Most wrestling fans love the concept of a tournament if the wrestlers and matches live up to the expectations. The King of the Ring tournament is a professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by WWE. WWE wasted no time pushing Brock Lesnar when called up to the main roster in 2002. The momentum for Angle after the win saw him becoming the WWE Champion a few months later by defeating The Rock at No Mercy. Triple H won the WWE Championship in 1999 and is a 14-time world champion. Christian started to show jealousy when Edge won the tournament to start his singles push. Brock won the tournament by defeating Rob Van Dam in the finals and later defeated The Rock at SummerSlam to win the WWE Championship. The King of the Ring tournament in 2006 was used to elevate Booker T back into a top spot. WWE's King of the Ring tournament can turn its winners into main event wrestlers. Triple H was once again a top priority for WWE as he impressed in the mid-card picture after his punishment. 1988 - "King" Haku. The tournament was held annually from 1985 to 2002, with the exception of 1990 and 1992. Savage won the King of the Ring tournament in 1987 to adopt the Macho King persona along with Sensational Sherri at his side. The King of the Ring was once a major WWE tool in elevating a talent to the next level in their career. Many of the winners went on to have legendary careers with the King of the Ring serving as a turning point. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. Booker winning the tournament saw him adopting the King Booker gimmick and becoming the top heel on SmackDown. Austin used this night to start his ascension with the Austin 3:16 promo. The in-ring work of Bret made his King of the Ring victories more impressive by having different yet entertaining matches with each competitor. Adopted the name "King Sheamus" 2015 - Bad News Barrett. WWE wanted Sheamus to thrive in a top spot with various character changes whenever he struggled. The undercard featured Ajay Alsaeed vs Sam Parkes, Devan Syme vs Andre MacDonald, Jeeta Prasad vs Natalie Mackey, Hayellom Tesday vs Jordan Smart, Mark Timms vs Hayden Todd. Bret Hart (1991 & 1993)Bret Hart is the only man to ever win two King of the Ring tournaments, and … Steve Austin. King in the Ring 75 kg III The Tournament was on 18 July 2020 at North Shore, New Zealand. Hart won the WWE Championship in 1992 after the tournament helped elevate him into a bigger role. Booker won the WCW Championship five times, but the King of the Ring led him to his only WWE world title. After this victory, Sheamus went onto become World Heavyweight Champion in 2012 and, in 2015, he would receive his third reign with the WWE Championship. Others used it to return to relevance in their journeys of getting back to the top of the mountain. NEXT: Kurt Angle: Every WWE Championship Reign, Ranked From Worst To Best. The punishment to Triple H in 1996 for his role in the infamous Curtain Call saw Steve … Here's every KOTR winner that turned into a WWE World Champion! WWE trusted Angle enough to win the King of the Ring tournament in 2000 to continue his push to the top. King of the Ring tournaments typically featured relevant names competing to advance each round until winning the crown. Angle picked up the wrestling business quickly after making the jump from amateur wrestling where he won the gold model in the 1996 Olympics. In total, Angle won six world titles during his WWE career. Awarded the crown in King Harley Race's absence by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Joey is a writer with a decade of experience writing about sports, entertainment, and pop culture. The most LOL-worthy things the Internet has to offer. RELATED: King Of The Ring 2002: Every Match On The PPV, Ranked From Worst To Best. RELATED: The 5 Best (& 5 Worst) King Of The Ring Finals Matches. Lesnar was a rare wrestler who instantly fit the part of a top star with Paul Heyman as his manager to cut the promos for the rookie. RELATED: WWE's Last 10 King Of The Ring Winners, Ranked. 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King in the Ring 75III : 18 JULY 2020 75kg Reserve Fight 3x3 minutes Ajay Alsaeed ( Kings Academy ) vs Sam Parkes ( ROA ) Winner - Sam Parkes ( ROA ) TKO R3 8 … Pro wrestling is his strongest passion with a lifetime fandom and countless live shows attended. Won the crown from King Haku. The first heel run saw fans not caring about him as much as WWE expected with the early WWE Championship stints. WWE started teasing the split between the best friends after two years together during the King of the Ring tournament in 2001. WWE found lightning in a bottle with Austin becoming the hottest star in the industry culminating with his first WWE Championship win in 1998. 1989 - "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. WWE used this to make quite a few promising talents more credible in the grand scheme of things. The 2002 King of the Ring tournament featured a WWE Championship title shot on the line. Bret Hart was one of the first wrestlers to make the King of the Ring an important accolade when winning back to back tournaments in 1991 and 1993. It is not a surprise that Vince McMahon was always higher on Edge. The rookie year of Kurt Angle saw him rising to the top of WWE in shocking fashion. The win here set up his future as an eventual 11-time world champion and Hall of Famer. The momentum for Austin started to pick up, leading to his feud with Bret Hart. The victory over Mankind in the finals of the KOTR showed that Triple H was going to be a player for WWE. Despite WWE giving Sheamus the world title on multiple occasions, Morrison was viewed as the breakout star of the tournament in defeat. Hulk Hogan was the bigger star, but WWE slotted Savage into other roles when they needed the depth in a different area. Find out which names had the best-case scenario as King of the Ring winners who won a world title in WWE. Adopted the name "King Corbin" Other King of the Ring holders. The new character gave Booker strong enough heat to dethrone Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship. WWE Money in the Bank was the second major event WWE has held without fans due to the coronavirus pandemic, so the company got a little creative with the … Adopted the name "King Barrett" 2019 - Baron Corbin. The punishment to Triple H in 1996 for his role in the infamous Curtain Call saw Steve Austin benefiting most from it. From 1993 to 2002, the tournament was produced as a pay-per-view event. The first WWE Championship win of Savage’s career came the following year when he returned to a face role. WWE may have delayed Triple H’s King of the Ring victory, but it would eventually happen one year later in 1997. Randy Savage was a superb talent for WWE as arguably the most valuable wrestler in the ‘80s. Edge and Christian are viewed as one of the best tag teams in WWE history, but many fans forget how short their run was. Shawn Michaels uniting with him to form D-Generation X later in the year helped him take off. Sheamus was repackaged with a king gimmick when winning the 2010 King of the Ring tournament after defeating John Morrison in the finals.