King of the Ring
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King of the Ring was an annual WWF-produced pay-per-view event. The first King of the Ring PPV was held in 1993 and the final event was held in 2002.
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History
Although the King of the Ring tournament was first made into a PPV 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") and "King" Mabel. Macho Man Randy Savage also worked this into his gimmick.
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 PPV.
The last King of the Ring was held on June 23, 2002. The decision to stop King of the Ring has proven to be a controversial and unpopular decision among some fans who would prefer a PPV with a unique feature, rather than a regular PPV. 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.
List of winners
The Pay-Per-View Event 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
- 1993: Bret Hart
- 1994: Owen Hart
- 1995: Mabel
- 1996: Stone Cold Steve Austin
- 1997: Triple H
- 1998: Ken Shamrock
- 1999: Billy Gunn
- 2000: Kurt Angle
- 2001: Edge
- 2002: Brock Lesnar
1993
- Bret Hart def. Razor Ramon
- Mr Perfect def. Mr. Hughes by DQ
- Bam Bam Bigelow def. Jim Duggan
- Tatanka and Lex Luger fought to a no contest
- Bret Hart def. Mr. Perfect
- 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
- Bret Hart def. Bam Bam Bigelow to become King of the Ring
1994
- Razor Ramon def. Bam Bam Bigelow
- Irwin R. Schyster def. Mabel
- Owen Hart def. Tatanka
- 1-2-3 Kid def. Jeff Jarrett
- Diesel def. WWF World Champion Bret Hart by DQ
- Razor Ramon def. Irwin R. Schyster
- Owen Hart def. 1-2-3 Kid
- WWF Tag Team Champions Fatu and Samu def. Crush and Yokozuna
- Owen Hart def. Razor Ramon to become King of the Ring
- Roddy Piper def. Jerry Lawler
1995
- 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
- Bret Hart def. Jerry Lawler
- Mabel def. Savio Vega to become King of the Ring
- Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow def. Tatanka and Psycho Sid
1996
- Steve Austin def. Marc Mero
- Jake Roberts def. Vader
- 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
- Steve Austin def. Jake Roberts to become King of the Ring
- WWF World Champion Shawn Michaels def. Davey Boy Smith
1997
- Triple H def. Ahmed Johnson
- Mankind def. Jerry Lawler
- Goldust def. Crush
- Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart and Davey Boy Smith def. Psycho Sid and the Road Warriors
- Triple H def. Mankind to become King of the Ring
- Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin fought to a double disqualification
- WWF World Champion The Undertaker def. Faarooq
1998
- The Headbangers and Taka Michinoku def. Shoichi Funaki, Mens Teioh and Dick Togo
- Ken Shamrock def. Jeff Jarrett
- Rocky Maivia def. Dan Severn
- 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
- Ken Shamrock def. Rocky Maivia to become King of the Ring
- Undertaker def. Mankind
- This is one of the most famous matches in professional wrestling history. For more details, see [[Hell in a Cell The Undertaker v. Mankind|Hell in a Cell]].
- Kane def. WWF World Champion Steve Austin to win the title
1999
- X-Pac def. Hardcore Holly
- Kane def. The Big Show
- Billy Gunn def. Ken Shamrock
- Road Dogg def. Chyna
- The Hardy Boyz def. Edge and Christian
- Billy Gunn def. Kane
- X-Pac def. Road Dogg
- WWF World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker def. The Rock
- Billy Gunn def. X-Pac to become King of the Ring
- Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon def. Stone Cold Steve Austin
2000
- Rikishi def. Chris Benoit
- Val Venis def. Eddie Guerrero
- Crash Holly def. Bull Buchanan
- Kurt Angle def. Chris Jericho
- Edge and Christian def. The Hardy Boyz, Too Cool, Test and Prince Albert to win the WWF Tag Team Title
- Rikishi def. Val Venis
- Kurt Angle def. Crash Holly
- WWF Hardcore Champion Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco fought to no contest
- Crash Holly def. WWF Harcore Champion Pat Patterson to win the title
- Road Dogg, X-Pac and Tori def. The Dudley Boyz
- Kurt Angle def. Rikishi to become King of the Ring
- The Rock, Kane and The Undertaker def. Triple H, Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon. The Rock became the WWF World Heavyweight Champion.
2001
- Kurt Angle def. Christian (Shane McMahon helped Angle Win the match)
- Edge def. Rhyno
- WWF Tag Team Champions The Dudley Boyz def. Spike Dudley and Kane
- Edge def. Kurt Angle to become King of the Ring (Christian Helped Edge by Distracting the ref while edge was tapping to the Ankle Lock Then Shane McMahon came out and speared Angle allowing Edge to get the win
- WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy def. X-Pac
- Kurt Angle def. Shane McMahon
- WWF World Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin def. Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit
2002
- Rob Van Dam def. Chris Jericho
- Brock Lesnar def. Test
- Jamie Noble def. WWE Cruiserweight Champion The Hurricane to win the title
- Ric Flair def. Eddie Guerrero (Flair got help from Bubba Ray Dudley when he hit the Bubba Bomb on Eddie)
- Molly Holly def. WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus to win the title
- Kurt Angle def. Hulk Hogan
- Brock Lesnar def. Rob Van Dam to become King of the Ring
- WWE World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker def. Triple H
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 worst WWE pay-per-view ever. Also, the Philadelphia crowd were chanting "ECW! ECW! ECW!" during the Mabel-Savio Vega match. The event was inducted into Wrestlecrap.
- 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.
- The infamous Hell in a Cell match occurred at KOTR 1998 between Mankind and Undertaker. This match is widely regarded as one of the greatest cage matches ever.
- 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).
