Remembering the King of the Ring

The location was a jam-packed Dayton, Ohio on the night of June 13, 1993. An exhausted Bret “the Hitman” Hart looks to celebrate being victorious over three men in the span of one night. In the process of Bret’s “coronation” a jealous Jerry “the King” Lawler interrupts and proclaims that he is, in fact; the Real King of the WWF which causes Bret to respond and incite the crowd into a rousing chant of “Burger King”. As Bret turned away, Jerry Lawler blindsided the worn out conqueror and unleashed a brutal assault; punctuating the attack by stomping on The Hitman’s newly awarded crown. With that, the King of the Ring event is born and for the next nine years it would be a staple in the WWE’s PPV lineup.

Although the King of the Ring tournament gained worldwide attention in ‘93, its birth actually came to be in 1985. Don Muraco has the honor of being hailed as the first ever KOTR when he defeated The Junkyard Dog, Les Thornton, Pedro Morales and lastly The Iron Sheik in the finals of the tournament in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The next five KOTR’s stayed within the New England location and in 1986 Harley Race was crowned the new King of the Ring by defeating George “The Animal” Steele, Billy Jack Haynes and Pedro Morales. Race is credited with being the first WWF wrestler to incorporate his “Kingship” into a gimmick for his character. With the King of the Ring being a relatively regional event, and without the massively strong online presence of today; most fans were unaware of the results or the existence of these special annual occasions. Harley Race was billed as the King of wrestling for two years; although another King had been crowned in 1987 without any recognition. On September 4, 1987 from the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island; Macho Man Randy Savage defeated Nikolai Volkoff, Jumpin Jim Brunzell, Danny Davis and the mammoth King Kong Bundy to earn the right to be called King of the Ring, but never used that title for the entire year of his reign. Savage’s exclusion from the ranks of King allowed Race to continue his monarchy until he was subsequently injured in 1988 and replaced as King by his manager, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan; with fellow stable mate Haku. King Haku’s command lasted for eight months, but once again within that time another King of the Ring tournament was held and ignored by the company. For the 2 nd of four consecutive years, the KOTR tourney emanated from the Providence Civic Center and fans saw Ted DiBiase defeat Brutus Beefcake, Ken Patera, Ron Bass and the 1987 uncrowned champion Macho Man Randy Savage in the finals. While DiBiase continued to wrestle with no acknowledgement of ever being a King of the Ring, Haku had wagered and lost his crown to Hacksaw Jim Duggan on April 24, 1989. Duggan wouldn’t hold the title of King long, as justice would eventually be served and the dishonored and bypassed ruler of the ring in ’87, Macho Man Randy Savage; would defeat Jim Duggan only five months into his sovereignty. A “Macho King” is born and becomes the most popular King to ever earn his moniker, but unfortunately one month later another KOTR series is contested and another competitor is overlooked. Tito Santana was in the midst of a boiling hot feud with former tag partner Rick Martel, and as luck would have it they ended up being across the ring from one another in the finals of the 1989 tournament. On October 14 th, after vanquishing the likes of Bad News Brown, The Warlord and Akeem; Tito Santana was given the honor of receiving the crown to be that year’s King of the Ring; but never was given the distinction or recognition he deserved for his achievement. Macho King Randy Savage went on to continue his role as the emperor of the squared circle for the next year and a half until he was retired by the Ultimate Warrior in 1991. Savage was the last King to gain global exposure for the next two years. Within that time, the WWE didn’t run a King of the Ring in 1990 or 1992. In 1991 a young, up and coming, newly single competitor by the name of Bret Hart had beaten Pete Doherty, Skinner and Irwin R. Schyster to be secretly made that year’s King of the Ring in a foreshadowing of what was yet to come.

> Browse a great selection of WWE toys & apparel online through ProWrestling-Fans.com!

The idea to turn these reticent tournaments into million dollar PPV extravaganzas came at a time when the WWE was looking to evolve to a “New Generation” of wrestling superstars. The leader of that future position was none other than Bret Hart; and out of the shining light of that first televised King of the Ring walked the Hitman. Bret earned the WWE Championship almost a year earlier in 1992, but backstage politics shortened his rise to the top. After dropping the title to Yokozuna at Wrestlemania IX, who served as a transitional champion so that the WWE could once again reward Hulk Hogan with the belt only minutes after Yokozuna had won it; the WWE needed a way to keep Bret Hart a main event player and possibly appease Bret while they took this minor detour. It was in the works for Bret to win the title back from Hogan at SummerSlam ‘93, but politics reared its ugly head again and the King of the Ring served as the setting to where Hulkamania would show its first real sign of weakness when he lost the championship back to Yokozuna instead. Meanwhile, all Bret Hart did was defeat Razor Ramon, Mr. Perfect and Bam Bam Bigelow, all 3 involving climactic finishes (none of which included the sharpshooter); to be declared the King of the Ring. Jerry “The King” Lawler, relatively a newcomer to the WWE at the time raised the level of the event even higher with his proclamation of being the Real King of the WWE mere minutes after Bret had outlasted his final opponent. The chain of events that transpired after the final match would have a lasting effect for years to come not only in the WWE, but also in Lawler’s Memphis based USWA wrestling company as well. Bret lost the right to call himself a “King” to Jerry Lawler in their controversial match at SummerSlam, but 1994 would be the year another King would take his position on the thrown and impose his eminence throughout the WWE.

