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00:00tonight will be a night of firsts for the first time two reigning tag team champions will put
00:09their gold aside to wage war against one another but this is no ordinary tag team and these are no
00:16ordinary combatants both men are looking for respect from an unlikely source a partner for
00:24the first time we may see an african-american as wwf champion but baruch is not going into battle
00:31alone he has the support of a nation a nation he has manipulated into believing its existence is
00:37predicated solely on this victory a victory that must come at the hands of a vulnerable undertaker
00:44whose haunting past has forced an unlikely reunion with paul bearer for the first time one of these
00:51men will become king of the ring and to the victor will go the spoil tonight will be a night of
00:58firsts as super soaker presents the 1997 king of the ring
01:21welcome everyone to providence rhode island welcome to the providence civic center
01:36welcome to the king of the ring
01:40i'll tell you what folks the atmosphere here is just like a super bowl if you've been to a super
02:01bowl game if you've been in person to a world series you know how we feel right here right now
02:06welcome everyone vince the man along with good old jr here to call the action right on down the line
02:12by the way over here mr cameraman we got tito santana all right in spanish carlos cabrera
02:19over there raymond roger we are pumped and here we go here comes oh man get in your face johnson
02:32and here we go here comes oh man get in your face
02:34ladies and gentlemen this is a semi-final match for the middle of the ring
02:38one day seven king of the ring tournament standable for football
02:44coming down the aisle from turn to mississippi
02:48playing 300 unbound
02:51a newfit
03:02amir johnson yeah
03:05the pearl river powerhouse perhaps the odds-on favorite of becoming the king of the ring here tonight live in providence rhode island
03:12perhaps the odds-on favorite of becoming the king of the ring here tonight live
03:18in Providence Rhode Island.
03:20I'll tell you one thing, if Ahmed doesn't win it, it's a toss-up between the other
03:25three athletes, but this man is big, he is nasty.
03:30And he is all business.
03:36Ahmed Johnson, here he goes.
03:38Yeah.
03:41The unlock intensity, on refined raw power.
03:52Ahmed Johnson, semi-finalist.
03:57And Ahmed has, uh-oh, here we go, he has faced this man for four.
04:01The award to be accompanied by China President
04:11with the British Columbia, playing 246 pounds, Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
04:25Hunter Hearst Helmsley accompanied by his bodyguard, Chyna, chiseled out of granite.
04:32And Chyna certainly one of the reasons why Mr. Helmsley has been as successful as he has been as of late.
04:39No doubt about that, she's 197 pounds, the woman has a 320-pound bench press.
04:47She deadlifts 400 pounds, a licensed boxer.
04:51She is definitely a physical threat.
04:53But I'll tell you one thing, Chyna will not intimidate Ahmed Johnson.
05:01Nothing could intimidate Ahmed Johnson, ladies and gentlemen, yes.
05:05Let's take a look at the brackets.
05:07Here we go, Ahmed against Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
05:10Later on, Jerry the King Lawler will face mankind in our two semifinal matches.
05:15Ahmed Johnson then, and Helmsley met in the first round of the King of the Ring Tournament.
05:20Ahmed won that match by just one occasion, but due to an officiating technicality,
05:24Helmsley was put back in the tournament, and Helmsley advanced over Crush.
05:30Chyna's sexy, huh?
05:35Well, to some people I'm sure she is.
05:37She is really put together.
05:40Hunter Hearst Helmsley, sort of an American royalty, if you can fathom that,
05:46sort of an American blue blood, if you would, from British Connecticut.
05:49So he has some idea of what royalty is all about.
05:52Well, when you live in a community where the average price home is about $900,000,
05:57you know you gotta be worth some bucks, but look at those eyes.
06:00Yeah, and you couldn't get further apart culturally, or in any other way,
06:04than these two combatants, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Ahmed Johnson.
06:08They're almost like, they're worlds apart.
06:12And listen to the response for Ahmed Johnson.
06:16Ahmed Johnson, one of eight kids.
06:19Hunter Hearst Helmsley, an only child.
06:21Ahmed Johnson's mother raised those eight kids.
06:25Hunter Hearst Helmsley had a mom, a dad, a butler, all kinds of servants.
06:29And don't forget that silver spoon.
06:33That's right.
06:35Ahmed Johnson left home at the age of 13, looking for acceptance.
06:40He wanted to belong to something, to have a family at 13.
06:44And he joined the street gang known as the Bloods.
06:47Hunter Hearst Helmsley had a wrestling tutor.
06:50Helmsley, of course, and Chyna, both trained by WWF Hall of Famer,
06:55the legendary Killer Kowalski.
06:58And there's a display of the power and strength of Ahmed Johnson.
07:01Ho-ho!
07:02Chyna's certainly keeping her eye on the activity,
07:09specifically on Ahmed Johnson.
07:13And as long as this match is competed in what we would term a more deliberate pace,
07:18Ahmed will have a huge, huge advantage.
07:23Standing slot, headlock now, Hunter Hearst Helmsley,
07:27who in all likelihood will have to resort.
07:29The tactics over them, what we are seeing now.
07:34As we said when we came on the air, there is nothing like seeing the WWF live.
07:45There's nothing like a WWF pay per view.
