King of the Ring tournament

Last updated

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. Only one tournament awarded an additional reward, which was the 2002 tournament where winner Brock Lesnar received a match for the WWE Undisputed Championship at SummerSlam, where he defeated The Rock for the title. The tournament is also notable for beginning "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's rise to stardom after he won the 1996 tournament.

Contents

The tournament was established when the promotion was still called the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, renamed to WWE in 2002). It was held annually from 1985 to 2002, with the exception of 1990 and 1992. The tournaments from 1985 to 1989 and in 1991 were held as special non-televised house shows. A pay-per-view (PPV) event titled King of the Ring then began airing as the annual June PPV from 1993 until the final PPV in 2002; these titular PPVs featured the final few matches of that year's tournament as well as other matches not part of the tournament. After a four-year hiatus, the tournament returned in 2006 and has since been held periodically with the most recent occurring in 2021. These tournaments' matches aired across episodes of Raw and SmackDown with the finals occurring at a different PPV, such as Judgment Day for 2006, or on an episode of Raw. The semifinals and final of the 2015 tournament aired exclusively as a WWE Network event. The PPV event will return in 2024, rebranded as King and Queen of the Ring, incorporating the Queen of the Ring tournament, a women's version that was established in 2021 and originally called Queen's Crown.

WWE introduced the brand extension in early 2002 and the tournament that year was held for wrestlers from both the Raw and SmackDown brands. When the tournament returned in 2006, it was held exclusively for wrestlers from SmackDown. The tournaments in 2008 and 2010 were held as interbrand tournaments, with the one in 2008 also featuring wrestlers from Raw and ECW, while the one in 2010 just featured those from Raw and SmackDown after ECW was disbanded earlier that same year. The 2015 tournament occurred when the brand split was not in effect. The brand split was reinstated in 2016, and tournaments held since have featured two brackets, one each for Raw and SmackDown, with the bracket winners then facing each other in the tournament final.

History

Early tournaments

The first King of the Ring tournament was held by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on July 8, 1985, at the Sullivan Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The inaugural tournament was won by Don Muraco, who defeated The Iron Sheik in the final. In addition to the tournament, there was only one other match during the night, in which Hulk Hogan defeated Nikolai Volkoff to retain the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. [1] Further King of the Ring tournaments were held from 1986 to 1989 and in 1991. [2] These early tournaments were held as special non-televised house shows in an effort to boost attendance at these events. The reward for winning the tournament was the title "King of the Ring", although 1986 winner Harley Race was the only one to carry this gimmick onto television during these early years of the tournament. [3]

Pay-per-view

In 1993, the WWF began to produce an annual June pay-per-view (PPV) titled King of the Ring. The inaugural King of the Ring 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. [4] The King of the Ring pay-per-view 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 as a PPV event after the 2002 event—the 2002 tournament was also the only tournament to award the winner a reward other than the title of "King of the Ring"; winner Brock Lesnar received a match for the WWE Undisputed Championship at that year's SummerSlam. [5] Also in early 2002, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), [6] and the promotion introduced the brand extension, in which the roster was divided between brands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform. [7] The 2002 tournament was in turn held for wrestlers from both brands. [5]

Revivals

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! . The final of the 2006 tournament did occur at a PPV, but it was at Judgment Day where Booker T defeated Bobby Lashley in the tournament final. [8] The tournament then returned in 2008, and was held as a special episode of Raw on April 21. This tournament was held for wrestlers from all three of WWE's brands at the time—Raw, SmackDown, and ECW, the latter of which was established as a third brand in 2006. The 2008 tournament was won by Raw's William Regal, who defeated ECW's CM Punk in the final. [9] The 2010 tournament was then held in November that year. Qualifying matches occurred on the November 22 episode of Raw with the tournament itself being held on the November 29 episode. The 2010 tournament only featured wrestlers from Raw and SmackDown, as ECW had been disbanded in February that year. It was won by Raw's Sheamus, who defeated John Morrison, also from Raw, in the final. [10]

