King of the Ring
King of the Ring was an annual World Wrestling Entertainment-produced tournament first held from 1985. As of 1993, it became a pay-per-view event. The final event to date was held in 2002.
History
Although the King of the Ring tournament was first made into a pay-per-view event in 1993, the original King of the Ring tournament was actually held in 1985. Don Muraco was the first King of the Ring. The second King of the Ring, Harley Race is noted for parlaying his King of the Ring victory into his "King of Wrestling" gimmick. Other winners who did the same include Owen Hart ("King of Harts"), "King" Mabel (now referred to as Viscera) and Kurt Angle.
Pay-per-view
The King of the Ring main-event was an event in which typically fifteen to sixteen wrestlers wrestled in a one-on-one single elimination bracket. When a wrestler wins a match in the bracket, they advance forward to take on another wrestler that has also won. The final few matches would then take place at that year's King of the Ring event. The winner of the final match is officially crowned the King of the Ring. There were also other matches that took place at the King of the Ring event since it was a traditional three hour pay-per-view.
While some believe that the new King of the Ring traditionally receives a WWE Championship shot at the SummerSlam pay-per-view, this only became an established rule in 2002, for what would become the final King of the Ring tournament. Only four kings went on to challenge for the championship at SummerSlam -- Owen Hart, Mabel, Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar -- and only in Lesnar's case was the challenger granted a title shot as a "right" after winning the King of the Ring. More important than an actual title shot was the prestige of winning the tournament itself; some wrestlers have made being king an integral part of their gimmick, and, in general, the winner of the King of the Ring is a wrestler whom management has picked to advance in the storylines and be the next breakout star. In fact, Stone Cold Steve Austin's famous "3:16" saying started at KOTR. A number of wrestlers have had huge successes after winning the tournament (in particular "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, but also Kurt Angle, Triple H, and others), while some wrestlers have admittedly been "flops" as king (such as Mabel and Billy Gunn).
The last King of the Ring was held on June 23, 2002. One of the reasons behind the end of the King of the Ring tournaments was due to the brand extension. The decision to stop King of the Ring has proven to be a controversial and unpopular decision among some fans who would prefer a pay-per-view with a unique feature, rather than a regular pay-per-view. However, other fans believe that former "Kings" such as Mabel and Billy Gunn who achieved little after winning the event made a mockery of the entire tournament.
It was announced in April 2006 that the WWE King Of The Ring tournament will be returning in 2006 after its four year hiatus since Brock Lesnar's win in 2002.
List of winners
- 1985: Don Muraco
- 1986: Harley Race
- 1987: Randy Savage
- 1988: Ted Dibiase
- 1989: Tito Santana
- 1990: not held
- 1991: Bret Hart
- 1992: not held
The event became a pay-per-view as of this point
- 1993: Bret Hart
- 1994: Owen Hart
- 1995: Mabel
- 1996: Steve Austin
- 1997: Triple H
- 1998: Ken Shamrock
- 1999: Mr.Ass/Billy Gunn
- 2000: Kurt Angle
- 2001: Edge
- 2002: Brock Lesnar
Event results
1985
July 8, 1985, Foxboro, Massachusetts; Sullivan Stadium
| Round 1 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||||||
| Don Muraco | |||||||||||||||||||
| The Junkyard Dog | |||||||||||||||||||
| Don Muraco | |||||||||||||||||||
| Les Thornton | |||||||||||||||||||
| Les Thornton | |||||||||||||||||||
| Steve Lombardi | |||||||||||||||||||
| Don Muraco | |||||||||||||||||||
| Pedro Morales | |||||||||||||||||||
| Paul Orndorff | Double DQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bob Orton Jr. | Double DQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| - | |||||||||||||||||||
| Pedro Morales | |||||||||||||||||||
| Pedro Morales | |||||||||||||||||||
| Johnny V | |||||||||||||||||||
| Don Muraco | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tito Santana | |||||||||||||||||||
| IC | Tito Santana | ||||||||||||||||||
| Terry Funk | |||||||||||||||||||
| IC | Tito Santana | Coin Toss | |||||||||||||||||
| Jim Brunzell | |||||||||||||||||||
| Jim Brunzell | |||||||||||||||||||
| The Spoiler | |||||||||||||||||||
| IC | Tito Santana | ||||||||||||||||||
| The Iron Sheik | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ricky Steamboat | |||||||||||||||||||
| Greg Valentine | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ricky Steamboat | |||||||||||||||||||
| The Iron Sheik | |||||||||||||||||||
| The Iron Sheik | |||||||||||||||||||
| B. Brian Blair | |||||||||||||||||||
1986
July 14, 1986, Foxboro, Massachusetts; Sullivan Stadium
- Billy Jack Haynes def. The Iron Sheik
- Harley Race def. George Steele
- Don Muraco fought Roddy Piper to a draw
- Nikolai Volkoff def. Dan Spivey
- The Junkyard Dog def. Paul Orndorff
- Pedro Morales def. Rudy Diamond
- Billy Jack Haynes def. Mr. X
- Nikolai Volkoff def. The Junkyard Dog
- Pedro Morales def. Mike Rotundo
- Harley Race def. Billy Jack Haynes
- Pedro Morales def. Nikolai Volkoff
- Harley Race def. Pedro Morales to become King of the Ring
1987
September 4, 1987, Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.
