they were missing: - Owen - Bulldog - Luger - jarrett There's a couple of Tournament matches right there, then keep Taker or Michaels until the final and you would've had a decent tournament

[@Jessica_Roth]

Waltman would have helped the card, too.

[@MovieEnvy]

But those guys were all eliminated in qualifying so technically they were in the tournament.

[@davidlewis5312]

also Waltman.... which begs the question: why not have Waltman replace Razor? If anyone can possibly get Mabel to a decent match (I hesitate to say good) in the WWF in 95; its Waltman. And you would get the right heat from the crowd after they watch Mabel kill the 1-2-3 Kid.

[@squaredcircle_nostalgiasqu1444]

Fantasy booking, I would of had Davey boy win the tournament. They turned him heel for Summerslam anyway and by years end he is challenging for the wwf title. I just love the idea of the Hart family winning the first three kotr tournaments. I'm solidly a Hart guy

[@82gamerprincess31]

Honestly I’d rather watch this for the pure spectacle of how crap it is than watch almost any of the god awful bland as wet cardboard brand split PPVs. The ones with extremely limited rosters and why is this on PPV matches.

[@marcobeauvue]

The Smackdown 2004 ones lmao

[@riotd.r.8363]

If the Undertaker would've won, a spikey purple and black crown would've rocked my 7-year-old socks off. King of Darkness is not outside of his normal realm of nicknames.

[@hvywghtheaver]

I was there! I was 11. While I enjoyed going, I was very confused. Thankfully, the chants of ECW pushed me to finally check out the product. I had heard of it but did not seek it out until after KOTR.

[@chrisbreezy3048]

Good on you, Fraser! It's great to see you breaking out of the newsroom every once in a while. With that said, KOTR '95 was dreadful from start to finish as the Federation's attempt to push mid-card talent to an upper tier level failed miserably. If ever the phrase 'try, fail and adjust' applied to WWE, this show would serve as a prime example. Here's to hoping that this becomes an ongoing series as there are plenty of PPV's that deserve to be further analyzed.

[@davidjapuntich3860]

Back in the late 90's I made a point to find and rent my way through all the "Big 5" pay-per-views on Coliseum Video. They were all out on VHS except for the 1988 Royal Rumble and rental stores were plentiful so it made for a fun treasure hunt. This was really rare and the last one I managed to find at a video rental way out in the suburbs. It's lucky that I wasn't looking for quality.

[@peteyesco]

Rowdy crowd in Philly? Vince should have booked Bill Burr.

[@mcnaughe]

Wasn't this the show where Mabel broke the Undertaker's upper cranial bones and he had to wear a protective mask for a while?

[@michaelbreen7865]

That happened at a house show a couple of weeks before In Your House: Great White North.

[@michaelbusciacco9965]

I was at this ppv with 5 of my friends for my 9 year old birthday party my dad rented a limo to take us to and from as bad as the ppv was I remember a fun night

[@VIDE_005]

Sorry about your experience

[@optimus2008]

I love how people nowadays criticise WWE before and even since Hunter took over having no idea how horrid 1995 was for WRESTLING. Not just WWE, but all of wrestling.

[@stevenmoore3381]

To be fair, WhatCulture is completely off about LT. He had HUGE crossover appeal. Dude is considered one of the top 3 football players of all time. It would be like Tom Brady getting in the ring right now

[@josephpatti2835]

This should be the top comment.

[@SPOO87]

Please do the wwe-ecw ppv december to dismember please! I can see this being one of my new favorite series to watch. Been a fan since day 1. Love all you guys

[@azapro911]

The fact that Mabel won King of the Ring in front of a crowd that contained ECW fans is a hilarious snapshot of just how out of touch the big companies were.

[@lexkanyima2195]

In Philly was a dangerous

[@Divinevert]

The most impressive thing about this show is that it's not bad because of any particular backstage issue or on-screen disaster. It's just generically awful wrestling.

[@strictlyhumble3969]

1995 was one of the worse years in professional wrestling history.

[@kevinlee9929]

THE worst

[@DanKeehner]

Cool to see Fraser doing his own thing now. In Cultaholic Lore, it's cool to see the lowly bin boy rise to being a presenter. And all together he seems like a nice guy so it's just nice to see. And KoTR 1995 was really that bad, huh? I mean the conversation usually starts and ends with Mabel winning the tournament, but the entire card was rough.

[@Mr.Villainous2050]

Soon enough we'll see him challenging for the belt.

[@yomamma359]

"The Supreme Pimp of Voodoo Censorship" 😂 well played

[@fraserwilson4366]

Love having Fraser present this video great work man! And I am definitely not biased since we share the same first name ;)

[@UtopssAKAPJ]

I remember how bad 1995 king of the ring was

[@paulweston8408]

Really great look at a horrible show. Please do Wrestlemania 2 next, as imho it was even worse then this train wreck. You could tell Vince knew how to promote, but had no clue about how to make a supercard! Of the 12 matches I feel safe in saying only ONE was even worth looking at the ring/screen to watch, and it wasn't the Hulk Hogan main event.