After a five-year hiatus, the tournament returned in 2015. Quarterfinal matches were held on the April 27 episode of Raw, with the semifinals and final airing the following night exclusively as an event on WWE's online streaming service, the WWE Network, which launched in February 2014. Bad News Barrett defeated Neville in the final. At this time, the brand split was not in effect as the brand extension had been dissolved in August 2011; also in April 2011, the promotion ceased using its full name with "WWE" becoming an orphaned initialism. [11] After another four-year hiatus and after the brand extension had been reinstated in 2016, the tournament returned in 2019 and featured wrestlers from Raw and SmackDown. In this tournament, there was a Raw bracket and a SmackDown bracket and the winners of each faced off in the King of the Ring tournament final, becoming the standard for future tournaments. Tournament matches began on the August 19 episode of Raw and were held across episodes of Raw and SmackDown over the next month. [12] The final was originally scheduled to occur at that year's Clash of Champions event, but was rescheduled to occur on the following night's episode of Raw on September 16. [13] The tournament was won by Raw's Baron Corbin, who defeated SmackDown's Chad Gable in the final. [14]

The tournament returned in 2021 and was again between wrestlers from Raw and SmackDown. It began on the October 8 episode of SmackDown and continued across episodes of Raw and SmackDown, with the final held at the Crown Jewel event on October 21, 2021. Additionally, a women's version of the tournament was introduced, called Queen's Crown, and was held simultaneously alongside the men's tournament. [15] [16] [17] [18] Raw's Xavier Woods defeated SmackDown's Finn Bálor to win the 2021 tournament. [19]

Return to pay-per-view and livestreaming

In March 2023, it was announced that the tournament would return to having its own PPV and livestreaming event, but rebranded as "King and Queen of the Ring" to also incorporate the Queen's Crown tournament, and it would be held in Saudi Arabia as part of WWE's partnership with the country. [20] However, on April 13, it was announced that these plans were scrapped, with WWE opting to instead hold Night of Champions. [21] 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. [22] 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. [23] In April 2024, WWE announced that they would hold the King and Queen of the Ring event in Saudi Arabia in May 2024, with the Queen's Crown renamed as Queen of the Ring. Tournament matches began on the May 6 episode of Raw, and are being held across episodes of Raw, SmackDown, and at WWE Live events. [24]

King gimmicks

In 1986, the second King of the Ring winner, Harley Race, parlayed his victory into an arrogant King of Wrestling gimmick, featuring a regal cape and crown. This gimmick led to several notable feuds for Race with Junkyard Dog, Hulk Hogan, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, and others, even after new winners had been crowned in the annual tournament. In 1988, Race suffered an abdominal injury and during his absence, his manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan awarded the crown to Haku in July, rechristening him King Haku, even though Randy Savage had won the tournament by that point and Ted DiBiase would also win the tournament during this storyline. Race eventually returned from his injury and briefly feuded with King Haku, but was unable to regain the crown at the 1989 Royal Rumble. King Haku then lost the crown to "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan in May 1989. [25] "King Hacksaw" then lost it on August 30, 1989, to "Macho Man" Randy Savage, who rebranded himself "Macho King". [26] Savage abandoned the "Macho King" gimmick upon his loss in a "Career ending match" to The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VII in 1991, declaring afterwards that "the Kingdom of the Madness has been cracked in half". Following this, only wrestlers who had won the most recent tournament, as well as Jerry Lawler (who had used a King of Wrestling image regionally in the Memphis area since the early 1970s), would use the gimmick.

Owen Hart ("King of Harts"), [27] Mabel ("King Mabel"), [28] Kurt Angle ("King Kurt"), Edge ("King Edge the Awesome"), Booker T ("King Booker"), [29] Sheamus ("King Sheamus"), [30] [31] Bad News Barrett ("King Barrett"), Baron Corbin ("King Corbin"), and Xavier Woods ("King Woods") are all wrestlers that also took on "King" nicknames after winning King of the Ring tournaments, with varying amounts of indulgence in their respective gimmick. William Regal won the tournament while serving as General Manager of Raw [32] and began displaying King Lear signs of tyranny and delusion. Triple H alluded to his King of the Ring victory as part of his integrated gimmick starting in 2006 as the "King of Kings". [33]

