WWF Wrestlers Who Had a Good/Great 1995

WWF Wrestlers Who Had a Good/Great 1995
December 31, 2025
By Ryan Porzl

In my last article, I talked about 1995 and how miserable it was especially for the WWF. In many ways, it was the worst year the WWF had in the 1990s and many wrestlers had a terrible year. However, despite 1995 being a nightmare for many, did anyone salvage the year and have a good one? Well, surprisingly, yes. In fact, I've been able to find some names of talent who actually not only had a good year but some would see 1995 as the year they took that next step and for two guys, it was easily the best and biggest year of their careers. In this article, we'll look at the fortunate ones in an unfortunate year for many.

Note: I don't own any photos. Credit to WWE or whomever owns them.

10. Barry Horowitz- 1995 wasn't a bad year for everyone. In fact, for one man, it was the biggest and most famous year of his career. That man is Barry Horowitz. Any long time fan is familiar with Horowitz as perhaps wrestling's most famous preliminary wrestler alongside the Brooklyn Brawler. From the late 1980s to the late 1990s, Horowitz's job was to, well, do the job to WWF Superstars and make them look good. However, 1995 would see the WWF perhaps reward Horowitz for his hard work and allowed him to move up the ladder a little bit, get a few PPV appearances, and score some wins. Horowitz spent the first half of 1995 doing his usual prelim work but things changed on the 7/9 Wrestling Challenge. The show featured Horowitz against newcomer Skip (Chris Candido) in a match that seemed to be no different until Horowitz took advantage of an arrogant Skip and cradled him to score the massive upset. The wins didn't stop there as the feud saw Horowitz score another win on the 8/12 Superstars when he survived a ten minute challenge match against Skip. The feud peaked at the second biggest show of the year in Summerslam 1995 which saw Horowitz score another win over Skip. While Horowitz's push petered out following Summerslam, he did get one more PPV appearance in 1995 at Survivor Series captaining the Underdogs team against Skip's Bodydonnas. In the end, Horowitz didn't have a special year for most but for someone who's career was mostly looking at the lights night in and night out only to get his hand raised and make some PPV appearances, that's a big victory.

9. Ahmed Johnson- It's hard to believe a guy who debuted in late October would be able to make a good or bad list but Ahmed crammed a bit in during the final months of the year. Ahmed would debut for the WWF in the fall of 1995 and started doing dark matches. The WWF would clearly see huge potential from Ahmed as he first debuted on the 10/30 RAW where he made a big impression by saving Razor Ramon and The 1-2-3 Kid from Owen Hart and Yokozuna where he even bodyslammed Yoko who was around the 640 pound mark by that point. Ahmed's first major match saw him take part in the Wildcard Elimination match at Survivor Series 1995 where he teamed with big names like Shawn Michaels, Sid, and The British Bulldog and was a survivor alongside Michaels and Bulldog. He eventually ended the year with a squash win over Buddy Landel at In Your House 5 before beginning a feud with former Intercontinental Champion "Double J" Jeff Jarrett. While Ahmed's 1995 only lasted about two months, he came off like a million dollars and someone who seem to have an amazing future ahead of him.

8. The British Bulldog- The Bulldog's 1995 began like many of his previous years since going solo in 1990 as a popular, talented, and reliable upper midcard babyface. However, the second half of the year would see him have a change of heart and start to move up the cards as a result. Bulldog began the year an upper midcard babyface and on a high note famously entering the Royal Rumble at #2 and becoming runner up to #1 Shawn Michaels. For 2/3rds of the year, Bulldog then teamed with "Made in the USA" Lex Luger as The Allied Powers with Bulldog returning to Wrestlemania after a four year absence with he and Luger defeating The Blu Twins (The Harris Brothers) at Wrestlemania XI. The two would then serve as a good addition to a weak tag division during the spring and summer while even getting a tag title shot at In Your House 2 on 7/23 against Owen Hart and Yokozuna though they came up short. Then in August, Bulldog would see his stock soar when after teasing it at live events, he would turn heel on WWF Champion Diesel on the 8/21 RAW against Men on a Mission (King Mabel and Sir Mo) and align with Jim Cornette. The change of heart would pay dividends as Bulldog would have a busy fall/winter scoring a PPV win over Bam Bam Bigelow at In Your House 3 while filling for Owen Hart in the main event while participating in the Wildcard Elimination Match at Survivor Series. He would also challenge for the WWF Championship against Diesel at In Your House 4 and then against Bret Hart at In Your House 5 with the latter seeing Bulldog and Bret put on another classic after previously having an all time classic at Summerslam 1992. While Bulldog never won the WWF Championship in his career, he did leave 1995 on a high note where it looked like he possibly could in 1996.