- Haku def. Brutus Beefcake
- Rick Martel def. Dan Spivey
- King Kong Bundy def. One Man Gang by countout
- Special Delivery Jones def. Sika
- Danny Davis def. Tito Santana by countout
- The Junkyard Dog def. Tama
- Jim Brunzell def. Ron Bass
- Randy Savage def. Nikolai Volkoff
- Haku fought Rick Martel to a 15-minute time-limit draw
- King Kong Bundy def. Special Delivery Jones
- Danny Davis def. The Junkyard Dog
- Randy Savage def. Jim Brunzell
- Randy Savage def. Danny Davis
- Randy Savage def. King Kong Bundy to become King of the Ring
1988
October 16, 1988, Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.
- Ken Patera def. Nikolai Volkoff
- Ted DiBiase def. Brutus Beefcake
- Hercules fought Bad News Brown to a double countout
- WWF Champion Randy Savage def. Virgil
- Ron Bass def. The Barbarian by disqualification
- Shawn Michaels def. Danny Davis
- The Red Rooster def. Marty Jannetty
- Iron Mike Sharpe (substituting for The Warlord) def. Boris Zhukov
- Ron Bass def. Shawn Michaels
- Ted DiBiase def. Ken Patera
- The Red Rooster def. Iron Mike Sharpe by submission
- WWF Champion Randy Savage def. The Red Rooster
- Ted DiBiase def. Ron Bass by forfeit (DiBiase paid Bass off to fake an injury)
- Ted DiBiase def. WWF Champion Randy Savage by countout to become King of the Ring
1989
October 14, 1989, Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.
- Akeem def. Brutus Beefcake
- Hercules fought Jim Neidhart to a double disqualification
- The Warlord def. Bushwhacker Butch
- Tito Santana def. Bad News Brown
- Rick Martel def. Bill Woods (substituting for Barry Windham)
- Bushwhacker Luke def. Nikolai Volkoff
- Jimmy Snuka pinned The Barbarian
- Haku def. The Red Rooster
- Tito Santana def. The Warlord
- Rick Martel def. Bushwhacker Luke
- Jimmy Snuka def. Haku
- Tito Santana def. Akeem
- Rick Martel def. Jimmy Snuka
- Tito Santana def. Rick Martel to become King of the Ring
1991
September 7, 1991, Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.
