WWE King of the Ring is a tournament and major event of the WWE . The King of the Ring first took place in 1985. From 1993 to 2002 the event took place in pay-per-view format.
In the first round, 32 athletes usually compete against each other in individual fights. In the knockout system , it goes through the eighth, quarter and semi-finals to the final. Special situations (double disqualification, injuries, double count-out) can lead to byes within the tournament. The winner of the tournament will be rewarded with a scepter and crown at a ceremony.
Another variant is the hardcore King of the Ring . In principle, there are no rules; H. all utensils can be used as desired. There is also no disqualification if other wrestlers intervene from outside.
history
The tournament King of the Ring had its origins on July 8, 1985. tournaments were very popular at that time in wrestling and so was this first rather "King of the Ring" a gimmick for a house show to drive ticket sales up. Accordingly, the first King of the Ring had no effect on the television shows at the time. The tournament was held in Foxborough , Massachusetts . In the final, Don Muraco competed against Junkyard Dog . Muraco, who won the tournament, was given a crown, but his victory was not discussed in later storylines and he did not wear the crown at other events. The tournament was reissued in 1986 and won by Harley Race . This time the winner took over the gimmick and acted as “king” for a year. Three more King of the Ring tournaments followed, which were not televised.
The King of the Ring was number five in 1993 alongside the "Big Four" PPVs ( Summer Slam , Survivor Series , Royal Rumble and WrestleMania ). It was last broadcast on 2002 as a PPV. As such, it was part of extensive storylines. In 1994 it marked a stage in the “fratricidal war” between Owen Hart and Bret Hart . A year later it was Mabel's Heelturn . For Stone Cold Steve Austin , defeating Jake Roberts was also a great success, as the cornerstone for the catchphrase "Austin 3:16" was laid there.
Bret Hart is the only wrestler who won the tournament twice, once the tournament variant and once the PPV variant.
After a four year hiatus, the tournament took place exclusively on SmackDown! instead, not as a major event, but in the weekly shows, starting on April 14, 2006 (broadcast date) . In April 2008 there was another such tournament, but this time with only 8 participants and in a raw edition. In 2009, King of the Ring was not held. On November 22nd and 29th, 2010, the tournament was held again at RAW. The next tournament took place in April 2015, with the preliminary round matches on RAW, the semi-finals and the finals only being broadcast on the WWE Network. In the return to the tournament phase, the win of Booker T 2006 is particularly noteworthy, who took the win into his gimmick as King Booker. Even Wade Barrett victory in 2015 brought the wrestlers a career boost.
In 2019 the tournament was part of the shows Raw and Smackdown and was won by Baron Corbin .
So far there have been 21 events of the tournament.
