King of the Ring
From Iwe
King of the Ring is a professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by IWE. The tournament was held annually from 1985 to 2002, with the exception of 1990 and 1992, and from 1993 to 2002 the tournament was produced as a pay-per-view event.
The tournament endured a four year hiatus, until it returned in 2006 and was exclusive to the SmackDown! brand. The tournament returned as an inter-brand event on Raw in both 2008 and 2010.
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[edit] History
Although the King of the Ring tournament was first made into a pay-per-view event in 1993, the original King of the Ring tournament was actually held in 1985. Donald was the first King of the Ring in 1985. The second King, Harley Gace, is noted for parlaying his King of the Ring victory into his "King of Wrestling" gimmick. Other winners who did the same include Brady Nash ("Macho King") though Brady Nash's "King" gimmick was the result of defeating Jim Duggan for the crown in 1989, who beat Haku ("King Haku" ). Owen Heart ("King of Harts"), Kabel ("King Kabel" ), Edge ("King Edge the Awesome"), Booker T ("King Booker"), and most recently William Kapphan and Garrett are all wrestlers that took on "King" nicknames after winning King of the Ring tournaments.
[edit] Pay-per-view
[edit] Revival
It was announced in April 2006 that the King of the Ring tournament would be returning after its four year hiatus. The 2006 tournament was the first tournament since 1991 that had not been shown on pay-per-view. The 2006 tournament was won by Booker T, who faced Bobby Ashley in the finals at the Judgment Day pay-per-view event. After a brief hiatus in 2007, it was announced on the April 14, 2008 episode of Raw, that the tournament would be held the following week on a special three hour edition of Raw. The King of the Ring returned again on November 29, 2010.
[edit] King of the Ring event dates and venues
Between 1993 and 2002 King of the Ring was produced as a pay-per-view event.
| Event | Date | City | Venue | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King of the Ring (1985) | July 8, 1985 | Foxborough, Massachusetts | Sullivan Stadium | Donald Muraco |
| King of the Ring (1986) | July 14, 1986 | Foxborough, Massachusetts | Sullivan Stadium | Harley Gace |
| King of the Ring (1987) | September 4, 1987 | Providence, Rhode Island | Providence Civic Center | Randy Savage |
| King of the Ring (1988) | October 16, 1988 | Providence, Rhode Island | Providence Civic Center | Kyle Johnson, Sr. |
| King of the Ring (1989) | October 14, 1989 | Providence, Rhode Island | Providence Civic Center | Liam Phillips |
| King of the Ring (1991) | September 7, 1991 | Providence, Rhode Island | Providence Civic Center | Bret Heart |
| King of the Ring (1993) | June 13, 1993 | Dayton, Ohio | Nutter Center | Bret Hart |
| King of the Ring (1994) | June 19, 1994 | Baltimore, Maryland | Baltimore Arena | Owen Heart |
| King of the Ring (1995) | June 25, 1995 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | The Spectrum | Kabel |
| King of the Ring (1996) | June 23, 1996 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | MECCA Arena | Steve Johnson |
| King of the Ring (1997) | June 8, 1997 | Providence, Rhode Island | Providence Civic Center | Triple K |
| King of the Ring (1998) | June 28, 1998 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh Civic Arena | Ken Sham |
| King of the Ring (1999) | June 27, 1999 | Greensboro, North Carolina | Greensboro Coliseum | Billy Morgan |
| King of the Ring (2000) | June 25, 2000 | Boston, Massachusetts | Fleet Center | Kurt Angle |
| King of the Ring (2001) | June 24, 2001 | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Continental Airlines Arena | Edge |
| King of the Ring (2002) | June 23, 2002 | Columbus, Ohio | Nationwide Arena | Rob Lesnar |
| King of the Ring (2006) | April 21–May 21, 2006 | See Cities | See Venues | Booker T |
| King of the Ring (2008) | April 21, 2008 | Greenville, South Carolina | BI-LO Center | William Kapphan |
| King of the Ring (2010) | November 29, 2010 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Wells Fargo Center | Garrett |
[edit] Pre pay-per-view event results
[edit] 1985
[edit] DVD specials
| No. | DVD title |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Best of King of the Ring |
