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The King of the Ring logo

King of the Ring is a professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by World Wrestling Entertainment. The tournament was held annually from 1985 to 2002, with the exception of 1992, and from 1993 onward the tournament was produced as a pay-per-view event.

The tournament endured a four year hiatus, until it returned in 2006 and was SmackDown! exclusive. The tournament returned as an interpromotional event in 2008.

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 in 1985. The second King, 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 Randy Savage ("Macho King") though Savage's "King" gimmick was the result of defeating Jim Duggan for the crown in 1989, Owen Hart ("King of Harts"), Mabel ("King Mabel" ), Kurt Angle ("King Kurt"), Edge ("King Edge The Awesome"), Booker T ("King Booker"), and most recently William Regal are all wrestlers that took on "King" nicknames after winning King of the Ring tournaments.

Pay-per-view

The King of the Ring was an event in which typically sixteen wrestlers wrestled in a one-on-one single elimination bracket. When a wrestler wins a match in the bracket, they advance 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 WWF/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 for 4 years until SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long brought it back in 2006. 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; 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, Steve Austin's famous "Austin 3:16" saying started during a speech made after he became the King of the Ring. A number of wrestlers have had huge successes after winning the tournament (in particular Steve Austin, but also Bret Hart, Kurt Angle, Edge, Triple H, and others), while some wrestlers have admittedly been flops as king (such as Mabel) or received little to no push after winning (such as Billy Gunn), and continued to be treated as lower card wrestlers after winning the tournament, even though Mabel challenged for the World title and Gunn went on to win the Intercontinental Championship a year later.

From 1993 to 2002, the King of the Ring was considered the fifth major WWF PPV (alongside the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series).

Revival

It was announced in April 2006 that the King of the Ring tournament would be returning after its four year hiatus. The 2006 tournament was the first tournament since 1991 that had not been shown on pay-per-view. The 2006 tournament was won by Booker T, who faced Bobby Lashley in the finals at the Judgment Day pay-per-view event. After a brief hiatus in 2007, it was announced on the April 14, 2008 edition of Raw, that the tournament would be held the following week on a special three hour edition of Raw.^[1]

King of the Ring pay-per-view event dates and venues

Event results

1980s

1985

The tournament was held on July 8, 1985 at the Sullivan Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The tournament brackets were:

1. ^  Tito Santana fought Jim Brunzell to a draw; Brunzell then won a coin toss to determine who would continue in the tournament.

• Hulk Hogan defeated Nikolai Volkoff to retain the WWF Championship
  • Hogan pinned Volkoff.

1986

The tournament was held on July 14, 1986 at the Sullivan Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The tournament brackets were:

1. ^  Rudy Diamond was a substitute for Bob Orton.
2. ^  Mr. X was a substitute for Hercules Hernandez.

• Bruno Sammartino defeated The Designated Hitman (a substitute for Eddie Andelmann, a local TV/radio personality who refused to wrestle)
• The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid) defeated The Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) (with Johnny V.) in a steel cage match to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship
  • Dynamite and Beefcake escaped from the cage first. Smith then escaped the cage to win the match after Valentine had accidentally knocked him out the door.

1987

The tournament was held on September 4, 1987 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The tournament brackets were:

1988

The tournament was held on October 16, 1988 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The tournament brackets were:

1. ^  Mike Sharpe substituted for The Warlord.
2. ^  DiBiase paid Bass off to fake an injury.^[2]

• Jim Duggan defeated Dino Bravo (with Frenchy Martin) in a flag match

1989

The tournament was held on October 14, 1989 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The tournament brackets were:

1. ^  Bill Woods substituted for Barry Windham.

1990s

1991

The tournament was held on September 7, 1991 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The tournament brackets were:

1. ^  Pete Doherty substituted for Kerry Von Erich.

