The King of the Ring tournament is an event held by WWE periodically. The inaugural tournament was held in 1985 and since then, there have been many iterations of it. However, it seems to have lost much of the value it once had. The tournament has always had different rewards, like sometimes the winner would get a World Championship match at SummerSlam, sometimes the winner would only get the crown and a “King” gimmick, and at one time there was a trophy as a reward. It will be interesting to see who becomes King of the Ring in 2024. Till then, let’s have a look at some of the best winners of the King of the Ring tournament in WWE history.
10) Harley Race – 1986
Harley Race was the second winner of the King of the Ring. He was the first wrestler to give himself the King Gimmick after winning. Harley was given this tournament as a way to acknowledge and recognize Race’s wrestling lineage without acknowledging what he accomplished outside of WWE. The victory led to Race’s feud with the Junkyard Dog heading into WrestleMania 3, and Race won. In his next feud with Hulk Hogan, Race suffered an injury and had to take some time off, then the crown was passed to Haku in his absence.
9) Kurt Angle – 2000
Kurt Angle signed with WWE in 1998 and made his in-ring debut in 1999. He had a great rookie year that led to him becoming the King of the Ring in 2000. This gave “Wrestling Machine” a breakthrough and he went on to feud with some of the top names of the company, such as The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H. He eventually became the WWE champion after defeating The Rock at No Mercy that year. Kurt dropped the world title before WrestleMania 17 but still remained a top name in the company after a stunning year.
8) Triple H – 1997
Triple H won the King of the Ring tournament in 1997 in classic heel fashion. The tournament was an interesting one, as The Game lost his first match to Ahmed Johnson via disqualification and complained that he had no idea he would be eliminated like that. Ultimately, Triple H got another match against Crush. He won the match and went on to feud with Mankind after the event, which led to the formation of D-Generation X. Eventually, Hunter Hearst Helmsley became one of the biggest stars in the company.
7) Edge – 2001
In the 2001 King of the Ring tournament, Edge scored the final victory over Kurt Angle who was the winner of 2000’s tournament. “The R Rated Superstar” would abandon the crown and cape in favor of a “Stanley Cup” style trophy. Following his King of the Ring victory, Edge would team up with longtime partner Christian before turning heel, which led to the two engaging in a feud with each other. When WrestleMania 18 started getting closer, Edge captured the Intercontinental and WCW United States titles.
6) Owen Hart – 1994
Owen Hart became King of the Ring in 1994 after his brother’s consecutive victories in the tournament. The victory became a significant part of Owen’s heel turn, which began months earlier and led to his feud with his brother. The Hart brothers continued their feud from WrestleMania 10 to that year’s SummerSlam, with Owen challenging Bret for the WWE Championship in a steel cage match. Although Owen was not able to wrest the title from his brother, he would be instrumental in helping Bob Backlund succeed at the Survivor Series.
5) Brock Lesnar – 2002
Brock Lesnar won the King of the Ring in 2002 after beating Rob Van Dam in the finals. Instead of taking the crown and cape, he got an undisputed Championship match against The Rock at SummerSlam. The Beast completely destroyed The Rock and captured his first championship in WWE, also making history as the youngest WWE champion at only 25 years old. Brock went on to become one of the most dominant champions in WWE history and even went to fight in the UFC during his hiatus from WWE.
4) Randy Savage – 1987
After winning the World Championship at WrestleMania 4, the “Macho King” era of Randy Savage began. Randy won the King of the Ring tournament in 1989. Both roles as “The King” were wonderful for Savage, as it was the first time he had to turn face due to his immense popularity among the crowd, which increased his status in the main event. A second stint saw Savage once again turn heel before his famous reunion with Miss Elizabeth at WrestleMania 7.
3) Booker T – 2006
In the 2006 tournament, Booker T defeated some strong opponents like Matt Hardy, Kurt Angle and Bobby Lashley before winning the crown. This victory saw Booker T’s comedic side as he took over and hired a royal court featuring William Regal, Finlay and his Queen Sharmell. After defeating Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship, Booker T began calling himself “King of the World.”
2) Steve Austin – 1996
It was Triple H’s plan to win the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, but after the Curtain Call incident, the victory was awarded to rising star Steve Austin. It became one of those industry-defining moments, as defeating Jake Roberts in the finals of the tournament saw the rise of Steve Austin. In the same year, fans were able to witness Stone Cold’s amazing heel work and feud against Bret Hart.
1) Bret Hart – 1991, 1993
Bret Hart is the best King of the Ring as he not only won the tournament twice but also made the most of it both times. The 1991 tournament was the first for Bret and he was also the reigning Intercontinental Champion. His 1993 win was much bigger, as his performance was seen as star-making. He worked three matches in a single night and they were all some of his best performances in the ring at the time.
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