In addition to the King's crown, various female wrestlers were portrayed as Queen while they were aligned with Kings, including "Queen of the Ring" The Fabulous Moolah (aligned with King Harley Race at WrestleMania III), Sensational Queen Sherri (manager of "Macho King" Randy Savage), [34] and Queen Sharmell (manager of King Booker). [35] Mo, Mabel's tag team partner in Men on a Mission, was "knighted" as Sir Mo by his partner after the latter's 1995 victory. Finlay and Regal were "knighted" as Sir Finlay and Sir Regal when they were part of King Booker's Court. In December 2020, King Corbin started a faction with Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake, knighting them as the "Knights of the Lone Wolf" (with lone wolf a reference to his previous nickname), although this would be short-lived as Cutler was released by WWE in February 2021. [36] Corbin's king gimmick ended in June 2021 after he lost his King of the Ring crown in a match to Shinsuke Nakamura, who then took on a king persona, being called King Nakamura. [37] On October 8, 2021, just prior to the start of the 2021 tournament that night, Nakamura respectfully relinquished the crown. [38] After Xavier Woods won the 2021 tournament and became King Woods, he knighted his New Day tag team partner Kofi Kingston as "Sir Kofi Kingston", and appointed him the Hand of the King. After Woods took time off due to injury, his king gimmick was dropped upon his return. [39]

List of winners

‡ SmackDown-branded tournament
#YearWinnerTimes wonFinals dateRunner-upFinals locationRef.
1 1985 Don Muraco 1July 8, 1985 The Iron Sheik Foxborough, Massachusetts [1]
2 1986 Harley Race 1July 14, 1986 Pedro Morales [40]
3 1987 Randy Savage 1September 4, 1987 King Kong Bundy Providence, Rhode Island [41]
4 1988 Ted DiBiase 1October 16, 1988 Randy Savage [42]
5 1989 Tito Santana 1October 14, 1989 Rick Martel [43]
6 1991 Bret Hart 1September 7, 1991 Irwin R. Schyster [2]
7 1993 2June 13, 1993 Bam Bam Bigelow Dayton, Ohio [4]
8 1994 Owen Hart 1June 19, 1994 Razor Ramon Baltimore, Maryland [44]
9 1995 Mabel 1June 25, 1995 Savio Vega Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [45]
10 1996 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin 1June 23, 1996 Jake Roberts Milwaukee, Wisconsin [46]
11 1997 Hunter Hearst Helmsley/Triple H 1June 8, 1997 Mankind Providence, Rhode Island [47]
12 1998 Ken Shamrock 1June 28, 1998 The Rock Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [48]
13 1999 Billy Gunn 1June 27, 1999 X-Pac Greensboro, North Carolina [49]
14 2000 Kurt Angle 1June 25, 2000 Rikishi Boston, Massachusetts [50]
15 2001 Edge 1June 24, 2001 Kurt Angle East Rutherford, New Jersey [51]
16 2002 Brock Lesnar 1June 23, 2002 Rob Van Dam Columbus, Ohio [5]
17‡ 2006 Booker T 1May 21, 2006 Bobby Lashley Phoenix, Arizona [8]
18 2008 William Regal 1April 21, 2008 CM Punk Greenville, South Carolina [9]
19 2010 Sheamus 1November 29, 2010 John Morrison Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [10]
20 2015 Bad News Barrett 1April 28, 2015 Neville Moline, Illinois [11]
21 2019 Baron Corbin 1September 16, 2019 Chad Gable Knoxville, Tennessee [14]
22 2021 Xavier Woods 1October 21, 2021 Finn Bálor Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [19]
23 2024 TBD —May 25, 2024 TBD Jeddah, Saudi Arabia [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of the Ring</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event series

King and Queen of the Ring, formerly known simply as 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Miz</span> American wrestler and media personality (born 1980)

Michael Gregory Mizanin is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name The Miz, where he is one-half of the World Tag Team Champions with R-Truth as Awesome Truth; it is their first reign as a tag team and Miz's fifth reign individually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xavier Woods</span> American professional wrestler

Austin Watson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Xavier Woods and is part of The New Day. Watson also makes public appearances outside of wrestling under the name Austin Creed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vengeance (2002)</span> World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view event

