It's popular opinion with the IWC that Mabel was absolutely the wrong choice to win the King Of The Ring Tournament and he was the tournament's worst winner, to which I happen to agree with. I also think it was the worst booked tournament in terms of the brackets and one of the worst WWF PPV's. Another popular opinion to go along with it is that Shawn Michaels should've won that year's tournament instead.
Personally, I wouldn't have given the win to Shawn and he didn't need to win it since he was gonna be a top star anyway. He had just turned babyface couple months before and needed more time to be built up into a top babyface main eventer. He wasn't ready for that spot yet, so you don't to waste his title shot early at Summerslam 1995. Plus it was a bad year for Shawn as hot as he was. He took time off after turning babyface and was assaulted later that year forcing him to take time off again. As awful as that was, it made a good comeback story for Shawn. Despite how you may feel about his title run and how he drew as champion, the build to his title shot at Wrestlemania XII was perfect.
The superstar who I think should've won the 1995 King Of The Ring tournament is The British Bulldog. He turned heel and feuded with Diesel for the WWF Title after Summerslam anyway, so they could've started their feud earlier. And Bulldog's brother in laws had won King Of The Ring the two previous years, so he'd add a third King Of The Ring win in a row and keep the title in The Hart Family.
As for how I would book the tournament:
First Round
The Undertaker defeats IRS by Pinfall
The Undertaker was feuding with members of The Million Dollar Corporation around this period, so I'd have him waste member IRS in the First Round.
Mabel defeats Adam Bomb by Pinfall
This was one of the actual First Round matches, so I'd keep this same.
Yokuzuna defeats Duke Droese by Pinfall
Yokozuna vs. Lex Luger was one of the First Round matches but I would've saved that match for the tournament on the PPV, so I'd have Yoko beat the garbage Duke "The Dumpster" Droese to advance to the Quarter-Finals.
Lex Luger defeats Kama by Pinfall
Same reason as above.
Hakushi defeats Razor Ramon/Savio Vega by Pinfall
Hakushi was left out of the tournament and after having a great match with Bret Hart at In Your House 1, he deserved better in the WWF following that match than losing to Barry Horowitz and becoming his tag team partner. As for the Savio/Razor situation, I know Savio replaced Razor who originally qualified for the tournament and dropped out after suffering a rib injury on a house show against Jeff Jarrett, but this is a First Round match and the First Round matches took place on Raw before Razor got injured, so this would likely be Hakushi vs. Razor and I'd have Hakushi beat Razor to advance after some help from Jeff Jarrett, who interferes to cost Razor the match as they were feuding with each other over the IC Title. Or if it were to be Hakushi vs. Savio Vega, I'd still have Hakushi win with some help from his manager, Shinja.
Shawn Michaels defeats The 123 Kid by Pinfall
Originally, I wanted this to be a part of the tournament on the PPV but they already had some great matches with each other on Raw and I like the idea of Shawn Michaels vs. Hakushi in the Quarter-Finals better as Shawn is a face, Hakushi is a heel and those two have never faced each other before.
The British Bulldog defeats Jeff Jarrett by Pinfall
The British Bulldog vs. Owen Hart was another First Round match that happened but the two went to a Time Limit Draw and neither man made it into the tournament. I right this wrong here in my version of the brackets. You can also have Razor interfere here and cost Jarrett the match as payback for costing him his First Round match, setting up maybe another IC Title match between the two at King Of The Ring with some stipulation. It would make sense to say a Ladder Match as they were having Ladder Matches for the IC Title on house shows at the time but Shawn and Razor had a Ladder rematch at Summerslam two months later even though the original plan was Shawn vs. Sid for the IC Title, so I don't know, it's hard to say what stipulation. And Razor still might've gotten injured anyway even in this scenario meaning he doesn't compete at KOTR at all.
Owen Hart defeats Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly by Submission
Same reason as above.
Quarter-Finals
Shawn Michaels vs. Hakushi goes to a Time Limit Draw
This was a missed opportunity by the WWF, these two could've had a classic with each other like Hakushi did with Bret a month earlier. Shawn can't take a loss here by Pinfall or Submission. He's slowly being built up as a top star, so he can't take a real loss and needs to look strong, so I have him and Hakushi eliminating each other by Time Limit Draw like Shawn and Kama did on the PPV except Shawn and Hakushi should put on a great match before the result happens.
