Finally, the tournament is down to two wrestlers. The top seed, Ric Flair, had to do it the hard way, winning a pair of losers’ bracket matches, including avenging his earlier loss to Magnum T.A. Nikita Koloff, the third seed, continued his impressive run, beating Magnum T.A. in the winners’ bracket final. It’ll be two heels in the championship match, with Flair needing to post two victories, while Koloff only requires one.
King of the Ring II Tournament Home Page
Winners’ Bracket Final
(3) Nikita Koloff vs. (4) Magnum T.A.: A jam-packed match saw both wrestlers go early and often to their finishers. Koloff hit the Russian Sickle in the opening minutes, then used it four more times. Magnum T.A. used his belly-to-belly suplex three times. He appeared to have beaten Koloff the first time he used it, but Ivan Koloff distracted the referee and he missed what would have been a three-count. Magnum T.A. kicked out of the first four Russian Sickles — but not the fifth. Koloff def. Magnum T.A. by pinfall at 34:00.
Losers’ Bracket Sixth Round
(1) Ric Flair vs. (2) Dusty Rhodes: The fans were ready to burn down the arena after this one, which didn’t last long thanks to Flair’s malfeasance. Flair provided most of the offense early, including a sleeper hold that Rhodes escaped. But then, with the referee having to deal with manager J.J. Dillon, Flair choked Rhodes out using the ropes. When the referee was back in the fray, Flair put a near-unconscious Rhodes in the Figure Four and it was all over almost before it began. Flair def. Rhodes by submission at 9:00.
Losers’ Bracket Final
(1) Ric Flair vs. (4) Magnum T.A.: Flair had more left in the tank than Magnum T.A., and he needed all of it in a match that lasted well over an hour. Flair had the better of things throughout. But, both had a strong defensive showing, not letting the other hit any big moves or finishers. There was only one submission try by Flair and one pinfall attempt by Magnum T.A. in the first hour. Eventually, Magnum T.A. didn’t have anything left and tapped out to the Figure Four. Flair def. Magnum T.A. by submission at 77:00.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 