The 2002 Vengeance was the second annual Vengeance professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place on July 21, 2002, at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. It was the first Vengeance event held under the WWE name, after the company had been renamed from World Wrestling Federation to WWE in May that year, as well as the first Vengeance held under the first brand extension.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Booker T (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler (born 1965)

Booker T. Huffman Jr., better known by his ring name Booker T, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he serves as a color commentator on the NXT brand, and is also the owner and founder of the independent promotion Reality of Wrestling (ROW) in Texas City, Texas. Booker has been frequently named by peers and industry commentators as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time; he was voted WWE's greatest World Heavyweight Champion in a 2013 viewer poll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judgment Day (2002)</span> World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view event

The 2002 Judgment Day was the fourth Judgment Day professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. It took place on May 19, 2002, at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee. This event was the promotion's very first pay-per-view held under the WWE name after the change from its previous name, World Wrestling Federation (WWF), two weeks prior to the event, although promotional materials produced before May 10, 2002, still bore the WWF logo. Thus, it was the first WWE PPV to take place after the end of the Attitude Era. The theme song for this event was the song “Broken” by the hard rock band 12 Stones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of the Ring (2008)</span> 2008 professional wrestling tournament by WWE

The 2008 King of the Ring was the 18th edition of the King of the Ring tournament produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held as a special episode of Raw on April 21, 2008, at BI-LO Center in Greenville, South Carolina. Unlike the previous 2006 tournament that only featured wrestlers from the SmackDown brand division, the 2008 tournament featured wrestlers from all three of WWE's brands at the time—Raw, SmackDown, and ECW. The 2008 tournament was won by Raw's William Regal, who defeated ECW's CM Punk in the final.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of the Ring (2001)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2001 King of the Ring was the ninth annual King of the Ring professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation that featured the 15th King of the Ring tournament. It was the final King of the Ring PPV and tournament held under the WWF name as the promotion was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May 2002. The event took place on June 24, 2001, at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The main event was a Triple threat match, a match involving three competitors, for the WWF Championship. Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho to retain the title. The undercard featured the 2001 King of the Ring tournament, which was won by Edge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of the Ring (2000)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 2000 King of the Ring was the eighth annual King of the Ring professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWE) that featured the 14th annual King of the Ring tournament. It took place on June 25, 2000, at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts. The main event was a six-man tag team match between the McMahon-Helmsley Faction and the team of The Rock and The Brothers of Destruction. Triple H's WWF Championship was defended in the match. Rock pinned Vince to win the title. The undercard featured the 2000 King of the Ring tournament, which was won by Kurt Angle. The 2000 edition was the largest King of the Ring tournament, with 32 competitors taking part.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of the Ring (2002)</span> World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view 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. It was the only King of the Ring PPV and the first King of the Ring tournament held under the WWE name after the promotion had been renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE the previous month. It was also the final King of the Ring pay-per-view event and the only King of the Ring pay-per-view to feature the Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions following the introduction of the brand extension in March. It was also the final King of the Ring event to be produced as a pay-per-view, although the King of the Ring tournament has continued to be held periodically. The King of the Ring's June PPV slot was replaced by Bad Blood in 2003. One further King of the Ring event was held in 2015, but not on PPV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of the Ring (2010)</span> 2010 professional wrestling tournament by WWE

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Gable</span> American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler

Charles Edward Betts is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Chad Gable and is the leader of Alpha Academy. He is a four-time tag team champion in WWE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baron Corbin</span> American professional wrestler

Thomas Pestock is an American professional wrestler and former professional football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Baron Corbin. He is a former one-time WWE United States Champion and one-time NXT Tag Team Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of the Ring (2015)</span> WWE Network event

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 service, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of the Ring (2019)</span> Professional wrestling tournament by WWE