The British Bulldog defeats Owen Hart by Pinfall
One half of The Allied Powers vs. Yokozuna/Owen Hart matches in the Quarter-Finals. As I mentioned above, these two had a First Round match on Raw that had no winner but I would've had that match take place in the Quarter-Finals on the PPV especially as these two have never had a PPV match, only matches on Raw, and I would've had Bulldog beat his brother-in-law. This would have been another great match on the PPV.
The Undertaker defeats Mabel by Pinfall
These two did face each other in the Quarter-Finals of the tournament but Mabel defeated The Undertaker. I would keep this the same but have Taker emerge as the winner instead.
Lex Luger defeats Yokozuna by Pinfall
The second half of The Allied Powers vs. Yokozuna/Owen Hart matches in the Quarter-Finals. We all know Luger and Yokozuna's history here with Luger defeating Yoko at Summerslam 93 by Countout and Yoko defeating Luger at Wrestlemania X by Pinfall. I would have Luger beat Yokozuna in the rubber match by Pinfall and put an end to their rivalry.
Semi-Finals
Bye for The British Bulldog
Because of Shawn Michaels and Hakushi going to a Time Limit Draw, The British Bulldog gets a Bye in this round and will face the winner of Taker/Luger in the Finals.
Lex Luger defeats The Undertaker by Disqualification
A super clash between two big babyfaces, who have never faced each other in the WWF. I would have Mabel interfere and cause a DQ, attacking Luger first in order to cost Taker the match and tournament as revenge for eliminating him earlier in the tournament and start up their feud.
Finals
The British Bulldog defeats Lex Luger by Pinfall
You probably saw this one coming actually. The tag team partners, The Allied Powers battling it out to determine the 1995 King Of The Ring. I always wondered why these two never collided as it could've been one hell of a powerhouse clash. Could've easily happened at Wrestlemania XI. The British Bulldog would turn heel to feud with Diesel over the championship a couple of months later, so I'd have Bulldog turn heel much earlier on Luger here in the Finals and win the match & tournament to face Diesel for the WWF Title at Summerslam. Before his WWF Title match with Diesel at Summerslam though, Bulldog and Luger could face each other again at In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks to settle the score. They could also maybe have teased a breakup of their team on Raw previous to King Of The Ring.
So there you have it, that's my version of the tournament. And now I ask you the good folks of Wrestlezone Forum who you thought should've won the 1995 King Of The Ring tournament and how you would've booked the tournament.
The real brackets are listed below at this link if you need any help:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Ring_(1995)#Tournament_brackets
Personally, I wouldn't have given the win to Shawn and he didn't need to win it since he was gonna be a top star anyway. He had just turned babyface couple months before and needed more time to be built up into a top babyface main eventer. He wasn't ready for that spot yet, so you don't to waste his title shot early at Summerslam 1995. Plus it was a bad year for Shawn as hot as he was. He took time off after turning babyface and was assaulted later that year forcing him to take time off again. As awful as that was, it made a good comeback story for Shawn. Despite how you may feel about his title run and how he drew as champion, the build to his title shot at Wrestlemania XII was perfect.
The superstar who I think should've won the 1995 King Of The Ring tournament is The British Bulldog. He turned heel and feuded with Diesel for the WWF Title after Summerslam anyway, so they could've started their feud earlier. And Bulldog's brother in laws had won King Of The Ring the two previous years, so he'd add a third King Of The Ring win in a row and keep the title in The Hart Family.
As for how I would book the tournament:
First Round
The Undertaker defeats IRS by Pinfall
The Undertaker was feuding with members of The Million Dollar Corporation around this period, so I'd have him waste member IRS in the First Round.
Mabel defeats Adam Bomb by Pinfall
This was one of the actual First Round matches, so I'd keep this same.
Yokuzuna defeats Duke Droese by Pinfall
Yokozuna vs. Lex Luger was one of the First Round matches but I would've saved that match for the tournament on the PPV, so I'd have Yoko beat the garbage Duke "The Dumpster" Droese to advance to the Quarter-Finals.
Lex Luger defeats Kama by Pinfall
Same reason as above.
Hakushi defeats Razor Ramon/Savio Vega by Pinfall
Hakushi was left out of the tournament and after having a great match with Bret Hart at In Your House 1, he deserved better in the WWF following that match than losing to Barry Horowitz and becoming his tag team partner. As for the Savio/Razor situation, I know Savio replaced Razor who originally qualified for the tournament and dropped out after suffering a rib injury on a house show against Jeff Jarrett, but this is a First Round match and the First Round matches took place on Raw before Razor got injured, so this would likely be Hakushi vs. Razor and I'd have Hakushi beat Razor to advance after some help from Jeff Jarrett, who interferes to cost Razor the match as they were feuding with each other over the IC Title. Or if it were to be Hakushi vs. Savio Vega, I'd still have Hakushi win with some help from his manager, Shinja.