07:48But for Helmsley to survive, not just win, but to survive, that man, Hunter Hearst Helmsley,
07:54has to use science. He has to use leverage. He has to use, in other words,
08:00his brain to offset the brawn of Ahmed Johnson.
08:05Helmsley certainly knows the technical aspect of the game,
08:11but thus far has been somewhat thrown off.
08:13I think Helmsley, in a bit of a machismo effort on his part here,
08:19is trying to show his injury that the man Ahmed is.
08:26Oh, whoa, and that just lit up Ahmed.
08:30Helmsley made a mistake.
08:39Reversal, and oh, to the buckle, out and oh, forget about it.
08:45And Helmsley goes up.
08:49Raw power, a gorilla slam, and a military press.
09:02O Helmsley is a long way from Greenwich Avenue right now.
09:14Ahmed Johnson thus far very much on his game.
09:17And as you mentioned earlier on, JR, if Ahmed can maintain his pace,
09:22Helmsley will pay the price.
09:24Helmsley's got to use his speed and quickness.
09:26And again, that's science, the leverage, the knowledge that Helmsley possesses.
09:30Helmsley's got to factor all that in.
09:32But the pace has got to quicken.
09:34If nothing else, somehow, some way, Helmsley has got to destroy Ahmed's vertical base.
09:40I don't care how big and how strong you are, when you're vertical, when you're horizontal,
09:46it's a different ball game.
09:47All right, let's see now, if Helmsley can, there's a rake in the face.
09:54And at this juncture, if you're Hunter Hurst Helmsley, you can risk being disqualified,
09:58because whatever note you've been doing thus far hasn't worked.
10:00Helmsley with Ahmed Johnson.
10:03Ahmed Johnson comes firing out of there.
10:06More power by Ahmed Johnson, giving it very deliberate, very, very basic.
10:12The only thing these two men have in common, they were both trained by WWF Hall of Famers.
10:17Killer Kowalski trained Helmsley, Ivan Putzky trained Ahmed Johnson.
10:22Off the rope, Ahmed, and nobody home.
10:25You wonder the kind of pressure that put on the elbow as Ahmed was trying to drive the elbow
10:33down through Helmsley's chest.
10:34I'm getting a little over anxious, as he is prone to do with his emotion.
10:39Nobody's more intense than Ahmed Johnson in the WWF.
10:45And Helmsley now is gonna try to dent the armor of this 305 pound warrior.
10:50Hunter Hurst Helmsley.
10:53No.
10:55Well, he may have done more than dent the armor with that maneuvering.
11:00Well, remember, Helmsley can advance by a count out, as well as a disqualification,
11:07a pinfall, of course, or a submission.
11:10And Tana almost smiling.
11:12Yeah, almost.
11:13Helmsley will take a count out right here.
11:17Bradley take one.
11:19Looks like he's not gonna get him.
11:22Look out, Helmsley with a slide.
11:24Both these men, former Intercontinental Champions.
11:30And certainly now, Helmsley has the advantage.
11:32Once Ahmed Johnson is back in the ring, let's see what Helmsley can do to put together a succession of
11:38offensive maneuvers, and maybe the eventual pinfall.
11:42Oh, wait a minute, here we go.
11:43High-risk maneuver on the part of Hunter Hurst Helmsley.
11:46He'll take it upstairs, and yes!
11:49Will it pay off for Helmsley?
11:50We have a cover, and well, a substantial kick out there by Ahmed Johnson.
11:57Ahmed Johnson's overwhelming upper body strength coming into play there.
12:02Helmsley would have been better served if he would have had the ability to grapevine the leg.
12:06Helmsley, Helmsley, Helmsley!
12:09You can hear this capacity crowd.
12:11Helmsley is intimidated by Ahmed Johnson.
12:27We've got Ahmed coming off the rope, and right in the base of the spine.
12:32Ahmed Johnson's scissor kick caught Helmsley low in the kidneys,
12:36and Ahmed Johnson knows all about kidney injuries.
12:39Farouk lacerated Ahmed's kidney last year that almost ended Ahmed's career here in the WWF.
12:46And back body drop.
12:48So now, Ahmed Johnson is systematically taking Helmsley apart.
12:52If anything, we thought it might be the other way around.
12:56Ahmed with Helmsley now.
12:58Off the rope, and here we go.
13:01The beginning to the end here.
13:03The spine buster, normally followed by the Pearl River plunge.
13:11And I think we're just about ready to see it.
13:15Ahmed Johnson, wait a minute.
13:17Setting up Hunter Hearst, Helmsley.
13:19And, come on.
13:22Chyna just said something to Ahmed.
13:24And Ahmed's concentration has been broken by Chyna, the bodyguard.
13:29Look out, Helmsley driving the knee.
13:31Wait a minute, Hunter Hearst, Helmsley, for the pedigree.
13:38Helmsley drill the pedigree, and it's over.
13:43What an upset.
13:45Here is your winner, Hunter Hearst, Helmsley.
13:49There goes Ahmed Johnson.
13:57What a surprise that was, defeated by Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
14:11Mr. Helmsley, thanks to Chyna, in part, whatever Chyna said to Ahmed,
14:15obviously was a bit kind of a surprise.
14:27And, of course, we're going to get to the end.
14:31We're going to get to the end.
14:33We're going to get to the end.
14:35We're going to get to the end.