1993

1994

1995

1996

King of the Ring (1996)
Promotional poster featuring The Ultimate Warrior
Tagline(s)	To Battle Is Honor...to Win Is Hell!
Information
Promotion	World Wrestling Federation
Date	June 23, 1996
Attendance	8,762
Venue	MECCA Arena
City	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Pay-per-view chronology
In Your House 8 King of the Ring (1996) In Your House 9
King of the Ring chronology
King of the Ring (1995) King of the Ring (1996) King of the Ring (1997)

King of the Ring (1996) took place on June 23, 1996 from the MECCA Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

• Free For All match: The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) (w/Cloudy) defeated The New Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Leif Cassidy) (8:06)
  • Skip pinned Cassidy.
• Dark match: Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Aldo Montoya (3:00)
  • Helmsley pinned Montoya.
• KOTR Semi-Final: Steve Austin defeated Marc Mero (16:49)
  • Austin pinned Mero.
• KOTR Semi-Final: Jake Roberts defeated Vader (3:34)
  • Vader was disqualified for using the referee as a human shield when Roberts attempted the DDT.
• The Smokin' Gunns (Billy and Bart) defeated The Godwinns (Henry and Phineas) to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship (10:10)
  • Billy pinned Phineas with a roll up.
• The Ultimate Warrior defeated Jerry Lawler (3:50)
  • Warrior pinned Lawler after a running shoulder block.
• Mankind defeated The Undertaker by TKO (18:21)
  • Mankind won by applying the Mandible claw.
• Ahmed Johnson defeated Goldust to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship (15:34)
  • Johnson pinned Goldust after a Pearl River Plunge.
• KOTR Final:Steve Austin defeated Jake Roberts to win the King of the Ring tournament (4:28)
  • Austin pinned Roberts after a Stone Cold Stunner.
• Shawn Michaels (w/Jose Lothario) defeated The British Bulldog (w/Jim Cornette and Diana Smith) (w/Mr. Perfect as special guest referee) to retain the WWF Championship (26:25)
  • Michaels pinned Bulldog after the Sweet Chin Music.
  • During the deciding fall, both Mr. Perfect and a second referee (Earl Hebner) began to count Bulldog's shoulders down. Owen Hart (who was at ringside as he was a color commentator for the event) objected and pulled Mr. Perfect out of the ring. However, Hebner continued his count to three, ordered for the bell, and awarded the match to Michaels.

The tournament took place between May 27 and June 23, 1996 (the entire first two rounds were actually done on May 27 and 28, two of the three quarterfinal matches actually occurred before the first round was completed). The tournament brackets were:

1997

King of the Ring (1997)
Promotional poster featuring Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, and Ahmed Johnson
Tagline(s)	It's Bound to Get Medieval. Brace Yourself
Information
Promotion	World Wrestling Federation
Date	June 8, 1997
Attendance	9,312
Venue	Providence Civic Center
City	Providence, Rhode Island
Pay-per-view chronology
In Your House 15 King of the Ring (1997) In Your House 16
King of the Ring chronology
King of the Ring (1996) King of the Ring (1997) King of the Ring (1998)

King of the Ring (1997) took place on June 8, 1997 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

• Free For All match: The Headbangers (Mosh and Thrasher) defeated Bart Gunn and Jesse James (6:10)
  • Thrasher pinned Gunn after a Stage Dive.
• KOTR Semi-Final: Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/Chyna) defeated Ahmed Johnson (7:42)
  • Helmsley pinned Johnson after a Pedigree.
• KOTR Semi-Final: Mankind defeated Jerry Lawler (10:24)
  • Mankind forced Lawler to submit with the Mandible claw.
• Goldust (w/Marlena) defeated Crush (w/D'Lo Brown and Clarence Mason) (9:56)
  • Goldust pinned Crush after a DDT.
• The Hart Foundation (Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, and Jim Neidhart) defeated Sycho Sid and The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) (13:37)
  • Owen pinned Sid with a sunset flip.
• KOTR Final: Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/Chyna) defeated Mankind to win the King of the Ring tournament (19:26)
  • Helmsley pinned Mankind after a Pedigree.
• Shawn Michaels fought Steve Austin to a double disqualification (22:29)
  • Both men were disqualified after they attacked the referee.
• The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) defeated Faarooq (w/Crush, Savio Vega, D'Lo Brown, and Clarence Mason) to retain the WWF Championship (13:43)
  • Undertaker pinned Faarooq after a Tombstone Piledriver when Faarooq was distracted by Vega and Crush arguing outside the ring.
  • After the match, Ahmed Johnson made a run-in and delivered a Pearl River Plunge to The Undertaker.