7. King Mabel- Yeah, it's easy to crap on Mabel. Yes, his ascension to the main event didn't work, he didn't rise to the occasion, and he's usually considered one of the worst King of the Ring winners. That said, Mabel had a big 1995, perhaps his biggest year where he made a lot of history and scored some of his biggest wins. 1995 started simple with Mabel entering the 1995 Royal Rumble which he came up short in and was still part of the fun loving Men on a Mission. Then everything changed in March 1995, after failing to win the WWF Tag Team Titles from the Smoking Gunns, Mabel and Mo turned heel thus beginning Mabel's big push. After missing Wrestlemania XI, Mabel would be off to the races during the summer by winning the 1995 King of the Ring tournament and challenging Diesel for the WWF Championship at Summerslam 1995. With these moments, Mabel would make history in many ways. He became the first black King of the Ring winner and the last until Booker T in 2006. Not counting celebrities, Survivor Series elimination matches, or Royal Rumbles, Mabel became the second black man to headline a WWF PPV (after Junkyard Dog at the Wrestling Classic in 1985). Not counting Virgil competing in the 1992 Royal Rumble, Mabel became the first black man to challenge for the WWF Championship one-on-one on a Pay-Per-View. Finally, he also became only the second man to pin The Undertaker on a WWF Pay-Per-View when he did it at King of the Ring 1995 (Hulk Hogan was the first at This Tuesday In Texas in 1991). While it is easy to crap on Mabel's 1995, the fact his push failed, and he earned a reputation of injuring opponents like Diesel and The Undertaker which sent him packing in early 1996, you can't deny what he did achieve in 1995 and in many ways broke barriers for black talent. Like Horowitz, 1995 would easily be Mabel's biggest year in his career especially on the national level. While he would achieve big success outside the WWF/WWE in the years to come, he never made it back to the main event in the WWF/WWE again.

Billy Gunn (left) and Bart Gunn (right)

6. The Smoking Gunns- 1995 saw several wrestlers go from midcard, reliable acts to champions and two examples would be The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart). The Gunns began the year entering the Royal Rumble but the first big moment for them would be the following night on the 1/23 RAW where they defeated the Cinderella team of The 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly for their first WWF Tag Team Championship. Their first reign lasted for over 2 1/2 months fending off challenges from Kid/Holly, The New Headshrinkers, Men On A Mission, and The Heavenly Bodies before making their Wrestlemania debut at Wrestlemania XI losing the titles to the new team of Owen Hart and Yokozuna. After failing to regain the titles in May's In Your House 1, The Gunns would have a quiet summer though they did get a Summerslam win over The Blu Twins in August. Then on the 9/25 RAW, they regained the titles for the second time over Owen and Yoko and would leave 1995 still the champs while fending off challenges from USWA's PG-13, Razor Ramon and The 1-2-3 Kid, and Skip and Rad Radford. In all, The Gunns won two tag titles, made their Wrestlemania debut, and would show in 1995 (and most of 1996) how valuable they were to the promotion basically helping to carry a weak tag team division.

5. Jeff Jarrett- Jarrett would be another one who took that next step and reached champion status. Jarrett would play a big role in the promotion's upper midcard for nearly 2/3rds of the year including winning the Intercontinental Championship three times while having a big feud with Razor Ramon. Along the way, Jarrett would also get several shots at the WWF Championship against Diesel early in the year and he made his Wrestlemania in-ring debut at Wrestlemania XI. It was also during this period Jarrett participated in one of the best matches of his career in his title loss to Shawn Michaels at In Your House 2 in July in one of wrestling all time great but forgotten gems. The only weakness for the year was Jarrett missing most of the second half of the year after walking out following IYH2 after he and Road Dogg (then The Roadie) were reportedly upset that their breakup was happening too soon instead of a slow build. In the end, Jarrett would return for December's In You House 5 and start a feud with newcomer Ahmed Johnson. In the end, Jarrett missed a good chunk of the second half of 95 which did hurt some momentum but he still got a lot accomplished in the first half to still make for a great year.

