The favorites mostly made it through the first round of the winners’ bracket, with the only exceptions being the 7-10 and 8-9 matches. Two members of the Four Horsemen, both members of America’s Team, one Russian, and a couple of people mostly known for being in tag teams are among the eight that advanced.
King of the Ring II Tournament Home Page
Winners’ Bracket Second Round:
(1) Ric Flair vs. (17) Rick Rude: Rude gave out as much as he took in an hour-plus-long match, but Flair’s advantage was too great. Rude hit his DDT finisher partway through the match, but Flair kicked out. After an hour of combat, Rude didn’t have anything left, and Flair won with the Figure Four. Flair def. Rude by submission at 64:00.
(8) Tully Blanchard vs. (9) Hawk: A hard-hitting match saw Blanchard do some damage early, but Hawk rallied. Blanchard looked to take advantage when manager J.J. Dillon threw his shoe in the ring and he bashed Hawk in the head with it, but Hawk was able to kick out of a couple of pin attempts. Hawk regained momentum and ended the match after a big clothesline not long after. Hawk def. Blanchard by pinfall at 35:00.
(4) Magnum T.A. vs. (13) Jimmy Garvin: Garvin got in a lot of offense early as he went for the upset bid, but Magnum T.A. hit a number of high-damage moves to maintain his advantage. His third belly-to-belly suplex of the match led to the three count. Magnum T.A. def. Garvin by pinfall at 21:00.
(5) Ron Garvin vs. (12) Jimmy Valiant: Valiant got in some shots in the early going, putting Garvin into a sleeper hold twice and landing an elbow drop. But Garvin shrugged it off and dominated the match. It took a while to put Valiant away, but he finally hit his finisher, the Hands of Stone. Garvin def. Valiant by pinfall at 55:00.
(2) Dusty Rhodes vs. (18) Khrusher Khrushchev: Both wrestlers went to the outside of the ring early and it devolved into a brawl with both wrestlers ending up bloody. Allies Magnum T.A. and Ivan Koloff came out to break them up, get them back in the ring, and provide support. Rhodes had some submission opportunities with a sleeper and a figure four, but Khrushchev powered out. Khrushchev hit his finisher, the Russian Sickle, but Rhodes kicked out. The blood loss may have eventually gotten to Rhodes, however, as he passed out after being put in a Cobra Clutch. But the referee wasn’t there to see it, as he had gone to the outside to deal with Magnum T.A. and Koloff. Khrushchev thought he had won! When he realized the referee wasn’t there, he left the ring to confront him and the others. That gave Rhodes time to recover, and the match continued. It took a while, but a couple of bionic elbows later, and Rhodes finally prevailed. Khrushchev left the ring shouting at Koloff, believing he cost him the match. Rhodes def. Khrushchev by pinfall at 49:00.
(7) Arn Anderson vs. (10) Ricky Morton: It wasn’t pretty, as Anderson forced a long, slow match with methodical work. Morton went for a variety of roll ups and sunset flips over the course of the match to no avail. Well after an hour, Morton finally got Anderson in the Figure Four and picked up the win. Morton def. Anderson by submission at 75:00.
(3) Nikita Koloff vs. (19) Robert Gibson: Koloff had an easy time of it against Gibson and wrapped up a short match with his Russian Sickle. Koloff def. Gibson by pinfall 12:00.
(6) Barry Windham vs. (11) Animal: The two battled for nearly an hour before a winner was decided. Animal negated Windham’s early advantage, but Windham regained control. Tag team partners Tully Blanchard and Hawk came out to the ring in support at one point. That turned out to be to Windham’s benefit. As action moved to the outside at one point, he was on the verge of being counted out, but Blanchard was able to distract the referee. Windham finally ended it with a Flying Lariat. Windham def. Animal by pinfall at 50:00.
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