The tournament was held between May 12 and June 8, 1997. The tournament brackets were:

1. ^  Helmsley was allowed another spot in the tournament because he pulled a job to Mable prior to his match with Ahmed Johnson the previous week that he could be eliminated via disqualification and thus threatened the WWF with legal action; Vader was originally in this spot but was injured in his No Holds Barred match with Ken Shamrock at In Your House: A Cold Day in Hell on May 11.

1998

1999

King of the Ring (1999)
Promotional poster featuring The Big Show
Information
Promotion	World Wrestling Federation
Date	June 27, 1999
Attendance	19,761
Venue	Greensboro Coliseum
City	Greensboro, North Carolina
Pay-per-view chronology
Over the Edge (1999) King of the Ring (1999) Fully Loaded (1999)
King of the Ring chronology
King of the Ring (1998) King of the Ring (1999) King of the Ring (2000)

King of the Ring (1999) took place on June 27, 1999 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

• Dark match: Meat defeated Kurt Angle
  • Meat pinned Angle.
• Sunday Night HEAT match: The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) fought Edge and Christian to a no-contest (1:28)
• Sunday Night HEAT match: Mideon and Viscera defeated The Big Boss Man in a Handicap match (1:47)
  • Mideon pinned Boss Man.
• Sunday Night HEAT match: Prince Albert defeated Val Venis (1:57)
  • Albert pinned Venis.
• Sunday Night HEAT match: Ken Shamrock defeated Shane McMahon(0:43)
  • McMahon was disqualified when Steve Blackman interfered and attacked Shamrock.
• KOTR Quarter-Final: X-Pac defeated Hardcore Holly (3:02)
  • Holly was disqualified after hitting X-Pac with a steel chair.
• KOTR Quarter-Final: Kane defeated The Big Show (6:36)
  • Kane pinned Big Show after attacking him with a steel chair.
• KOTR Quarter-Final: Mr. Ass defeated Ken Shamrock (3:37)
  • The referee stopped the match after Shamrock started bleeding from the mouth.
• KOTR Quarter-Final: Road Dogg defeated Chyna (w/Triple H) (13:19)
  • Road Dogg pinned Chyna after a Pumphandle Drop.
• The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) (w/Michael Hayes) defeated The Brood (Edge and Christian) (w/Gangrel) (4:49)
  • Jeff pinned Edge after a neckbreaker.
• KOTR Semi-Final: Mr. Ass defeated Kane (5:25)
  • Mr. Ass pinned Kane after Big Show interfered and hit Kane with a steel chair.
• KOTR Semi-Final: X-Pac defeated Road Dogg (3:08)
  • X-Pac pinned Road Dogg after an X-Factor.
• The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) defeated The Rock to retain the WWF Championship (19:10)
  • Undertaker pinned Rock after a Tombstone Piledriver following interference from Triple H.
• KOTR Final: Mr. Ass defeated X-Pac to win the King of the Ring tournament (5:33)
  • Mr. Ass pinned X-Pac after top rope Fameasser.
• Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon defeated Steve Austin in a Ladder match (17:11)
  • The McMahons won when Shane grabbed the briefcase, winning Austin's 50% ownership of WWF.

