When I was driving to Dayton, Ohio, to watch the first King of the Ring pay-per-view in 1993, I was making predictions with my friend, John Duffy.

The one thing we agreed on was that Hulk Hogan would retain the World Wrestling Federation championship against Yokozuna.

Boy, were we wrong.

Hogan had the match well in hand when a ringside photographer jumped onto the ring apron and shot a fireball from his camera into the Hulkster’s face.

Yokozuna dropped the leg on Hogan and won his second WWF title.

The fans were stunned into silence. I was literally dancing in the aisle.

Yoko embarked on a nine-month reign as champion that ended when he lost the belt to Bret Hart at WrestleMania X.

KING OF THE RING

Speaking of “The Hitman,” he won the King of the Ring tournament, which dates back to 1985 but was televised on pay-per-view for the first time in 1993.

Hart opened the show by defeating Razor Ramon in a rematch from Royal Rumble 1993.

In the other first-round bouts, Mr. Perfect beat Mr. Hughes by disqualification; Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Hacksaw Jim Duggan; and “The Narcissist” Lex Luger battled Tatanka to a 15-minute draw.

Bret Hart won in the semifinals over Mr. Perfect, who was not suffering from a back injury like he was at SummerSlam 91. It was an outstanding match.

Bigelow got a bye in the semifinals, and he seemed to defeat Bret in the King of the Ring match after hitting a top-rope headbutt.

But wait! The referee restarted the match due to interference by Luna Vachon, and Hart scored the win with a victory roll.

Strangely enough, the show didn’t have a happy ending, as Jerry “The King” Lawler attacked Hart during the coronation ceremony.

OTHER BOUTS

Intercontinental champion Shawn Michaels beat Crush, who was distracted by two Doink the Clowns.

Rick & Scott Steiner and The Smoking Gunns defeated The Headshrinkers and Money Inc. The fans were still in shock from Hogan’s defeat.