King and Queen of the Ring | |
---|---|
Promotions | WWE |
Brands | Raw (2002, 2024) SmackDown (2002, 2024) |
First event | 1993 |
King and Queen of the Ring, formerly and still commonly known as simply King of the Ring, is a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was established in 1993 and centers on the men's King of the Ring tournament, which had been established in 1985, and beginning in 2024, the women's Queen of the Ring tournament, which was established in 2021 and originally known as the Queen's Crown tournament.
The King of the Ring event was originally established in 1993 and was held annually in June as a pay-per-view (PPV) event. During the event's original run as a PPV, it was considered one of the promotion's five biggest events of the year, along with the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, dubbed the "Big Five". The 2002 event was the final King of the Ring produced as a PPV. To coincide with the brand extension introduced earlier that same year, the 2002 event featured wrestlers from both the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. In 2003, the event's PPV slot was replaced by Bad Blood.
The tournament endured a four-year hiatus until its return in 2006 as an exclusive tournament for wrestlers of the SmackDown brand. Instead of a dedicated PPV, however, this tournament concluded at that year's Judgment Day. While subsequent tournaments were periodically held as a non-PPV event and included WWE's other brands, the conclusion to the 2015 tournament was livestreamed exclusively as an event on the WWE Network and also occurred when a brand extension was not in effect; the brand split was then reintroduced in 2016. While the tournaments continued to be held periodically, the event itself was to be revived in May 2023 and rebranded as "King and Queen of the Ring" to incorporate the women's tournament; however, these plans were scrapped as WWE instead held a revived Night of Champions. The rebranded "King and Queen of the Ring" event that was intended for 2023 was rescheduled for May 2024 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This will be the first King of the Ring event since 2015, the first to air on traditional PPV since 2002, the first held outside of the United States, as well as the first dedicated event for the women's tournament, which was renamed to Queen of the Ring for its 2024 return.
The King of the Ring tournament is a men's single-elimination tournament in which the winner is crowned the "King of the Ring". The tournament was established in 1985 by the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was held annually until 1991, with the exception of 1990. These early tournaments were held as special non-televised house shows in an effort to boost attendance at these events. [1]
In 1993, the WWF began to produce an annual June pay-per-view (PPV) event titled King of the Ring. The inaugural PPV took place on June 13, 1993, at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. Unlike the previous non-televised events, the PPV did not feature all of the tournament's matches. Instead, several of the qualifying matches preceded the event with the final few matches then taking place at the pay-per-view. There were also other matches that took place at the event as it was a traditional three-hour pay-per-view. [2] The King of the Ring event was considered one of the promotion's "Big Five" PPVs of the year, along with the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, up until its disestablishment after the 2002 event [3] —it was the only event of the five to never be hosted at least once at Madison Square Garden. In 2003, the event's PPV slot was replaced by Bad Blood. [4]
In early 2002, the WWF was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) [5] following a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund over the "WWF" initialism. [6] Also around this time, the promotion introduced the brand extension, in which the roster was divided between the Raw and SmackDown! brands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform. [7] The 2002 tournament and PPV was in turn held for wrestlers from both brands. [4]
After a four-year hiatus, the tournament returned in 2006 and was held exclusively for wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand. Unlike the previous years, however, there was not an associated pay-per-view. Instead, tournament matches took place across episodes of SmackDown! with the finale being held at Judgment Day. [8] While WWE continued to periodically hold the tournament across their other programs, the semifinals and final of the 2015 tournament aired exclusively as an event on WWE's online streaming service, the WWE Network, which launched in February 2014. This 2015 tournament also occurred when the brand extension was not in effect; the brand split was reinstated in 2016. [9]
In October 2022, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that WWE was planning to resurrect the King of the Ring event in 2023 to replace the Hell in a Cell event. [10] [11] This was officially confirmed by WWE on March 6, 2023, with the company announcing that the event would be rebranded as "King and Queen of the Ring" to incorporate the women's Queen's Crown tournament that was established in 2021. This would have seen the event's return to PPV, in addition to airing on WWE's livestreaming platforms. It was scheduled for May 27, 2023, and would have been the ninth event that WWE held in Saudi Arabia in support of Saudi Vision 2030. [12] [13] However, on April 13, it was revealed that WWE decided to scrap the revival and would instead hold Night of Champions, thus reviving the Night of Champions event. [14] According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider , the decision to change the event to Night of Champions was a creative choice to revive and bring that event to an international market. [15] Fightful later reported that WWE did not have plans to reschedule King and Queen of the Ring for later that year, but the event could possibly be used for a future Saudi show. [16] In April 2024, WWE announced that they would hold the King and Queen of the Ring event in Saudi Arabia in May 2024, thus being the 11th event in the Saudi Arabian partnership. The women's tournament was also renamed as Queen of the Ring, with this also being the first dedicated event for the women's tournament. [17]
WWE Backlash is a professional wrestling event that is produced by the American company WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is broadcast live and has been available through pay-per-view (PPV) since 1999 and via livestreaming since 2016. Since premiering in 1999, 19 events have been held, with its most recent 19th edition occurring at the LDLC Arena in Décines-Charpieu in the Metropolis of Lyon, France on May 4, 2024. With the exception of the events held from 2016 to 2020, the concept of the show is based around the backlash of WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania.
SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind their flagship event, WrestleMania. It is also considered one of the company's five biggest events of the year, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank, referred to as the "Big Five". The event has been broadcast on pay-per-view (PPV) since the inaugural 1988 event and via livestreaming since the 2014 event.
An "I quit" match is a type of professional wrestling submission match in which the only way to win is to make the opponent verbally concede to the referee. It is a variation of the submission match as it can only be won by submission, but it is special in that the submission has to take the form of the forfeiting opponent conceding verbally. Generally, whenever a wrestler knocks down their opponent with a move or inflicts a submission move, the opponent will be asked—either by the referee or the opponent—to say the concession into a microphone. "I quit" matches are commonly used to settle (kayfabe) grudges and embarrass rivals since saying "I quit" is usually a sign of admitted inferiority.
Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the second longest-running pay-per-view (PPV) event in history, behind WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania. In addition to traditional PPV since the inaugural 1987 event, it has aired via livestreaming since the 2014 event. It is also considered one of the company's five biggest events of the year, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Money in the Bank, referred to as the "Big Five".
WWE Bad Blood is a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was first held in October 1997 when the promotion was still called the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and that first event was held as the 18th In Your House pay-per-view (PPV) event. After six years and after the promotion had been renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Bad Blood returned as its own PPV event in June 2003, replacing King of the Ring. In 2005, One Night Stand replaced Bad Blood; Vengeance had also moved to June that year as The Great American Bash moved to July. Bad Blood had been announced to be revived in 2017; however, these plans were scrapped in favor of an event titled Great Balls of Fire. After a 20-year hiatus, Bad Blood was scheduled to return in October 2024, and will be the first Bad Blood to air on WWE's livestreaming platforms.
WWE Night of Champions was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The inaugural event took place in June 2007 and was a crossover with Vengeance titled Vengeance: Night of Champions. In 2008, Vengeance was dropped in favor of Night of Champions and it took over the June PPV slot. The event then moved to July in 2009 before becoming the annual September PPV beginning in 2010. The original concept of Night of Champions was that every championship promoted on WWE's main roster was contested. In 2016, Night of Champions was replaced by the similarly themed Clash of Champions which was discontinued after its final use in 2020. After eight years, Night of Champions was revived to be held in May 2023 as WWE's ninth event in Saudi Arabia. Although the 2023 event was based around championship matches, not all of WWE's main roster championships were contested.
The 2003 Insurrextion was the fourth annual and final Insurrextion professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the American promotion, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. The event took place on June 7, 2003, at the Newcastle Arena in Newcastle, England, and was broadcast exclusively in the United Kingdom. It was the only Insurrextion produced under the WWE name, as the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE just two days after the previous year's event.
The 2002 King of the Ring was the 10th annual King of the Ring professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that featured the 16th King of the Ring tournament. It took place on June 23, 2002, at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio and featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. It was the first King of the Ring PPV and tournament held under the WWE name after the promotion had been renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE the previous month. Although the tournament continued to be held periodically, this was the final King of the Ring event to be produced as a PPV until 2024. The King of the Ring's June PPV slot was replaced by Bad Blood in 2003. Another King of the Ring event was produced as a livestreaming event in 2015, but not on PPV, but it returned to PPV and livestreaming in 2024.