Shawn Michaels defeats The 123 Kid by Pinfall
Originally, I wanted this to be a part of the tournament on the PPV but they already had some great matches with each other on Raw and I like the idea of Shawn Michaels vs. Hakushi in the Quarter-Finals better as Shawn is a face, Hakushi is a heel and those two have never faced each other before.
The British Bulldog defeats Jeff Jarrett by Pinfall
The British Bulldog vs. Owen Hart was another First Round match that happened but the two went to a Time Limit Draw and neither man made it into the tournament. I right this wrong here in my version of the brackets. You can also have Razor interfere here and cost Jarrett the match as payback for costing him his First Round match, setting up maybe another IC Title match between the two at King Of The Ring with some stipulation. It would make sense to say a Ladder Match as they were having Ladder Matches for the IC Title on house shows at the time but Shawn and Razor had a Ladder rematch at Summerslam two months later even though the original plan was Shawn vs. Sid for the IC Title, so I don't know, it's hard to say what stipulation. And Razor still might've gotten injured anyway even in this scenario meaning he doesn't compete at KOTR at all.
Owen Hart defeats Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly by Submission
Same reason as above.
Quarter-Finals
Shawn Michaels vs. Hakushi goes to a Time Limit Draw
This was a missed opportunity by the WWF, these two could've had a classic with each other like Hakushi did with Bret a month earlier. Shawn can't take a loss here by Pinfall or Submission. He's slowly being built up as a top star, so he can't take a real loss and needs to look strong, so I have him and Hakushi eliminating each other by Time Limit Draw like Shawn and Kama did on the PPV except Shawn and Hakushi should put on a great match before the result happens.
The British Bulldog defeats Owen Hart by Pinfall
One half of The Allied Powers vs. Yokozuna/Owen Hart matches in the Quarter-Finals. As I mentioned above, these two had a First Round match on Raw that had no winner but I would've had that match take place in the Quarter-Finals on the PPV especially as these two have never had a PPV match, only matches on Raw, and I would've had Bulldog beat his brother-in-law. This would have been another great match on the PPV.
The Undertaker defeats Mabel by Pinfall
These two did face each other in the Quarter-Finals of the tournament but Mabel defeated The Undertaker. I would keep this the same but have Taker emerge as the winner instead.
Lex Luger defeats Yokozuna by Pinfall
The second half of The Allied Powers vs. Yokozuna/Owen Hart matches in the Quarter-Finals. We all know Luger and Yokozuna's history here with Luger defeating Yoko at Summerslam 93 by Countout and Yoko defeating Luger at Wrestlemania X by Pinfall. I would have Luger beat Yokozuna in the rubber match by Pinfall and put an end to their rivalry.
Semi-Finals
Bye for The British Bulldog
Because of Shawn Michaels and Hakushi going to a Time Limit Draw, The British Bulldog gets a Bye in this round and will face the winner of Taker/Luger in the Finals.
Lex Luger defeats The Undertaker by Disqualification
A super clash between two big babyfaces, who have never faced each other in the WWF. I would have Mabel interfere and cause a DQ, attacking Luger first in order to cost Taker the match and tournament as revenge for eliminating him earlier in the tournament and start up their feud.
Finals
The British Bulldog defeats Lex Luger by Pinfall
You probably saw this one coming actually. The tag team partners, The Allied Powers battling it out to determine the 1995 King Of The Ring. I always wondered why these two never collided as it could've been one hell of a powerhouse clash. Could've easily happened at Wrestlemania XI. The British Bulldog would turn heel to feud with Diesel over the championship a couple of months later, so I'd have Bulldog turn heel much earlier on Luger here in the Finals and win the match & tournament to face Diesel for the WWF Title at Summerslam. Before his WWF Title match with Diesel at Summerslam though, Bulldog and Luger could face each other again at In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks to settle the score. They could also maybe have teased a breakup of their team on Raw previous to King Of The Ring.
So there you have it, that's my version of the tournament. And now I ask you the good folks of Wrestlezone Forum who you thought should've won the 1995 King Of The Ring tournament and how you would've booked the tournament.
The real brackets are listed below at this link if you need any help:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Ring_(1995)#Tournament_brackets