[@viajaycay]

Despite the crap many wrestling channels give this era and this ppv in particular, as an impressionable child growing up, it made me a fan of the WWF. Bret hart went from a good wrestler to me to my hero. Mabel became the bane of my wrestling viewing. Savio Vega made me appreciate stone cold later on. So in my eyes, this era and this ppv was successful in converting me as I'm sure it did others too

[@aldomontoya]

I watched it live as a teen. I never understood Mabel either

[@maxfactor4851]

A tournament with taker, hbk, razor, owen, bulldog and heck even luger and yoko... and mabel won

[@sunsetsuperman74]

Unfortunately my family and I went to see this in person and regretted it. Only thing good about it was seeing Bret Hart beat Jerry Lawlor. The crowd was so pissed off about Mabel's win that the booing was deafening and everyone was happy once he left the arena to get on with the tag team match

[@TheLarryburns84]

whoa, I like this guy. hopefully this series keeps going on, let's see him do some of the classics like December to Dismember and the Saudi shows, maybe even Heroes of Wrestling eventually

[@TheLarryburns84]

...PS, that Rob Conway joke popped me. laughed louder than I should've

[@attaxwrongnes]

Great video ! This ppv is significant for me as i bought the vhs from Woolworths after a few years not interested in wrestling on the strength of razor, hbk and taker in the tournament as well as bret vs jerry . I was baffled by how far wwf had fallen and realised it was bad but in those days as a kid who didnt have sky i still lapped it up and luckily stuck around as a fan for a while.

[@RyanParreno]

Looking forward to this series and I'm hopeful you already have both of Herb Abrams' UWF shows on the docket

[@Alucard-A-La-Carte]

I gotta say: actually analyzing and breaking down WHY a hilariously bad show failed is a lot more gratifying, and funny, than just pointing and laughing at it.

[@PompeyGamesRoom]

Looking back now I wonder if the sword that was presented was the same one as Drew now uses? Great video as always guys 🙂

[@TheDukeofMadness]

What a difference a year makes. One year hence the WWF started on a path that was only halted by Vince's dementia.

[@ganglabesh]

1994-1995 was probably the worst wrestling years IMO. wcw became watered down with hogan, and ecw hadnt quite taken off, and wwf was just the worst gimmicks.

[@markant9534]

Hogan became hot again when he joined NWO as a heel.

[@attiepollard7847]

I think we need to rebook WWE from the summer of 1993 to the fall of 1995.

[@kevinlee9929]

1994 was decent. 1995 was AWFUL.

[@skyatollah2skyharder276]

​@@kevinlee9929Yeah, 94 has some actual quality in it. 95 doesn't.

[@cjq23]

Fraser Porter > Drew McIntyre, pass it on

[@mondowrongo9510]

I enjoyed this, good format. Wrestling when it’s bad can still be fascinating...

[@MrAce-lm8es]

March 21, 1994 - April 2, 1995 The 1st full year of the New WWF Generation Era and sadly, was in terrible shape.

[@oddishhonor]

Fraser pal, beautifully done. You’re doing great

[@ismariemarrero7265]

Great job Fraser! Looking forward to more Fraser content

[@TheSonicsean]

They could have had a final of HBK vs the Undertaker. Instead they went with Mabel vs Savio Vega.

[@mattiasashenflame4684]

Brilliant first video Fraser. I shall never understand this ppv haha. Bring on the next dire PPV reviews.

[@michaelsinger4638]

In a tournament with HBK and Undertaker, Vince went with Mabel? 🤦‍♂️ They should have replaced Razor with Davey Boy imo.

[@adamrenfrow]

Imagine having a tournament with HBK, Undertaker and Yokozuna in it and fucking Mabel wins the thing.

[@mrdudeguy2199]

Ooh Fraser, a little bit of a different flavor today

[@handleunavailable]

The Saudi shows might have lower ratings on cagematch, but they are nowhere near as awful as KOTR 95

[@jasonleman1396]

my local vhs rental store would get random wwf/wcw tapes. sadly this was one I rented at the time

[@AshesUndying]

An EWR reference? Bravo 👏 I loved it

[@Divinevert]

Seriously. I didn't know anyone still remembered this absolute classic.

[@kenzo_ferrari]

I was there, 7 years old at the time. As exciting as was to go to a PPV, and my first WWF show, I left feeling that the event was terrible.

[@hansellopez1819]

Digging this new series. There's going to be quite a few of these about WCW.

[@johnathanrush4666]

How much does THIS guy weigh

[@MrAce-lm8es]

April 3, 1995 - March 31, 1996 Easily the Worst Year in the history of the World Wrestling Federation, hands down. The Worst of the "New WWF Generation".