- Jerry Saggs def. WWF Tag Team Champion Road Warrior Hawk by disqualification
- Ricky Steamboat fought Ted DiBiase to a 15-minute time limit draw
- Jim Duggan def. Brian Knobbs
- Irwin R. Schyster def. The Berzerker by countout
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart def. Pete Doherty (substituting for Kerry Von Erich) by submission
- Skinner def. Virgil
- Sid Justice def. The Warlord
- The Undertaker def. WWF Tag Team Champion Road Warrior Animal
- Irwin R. Schyster def. Jim Duggan
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart def. Skinner by submission
- The Undertaker def. Sid Justice to a double disqualification
- Irwin R. Schyster def. Jerry Saggs
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart def. Irwin R. Schyster to become King of the Ring
1993
June 13, 1993, Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
- Bret Hart def. Razor Ramon
- Mr Perfect def. Mr. Hughes by disqualification
- Bam Bam Bigelow def. Jim Duggan
- Tatanka and Lex Luger fought to a no contest
- Bret Hart def. Mr. Perfect
- Bret Hart def. Bam Bam Bigelow to become King of the Ring
also
- Yokozuna def. WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan to win the title
- The Smokin' Gunns, Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner def. Samu, Fatu, Irwin R. Schyster and Ted DiBiase
- WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels def. Crush
1994
June 19, 1994, Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
- Razor Ramon def. Bam Bam Bigelow
- Irwin R. Schyster def. Mabel
- Owen Hart def. Tatanka
- 1-2-3 Kid def. Jeff Jarrett
- Razor Ramon def. Irwin R. Schyster
- Owen Hart def. 1-2-3 Kid
- Owen Hart def. Razor Ramon to become King of the Ring
also
- WWF Tag Team Champions Fatu and Samu def. Crush and Yokozuna
- Roddy Piper def. Jerry Lawler
- Diesel def. WWF World Champion Bret Hart by disqualification
1995
June 25, 1995, The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Savio Vega def. Yokozuna
- The Roadie def. Bob Holly
- Shawn Michaels and Kama fought to a no contest
- Mabel def. Undertaker
- Savio Vega def. The Roadie
- Mabel def. Savio Vega to become King of the Ring
also
- Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow def. Tatanka and Psycho Sid
- Bret Hart def. Jerry Lawler
1996
June 23, 1996, MECCA Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- WWF Tag Team Champions The Smokin' Gunns def. Henry O. Godwinn and Phineas Godwinn
- Ultimate Warrior def. Jerry Lawler
- Mankind def. Undertaker
- Ahmed Johnson def. WWF Intercontinental Champion Goldust to win the title
- WWF World Champion Shawn Michaels def. Davey Boy Smith
| Semifinal | Final | ||||||||
| Steve Austin | |||||||||
| Marc Mero | |||||||||
| Steve Austin | |||||||||
| Jake Roberts | |||||||||
| Jake Roberts | |||||||||
| Vader | |||||||||
1997
June 8, 1997, Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island
- Goldust def. Crush
- Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart and Davey Boy Smith def. Psycho Sid and the Road Warriors
- Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin fought to a double disqualification
- WWF World Champion The Undertaker def. Faarooq
| Semifinal | Final | ||||||||
| Triple H | |||||||||
| Ahmed Johnson | |||||||||
| Triple H | |||||||||
| Mankind | |||||||||
| Mankind | |||||||||
| Jerry Lawler | |||||||||
1998
June 28, 1998, Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- The Headbangers and Taka Michinoku def. Shoichi Funaki, Mens Teioh and Dick Togo
- Too Cool def. Al Snow and Head
- X-Pac def. Owen Hart
- WWF Tag Team Champions Road Dogg and Billy Gunn def. Bob Holly and Bart Gunn
- Hell in a Cell : Undertaker def. Mankind For more detail on this match, see Hell in a Cell: Undertaker vs. Mankind.
- Kane def. WWF World Champion Steve Austin to win the title
| Semifinal | Final | ||||||||
| Ken Shamrock | |||||||||
| Jeff Jarrett | |||||||||
| Ken Shamrock | |||||||||
| Rocky Maivia | |||||||||
| Rocky Maivia | |||||||||
| Dan Severn | |||||||||
1999
The tournament brackets were:
| First Round (TV) | Quarterfinals (PPV) | Semifinals (PPV) | Final (PPV) | ||||||||||||||||
| Kane | |||||||||||||||||||
| Test | |||||||||||||||||||
| Kane | |||||||||||||||||||
| Big Show | |||||||||||||||||||
| Big Show | |||||||||||||||||||
| Droz | |||||||||||||||||||
| Kane | |||||||||||||||||||
| Billy Gunn | |||||||||||||||||||
| Billy Gunn | |||||||||||||||||||
| Viscera | |||||||||||||||||||
| Billy Gunn | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ken Shamrock | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ken Shamrock | |||||||||||||||||||
| Jeff Jarrett | |||||||||||||||||||
| Billy Gunn | |||||||||||||||||||
| X-Pac | |||||||||||||||||||
| X-Pac | |||||||||||||||||||
| Big Bossman | |||||||||||||||||||
| X-Pac | |||||||||||||||||||
| Hardcore Holly | |||||||||||||||||||
| Hardcore Holly | |||||||||||||||||||