The 2019 King of the Ring was the 21st edition of the King of the Ring tournament produced by WWE and was held for wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. Tournament matches began on the August 19, 2019 episode of Raw and continued to be held across episodes of Raw and SmackDown over the next month. The tournament final was originally scheduled to be held at the Clash of Champions pay-per-view, but was rescheduled for the following night's Raw on September 16, 2019 at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was the first King of the Ring tournament since 2015 and the first held since the brand extension was reinstated in 2016. The tournament featured 16 wrestlers, evenly divided into two brackets, one for Raw and the other for SmackDown, with the winners of each bracket facing each other in the final. The winner of the 2019 tournament was Baron Corbin from Raw, defeating SmackDown's Chad Gable in the final. Corbin subsequently became known as King Corbin and continued this persona until June 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crown Jewel (2021)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

The 2021 Crown Jewel was the third Crown Jewel professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by the American company WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on October 21, 2021, at Mohammed Abdu Arena on The Boulevard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and was the first Crown Jewel to livestream on Peacock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of the Ring (2021)</span> Professional wrestling tournament by WWE

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 winner was Xavier Woods, or “King Woods”. 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 by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. Established in 2021, the prize for winning the tournament is earning the moniker of "Queen of the Ring" and the inaugural winner was Zelina Vega. It is the female version of WWE's long-standing King of the Ring tournament for male wrestlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King and Queen of the Ring (2024)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

The 2024 King and Queen of the Ring is an upcoming professional wrestling event produced by the American company WWE. It will be the 12th King of the Ring event, but under a new name, and will take place on Saturday, May 25, 2024, at the Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It will air via pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming and feature wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event will host 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.

