Backstage: Todd Pettengill is standing by with Shawn Michaels, refers us to video of how Michaels qualified for the King Of The Ring tournament, The Heartbreak Kid reminds us that he’s always said being big doesn’t make you good. He claims that it only takes a little “chin music” to drop anybody, no matter what size they are.

Match #4 – King Of The Ring Quarterfinals: Kama w/’The Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase vs. Shawn Michaels
Collar & elbow tie-up to start out, Shawn goes to a hammerlock, Kama counters to one of his own, Michaels flips backwards out of it, then sticks-and-moves with jabs. They lock-up again and Kama backs HBK to the corner, The Supreme Fighting Machine tries a big right hand, Michaels avoids it, looks to whip him across, Kama reverses and follows him in. Shawn hops up-and-over, delivers more left-handed jabs and then backs away. They go back in for a tie-up and The Heartbreak Kid grabs a side headlock, Kama pushes him off to the ropes, misses a big haymaker, tosses Shawn over the top on the way back through, but Michaels hangs on and skins the cat back in.

He baits The Supreme Fighting Machine in near the ropes and dumps him to the outside, Kama regroups and heads back inside, they go into another collar & elbow and HBK gains a wristlock to start working over the shoulder joint. He switches to an armbar, The Supreme Fighting Machine sends him off to the ropes, misses a punch, but comes back with a kick to the ribs, then clotheslines him out of the ring. He distracts the official and DiBiase puts the boots to Michaels, Kama steps out, rams Shawn spine-first into the ring post, then rolls into the squared circle to celebrate. He heads back outside and throws HBK in, buries kicks to the abdomen, shoots him hard into the corner, then continues to batter Michaels into the mat.

He hauls Shawn up and rocks him with a stiff fist, rakes Michaels’ face with the bottom of his boot, pulls him up for more kicks to the breadbasket, then slaps on a modified single-leg crab and buries punches to the rib cage. The Heartbreak Kid tries to mount some offense and gets clocked back down, The Supreme Fighting Machine planks him across the top in the corner, fires off uppercuts to the midsection, then delivers a heavy kick to the gut to bring him down. He powers HBK over his shoulder with an argentine backbreaker, Shawn wriggles his way towards the corner, pushes off the top rope with his feet to flip through, then hits a modified back body drop and falls on top for a 2 count. Kama quickly shoots him into the corner, Michaels is turned inside-out and spills to the floor, The Million Dollar Man kicking away as Kama holds the ref’s attention.

The Supreme Fighting Machine waits in the ring and let’s the ref count, Shawn staggers back inside to beat the count at 9, Kama is there to meet him with multiple rib breakers. He planks Michaels over his knee and wrenches away, The Heartbreak Kid fights his way out of it, but The Supreme Fighting Machine delivers another uppercut into the stomach area. He sends Shawn to the corner, measures for a splash, Michaels side-steps it, springs off the 2nd rope with a flying forearm and Kama finally drops. Kama staggers back to his feet and hits the ropes for an elbow drop, The Heartbreak Kid rolls out of harm’s way, a timer appears on the screen and there’s less than 2:30 remaining before time expires.

Both guys find their footing and The Supreme Fighting Machine looks for lefts-and-rights, Shawn bobs and weaves, fires back with shots of his own, irish whip to the ropes is reversed, Michaels slips out of a body slam attempt, hits the ropes and levels Kama with a clothesline. He kips back up to his feet, delivers a stomp to the face, hammers Kama with a series of right hands, then heads to the high-rent district for a double axe handle. He covers and only gets a count of 2, puts him in the corner and climbs to the 2nd rope to rain down punches. Irish whip across is reversed, The Supreme Fighting Machine follows in behind Michaels, The Heartbreak Kid springs to the 2nd rope for a crossbody, Kama switches the momentum into a pinning predicament and nearly puts it away.