| Al Snow | |||||||||||||||||||
| X-Pac | |||||||||||||||||||
| Road Dogg | |||||||||||||||||||
| Road Dogg | |||||||||||||||||||
| The Godfather | |||||||||||||||||||
| Road Dogg | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chyna | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chyna | |||||||||||||||||||
| Val Venis | |||||||||||||||||||
The pay-per-view event was held on June 27, 1999 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina
- X-Pac def. Hardcore Holly by disqualification in a King of the Ring quarterfinal match
- Kane def. The Big Show in a King of the Ring quarterfinal match
- Billy Gunn def. Ken Shamrock in a King of the Ring quarterfinal match
- Road Dogg def. Chyna in a King of the Ring quarterfinal match
- The Hardy Boyz def. Edge and Christian
- Billy Gunn def. Kane in a King of the Ring semifinal match
- X-Pac def. Road Dogg in a King of the Ring semifinal match
- WWF Champion The Undertaker def. The Rock
- Billy Gunn def. X-Pac to win the King of the Ring tournament
- Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon def. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
2000
June 25, 2000, FleetCenter, Boston, Massachusetts
- Rikishi def. Chris Benoit via disqualification
- Val Venis def. Eddie Guerrero
- Crash Holly def. Bull Buchanan
- Kurt Angle def. Chris Jericho
- Rikishi def. Val Venis
- Kurt Angle def. Crash Holly
- Kurt Angle def. Rikishi to become King of the Ring
also
- WWF Hardcore Champion Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco fought to no contest
- Crash Holly def. WWF Hardcore Champion Pat Patterson to win the title
- Road Dogg, X-Pac and Tori def. The Dudley Boyz
- Edge and Christian def. The Hardy Boyz, Too Cool, Test and Prince Albert to win the WWF Tag Team Title
- The Rock, Kane and The Undertaker def. Triple H, Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon. The Rock pinned Vince McMahon to become the WWF Champion.
2001
The tournament brackets were:
| First Round (TV) | Quarterfinals (TV) | Semifinals (PPV) | Final (PPV) | ||||||||||||||||
| Jeff Hardy | |||||||||||||||||||
| Matt Hardy | |||||||||||||||||||
| Jeff Hardy | |||||||||||||||||||
| Kurt Angle | |||||||||||||||||||
| Kurt Angle | |||||||||||||||||||
| Hardcore Holly | |||||||||||||||||||
| Kurt Angle | |||||||||||||||||||
| Christian | 8:51 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Christian | |||||||||||||||||||
| Kane | |||||||||||||||||||
| Christian | |||||||||||||||||||
| Big Show | |||||||||||||||||||
| Big Show | |||||||||||||||||||
| Raven | |||||||||||||||||||
| Kurt Angle | 10:20 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Edge | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rhyno | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tazz | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rhyno | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tajiri | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tajiri | |||||||||||||||||||
| Crash Holly | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rhyno | 10:20 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Edge | |||||||||||||||||||
| Perry Saturn | |||||||||||||||||||
| Steve Blackman | |||||||||||||||||||
| Perry Saturn | |||||||||||||||||||
| Edge | |||||||||||||||||||
| Edge | |||||||||||||||||||
| Test | |||||||||||||||||||
The pay-per-view event was held on June 24, 2001 at Rutherford, New Jersey.
- Sunday Night HEAT Match: Matt Hardy def. Justin Credible to retain the WWF European Championship
- Kurt Angle def. Christian in a King of the Ring semifinal match (8:51)
- Edge def. Rhyno in a King of the Ring semifinal match (10:20)
- The Dudley Boyz def. Kane and Spike Dudley to retain the WWF World Tag Team Championship (8:24)
- Edge def. Kurt Angle to win the King of the Ring tournament (10:20)
- Jeff Hardy def. X-Pac to retain the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (7:10)
- Kurt Angle def. Shane McMahon in a Street Fight (25:58)
- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin def. Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit in a Triple Threat match to retain the WWF Championship (27:50)
2002
The tournament brackets were:
| First Round (TV) | Quarterfinals (TV) | Semifinals (PPV) | Final (PPV) | ||||||||||||||||
| RAW | X-Pac | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| RAW | Goldust | ||||||||||||||||||
| RAW | X-Pac | ||||||||||||||||||
| RAW | Rob Van Dam | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| RAW | Rob Van Dam | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| RAW | Eddie Guerrero | ||||||||||||||||||
| RAW | Rob Van Dam | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| SD! | Chris Jericho | ||||||||||||||||||
| SD! | Chris Jericho | Forfiet | |||||||||||||||||
| SD! | Edge | ||||||||||||||||||
| SD! | Chris Jericho | Sub | |||||||||||||||||
| SD! | Val Venis | ||||||||||||||||||
