King of the Ring tournament
The King of the Ring tournament is a men's
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's Crown tournament, a women's version that was established alongside the 2021 King of the Ring tournament.
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 wrestlers from both Raw and SmackDown.
History
Early tournaments
The
Pay-per-view
In 1993, the WWF began to produce an annual June
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
The tournament returned in 2021 and was again between wrestlers from Raw and SmackDown. Like the 2019 tournament, there were two brackets, one for each brand. 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]
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
King gimmicks
In 1986, the second King of the Ring winner, Harley Race, parlayed his victory into an arrogant King of Wrestling
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"
List of winners
‡ | SmackDown-branded tournament |
References
- ^ a b "WWF King of the Ring '85 at Sullivan Stadium wrestling results – Internet Wrestling Database". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
- ^ a b "WWF King of the Ring '91 at Providence Civic Center wrestling results – Internet Wrestling Database". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
- ^ Beaston, Erik (August 18, 2019). "WWE King of the Ring: Everything You Need to Know About Historical Tournament". Bleacher Report. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ a b "King of the Ring 1993". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
- ^ a b c "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "Judgment Day 2006 results". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
- ^ a b "WWE Raw Results". Online World of Wrestling. April 21, 2008. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
- ^ )
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ HBN Staff (August 12, 2019). "WWE King Of The Ring Tournament Announced". Heel By Nature. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ @WWE (October 2, 2021). "HERE WE GO!! #SmackDown" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "WWE announces Queen's Crown and King of the Ring tournaments". Pro Wrestling Torch. 2021-10-02. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
- ^ "WWE Announces 2021 King of the Ring and Queen's Crown Tournaments". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
- Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (April 13, 2023). "WWE Changes 'WWE King & Queen Of The Ring' PLE To 'WWE Night Of Champions'". Fightful. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- PWInsider. Archivedfrom the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "Accelerator profile". Accelerator's Wrestling Rollercoaster. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
- ^ "WWF Show Results 1989". Angelfire. Archived from the original on March 4, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2008.
- ISBN 1-57488-308-9.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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) - )
- ^ 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.
- ^ "IGN: William Regal". IGN. Archived from the original on 25 October 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
- ^ Triple H: The King of Kings (DVD). WWE Home Video. 2008.
- ^ Spears, Jim (January 4, 2005). "Women's wrestlers today are tougher, better". The Times and Democrat. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
- ^ "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) - ^ HBN Staff (February 4, 2021). "WWE Announces Release Of Steve Cutler". Heel By Nature. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "WWF King of the Ring '86 at Sullivan Stadium wrestling results – Internet Wrestling Database". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
- ^ "King of the Ring 87 – Providence, RI – Civic Center – September 4, 1987 (12,000; sell out)". The History of WWE. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
- ^ "King of the Ring 88 – Providence, RI – Civic Center – October 16, 1988 (6,700)". The History of WWE. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
- ^ "WWF King of the Ring '89 at Providence Civic Center wrestling results – Internet Wrestling Database". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
- ^ "King of the Ring 1994". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
- ^ Pantoja, Kevin (June 26, 2015). "Random Network Reviews: King of the Ring 1995". 411mania. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ "King of the Ring 1996 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. June 23, 1996. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
- ^ "King of the Ring 1997 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. June 8, 1997. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
- )
- ^ "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.
- ^ "King of the Ring 2000 results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. June 25, 2000. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
- ^ "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.