The foundation had been laid for a highly anticipated annual affair and stars were to be made in the process. June rolled around once more and in 1994 the jealous younger brother of the Hitman was ready to take flight. Owen Hart was not to be outdone by his older sibling as he bested Tatanka, the 1-2-3 Kid and Razor Ramon to become the King of the Ring in ‘94. The newly rechristened “King of Harts” was in the main event at SummerSlam that year wrestling his brother Bret for the WWE championship in an epic cage match after years of low to mid-card matches. Owen would go on to be known as the King of Harts for years despite other Kings being crowned afterwards. In 1995 the first non-Hart would win a KOTR tournament. Earning the King of the Ring title does not automatically ensure you success and fame. Mabel, former big man of the tag team Men on a Mission; is a good example of my previous statement. After shocking the world by “pinning” the Undertaker, receiving a BYE and overpowering Savio Vega, there wasn’t much more triumph to be had in the future for the largest King to date. He received main event pushes and title shots but nothing was to ever come of those opportunities. Where some may fail, others may pass with flying colors; which leads us to the winner of the 1996 King of the Ring. The format had now been changed to where only the Semifinal match and the Final match would take place on the PPV card, but when you add in bloodied mouths, stitches before the crowning match and a promo that would send shockwaves throughout the wrestling world, who’s counting the amount of matches? Stone Cold Steve Austin stomped mud holes in “The Wildman” Marc Mero and Jake “The Snake” Roberts and walked them dry before standing on the podium and delivering his infamous “Austin 3:16” line for the very first time. Stone Cold went on to possibly become the most famous wrestler of All-Time (for those living under a rock). Greatness must come in pairs because one year later a future 13-time World Champion would be King. Triple H, known in 1997 as Hunter Hearst Helmsley had attracted some heat from management from an event stemming from an incident in Madison Square Garden in ‘96 where he and his “Kliq” broke kayfabe (wrestling character). “Bad Guys” were hugging “Good Guys” and someone had to be punished for this disrespectful blow to the business. Unfortunately the man that paid the price was Hunter, and the plans of him winning the KOTR in 1996 were postponed. Enter 1997 and the disciplined Helmsley was on fire! He was engaged in a white-hot feud with Goldust and debuted his Amazonian bodyguard Chyna. With her assistance, Hunter upset Ahmed Johnson and derailed the hopes of Mankind to become the 1997 King of the Ring. The 1998 KOTR will never be remembered for its winner unfortunately, because this event was highlighted by The Undertaker vs. Mankind in a Hell in a Cell match; a match that saw Mankind take two extreme bumps off of the top of the cage (one off of the side and the other through the ceiling of the cage). With that being said, “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” Ken Shamrock did a decent job defeating both Jeff Jarrett and The Rock to become the 1998 King of the Ring. Shamrock would go on to win the Intercontinental Championship, but left the WWE only one year later. In similar fashion, the 1999 KOTR winner would also eventually win an Intercontinental Championship but amassed 10 WWE Tag Team titles (four of which came after his King of the Ring victory) as well. After multiple gimmicks, a couple teams and a successful faction, Billy Gunn was given a huge push as he thwarted the efforts of 1998’s winner Ken Shamrock, Kane and former D-Generation X cohort X-Pac as the tournament format was restored to its original scheme for the first time in four years (Quarterfinals, Semifinals & Finals). The Millennium was upon us and the King of the Ring was about to embark on the largest tournament ever held in the year 2000. There were 32 competitors vying to qualify for the KOTR instead of 16, and two preliminary rounds instead of one before the Quarterfinal match. The last pair of Kings couldn’t capitalize off of their newfound prosperity, so it was time to delegate an individual with all the right credentials to take the WWE to new heights. Who would make a more legit King than an Olympic Gold Medalist? Kurt Angle entered the WWE and took the wrestling world by storm, winning the European title, Intercontinental title, WWE title and King of the Ring all in his debut year. Chris Jericho, Crash Holly and Rikishi all suffered defeat at the hands of Angle on his way to the crown. The WWE put their machine behind Angle and he never once looked back, as the Wrestling Observer Newsletter named Kurt Angle the Wrestler of the Decade (2000-2010). One year later, the WWE reverted back to only airing the Semifinals and Final match on its PPV card. Kurt Angle was attempting to become the first King of the Ring to repeat his conquest the following year, but the future Rated R Superstar wasn’t about to let that happen. Edge was fresh off of 7 WWE Tag Team Championships with his partner Christian, who was also in the tournament; but Edge’s star shined the brightest, as his destiny was to become a future Hall of Fame singles competitor. Angle eliminated Christian and Edge dismissed Rhyno, which set the tone for Edge to defeat Angle to become the 2001 King of the Ring. Edge would retire 10 years later on April 11, 2011 due to a spinal injury, but in his career he would accumulate 31 Championships in the WWE (24 of which were after he won the King of the Ring) a feat that no other competitor has come close to. The final PPV broadcast of the KOTR was in 2002, and it also only featured two tournament matches. For the first and only time, a WWE Championship match was guaranteed to the winner at SummerSlam. Test and Rob Van Dam were no match for the “Next Big Thing” Brock Lesnar. At SummerSlam Lesnar would win his first WWE Championship (The WWE Undisputed Championship) and become the youngest champion at only 25 years of age. Brock could have been a force to be reckoned with in the WWE, but he only gave the company two years of service before he decided to explore options outside of the wrestling world. This ended the era of the King of the Ring PPV, and brought about a new format for crowning future superstars.

