King of the Ring
From Pro Wrestling
King of the Ring is an annual World Wrestling Entertainment tournament that was first held in 1985. From 1993 to 2002, it was held as a pay-per-view event as well. After a four year hiatus, the King of the Ring tournament returned in 2006 as a SmackDown! exclusive tournament.
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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") , Owen Hart ("King of Harts"), "King" Mabel, Kurt Angle ("King Kurt"), Edge ("King Edge The Awesome") and most recently, Booker T ("King Booker").
Pay-per-view
The King of the Ring 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 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; 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, Steve Austin's famous "3:16" saying started at KOTR. A number of wrestlers have had huge successes after winning the tournament (in particular Steve Austin, but also Bret Hart, Kurt Angle, Triple H, and others), while some wrestlers have admittedly been "flops" as king (such as Mabel and Billy Gunn).
The PPV also was considered the fifth major WWF PPV (alongside the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series) as it was one of their only annual events.
King of the Ring dates and venues
| Event | Date | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| King of the Ring 1985 | July 8, 1985 | Sullivan Stadium | Foxborough, Massachusetts |
| King of the Ring 1986 | July 14, 1986 | Sullivan Stadium | Foxborough, Massachusetts |
| King of the Ring 1987 | September 4, 1987 | Providence Civic Center | Providence, Rhode Island |
| King of the Ring 1988 | October 16, 1988 | Providence Civic Center | Providence, Rhode Island |
| King of the Ring 1989 | October 14, 1989 | Providence Civic Center | Providence, Rhode Island |
| King of the Ring 1991 | September 7, 1991 | Providence Civic Center | Providence, Rhode Island |
| King of the Ring 1993 | June 13, 1993 | Nutter Center | Dayton, Ohio |
| King of the Ring 1994 | June 19, 1994 | Baltimore Arena | Baltimore, Maryland |
| King of the Ring 1995 | June 25, 1995 | The Spectrum | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| King of the Ring 1996 | June 23, 1996 | MECCA Arena | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| King of the Ring 1997 | June 8, 1997 | Providence Civic Center | Providence, Rhode Island |
| King of the Ring 1998 | June 28, 1998 | Pittsburgh Civic Arena | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| King of the Ring 1999 | June 27, 1999 | Greensboro Coliseum | Greensboro, North Carolina |
| King of the Ring 2000 | June 25, 2000 | FleetCenter | Boston, Massachusetts |
| King of the Ring 2001 | June 24, 2001 | Continental Airlines Arena | East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| King of the Ring 2002 | June 23, 2002 | Nationwide Arena | Columbus, Ohio |
| King of the Ring 2006 | April 21 - May 21, 2006 | US Airways Center (Final Round) | Phoenix, AZ (Final Round) |
| King of the Ring 2008 | April 21, 2008 | Bi-LO Center | Greenville, South Carolina |
See also
External links
| King of the Ring |
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| 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1991 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2006 • 2008 |
