WWE King of the Ring 2015 4/28/15

– Hey guys, it’s 2 minutes until showtime and I figured what the heck, I’ll cover the show live… Hopefully I don’t wind up regretting this. lol

– We’re live from the Smackdown Tapings with the semi finals and finals of the 2015 edition of the King of the Ring tournament. We’ve got Barrett vs. R-Truth, and Sheamus vs. Neville in the semis coming up.

– WWE kindly displays a Verne Gagne image prior to the show for a respectable period of time…

– Nice KotR video package opening.

– Jerry “The King” Lawler is introduced. He hypes the show and we go back to Raw to see how these four men advanced… Barrett over Ziggler thanks to a distraction from Sheamus. R-Truth over Stardust with the Lie Detector. Sheamus over Dean Ambrose by DQ after interference from Ziggler. Neville beats Luke Harper with the Red Arrow to advance. I assumed this thing was for Barrett, but I was pulling for Ambrose. With Ambrose gone I’d be surprised if someone other than BNB wins…. But I sure wouldn’t be complaining.

– Backstage promo from Sheamus. He plans to beat the little fella Neville. Neville responds with his own promo, nice. He was the longest reigning NXT champion, and he’s 2 victories away from being King of the Ring. Neville plans to show Sheamus what a “little fella” like him can do.

WWE King Of The Ring Semi-Final Match
1. Neville vs. Sheamus

Felllllllaaaa. Sheamus immediately overpowers Neville and shoves him around. Neville battles back with a series of flippies and kicks but runs into an Irish Curse backbreaker. Sheamus pounds on Neville and lands another backbreaker. Sheamus applies the bearhug of fun. Neville escapes and rocks Sheamus with flying forearms but he doesn’t go down. Neville blocks the 10 beats but Sheamus sends him flying into the announce table off the apron. Neville beats the count at 9. Giant beelle by Sheamus as he continues the onslaught… Now wee get Ziggler on the big screen. Ugh. Ziggler shows footage of him beating Sheamus at Extreme Rules. It distracts Sheamus. Sheamus misses a Brogue Kick and takes an enzuigiri from Neville. Red Arrow, and the match is over in a measly 5:43. Neville got like no offense until the lame finish.

After the match, Ziggler informs Sheamus he has come to collect on the Arse Kissing. The two men brawl until a half dozen officials pull them apart. Sheamus’ eye is busted wide open hard way. Sheamus leaves the ring, wiping the blood all over his chest as Ziggler looks on all angry n’ stuff.

I’m regretting reviewing this already, because I KNOW R-Truth isn’t going to have a better match than the above. And the above was barely a real match. I don’t see how that match was supposed to have helped Neville.

– Off to the back for a BNB promo. Neville beat him at Extreme Rules so Barrett will get revenge in the finals. Barrett tells Truth he should have Bull Hammer-aphobia. R-Truth cuts his own promo. Truth is afraid of spiders, so he will become King of the Ring an put a ban on spiders… Whatever…

WWE King Of The Ring Semi-Final Match
2. R-Truth vs. Bad News Barrett

A good little back and forth to start, Barrett land s a Big Boot for 2. BNB takes Truth outside for some more beatdown, then rolls him back in for a 2 count… Chinlock of excitement by Barrett. Truth breaks and makes the come back. WHAT’S UP!?!? Sit out Gourd buster gets a near fall on BNB. Truth misses the axe kick but lands a jumping side kick for another near fall… Flying spinning forearm from Truth for 2, and now he’s almost out of moves… Barrett blocks a Lie Detector and lands Winds of Change on Truth for 2. Truth dodges a charge in the corner and lands the Lie Detector!!! 1……2…………Barrett gets his foot on the bottom rope!!! BNB rolls outside, rakes the eyes of Truth and nails the Bull Hammer in 4:39. Nice, another lame finish. And you’ve gotta love the length of these matches…

– Michael Cole announces the passing of Verne Gagne, and a video plays in his honor. A nice video followed by more words from Michael Cole. Jerry Lawler thanks Verne for believing in him and giving him the AWA title back in 1988. That was nice.

– Back to WWE world with a Dolph Ziggler interview. Ziggler says his attack earlier was just a taste. He tells Sheamus don’t worry about kissing his ass, worry about Ziggler kicking his.

– We go back to the Extreme Rules Preshow where Neville pinned Barrett. And yet another INTERVIEW from Barrett. Let’s eat up some more ring time with all of these interviews… Barrett says he’s on a role. He plowed through Truth, and Neville is next.

WWE King Of The Ring Tournament Finals
3. Neville vs. Bad News Barrett

Neville and Barrett both sport capes. Is that a British thing? Barrett leaves his cape in the back for the finals. Huge “Neville” chants. Flippies and nice spots from Neville, but Barrett comes back and clotheslines Neville to the floor. Neville sells his ribs from an earlier injury. BNB follows him outside and drives Neville’s ribs into the apron. Back inside BNB all over Neville’s ribs, and a slingshot backbreaker gets 2 on Neville. Barrett applies a sideways type surfboard, but Neville kicks free. Neville counters a second slignshot backbreaker and goes kicking crazy on Barrett. Now Neville clotheslines Barrett to the floor…. TOP ROPE SPRINGBOARD MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR!!!!

Springboard dropkick back inside the ring. Another nice series of kicks and a German Suplex with a bridge gets a near fall on Barrett. Neville off the ropes but into a Winds of Change for a near fall by BNB. Neville escapes Wasteland, but Barrett able to land it on a second attempt! 1………2……………Neville kicks out! Barrett misses a Bull Hammer and Neville executes a roll up with the Backlund Bridge…. 1……2……….Barrett kicks out… Well he was supposed to but didn’t, but the ref stopped counting so whatever….

Neville sends Barrett down with an enzuigiri, goes for the Red Arrow… BNB moves… Neville lands on his feet, but runs right into the BULL HAMMER… And Barrett wins in 7:05.

– Barrett walks up the ramp to the Coronation area. The referee places the new cape on Barrett. BNB puts his crown on and grabs his scepter. Jerry Lawler interviews Barrett on the stage. Barrett says there’s a man in WWE with enough class and elegance to call himself King. He will rule the WWE with an iron fist, and a Bull Hammer…. BOOOOOOOM!!!!!