2015 WWE King of the Ring Tournament Results
April 28, 2015
Moline, Illinois
Report by: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
Dedicated to the memory of Verne Gagne: 1926-2015.
“Then. Now. Forever.” The WWE video leads us into the show.
A video package opens up the show that highlights the prestige of the King of the Ring Tournament. Past champions such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bret Hart, Triple H, Edge, and Brock Lesnar are highlighted.
We’re brought into the arena with a big pyrotechnics display. A throne is set up on the stage with a crown and a cape on it. Eden Stiles introduces Jerry “The King” Lawler, who comes out to the stage holding his crown to a great reception. Lawler welcomes everyone to the 2015 King of the Ring Tournament, live on the WWE Network. It takes a king to know a king. Last night on RAW, we had qualifying matches to see which four superstars would compete in the semi-finals of the King of the Ring Tournament. Tonight, those four superstars will compete. The journey to the throne will push them to the limit, but the winner will have the honor of being crowned the 2015 King of the Ring.
A highlight video showcases the four qualifying matches from last night. Tonight, we’ll see Bad News Barrett face R-Truth and Sheamus will face Neville in semifinal matches.
Byron Saxton is backstage with Sheamus, the 2010 King of the Ring winner. Saxton asks where his head is. Sheamus says in less than an hour, he will become a two-time WWE King of the Ring winner, but first he needs to get by the English elf, Neville. Neville is impressive and can defy gravity, but no one can defy gravity when they’re unconscious. Then it’s on to the finals where he’ll face either R-Truth or Bad News Barrett. It doesn’t matter who he faces because he will become King. Then he’ll make every little fella in the WWE just like Dolph Ziggler line up and kiss his arse.
Renee Young is backstage with Neville, whom she calls a new sensation. She asks how he’s feeling about facing Sheamus in the King of the Ring Tournament. Neville says he was the longest reigning NXT Champion in history. A month ago, he made the move from NXT to WWE and here he is. He is two victories away from being the 2015 King of the Ring. It’s hard to believe because no one expected this. No one expects him to beat Sheamus, but he’s spent his whole life defying expectations as well as gravity. Tonight, he intends to do both and show Sheamus exactly what a little fella like him can do.
King of the Ring Tournament Semi-Final Match
Sheamus vs. Neville
The bell rings, and Sheamus indicates that he is much taller than Neville. They circle the ring and lock up. Sheamus quickly powers him to the corner and talks a little trash. Sheamus shoves him before powering him to the corner again and talking some trash. Sheamus pie faces him, and Neville punches him back before kicking him in the ribs. Sheamus reverses a whip to the opposite corner, but Neville slingshots over him and does two quick flips to the opposite corner. Sheamus blocks a kick and goes for a clothesline, but Neville ducks it. Neville kicks away at him and hits the ropes, but Sheamus catches him with the Irish Curse Backbreaker. Neville takes a moment to recover and pushes Sheamus away. Sheamus viciously knees him in the midsection before hitting another Irish Curse Backbreaker. Neville clutches his ribs in pain as the fans chant for him. Neville punches back at Sheamus, but Sheamus clubs the back before hitting a running knee lift. Sheamus shouts at the crowd asking, “Are you not entertained?” Sheamus kicks him in the corner and chokes him with his boot. Sheamus gets him to his feet and applies a bear hug. The fans chant, “Let’s go Neville!” Neville elbows out of it, but Sheamus smacks him in the ribs. Sheamus sends him into the ropes, but Neville ducks a clothesline. Neville hits a running forearm, but Sheamus doesn’t go down. Neville tries again, but Sheamus stays on his feet. Neville kicks him in the legs a few times, but Sheamus knees him in the midsection and sends him to the apron. Sheamus goes for 10 Beats of the Bodhrán, but Neville elbows him away. Sheamus then knocks him off the apron into the commentary table. Sheamus wants the referee to count Neville out. Neville is still down at the count of six. Neville manages to claw back in at nine.
Sheamus kicks him in the face before putting him in the corner. Sheamus punches him in the ribs a few times before tossing him across the ring. Sheamus yells, “Little fellas don’t belong in my ring!” Sheamus gets him up and connects with White Noise. Sheamus claps his hands like he’s done. Dolph Ziggler then makes his way to the stage with a microphone. Ziggler asks if he remembers him beating him at Extreme Rules. A video clip is shown of Ziggler pinning Sheamus with an inside cradle. Sheamus turns and tries to hit Neville with a Brogue Kick, but Neville sidesteps it. Sheamus is caught on the top rope. Neville kicks him in the head and connects with the Red Arrow for the win!
