There are many years in professional wrestling that don't live up to hype, or manage to fall short of expectations. Then, there are the years that totally miss the mark and nothing connects. Period. 1995 is that year. It is the worst year in the history of professional wrestling, when talking WWF and WCW especially, who were the biggest promotions at the time. One huge proponent of why this year was so bad? The WWF Champion Diesel. Diesel carried the belt for most of 1995, and drew very little as champion. Shawn Michaels was a rising star, and Bret Hart was popular, but it didn't really have an effect on the product too, outside of just one good match on a show. Sounds slightly familiar now.
In WCW, 1995 was a clusterfuck as well. Hogan was champion for most of the year, and we saw him engaged in a terrible feud with Vader early on, with Vader of course coming up short. Hogan would feud with Ric Flair for a while after, with the help of a guy named The Renegade, who was simply an Ultimate Warrior rip off. The year got worse as it progressed in WCW, and to sum it up... The Zodiac. The Yeti. And more. Dungeon of Doom, which was like a horror character group of individuals than an actual threat to any of the wrestlers. Led by Kevin Sullivan, the group was supposed to be the main heel group but ended up as a joke.
There were other things that occurred in WCW, such as a match in the back of a truck, Ric Flair dressed up as a woman in drag, and...well... Do I really need to continue for WCW?? Didn't think so. It was a hell of a job to watch WCW in 1995, even as a kid, and with the influx of Nitro in September, along with some new wrestlers, 1996 would prove to be a breakout year for WCW. WWF however?
Diesel faced Sycho Sid in quite possibly some of the most boring main events in WWF history in May and that only furthered the terribleness of the product. Diesel's title run consisted of two solid opponents, and that was Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, the two best wrestlers in the world at the time. Everyone else was either too big and slow, or it was just pointless. You want pointless?? Check the King of The Ring PPV. MABEL. KING MABEL. NEED I SAY MORE??? Bret Hart vs Jerry Lawler.... In a KISS MY FOOT MATCH. A KISS. MY. FOOT MATCH. So, surely the main event would redeem us right? Shawn Michaels? Razor Ramon? Owen Hart? No. We got a fucking tag team match as the main event, with Diesel, the WWF Champion, teaming with Bam Bam Bigelow to take on Tatanka and Sycho Sid. That's right, the main event of the PPV had the world champ in a tag team match, instead of defending the title. Amazing. And once again, KING MABEL. KING FUCKING MABEL.
How about the following month, at the In Your House PPV in July, where Diesel vs Sycho Sid was the main event and barely went 10 minutes long. Or the following month, with Summerslam 1995 being saved by a 25 minute Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon ladder match, but ruined by the 9 minute main event between WWF Champion DIESEL against KING MABEL. DIESEL VS KING MABEL MAIN EVENTED A SUMMERSLAM.
Bret Hart had a match against a pirate. That's right... A damn pirate. The Godwinns walked around with a damn bucket of pig slop. Dean Douglas existed. There was so much wrong in the year. Look back at the Royal Rumble. I remember maybe 20% of those names from the Rumble. That says a lot about the year.
You want one more reason 1995 was bad? Look no further than WCW having their first World War 3 pay per view with three rings and 60 men in a battle royal, which was quite simply the dumbest idea I had ever heard up until the point. How were the fans supposed to keep up with action in all three rings? The TV couldn't even capture all three rings at once. How stupid was this??
1995 will go down in history. As the worst year in wrestling history. Unlike other years, there was no huge draw in either company, no saving grace or even a period of quality moments. At all. Sorry, 1995. Your place in history is solidified.
-True
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