The tournament took place between May 25 and June 27, 1999. The tournament brackets were:

2000s

2000

King of the Ring (2000)
Information
Promotion	World Wrestling Federation
Date	June 25, 2000
Attendance	17,651
Venue	Fleet Center
City	Boston, Massachusetts
Pay-per-view chronology
Judgment Day (2000) King of the Ring (2000) Fully Loaded (2000)
King of the Ring chronology
King of the Ring (1999) King of the Ring (2000) King of the Ring (2001)

King of the Ring (2000) took place on June 25, 2000 at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts. This was the largest KOTR, with 32 competitors taking part.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

• KOTR Quarter-Final: Rikishi defeated Chris Benoit (3:25)
  • Benoit was disqualified after attacking Rikishi with a steel chair.
• KOTR Quarter-Final: Val Venis (w/Trish Stratus) defeated Eddie Guerrero (w/Chyna) (8:04)
  • Venis pinned Guerrero with a Bridging Fisherman's Suplex.
• KOTR Quarter-Final: Crash Holly defeated Bull Buchanan (4:07)
  • Crash pinned Buchanan with a roll-up.
• KOTR Quarter-Final: Kurt Angle defeated Chris Jericho (9:50)
  • Angle pinned Jericho after an Angle Slam.
• Edge and Christian defeated Too Cool (Grand Master Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty) (c), The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) (w/Lita), and T & A (Test and Albert) (w/Trish Stratus) in a Four Corners Elimination match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship (14:11)
  • Matt pinned Test after Jeff hit a Swanton Bomb. (3:41)
  • Christian pinned Matt after an Impaler (7:55)
  • Edge pinned Sexay after Christian hit Sexay with a tag title belt. (14:11)
• KOTR Semi-Final: Rikishi defeated Val Venis (3:15)
  • Rikishi pinned Venis after a Belly-to-Belly Suplex.
• KOTR Semi-Final: Kurt Angle defeated Crash Holly (3:58)
  • Angle pinned Crash after an Angle Slam.
• WWF Hardcore Champion Pat Patterson fought Gerald Brisco to a no-contest in a Hardcore Evening Gown match (3:07)
  • The match ended when Crash Holly pinned Patterson to win the Hardcore Championship.
• D-Generation X (Road Dogg and X-Pac) and Tori defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) in a Handicap Tables Dumpster match (9:45)
  • DX and Tori won when both Dudleyz were put in the dumpster.
  • After the match, the Dudleyz hit the 3D on both X-Pac and Road Dogg before Bubba Ray hit a sit-down powerbomb off the top on Tori through a table set up in the ring.
• KOTR Final: Kurt Angle defeated Rikishi to win the King of the Ring tournament (5:56)
  • Angle pinned Rikishi after a Super Belly-to-Belly Suplex.
• The Rock, Kane, and The Undertaker defeated Triple H, Vince McMahon, and Shane McMahon (17:54)
  • Rock pinned Vince after a Rock Bottom to win the WWF Championship.
  • The pre-match stipulation was that if Triple H (who was the current WWF Champion at the time) or a member of his team lost, Triple H would lose the title to whoever got the pinfall/submission. Had Triple H's team won, Triple H would have defended the WWF title against whoever won the King of the Ring tournament.

The tournament took place between May 29 and June 25, 2000.

2001

King of the Ring (2001)
Tagline(s)	My Muscles Ache, My Mind Is Spent, My Body Is Broken, Lead Me to My Throne
Information
Promotion	World Wrestling Federation
Date	June 24, 2001
Attendance	17,777
Venue	Continental Airlines Arena
City	East Rutherford, New Jersey
Pay-per-view chronology
Judgment Day (2001) King of the Ring (2001) InVasion
King of the Ring chronology
King of the Ring (2000) King of the Ring (2001) King of the Ring (2002)

King of the Ring (2001) took place on June 24, 2001 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

