Hulk Hogan, who had a terrible showing in King of the Ring I, had a strong showing to win Group C, although it did come down to the last match. Nikita Koloff, winner of King of the Ring II, bowed out with a losing record. The lowest-rated wrestler in the group, Koko B. Ware, had a run of upsets to help him finish second.
Records:
1. Hulk Hogan 4-1
2. Koko B. Ware 3-2
3. Nikita Koloff, Arn Anderson, Booker T, Jim Neidhart 2-3
King of the Ring III Home Page
Round 1
Booker T d. Nikita Koloff by pinfall — Koloff got some hits in early, but when Booker T took control, he kept it, wearing down Koloff down and finishing him off with an Axe Kick.
Hulk Hogan d. Jim Neidhart by pinfall — Neidhart fought bravely, kicking out of one Leg Drop and battling Hogan to a standstill for a while. But Hogan hulked up and hit the Leg Drop again to end it.
Koko B. Ware d. Arn Anderson by disqualification — Anderson got most of the offense in early, but the second half of the match belonged to Ware. With both men worn down, action moved to the outside of the right. As the referee reached the end of the 10-count, Ware dove back into the ring while Anderson was a step slow.
Round 2
Koko B. Ware d. Nikita Koloff by pinfall — A major upset, as Ware survived an early onslaught to battle back. A length match saw Ware hit a Brainbuster out of nowhere with Koloff in control. Koloff was barely able to kick out of that one, and he couldn’t after a second one.
Jim Neidhart d. Booker T by pinfall — This one was a marathon. Neidhart hit Booker T with the ring bell and nearly knocked him out, but Booker T recovered. Both landed finishers, but the other kicked out. The battle finally ended when Neidhart landed the Anvil Flattener on an exhausted Booker T.
Arn Anderson d. Hulk Hogan by pinfall — The upsets keep coming! Hogan had control early, but when Anderson was able to reverse and get control, he didn’t let up. When action moved to the outside of the ring, Anderson hit Hogan with a steel chair, likely concussing him. He rolled Hogan back into the ring and hit him with the Spinebuster. Incredibly, Hogan kicked out. But there was no getting up from a second Spinebuster.
Round 3
Hulk Hogan d. Booker T by pinfall — Booker T saw what Arn Anderson did to Hogan, and tried to do the same. Booker T hit Hogan with a foreign object early on, stunning Hogan, but he quickly recovered and regained control. Hogan walloped Booker T and put him down for good with the Leg Drop.
Koko B. Ware d. Jim Neidhart by pinfall — Amazingly, Koko B. Ware is the last undefeated wrestler in the group. He had the crowd behind him, repeatedly giving him a second wind, and he eventually put Neidhart down with the Brainbuster.
Nikita Koloff d. Arn Anderson by pinfall — Anderson got some licks in early, but Koloff came back with a series power moves before finishing Anderson off with the Russian Sickle.
Round 4
Arn Anderson d. Booker T by disqualification — The fight went outside the ring, and both wrestlers took a hard fall. The referee came out to check on them both. Both wrestlers got up and starting pushing each other, but the referee was caught in the middle. Booker T hit the ref (accidentally?) and the referee called for the bell.
Nikita Koloff d. Jim Neidhart by pinfall — Neidhart nearly cheated his way to a win, nailing Koloff with Jimmy Hart’s microphone while the referee was distracted. He couldn’t believe it when Koloff kicked out. Koloff managed to regroup and gather some steam. Neidhart took back control and looked to be on the verge of victory, but Koloff somehow reversed and hit Neidhart with the Russian Sickle.
Hulk Hogan d. Koko B. Ware by pinfall — An upset-minded Ware took it to Hogan early. On the verge of the biggest upset yet, Hogan instead did what he typically does — fought back, hulked up, dropped the leg and got the win.
Round 5
Booker T d. Koko B. Ware by pinfall — Ware missed out on a chance to finish atop the group. He had a chance, but Booker T reversed a move into the Axe Kick and that ended it.
Jim Neidhart d. Arn Anderson by pinfall — Neidhart handled Anderson pretty easily, using a series of power moves to wear Anderson down before leveling him with the Anvil Flattener.
Hulk Hogan d. Nikita Koloff by pinfall — Both wrestlers went cautiously in this one. Koloff threatened Hogan with a chair but couldn’t follow through, not wanting to be DQ’d and end his chances of winning the group. Koloff had control, but Hogan reversed and finished him off to win the group.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 