| SD! | Val Venis | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| SD! | Christian | ||||||||||||||||||
| RAW | Rob Van Dam | 5:36 | |||||||||||||||||
| RAW | Brock Lesnar | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| RAW | Booker T | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| RAW | William Regal | ||||||||||||||||||
| RAW | Booker T | ||||||||||||||||||
| RAW | Brock Lesnar | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| RAW | Brock Lesnar | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| RAW | Bubba Ray Dudley | ||||||||||||||||||
| RAW | Brock Lesnar | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| SD! | Test | 8:12 | |||||||||||||||||
| SD! | Test | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| SD! | The Hurricane | ||||||||||||||||||
| SD! | Test | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| SD! | Hardcore Holly | ||||||||||||||||||
| SD! | Hardcore Holly | Pin | |||||||||||||||||
| SD! | Tajiri | ||||||||||||||||||
The pay-per-view event was held on June 23, 2002 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
- Sunday Night HEAT Match: Hardy Boyz def. Raven & Steven Richards
- Rob Van Dam def. Chris Jericho in a King of the Ring semifinal match
- Brock Lesnar def. Test in a King of the Ring semifinal match (8:12)
- Jamie Noble def. WWE Cruiserweight Champion The Hurricane to win the title (11:58)
- Ric Flair def. Eddie Guerrero (17:00)
- Molly Holly def. WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus to win the Women's Title (5:05)
- Kurt Angle def. Hulk Hogan (12:05)
- Brock Lesnar def. Rob Van Dam to win the King of the Ring tournament (5:36)
- The Undertaker def. Triple H to retain the WWE Undisputed Championship (23:00)
Trivia
- Hulk Hogan competed at the first and last King of the Ring PPVs in non-tournament matches, losing both times. At the 1993 King of the Ring, he faced Yokozuna. In 2002, he faced Kurt Angle.
- King of the Ring 1995 is regarded as the one of the worst WWE pay-per-view events ever. Also, the Philadelphia crowd were chanting "ECW! ECW! ECW!" during the Mabel-Savio Vega match.
- At KOTR 1993 Jerry "The King" Lawler attacked Bret Hart during his royal coronation speech and claiming that he was the real "King of Wrestling." The two had a long rivalry that lasted for two years.
- Chyna is the only woman to ever compete in a King of the Ring tournament.
- King of the Ring 1996 was the birth of Austin 3:16.
- King of the Ring was cancelled after 2002 when the WWF wanted to cut the number of major pay-per-views down from 5 to 4 (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series).
- Bret Hart was the only two-time King of the Ring champion, winning back-to-back crowns in 1991 and 1993 (the event was not held in 1992).
- Despite his massive late 80s success, The Ultimate Warrior only competed at one KOTR event. He beat Jerry Lawler in a non-tournament match in 1996. This would also be his last WWE PPV appearance.
- Jerry Lawler never won a match at any King of the Ring PPV events.
- Three men competed in matches at the first three King of the Ring PPVs: Bret Hart, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Tatanka, although, none of them appeared for a 4th straight KOTR match.
- Triple H was originally scheduled to win King of the Ring 1996, but he was punished before the PPV event for breaking kayfabe at a house show which is now known as the "Curtain Call" incident. Stone Cold Steve Austin was awarded the honour instead and Triple H won it the following year.
- Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar are the only two King of the Ring winners who also went on to the win the WWE Championship the same year.
- The 1994 event is infamous for featuring legendary Baltimore Colts defensive tackle Art Donovan on color commentary. Throughout the event, Donovan showcased his complete lack of wrestling knowledge, asking many questions about the wrestlers, what they were doing, why they were doing things, and how much they weighed.
- The 2000 KOTR tournament is widely considered one of the best-ever tournaments. Aside from the eight men who made the PPV tournament, 32 wrestlers were part of the preliminaries, the most for any KOTR tournament. This marked the high-water mark of KOTR competition, with no one obvious king and a large number of potential, plausible winners.
- The 1997 KOTR tournament, by contrast, was one of the weakest. Only seven men competed, one of them being full-time announcer Jerry Lawler, and only three tournament matches were shown on PPV.
- The Undertaker has competed at 7 KOTR events (1995-2000 and 2002), which is a record. His win-loss record is 5-2, which includes three successful defenses of the WWE Championship.
- X-Pac has wrestled in 8 matches at KOTR events (A record), including making it to the semifinals and finals of the KOTR tournament respectively. His win-loss record is 5-3.