• Sunday Night HEAT match: Matt Hardy (w/Lita) defeated Justin Credible to retain the WWF European Championship (7:03)
  • Hardy pinned Credible after a Diving Hurricarana from Lita.
• KOTR Semi-Final: Kurt Angle defeated Christian (8:17)
  • Angle pinned Christian after an Angle Slam.
• KOTR Semi-Final: Edge defeated Rhyno (8:52)
  • Edge pinned Rhyno after an Edgecution.
• The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) defeated Kane and Spike Dudley to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship (8:32)
  • Bubba pinned Spike after a 3D.
• KOTR Final: Edge defeated Kurt Angle to win the King of the Ring tournament (10:21)
  • Shane McMahon ran in during the match, attacking Angle.
  • Edge pinned Angle after an Edgecution.
• Jeff Hardy defeated X-Pac to retain the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (7:11)
  • Jeff pinned X-Pac after a Swanton Bomb.
• During intermission, Diamond Dallas Page confronted The Undertaker.
• Kurt Angle defeated Shane McMahon in a Street Fight (26:00)
  • Angle pinned Shane after a Super Angle Slam.
• Steve Austin defeated Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit in a Triple Threat match to retain the WWF Championship (27:52)
  • Austin pinned Benoit after Benoit hit a back suplex on Jericho off the top rope.
  • Half-way through the match, Booker T made his WWF debut by attacking Austin and putting him through the Spanish announce table.

The tournament took place between June 4 and June 24, 2001. The tournament brackets were:

2002

King of the Ring (2002)
Theme song(s)	"Ride of Your Life" (Neurotica)
Information
Promotion	World Wrestling Entertainment
Brand (s)	RAW SmackDown!
Date	June 23, 2002
Attendance	14,200
Venue	Nationwide Arena
City	Columbus, Ohio
Pay-per-view chronology
Judgment Day (2002) King of the Ring (2002) Vengeance (2002)
King of the Ring chronology
King of the Ring (2001) King of the Ring (2002) King of the Ring (2006)

King of the Ring (2002) took place on June 23, 2002 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

• Sunday Night HEAT match: The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) defeated Raven and Steven Richards (6:02)
  • Jeff pinned Richards after Raven walked out on his partner.
• KOTR Semi-Final: Rob Van Dam defeated Chris Jericho (14:32)
  • RVD pinned Jericho after a Five-Star Frog Splash.
• KOTR Semi-Final: Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) defeated Test (8:18)
  • Lesnar pinned Test after an F-5.
• Jamie Noble (w/Nidia) defeated The Hurricane to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship (11:38)
  • Noble pinned Hurricane after a powerbomb.
• Ric Flair defeated Eddie Guerrero (17:00)
  • Flair pinned Guerrero after Bubba Ray Dudley interfered and hit Guerrero with a Bubba Bomb.
  • During the match, Chris Benoit also interfered on behalf of Eddie Guerrero.
• Molly Holly defeated Trish Stratus to win the WWE Women's Championship (5:41)
  • Molly pinned Trish with leverage from a handful of tights after a Belly-to-belly suplex.
• Kurt Angle defeated Hulk Hogan (12:08)
  • Angle forced Hogan to submit with the Ankle Lock.
• KOTR Final: Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) defeated Rob Van Dam to win the King of the Ring tournament (5:42)
  • Lesnar pinned RVD after an F-5.
  • As a result of his victory, Lesnar earned an Undisputed WWE Championship match at SummerSlam.
• The Undertaker defeated Triple H to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship (23:44)
  • Undertaker pinned Triple H with a roll-up after a low blow and holding the tights.
  • During the match, The Rock interfered on Triple H's behalf, hitting the Undertaker with a Rock Bottom.

The tournament took place between June 3 and June 23, 2002. The tournament brackets were:

1. ^  Edge forfeited his match to Chris Jericho due to a shoulder injury.

2006

The tournament took place between April 21 and May 21 2006. The tournament brackets were^[3]

• All wrestlers involved in the tournament were from SmackDown!.

2008

The tournament took place April 21 on Raw from the BI-LO Center in Greenville, South Carolina. The tournament brackets were:^[4][5]

References

External links

Professional wrestling portal

• WWF King of the Ring History