On one hand, it feels like things have progressed as expected, as only the top four seeds remain in the tournament after this segment of the competition. But, the results have been different than what one might have been assumed. The #3 and #4 seeds — Nikita Koloff and Magnum T.A. — will square off in the winners’ bracket final. The top two seeds — Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes — lost to the previous two, then had to win a match to advance in the losers’ bracket.
King of the Ring II Tournament Home Page
Winners’ Bracket Fourth Round
(1) Ric Flair vs. (4) Magnum T.A.: The top seed goes down! Magnum T.A. came in as the underdog, but a quick burst in the beginning helped even up the match. Flair would regain control, and had a couple of Figure Four opportunities, but couldn’t end it. Flair was still looking good until he got busted open when he went head-first into the ring post. Magnum T.A. took advantage while Flair was dazed, turning the match in his favor. His fourth belly-to-belly suplex put an exhausted Flair down for the count after a marathon effort. Magnum T.A. def. Flair by pinfall at 75:00.
(2) Dusty Rhodes vs. (3) Nikita Koloff: Another upset, but a lesser one as Koloff pulled off the win. He weakened Rhodes with a couple of bear hugs, then hit him with the Russian Sickle and put him down for good. Koloff def. Rhodes by pinfall at 24:00.
Losers’ Bracket Fourth Round
(8) Tully Blanchard vs. (9) Hawk: For the second match in a row, Hawk knocked out a member of the Four Horsemen. In this winners’ bracket rematch, Hawk prevailed over Windham for a second time. His power moves took too much out of Windham, and it ended after close to an hour after a clothesline. Hawk def. Blanchard by pinfall at 59:00.
(6) Barry Windham vs. (11) Animal: Windham posted his second win against Animal of the competition, but this one was much quicker than the first. Windham dominated early, hit a couple of big moves, then pinned Animal after a bulldog. Windham def. Animal by pinfall at 7:00.
Losers’ Bracket Fifth Round
(2) Dusty Rhodes vs. (9) Hawk: It took a while, but Rhodes was finally able to eliminate Hawk. Rhodes came in with a sizeable advantage and kept it throughout. He kicked out of several pin attempts, wore down Hawk to the point of exhaustion, and eventually finished him off with a Bionic Elbow. Rhodes def. Hawk by pinfall at 49:00.
(1) Ric Flair vs. (6) Barry Windham: Another Flair match went long. Windham did well to offset Flair’s advantage, but late in the match, Flair bloodied Windham, and that helped swing things back in Flair’s direction. A little past the hour mark, a Figure Four finally eliminated Windham. Flair def. Windham by submission at 64:00.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 