[@MrClassicor]

think I am going to rewatch KOTR 95 before watching this video - it's just been that kind of day 😅

[@nicholashurst780]

I think Tatanka's heel turn might have been the one that shocked me most as a kid

[@rosemaryfarell5264]

I stayed up to watch this in the uk. Lol. Started at Midnight. My Dad had been the local WMC and came home pissed up let me stay up to watch it and he went to bed.lmao. great memories.

[@xIncisions]

Between this series and Jack's "Weirdest PPV" series, you Cultaholic boys are doing a fantastic job in getting me back into wrestling KZbin once again! Much love ❤️

[@ShowdeQuetzal]

Great series, kinda sad that it isn't title The Arrogance of Youth

[@mazinombies4752]

Amazing work Fraser! I still remember the good old days when all you did was clean toilets :') Keep it up!

[@m.t.v.7934]

ugh.. i remember getting my parents to pay for this ppv back in the day i could not believe the freaking out-come of this show...

[@ArcherSuh4721]

Great video! This show was a true example of how mercilessly mean-spirited a Philadelphia crowd truly can be. The city used to be famous for once booing, heckling and throwing snowballs at Santa Claus. And I've noticed this in a lot of videos (mostly UK) and don't take this as me whining and/or being a smark, but the chant was "E-C-DOUBulhyoo! E-C-DOUBuhlyoo! E-C-DOUBuhlyoo!" (Always in sets of three.)

[@alfredoarevalo725]

No mention to The Hardy Boyz being the gate openers?

[@1981CrueHead]

WWE Battleground from 2017 or 2018 is probably the worst WWE pay per view ever.

[@michaelsinger4638]

Hart and Lawler made that stupid feud somewhat fun.

[@TheMasterChimeraHD]

Really enjoyable video, informative and entertaining. Would love to see more

[@MK3Kratos]

An EWR reference! Yes.

[@camronmoses8956]

"The Supreme Pimp of Voodoo Censorship" 👏👏

[@XD4VID97X]

Excellent work Fraser👍

[@adammckay3299]

More Fraser please!!

[@VillaFanDan92]

Hell yeah, Fraser. Awesome vid!

[@davidlewis5312]

I am forced to assume that Michaels refused to put over mabel and in this case... Michaels was 100% in the right.

[@kieransmith3177]

Up the Fraser! Go on lad!

[@mrwrestlingjr9820]

He may be the "Arrogance of Youth" but Fraser can present a video really well. Take that Jack! That was unnecessary I like Jack's work as well.

[@Kat-pr7qm]

The Brawl for all was pretty bad too. As was the Montreal screw job.

[@scottaznavourian3720]

Making Mabel king and then a main event push is some of the worst decisions eved

[@davidlewis5312]

who was the booker for this event? This feels like Prichard. I can't imagine Watts or Jarrett messing up this bad. As a little aside on calling Bundy 'old'. While out of shape, to some degree. Bundy is 39 in 95. Bret is a whooping 2 years his junior!

[@robinhyde1975]

Great work Fraser

[@standardofexcellence]

He's better than Niles

[@pokiewrestler]

Really like Fraser on this video fantastic very natural

[@MrAce-lm8es]

WrestleMania IX is the worst WrestleMania Of All Time.

[@kevinericsnell4092]

Best shout-out to (EWR) Extreme Warfare Revenge ever

[@Nicksuavemusic]

Extreme rules horror show was pretty awful too tbh

[@MikeyMike-uu3fe]

Looking back at the lean times WWE had in 1994 1995..One thing I kinda miss is 2 things....1. I kind of like the smaller venues they used for RAW during these times...Something about it...These days we see the same big arena same everything iam actually kinda sick of the WWE RAW setup now..just everything....and #2..I for some reason really miss the curtin...I miss seeing a heel swipe open the curtins hard and walk out...and just more.....BRING BACK THE CURTIN PLEASE

[@rosemaryfarell5264]

The worst place ever to put on an Awful ppv like this -ECW Philly!!! They Turned big on this. Bad times for wwf bk here for sure.

[@Wickedred413]

Such an interesting topic that I'm surprised the z-man Brian Zane hasn't done it himself yet. Everyone talks about the good PPV's but it's the bad PPV's that for some reason no one either wants to talk about or don't want to remember. Looking forward to cultaholics Quest to find the worst pay-per-view of all time.

[@MinutesFromVegas]

Love the osw reference You think you're special, special ? You do

[@Beegstation]

A My Way parody? Someone call OSW Review and a lawyer, this is gimmick infringement

[@gavin4342]

I need more Fraser content

[@moopert86]

2 Mabel matches in one show... that's 2 more than anyone should pay to see.

[@girlsnotblue3804]

.shoutout to Dave knows wrestling for the soundbite✨

[@richardsouthard1776]

Highly disagree with him. I happen to know tons and tons of people that miss that pay-per-view.