The championship of the King of the Ring is set. Randy Savage beat Andre the Giant in a five-star slugfest to become the only wrestler left in the competition without a loss. The fans expected a Savage-Andre rematch in the final, but Honky Tonk Man — the #20 overall seed — cheated his way into the championship match.
Savage has already beaten HTM once, sending his adversary to the losers’ bracket back in the second round of competition. But Honky Tonk Man has won seven straight to get to this point, with upset wins over the #2, #9, #10 and #14 seeds.
Honky Tonk Man will have to beat Savage twice to gain the crown, while Savage only needs to beat HTM once.
Winners’ Bracket Final:
(2) Andre the Giant vs. (4) Randy Savage: This classic lived up to the hype. Andre got in a lot of big blows early, but Savage kept landing high-risk maneuvers to great success and damage. Savage had six unsuccessful pin attempts, most of them coming after he hit a move off the top rope. He made the mistake of trying to body slam Andre twice, and was fortunate to kick out both times after Andre landed on top of him. Savage was able to wear down Andre, while having just enough left in the tank to go back to the top rope, where he landed the Flying Elbow Drop to gain the victory and book his spot in the final. Savage def. Andre by pinfall at 28:00.
Losers’ Bracket Seventh Round:
(20) Honky Tonk Man vs. (21) Brutus Beefcake: The Cinderella run had to come to an end for one of these two. Honky Tonk Man quickly took advantage and for a while was getting in two hits for every one of Beefcake’s. The Shake, Rattle & Roll ended it and put Honky Tonk Man into the final three. Honky Tonk Man def. Beefcake by pinfall at 15:00.
Losers’ Bracket Final:
(2) Andre the Giant vs. (20) Honky Tonk Man: Andre had this one well in hand, as his big blows rained down upon HTM, putting him close to the edge of exhaustion. This looked like it would be the squash everyone expected. But — the referee got knocked out briefly — Honky Tonk Man took advantage and smashed his guitar over Andre’s head — HTM got Andre up and used his finisher, the Shake, Rattle & Roll — Honky Tonk Man dragged the referee over to the fallen Andre — One, two, three. An incredible upset, though with a controversial ending. Honky Tonk Man def. Andre by pinfall at 20:00.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 