The Supreme Fighting Machine drives knees into the abdomen, shoots Shawn to the ropes for a back body drop, HBK counters into a small package for a near fall, then looks to send Kama to the ropes, but it’s reversed. The Supreme Fighting Machine attempts another back body drop, Michaels counters to a sunset flip this time, the referee counts to 2, but time runs out.
Winner: Time Limit Draw

• After The Bell: Kama isn’t pleased with the decision and puts the boots to Shawn, sends him to the ropes, HBK slides through between the legs, then drills him with Sweet Chin Music to send him out of the ring.
• EA’s Take: Looking back on it, Kama’s gimmick was actually kind of ahead of it’s time for this era. The UFC was years away from really being a “thing”, but after the Papa Shango character was dropped and Charles Wright went with The Supreme Fighting Machine gimmick, it was really first one I can remember that was billed as a bit of an MMA shoot fighter. Solid bout here with Shawn obviously carrying a lot of the load in terms of the workrate as he continues to quickly ascend in popularity after his babyface turn. In hindsight, Shawn would probably have been the best option to win this whole tournament and I’m sure people are disappointed in the time limit draw, but in my opinion it was really the best way to get him out of the KOTR while letting him still maintain his momentum.

Video: We take a look at how Mabel and The Undertaker got to tonight’s King Of The Ring tournament, leading to this colossal quarterfinals match-up.

Video: WWF cameras followed Bob Backlund around Philadelphia earlier in the day, Mr. Backlund out to talk to the people about his candidacy for President of the United States, visiting historical sites along the way.

Match #5 – King Of The Ring Quarterfinals: Mabel w/Mo vs. The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer
The two big men go face-to-face, the bell rings and Mabel tries to sneak in a right hand, Undertaker blocks it and fires away with uppercuts. He shoots Mabel into the corner, delivers another flurry of uppercuts, hits the ropes for a clothesline and the big man staggers. The Deadman goes back to the ropes for another clothesline, Mabel barely budges, Taker hits the ropes again, ducks a clothesline and finally delivers one to take him off his feet. He hooks in a wristlock and climbs the corner, walks out to the middle of the ropes and comes down with a clubbing blow to the back, then chokes Mabel in the corner. Irish whip to the ropes is reversed, Mabel drives Undertaker into the mat with a sloppy sidewalk slam, The Phenom sits back up, but gets clotheslined over the top.

He lands on his feet and Mabel drags him up to the apron, looks to clobber him across the chest, The Undertaker quickly grabs the big man and drops him across the top with a hot shot. The Deadman climbs back inside and walks into a clothesline, spills out through the ropes, gets his foot stuck and is left hanging. Mabel steps out and puts the boots to Taker, The Phenom finally frees himself up, the big man marches into the squared circle, but walks into more uppercuts. Undertaker chokes him against the ropes, Mo hops on the apron and provides a distraction, Taker turns around and gets planted by a belly-to-belly suplex. Mabel sits on his back and applies a chinlock, The Phenom starts to rise to a standing position, the big man clubs him across the spine, then dumps him out of the ring.

Mabel climbs out in pursuit, drives Undertaker head-first into the steel steps, holds the ref’s attention for Mo to get in a cheap shot and The Deadman staggers back inside. The big man is there to meet him and stands on Taker’s back, shoots him hard into the turnbuckles, then delivers a vertical suplex for a count of 2. Mabel cracks The Phenom with headbutts, executes a body slam, sits on top for a cover, but still only finds a 2 count. He whips Undertaker into the corner and rushes in, The Deadman gets the boot up into the jaw, explodes out with a clothesline, sends him to the ropes for a back body drop, but Mabel puts on the brakes and spikes Taker with a piledriver for a near fall. He shoots The Undertaker to the ropes for a clothesline, The Phenom ducks under it, they collide coming back through and both guys fall to the mat.

Mabel’s up first to break the official’s 10 count, hits the ropes for an elbow drop and nobody’s home, Taker gets back to his feet and scores with kicks to the midsection, then connects with uppercuts in the corner. He whips Mabel across and charges in with a splash, grabs him by the throat and chokes the big man, looks to send him back across, Mabel reverses course, shoots Undertaker back in and the referee accidentally gets squashed. The Deadman quickly connects with an uppercut, irish whip to the ropes is reversed, he ducks under a clothesline, scores with a flying clothesline, then calls for a Chokeslam and hits it.