Winner by Pinfall: Neville
Match Rating: * 1/2
Neville advances to the Finals of the King of the Ring Tournament. Dolph Ziggler looks very satisfied with the result of this match. Ziggler says at Extreme Rules there was some kind of stipulation for when he won the match. Ziggler pretends not to remember what it was. Ziggler then remembers and says he’s here to collect. Ziggler runs down to the ring and punches away at Sheamus. Sheamus quickly escapes the ring and runs up the ramp. Sheamus is furious, and he runs back to the ring. Sheamus and Ziggler brawl in the ring until a group of referees run down to separate them. Sheamus’ right eyebrow is completely busted open. Sheamus is heavily bleeding as he leaves the ring. It’s an incredible visual.
A video highlights this week’s schedule for the WWE Network. Replays are then shown of the wild brawl between Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler. The updated bracket for the tournament is shown.
Renee Young is backstage with Bad News Barrett. She says we’ve just witnessed one of the biggest upsets in tournament history. She asks about his confidence level heading into his match. Barrett says R-Truth shouldn’t be concerned with arachnophobia. He should have Bull Hammer-phobia. Once he’s finished with that has been, he’ll move on to a never will be. Everyone calls Neville “The Man That Gravity Forgot.” When he’s done with him, he’ll be “The Man That Nobody Remembers.” All anyone will remember is that he is the King of the Ring.
Byron Saxton is backstage with R-Truth. Saxton asks about facing Barrett in the Semi-Finals. R-Truth says everyone knows he’s afraid of spiders, so he has a plan. People say you need to face your fears, but that’s dumb. He has something concrete. His plan is to come here, win King of the Ring, become King of the Ring, and then declare some things. He’ll put a ban on all spiders. He’ll ban every kind of spider there is. We’ll build a castle with a moat… but he didn’t think about water spiders. Barrett won’t be invited to the castle unless he has experience killing spiders. R-Truth then walks off.
King of the Ring Tournament Semi-Final Match
R-Truth vs. Bad News Barrett
The bell rings, and they circle the ring. R-Truth quickly rolls him up for a one count. Barrett punches him in the midsection and clubs away at him. Barrett sends him into the ropes, but R-Truth holds on and does a gyration. R-Truth elbows him in the face and rolls him up for a two count. Barrett quickly pops up and big boots him down for a one count. Barrett chokes him on the middle rope before turning him around and kneeing away at him. Barrett then big boots him to the floor. Barrett goes outside and bounces him off the apron before throwing him back in the ring for a one count. Barrett then applies a chin lock, but R-Truth fights up. Barrett knees him in the ribs and sends him to the corner. Barrett runs into some boots, and R-Truth connects with a pair of clotheslines. R-Truth kicks him in the midsection and hits a sit-out front suplex for a two count. R-Truth goes for a Scissor Kick, but Barrett avoids it. Barrett hits the rope and eats a jumping heel kick for a near fall. R-Truth punches him, but Barrett reverses a whip. R-Truth ducks a clothesline and connects with a flying corkscrew elbow for another near fall.
R-Truth goes for What’s Up, but Barrett pushes him off. R-Truth ducks a clothesline, but he runs into Winds of Change for a near fall. Barrett puts him in the corner and kicks away at him. Barrett whips him to the opposite corner, but he misses a splash. R-Truth connects with What’s Up, but Barrett gets his foot on the bottom rope. R-Truth can’t believe it. Barrett then pulls himself out of the ring to recover. R-Truth grabs him, and Barrett rakes the eyes. Barrett connects with the Bull Hammer for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: Bad News Barrett
Match Rating: *
Bad News Barrett will face Neville in the Finals of the King of the Ring Tournament. Replays are shown of the final moments of the match. The updated brackets are then shown.
A tribute video is aired that highlights the life and times of Verne Gagne, the WWE Hall of Famer and wrestling legend we lost on Monday night. The crowd gives the video a tremendous hand, and the commentators clap for it as well. Lawler says he’ll be forever grateful for Gagne making him the AWA Champion in 1988.
Renee Young is backstage with Dolph Ziggler. Replays are shown of Ziggler attacking Sheamus during his match against Dean Ambrose last night on RAW, which caused Sheamus to advance in the King of the Ring Tournament by disqualification. She then mentions that he cost Sheamus the chance at the throne tonight. Ziggler says he couldn’t take it anymore. Ever since Sheamus came back, he’s run his mouth and bullied people. Some couldn’t stand up for themselves. He’s apologized to Dean Ambrose for costing him a shot to become the King of the Ring. Ziggler says Sheamus got a taste of what’s to come when he steps into the ring with him. Ziggler tells Sheamus not to worry about kissing his arse. Sheamus has to worry about him kicking it.
