[1997-06-08-WWF-King of the Ring] Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs Mankind

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Last few minutes, which sees Hunter give Mankind a pedigree on the ringside table. As Mankind slowly gets up and tries to get back to the ring, Chyna breaks a scepter over his head. HHH ends up knocking him back to the floor and he falls on a photographer in an even nastier looking spot. Mick gets a kickout, which makes him look superhuman. But a pedigree gets the win. I like that finish, as it's good for both of them. Helmsley wins the King of the Ring to kick off a ridiculous overpush that is still happening today. This finish did a lot to get Mankind over as a babyface too though, so I won't be too much of a sourpuss.

 

Todd Pettengill is afraid to do the coronation and Chyna throws him around. Helmsley ends up attacking Mankind with his crown.

[Kevin Ridge]

Mankind now becoming more of a babyface. Didn’t really like the full version of this match as was too slow. They will have better matches against each other later in year. HHH says on his DVD that Vince told him to wear the crown after but he thought it looked so cheap so he used it as a weapon after in an attempt to destroy it and make it unwearable.

[soup23]

Final minutes of this match looked good with Mankind bumping like a loon and getting sympathy. The pedigree on the table especially looked vicious. HHH gets the win and then delivers a post match beatdown.

[BackToBionic]

This is probably the first "MRS FOLEY'S BABY BOY!!!"

[PeteF3]

Pretty good finish, with Mankind going all-out to put Helmsley over and getting over as a sympathetic babyface in the process...hmm, I think if this goes into the 2000s I may be able to write that sentence some more. Mankind takes a Pedigree through a table, a shot with the scepter from Chyna, a Nestea Plunge (the photographer's positioning seemed to be designed to give Foley a bit of a break on that bump), and another Pedigree before finally going down. Helmsley and Chyna then rough up Todd Pettingill--maybe the only instance of that ever happening--and then he unconvincingly beats Mankind down some more with a felt and plastic crown.

[Exposer]

Boring match that gets better in the final minutes with Foley's bumping. HHH isn't much for making anything that interesting in the first half of the match. He still had work to do. This is really great booking though with Foley looking like the toughest person in the world with the beating he took. The kickout before the pedigree is great. HHH wins the KOTR & thus begins his push that has seemingly never ended. The coronation is great with HHH refusing to do it out of the ring while Foley's prone body is still there. Pettingill reluctantly obliges as HHH poses with his cape & crown. Foley comes to & HHH attacks him with his crown. I loved Foley crawling towards HHH & Chyna. This match & post-match protected both guys & even did a great job of continuing to make Chyna tough & a great equalizer.

[cactus]

This had a slow start that put a lot of people off, including me, but they manage to pull this around with a thrilling conclusion that sees Mankind take some dangerous bumps and kicks off one of 1997's most underrated rivalries. The beginning of this featured Hunter working over Mankind's already injured neck by pounding away on him with some nice-looking punches and not much else. It made sense, but it felt quite dull. We get a couple of boring chants from the audience. Things start to get going when Mankind does the hangman spot. Mick Foley did everything in his power to get this match over. He even dusted off the Cactus elbow spot, where he would send himself hurling dangerously off the ring apron onto the concrete. We get a gnarly table and barricade spot, but Mankind still kicks out and the fans are solely behind him by this point. This made Mankind a huge babyface and it elevated Hunter from the mid-card. ★★★½