References

  1. 1 2 "WWF King of the Ring '85 at Sullivan Stadium wrestling results – Internet Wrestling Database". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  2. 1 2 "WWF King of the Ring '91 at Providence Civic Center wrestling results – Internet Wrestling Database". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  3. ↑ Beaston, Erik (August 18, 2019). "WWE King of the Ring: Everything You Need to Know About Historical Tournament". Bleacher Report . Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "King of the Ring 1993". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
  5. 1 2 3 "King of the Ring 2002 results". Online World of Wrestling. June 23, 2002. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  6. ↑ "World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Drops The "F" To Emphasize the "E" for Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
  7. ↑ "WWE Entertainment To Make RAW and SMACKDOWN Distinct Television Brands" (Press release). WWE. March 27, 1993. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Judgment Day 2006 results". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
  9. 1 2 "WWE Raw Results". Online World of Wrestling. April 21, 2008. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
  10. 1 2 Plummer, Dale (29 November 2010). "Raw: King of the Ring crowned". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. 1 2 "PWTorch.com – CALDWELL'S WWE KOTR SPECIAL REPORT 4/28: Complete "virtual-time coverage" of King of the Ring finals on WWE Network". pwtorch.com. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
  12. ↑ HBN Staff (August 12, 2019). "WWE King Of The Ring Tournament Announced". Heel By Nature. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  13. ↑ Casey, Connor (September 11, 2019). "King of the Ring Tournament Finals Scrapped From Clash of Champions, Pushed to WWE Raw". ComicBook. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  14. 1 2 Silverstein, Adam; Crosby, Jack (September 10, 2019). "2019 WWE King of the Ring bracket, winners, tournament matches, results, dates, schedule". CBS Sports . Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  15. ↑ @WWE (October 2, 2021). "HERE WE GO!! #SmackDown" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ↑ "WWE announces Queen's Crown and King of the Ring tournaments". Pro Wrestling Torch. 2021-10-02. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  17. ↑ "WWE Announces 2021 King of the Ring and Queen's Crown Tournaments". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  18. ↑ Currier, Joseph (October 7, 2021). "KOTR, QUEEN'S CROWN TOURNAMENT MATCHES SET FOR WWE SMACKDOWN". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  19. 1 2 Powell, Jason (October 21, 2021). "WWE Crown Jewel results: Powell's live review of Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship, Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair for the Smackdown Women's Championship, Big E vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, Edge vs. Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match, Goldberg vs. Bobby Lashley in a No Holds Barred match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  20. ↑ WWE.com Staff (March 6, 2023). "WWE to return to Jeddah for WWE King and Queen of the Ring at the Jeddah Superdome on Sat. May 27". WWE . Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  21. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (April 13, 2023). "WWE Changes 'WWE King & Queen Of The Ring' PLE To 'WWE Night Of Champions'". Fightful. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  22. ↑ Johnson, Mike (April 13, 2023). "WWE PPV NAME CHANGE". PWInsider . Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  23. ↑ Brennan, Corey (June 10, 2023). "WWE Keeping King And Queen Of The Ring For A Future Saudi Arabia Show". BodySlam.net. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  24. 1 2 Tessier, Colin (April 7, 2024). "WWE To Hold 5/24 SmackDown And WWE King And Queen Of The Ring PLE In Saudi Arabia". Fightful. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Accelerator profile". Accelerator's Wrestling Rollercoaster. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  26. ↑ "WWF Show Results 1989". Angelfire. Archived from the original on March 4, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2008.
  27. ↑ Conner, Floyd (2001). Wrestling's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Pro Wrestling's Outrageous Performers, Punishing Piledrivers, and Other Oddities. Brassey's. p. 175. ISBN   1-57488-308-9.
  28. ↑ Schrader, Bob. "The Irresistible Force". WWE. Retrieved 2007-07-03. Viscera used to be known as Mabel. [...] He started as a friendly rapping giant Then Mabel shocks everyone by winning King of the Ring, loses the rapping and becomes KING Mabel.
  29. ↑ John M. Milner, Andy McNamara and Greg Oliver (June 2, 2005). "Booker T's bio". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  30. ↑ Plummer, Dale (November 29, 2010). "Raw: King of the Ring crowned". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  31. ↑ Caldwell, James (19 December 2011). "WWE TLC PPV Results 12/19: In-person "virtual-time" coverage of TLC PPV – off-air PPV notes, Miz vs. Orton, Cena vs. Barrett". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  32. ↑ "IGN: William Regal". IGN. Archived from the original on 25 October 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
  33. ↑ Triple H: The King of Kings (DVD). WWE Home Video. 2008.
  34. ↑ Spears, Jim (January 4, 2005). "Women's wrestlers today are tougher, better". The Times and Democrat. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  35. ↑ "Booker and Sharmell released by WWE". SLAM! Wrestling. October 16, 2007. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  36. ↑ HBN Staff (February 4, 2021). "WWE Announces Release Of Steve Cutler". Heel By Nature. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  37. ↑ Powell, Jason (June 18, 2021). "6/18 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Roman Reigns vs. Rey Mysterio in a Hell in a Cell match for the WWE Universal Championship, Big E and Kevin Owens vs. Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. King Corbin in a battle for the crown, Angelo Dawkins vs. Otis". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  38. ↑ Powell, Jason (October 8, 2021). "10/08 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Rey Mysterio vs. Sami Zayn in a King of the Ring tournament match, Liv Morgan vs. Carmella in a Queens Crown tournament match, contract signing for Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks at WWE Crown Jewel". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  39. ↑ Powell, Jason (October 29, 2021). "10/29 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs vs. Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss in a Trick or Street Fight, and more". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  40. ↑ "WWF King of the Ring '86 at Sullivan Stadium wrestling results – Internet Wrestling Database". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  41. ↑ "King of the Ring 87 – Providence, RI – Civic Center – September 4, 1987 (12,000; sell out)". The History of WWE. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  42. ↑ "King of the Ring 88 – Providence, RI – Civic Center – October 16, 1988 (6,700)". The History of WWE. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  43. ↑ "WWF King of the Ring '89 at Providence Civic Center wrestling results – Internet Wrestling Database". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  44. ↑ "King of the Ring 1994". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  45. ↑ Pantoja, Kevin (June 26, 2015). "Random Network Reviews: King of the Ring 1995". 411mania. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  46. ↑ "King of the Ring 1996 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. June 23, 1996. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  47. ↑ "King of the Ring 1997 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. June 8, 1997. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  48. ↑ Powell, John (1998-06-29). "Kane wins WWF World Title, Foley soars". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on 2012-07-15. Retrieved 2007-10-24.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  49. ↑ "Historical Cards: King of the Ring (June 27, 1999. Greensboro, North Carolina)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 151. 2007 Edition.
  50. ↑ "King of the Ring 2000 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. June 25, 2000. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  51. ↑ "King of the Ring 2001 results". Online World of Wrestling. June 24, 2001. Archived from the original on August 13, 2011. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.