The schedule of specials on the WWE Network is then highlighted once again. The commentators then talk about how the Finals are a rematch of the Extreme Rules Kickoff Show, which saw Neville defeat Bad News Barrett.
Byron Saxton is backstage with Bad News Barrett. Saxton says the good news is he’s heading to the finals, but the bad news is he has to face the man who defeated him at Extreme Rules, Neville. Barrett says it’s unfair that he has to face Neville immediately after he just beat R-Truth. It’s also unfair that Neville has to face him because he’s on a roll. He plowed through R-Truth, and now he’ll plow through Neville just the same. When he’s done, he’ll take his seat on the throne as the one true king of WWE. He’ll be the King of the Ring.
A video promotes NXT on the WWE Network.
King of the Ring Tournament Finals Match
Neville vs. Bad News Barrett
The bell rings, and Barrett leaves the ring. Barrett shouts at the referee to keep Neville back. Neville tells Barrett to get into the ring. Barrett takes his time before getting back in. Barrett circles the ring, and they lock up. Barrett quickly knees him in the injured ribs and punches him. Barrett forearms him in the ribs and sends him to the corner, but Neville slingshots over him. Neville does a quick flip and hits the ropes before hitting a head-scissor takeover. Neville connects with a jumping heel kick before kicking him in the leg. Neville hits the ropes, but Barrett follows him and clotheslines him over the top rope. Neville grabs his ribs in pain. Barrett goes outside and viciously body slams him down. Barrett then sends him ribs-first into the apron. Barrett throws him back into the ring and covers for a one count. Barrett punches him in the corner and sets him up on the top rope. Barrett clubs him on the back before kneeing him in the ribs for a two count. Barrett connects with a slingshot backbreaker for another two count. Barrett digs his knee into the ribs and pulls on his arm and leg. Neville kicks him in the head a few times to get out of it. Barrett quickly kicks him in the midsection and goes for another slingshot backbreaker, but Neville backflips and lands on his feet. Neville ducks a clothesline and kicks him in the legs a few times. Neville hits the ropes, ducks a clothesline, and clotheslines Barrett over the top rope. Neville goes to the apron and hits a springboard moonsault block off the top rope!
Neville follows Barrett into the ring and hits a springboard dropkick. Neville hits some kicks and a forearm before kicking him in the ribs. Neville then hits a low dropkick to the temple. Neville bridges a German Suplex for a two count. Neville gets pumped up and hits a running forearm in the corner. Neville hits the ropes, and Barrett connects with Winds of Change for a near fall. Barrett cannot believe that he kicked out. Barrett picks him up for The Wasteland, but Neville slides off and kicks him in the midsection. Neville hits the ropes, but Barrett catches him with The Wasteland for another near fall! Barrett cannot believe it. Barrett turns his elbow pad inside out and goes for the Bull Hammer, but Neville ducks it. Neville rolls him up and picks up a near fall! Neville immediately floors him with a step-up enzuigiri and positions him near the corner. Neville goes to the top rope and goes for the Red Arrow, but Barrett avoids it. Neville lands on his feet and charges him, but Barrett floors him with the Bull Hammer to become the 2015 King of the Ring!
Winner of the 2015 WWE King of the Ring: Bad News Barrett
Match Rating **
Bad News Barrett celebrates becoming the 2015 King of the Ring. Barrett looks elated.
Bad News Barrett walks up the ramp and stands by the throne. Barrett has a referee put the royal cape on him. Barrett picks up the crown and puts it on before posing for the crowd with the scepter. Jerry “The King” Lawler comes up and says congratulations are in order for the 2015 King of the Ring, Bad News Barrett. Barrett says there is finally a man in the WWE with enough class and elegance to call himself the King of the Ring. Barrett says, “Mark my words, I will be ruling my kingdom with an iron fist and a Bull Hammer. Boom!” Pyrotechnics go off on the stage as Barrett poses by the throne.
Click here to check out all past winners of the WWE King of the Ring tournament
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Quick Match Results
KOTR Semi-Final: Neville def. Sheamus
KOTR Semi-Final: Bad News Barrett def. R-Truth
KOTR Final: Bad News Barrett def. Neville to become the 2015 King of the Ring
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Twitter – @MikeTedescoWV
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