Mo jumps on the apron and takes a right hand for his troubles, Taker covers Mabel, Kama comes running down to the ring and clocks The Deadman with a kick from behind. Mabel follows it up with a leg drop, goes into a cover and steals a victory.
Winner: Mabel (Leg Drop)

• After The Bell: Kama heads back into the ring and slaps The Deadman across the face, Undertaker sits up and stalks The Supreme Fighting Machine to the back.
• EA’s Take: Knowing what we know now, you’ve got to feel for Undertaker during this period as he’s consistently matched against monstrous men with little-to-no in-ring skills, aside from Yokozuna previously. The company is all-in on Mabel at this point only because of his size, having yet to realize that it was a new era and the majority of fans had grown tired of the same old routine. Kama had returned to the company with his new character in early 1995, quickly joining The Million Dollar Corporation and targeting The Deadman, hence his involvement in this match. The Supreme Fighting Machine would steal the trademark urn, then melt it down into a giant gold necklace, obviously making him now a marked man in the eyes of The Undertaker. Also, due to the draw between Kama and Shawn Michaels in the previous match, Mabel earns a bye into the finals of the KOTR tournament.

Video: Last night at the Marriott, the WWF Hall Of Fame honored seven inductees which included Antonino Rocca, George ‘The Animal’ Steele, ‘Big Cat’ Ernie Ladd, The Grand Wizard, Ivan Putski, The Fabulous Moolah and Pedro Morales.

Backstage: Todd Pettengill is joined by The Roadie & WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett for comment, Double J says Roadie has been trained by him, which will only lead to success for him tonight. The Roadie claims he doesn’t have to prepare for tonight and after he wins King Of The Ring, he’ll get a statue right next to Rocky Balboa.

Match #6 – King Of The Ring Semi-Finals: Savio Vega w/Razor Ramon vs. The Roadie w/WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett
Savio has some words for The Roadie at the bell, they tie-up and Roadie backs him to the corner, surprises Vega with right hands, but Savio returns fire with punches of his own. He whips him across, scores with a hip toss off the rebound, clotheslines Roadie over the top and he falls to the floor. Jarrett gives some advice to Roadie before he heads back in the ring, they lock-up again, Vega gains a wristlock and starts hammering away at the shoulder area before switching to an armbar. He switches back to a wristlock, corners The Roadie for stinging chops, goes right back to an armbar, Roadie tries to get out using a body slam, but Savio counters to a small package for a 2 count.

He quickly tries to shoot Roadie to the ropes and it’s reversed, The Roadie goes to the breadbasket with a knee, plants him with a swinging neckbreaker and hooks the leg for a count of 2. He chokes Savio in the corner using his knee, drapes him over the 2nd rope for some more choking, rocks Vega with heavy rights, snapmares him out of the corner and heads to the 2nd rope for a diving headbutt. The Roadie covers and gains a near fall, grinds his knee into the small of Vega’s back, unloads with more stiff punches, but Savio starts to absorb them and attempts to battle back. Roadie buries a knee to the midsection to stop the comeback, whips him hard into the turnbuckles, climbs back to the 2nd rope for another diving headbutt, but Vega rolls out of harm’s way.

He starts to build momentum with fists, sends Roadie to the ropes for a back elbow, scoops him up for a body slam and gets a count of 2. He whips The Roadie back to the ropes for a big boot and another 2 count, looks to shoot him in again, Roadie reverses, Jarrett grabs Savio by the foot from the outside and gets his attention. The Roadie clobbers Vega from behind, Double J climbs on the apron and exchanges words with Razor, Savio reverses an irish whip back in the ring, Roadie nearly runs into the champion, but puts on the brakes. Vega charges in with a knee to the back, Roadie collides with Jarrett, Savio gains a schoolboy from behind him and gets the win.
Winner: Savio Vega (Schoolboy)

• After The Bell: Carlos Cabrera leaves the Spanish announce table to get some words with Savio, Dok Hendrix joins them to translate, but instead belittles Vega with his own take on what’s being said.
• EA’s Take: Much like the theme all night so far, nothing really exciting about this one. You had to figure there would be some involvement between Jarrett and Ramon considering their history, which led to Savio getting the win. Obviously, there never really was any chance that The Roadie would move into the finals to meet Mabel as both were heels and that would just make no sense whatsoever.

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