RAZOR RAMON VS. BRET HART

  Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Jim Ross and Randy "Macho Man" Savage are on commentary for this match.

Razor enters first to “1-2-3” chants, due to his upset loss on Raw to The 1-2-3 Kid. 15-minute time limit for the quarterfinals, 30 minutes for the semi-finals and an hour for the finals. There will also be a coronation at the end of the night. Bret Hart enters the ring and Heenan says that even though Bret's a triple crown winner he gives the advantage to Razor Ramon. These two also faced off at Royal Rumble 1993 for Bret's WWF Championship. A young fan gets a pair of Hitman shades before the match, as is customary. Ramon also throws his toothpick to the crowd, but it didn't have the same sentiment.

MATCH 1: RAZOR RAMON VS. BRET HART (KING OF THE RING QUARTERFINAL)

They stall as commentary talk about the time limit. They lock up and Ramon shoves Bret away. They go back to a collar-elbow tie up and struggle but again Ramon uses his power to create space. They tie up a third time, with Bret getting a side headlock. Ramon uses Bret's hair and shoves him into the ropes. Bret runs into Razor with a shoulder tackle and neither man budges. Bret gets a run-up, ducking a clothesline and a back elbow. Bret hits right hands and an arm drag. Bret keeps Ramon's arm, dropping a knee and applying a top wristlock on the mat. Ramon gets back to his feet, again using Bret's hair to escape and send him off the ropes. Bret blocks a hip toss but he can't get Ramon over. Razor Ramon clotheslines Bret down but he misses a jumping elbow drop. Bret gets another arm drag, dropping another knee on Razor's left arm. Bret wrings the arm again as they get to their feet but Razor shoves him off, Bret stops himself from going into the corner and moves, sending Ramon into the turnbuckles. Ramon is taken down by his arm into another armbar on the mat but slowly gets to his feet. Ramon slams Bret down but Bret's still got hold of the armbar, rolling through. Bret clubs at Ramon's shoulder as they get to their feet so Razor pokes him in the eye. Bret Hart gets sent off the ropes into a back elbow, giving Ramon a nearfall

Razor Ramon goes to a chinlock but Bret easily reverses into a hammerlock on Ramon. Razor Ramon makes it to the corner, catching Bret with a back elbow. Ramon hits a right hand but gets sent across the ring into the turnbuckles. Bret charges into a knee and Ramon sends his shoulder goes into the ring post. Ramon goes to the outside and clubs Bret on the chest, then boots him in the head so Bret drops to the floor. Ramon gets Bret in the ring after some talking because only winners advance in the tournament. The fans chant “1-2-3” at Ramon referencing his recent loss to 1-2-3 Kid as he kicks at Bret on the mat. Razor Ramon hits a Fallaway slam for a nearfall, with a running powerslam getting him another. Ramon goes back to booting Hart on the mat and hits a pair of elbow drops. Razor Ramon hits a side slam and tries to go back to elbow drops but Bret rolls out of the way. Bret is on his feet first, he backs Ramon into the corner with right hands and goes back to the middle of the ring for an inverted atomic drop. Bret Hart hits a running clothesline on Ramon for a nearfall.

Bret sends Ramon across the ring and he runs into a punch to the gut, a side Russian leg sweep gets Hart another nearfall. A backbreaker and elbow drop from the second rope each get Bret a nearfall. Razor Ramon swings and misses allowing Bret to roll him up for 2, Razor Ramon blocks the running bulldog sending Bret's chest into the corner. He signals for the Razor's Edge but Bret is able to wriggle free and hooks Ramon for a backslide. Bret can't bring Ramon down so he kicks off the turnbuckles, landing in an inside cradle, 1, 2, 2.999! Bret Hart argues with the referee and gets caught with a clothesline by Ramon. Razor Ramon sits Bret on the top rope, climbing up for a back superplex but Bret turns his bodyweight and lands on top of Ramon for the win!

WINNER: BRET HART

This was a very good choice for the first match to show paying customers what the King of the Ring was all about. Bret had a hard fought battle against a fairly new opponent (I believe Ramon was still in his rookie WWF year) They did seem to forget about the arm work but that could be redeemed in Bret's next match. I think these two had an under-rated chemistry in the ring, personally. – WORKRATE: 3.25/5 PERSONAL ENJOYMENT 3/5 OVERALL 6.25/10

TRIVIA BITS

• Razor Ramon first person to enter a PPV KotR match
• Razor Ramon first person eliminated from KotR on PPV
• Bret Hart first person to win a King of the Ring tournament match on PPV