4. Owen Hart- We now move to the third and final name(s) on this list that went from reliable hand to champion in 1995. Owen Hart's WWF run up to this point was hard as he struggled from 1988-1989 under The Blue Blazer gimmick and then from 1991-1993 on his own. However, 1994 finally saw him get his chance and he took it with huge matches against brother Bret including a big win at Wrestlemania X as well as winning his first honor in the WWF in the 1994 King of the Ring tournament. 1995 would see The King of Harts take the next step and finally taste WWF gold. Owen's 1995 began on a lousy note as his team with brother-in-law Jim Neidhart ended at the start of the year when Neidhart was fired for no showing events and struggling with demons. Owen would also do poorly in the Royal Rumble lasting only seconds after previously getting jumped by Bret due to costing Bret a chance to win the WWF Championship earlier in the show. From there, Owen would be off to the races forming a new team with Yokozuna where he earned another Wrestlemania moment when they won the WWF Tag Team Championship from the Smoking Gunns, thus giving Owen his first WWF title. Owen and Yoko would reign as tag champs twice in 1995 and hold the gold for the middle part of the year fending off challenges from The Gunns, The New Headshrinkers, and The Allied Powers. Another highlight was the team as Owen showed his talents and how helpful he was to the promotion at the time having to carry the former WWF Champion Yokozuna who's obesity was getting out of control and limiting him. Owen allowed The WWF to still be able to use Yoko as a player for the year by showing he can carry things.

3. Razor Ramon- Ramon's 1995 was pretty similar to his 1994 which means he easily makes this list. He continued to be a great hand in the upper midcard, he held Intercontinental gold, and had an awesome ladder match with Shawn Michaels. Along with this he made history at least twice in 95. Ramon entered 1995 as Intercontinental Champion before losing it to Jeff Jarrett at the Royal Rumble and would be in the IC Title picture throughout the year. During the year, Ramon made history becoming the first man to win the Intercontinental Championship three times and then four times, a record he would hold till 1999. He also had another classic ladder match with Michaels at Summerslam 95. Finally, he had some fun feuds with Jarrett and later, The 1-2-3 Kid. Ramon didn't move up in 1995 but he remain consistent which is great for him and he got to make history along the way.

2. Diesel- Yeah, like King Mabel, it's cool to crap on Diesel's 1995 and yeah, his reign didn't light the world on fire and business was down. However, you can't deny Big Daddy Cool was the Big Daddy of 1995. Diesel's 1995 most notably saw him dominate the WWF Championship as he entered the year as champion and held it all the way to November 19th where he lost it at Survivor Series to Bret Hart. With that Diesel has the longest WWF Championship reign of the entire 1990s at 358 days. Like many on this list, Diesel would also make his Wrestlemania in-ring debut and with the long title reign, he also became only the third man in WWF/WWE history to successfully defend the WWF Championship at a Wrestlemania (after Hulk Hogan and Yokozuna) when he defended against Shawn Michaels. Along with this, Diesel would main event seven of the ten PPVs WWF held in 95 and enjoyed a second brief run with the WWF Tag Team Championship with Michaels. While he was a disappointing face for most of 95, Diesel would have a change of heart in November and after being disappointing for most of the year, he left 1995 perhaps WWF's most interesting character as he got his swagger back.

1. Shawn Michaels- While Shawn Michaels wasn't able to win the big prize in 1995 and in fact, came up short in his quest for it at Wrestlemania XI, it's hard to argue The Heartbreak Kid was the WWF's MVP in 1995. Outside of not winning the "big one" and taking breaks due to storyline injuries (and getting beat up in Syracuse), Michaels had as good a year as anyone could. He won his first Royal Rumble and became the first to win it at #1. He challenged for the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania XI, won his third Intercontinental Championship, and his second Tag Team Championship. He also put on several classics including against Diesel at Wrestlemania XI, Jeff Jarrett at In Your House 2, and Razor Ramon at Summerslam 1995 which saw him continue to become the legendary performer he's now known for. Like I said, the only thing that could've made 1995 better was a run at the big prize but that would be coming the following year.