The 2001 Insurrextion was the second annual Insurrextion professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the American promotion, World Wrestling Federation. It took place on May 5, 2001, at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London, England and was broadcast exclusively in the United Kingdom. It was the final Insurrextion produced before the promotion introduced the brand extension in March 2002.
WWE Hell in a Cell was a professional wrestling event produced annually by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. It was broadcast live and available only through pay-per-view (PPV) and the livestreaming services Peacock and the WWE Network. First held in 2009, the concept of the show came from WWE's established Hell in a Cell match, in which competitors fought inside a 20-foot-high roofed cell structure surrounding the ring and ringside area. Each main event match of the card was contested under the Hell in a Cell stipulation, while one or two other Hell in a Cell matches typically also occurred on the undercard.
The 2010 King of the Ring was the 19th edition of the King of the Ring tournament produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The tournament was held as a special episode of Raw that aired on November 29, 2010, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; qualifying matches were held the previous week. Unlike the previous 2008 tournament that featured wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brand divisions, the 2010 tournament only featured wrestlers from Raw and SmackDown following the closure of the ECW brand in February 2010. The 2010 tournament was won by Raw's Sheamus, who defeated John Morrison, also from Raw, in the tournament final and subsequently became known as King Sheamus.
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The 2015 King of the Ring was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE. It was the 11th King of the Ring event and was held on Tuesday, April 28, 2015, at the iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois. Unlike previous King of the Ring events, which aired on traditional pay-per-view (PPV) from 1993 to 2002, the 2015 event was livestreamed exclusively on WWE's online service, the WWE Network, which made it the first King of the Ring event to air on the platform, as well as the first dedicated King of the Ring event since 2002. The event featured the semifinals and finals of the 20th King of the Ring tournament, which was won by Bad News Barrett, who defeated Neville in the final and subsequently became known as King Barrett.
WWE Super ShowDown was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, an American-based promotion. It was broadcast live and available only through pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE's livestreaming service, the WWE Network. The 2020 event was the last event held under the titular name, with the 2021 event ultimately getting postponed. Since then, there hasn't been any further events scheduled under the name.
The King of the Ring tournament is a men's professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held periodically by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. Established in 1985, the winner of the inaugural tournament was Don Muraco. The prize for winning the tournament is being crowned the "King of the Ring"; some wrestlers have incorporated this into their character, such as adorning king's attire and acting and speaking with a regal attitude. On two occasions, the tournament has awarded an additional reward, that being for a world championship match. The tournament is also notable for beginning "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's rise to stardom after he won the 1996 tournament. The most recent 2024 tournament was won by Gunther.
The 2021 King of the Ring was the 22nd edition of the King of the Ring tournament produced by WWE. It was held between wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. Tournament matches began on the October 8, 2021 episode of SmackDown and continued to be held across episodes of Raw and SmackDown. The tournament concluded at the Crown Jewel pay-per-view and livestreaming event on October 21. It was the first King of the Ring tournament since 2019. WWE also introduced a female counterpart called the Queen's Crown tournament, which was held simultaneously with the 2021 King of the Ring tournament. Raw's Xavier Woods defeated SmackDown's Finn Bálor to win the 2021 tournament and subsequently became known as King Woods.
The Queen of the Ring tournament, originally known as the Queen's Crown, is a women's professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held periodically by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. Established in 2021, the winner of the inaugural tournament was Zelina Vega. The prize for winning the tournament is being crowned the "Queen of the Ring", and beginning in 2024, a match for a women's world championship. It is the female version of WWE's long-standing King of the Ring tournament for male wrestlers. The most recent 2024 tournament was won by Nia Jax.
The 2024 King and Queen of the Ring was a professional wrestling event produced by the American company WWE. It was the 12th King of the Ring event, but under a new name, and took place on Saturday, May 25, 2024, at the Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It aired via pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming and featured wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event hosted the finals of both the 23rd King of the Ring tournament and the second Queen of the Ring tournament, with the last tournaments for each held in 2021.
The 2024 Crown Jewel is an upcoming professional wrestling event produced by the American company WWE. It will be the sixth Crown Jewel and will take place on Saturday, November 2, 2024, at the Mohammed Abdo Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event will air via pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming and will be held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. This will be the 12th event that WWE will hold in Saudi Arabia under a 10-year partnership in support of Saudi Vision 2030.
At the time, SummerSlam was one of WWE's "big five" Pay-Per-Views (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, King of the Ring, and Survivor Series were the others), ...