It had been four years since the last King of the Ring and the WWE decided to bring back the tournament specifically for the SmackDown! brand in April of 2006. Every Quarterfinal and Semifinal match was televised, leaving the Final to be determined at the Judgment Day PPV. Booker T faced first year newcomer Bobby Lashley for the crown and after much interferance, Booker became the 2006 King of the Ring. Much like Harley Race, Randy Savage, Mabel and Owen Hart; Booker added the King title to his name. King Booker is also only the third winner to have a queen by his side, as King Harley Race had Queen Moolah, Macho King Randy Savage had Sensation Queen Sherri and King Booker had Queen Sharmell. The KOTR would take a brief hiatus and return again in April of 2008. Unlike the 2006 edition, this tournament included wrestlers from all brands, and the entire event was held on Monday Night RAW. Out of the 8 competitors there was a mix of giants, midgets, veterans and up and comers; but the veteran was victorious as William Regal vanquished Hornswaggle, Finlay and CM Punk to become the 2008 King of the Ring. Both Regal and Booker were already established superstars in the WWE and had their best days prior to becoming King, but after the WWE took yet another year off; they came back in 2010 to crown a new young promising contender. The November 29 th edition of RAW was the setting for the three round tourney. There were no midgets, no giants, and not even any veterans. The pool was full of prime and hungry sharks that were ready to take a bite out of the competition and elevate their selves to a higher status. Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio, John Morrison, Cody Rhodes, Ezekiel Jackson, Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston and Sheamus were the participants but only the Celtic Warrior had what it took to survive the deadly water. Sheamus annihilated Kingston, received a BYE and then extinguished the dreams of Morrison in the Finals. After going by “King Sheamus” for a short while he experienced a drought in the win department, so he dropped the “King” and returned to his original name in an attempt to regain the momentum he had going into the tournament. Sheamus is the 2010 King of the Ring for now, who knows when, if or who will be next.

I’ve always been a fan of the King of the Ring PPV and I was deeply saddened to find out that it was going to be discontinued. Everything from the KOTR updates to the amazing and underappreciated Qualifying Matches that you would see on WWF Superstars, Monday Night Raw and Wrestling Challenge added to the excitement a PPV like this would generate. The product really started to fail when the WWE shortened the format of the tournament. If Bret Hart wrestled three matches and truly clawed his way to victory, why should I be impressed if Brock Lesnar wins two? Another thing that I truly enjoyed that deteriorated over time was the cleverness of the brackets. If there were 8 contenders (four in the top bracket and four in the bottom), there was a possibility of at least 2 possible feuds to erupt in the finals. That made the outcome less predictable and the matches much more exciting. In certain situations, sometimes less is more. I believe the WWE began to focus more on the matches outside of the tournament instead of bettering the namesake of the event. The King of the Ring is hit or miss, and that’s what’s so great about it. There’s no way possible of knowing if the guy that just won the crown is going to be a ring legend or a bust without following the product and watching his career play out. That part of the enjoyment is not scripted, that is as real as it gets. Who would’ve thought Brock Lesnar would be in an octagon instead of a squared circle?.. Or Hunter Hearst Helmsley would become “The Game” Triple H and one day possibly run the entire company? If the WWE wants to move in the direction of reality TV then they need to bring back the King of the Ring and restore the month of June to its majestic state.

By: Cameron McBride-Gee
ProWrestling-fans.com Wrestling Writer