One Great Match is a column designed not to review the best matches of all time. You’ll rarely see a five-star bout occupying this space. What you will find is a cult classic, an underground hit or a just a plain old memorable match from the annuls of professional wrestling history for one reason or another.
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We begin in 1994 as Art “How much does this guy weigh?” Donovan joins Randy Savage and Gorilla Monsoon at the announce desk in Baltimore, Maryland for King of the Ring.
The Background: Owen Hart turned on brother Bret at the Royal Rumble, going on to defeat ‘The Hitman’ in the WrestleMania X opener before Bret regained the WWF Championship in the main event against Yokozuna. The youngest of Stu and Helen’s twelve children was determined to repeat the feat accomplished by his older brother a year previous and become King of the Ring. In order to advance to the Semi-Final stage of the tournament, Owen Hart put away Tatanka in a very competitive match and the 1-2-3 Kid upset Jeff Jarrett. After defeating ‘Double J’, 1-2-3 Kid suffered three piledrivers to put his continued participation in the tournament in jeopardy.
The Action: Owen enters first and then there’s a delay as there is doubt whether the 1-2-3 Kid will show up. Randy Savage is superb putting over the toughness of the Kid as he appears. Owen MURDERS 1-2-3 Kid with a dropkick through the ropes. It was beautiful. Owen is all over 1-2-3 Kid in attempt to put him away but the Kid kicks out. Reversal and Owen takes the front turnbuckle bump. 1-2-3 Kid gets Owen down for a series of two counts. Spinning kick knocks Owen down. Enziguri counter by ‘The Rocket’. Northern Lights suplex by 1-2-3 Kid earns a three count but Owen got his foot on the ropes. Kid dives over the top rope onto Owen and unloads with right hands. Owen catches the Kid and delivers a German suplex. Belly-to-belly by Owen but the Kid attempts a victory roll. Owen with a powerbomb and the Sharpshooter to advance to the King of the Ring final against Razor Ramon. It was just four minutes of action but was non-stop, high energy and hard hitting.
The Aftermath: Owen Hart went on to become King of the Ring with assistance from brother-in-law Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart, beginning a run as King that is still affectionately remembered to this day. He would challenge brother Bret for the WWF Championship inside a Steel Cage at SummerSlam, solidifying his place in the upper echelons of the card for years to come. The 1-2-3 Kid would wrestle ‘The Hitman’ on Raw in July for the title, which was ranked by WWE in 2012 as the third-best match ever aired on the flagship broadcast.