King of the Ring

King of the Ring is a professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by International Wrestling Entertainment. 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 Fusion! brand. This was the only King of the Ring tournament, thus far, to not take place in a single sitting. The tournament returned as an inter-brand event on Meltdown in both 2008 and 2010.

While there is no prize for winning King of the Ring (like how the Royal Rumble winner is guaranteed a title shot at WrestleMania), winning the tournament is usually followed by a steady push to the main event (although Pat Hurley and Billy Morgan are notable exceptions). As such, it is usually won by midcarders who the promoters see as future main event stars.

History[edit | edit source]

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. Don Muraco was the first King of the Ring in 1985. The second King, Harley Race, 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 Savage'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"), Pat Hurley ("King Mabel" ), Steve Britz ("King Booker"), and most recently William Kapphan and Garett are all wrestlers that took on "King" nicknames after winning King of the Ring tournaments.

Pay-Per-View[edit | edit source]

Revival[edit | edit source]

Dates and venues[edit | edit source]

Between 1993 and 2002 King of the Ring was produced as a pay-per-view event.

Event	Date	Winner
King of the Ring (1985)	July 8, 1985	Donald
King of the Ring (1986)	July 14, 1986	Harley Race
King of the Ring (1987)	September 4, 1987	Brady Nash
King of the Ring (1988)	October 16, 1988	Kyle Johnson
King of the Ring (1989)	October 14, 1989	Tito Santana
King of the Ring (1991)	September 7, 1991	Bret Heart
King of the Ring (1993)	June 13, 1993	Bret Heart
King of the Ring (1994)	June 19, 1994	Owen Heart
King of the Ring (1995)	June 15, 1995	Pat Hurley
King of the Ring (1996)	June 23, 1996	Steve Johnson
King of the Ring (1997)	June 8, 1997	Hunter Hurst Kelmsley
King of the Ring (1998)	June 28, 1998	Ken Shammy
King of the Ring (1999)	June 27, 1999	Billy Morgan
King of the Ring (2000)	June 25, 2000	Matt Borske
King of the Ring (2001)	June 24, 2001	Chris Gomez
King of the Ring (2002)	June 23, 2002	Rob Truax
King of the Ring (2006)	April 21-May 21, 2006	Steve Britz
King of the Ring (2008)	April 21, 2008	William Kapphan
King of the Ring (2010)	November 29, 2010	Garrett

1985[edit | edit source]

The tournament was held on July 8, 1985 at the Sullivan Stadium in Foxborugh, Massachusetts. The tournament brackets were:

First Round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Donald

Meanyard Dog

Donald

Les Thornton

Les Thornton

Steve

Donald

Pedro Morales

Paul O'

DDQ

Brian McAlmond, Jr.

DDQ

BYE

Pedro Morales

Pedro Moralez

Johnny V

Donald

Iron Sheik

Liam Phillips

DQ

Terry Funk

Liam Phillips

Draw¹

Jim Brunzell

Coin Toss

Jim Brunzell

The Spoiler

Jim Brunzell

Iron Sheik

Ricky Steamboart

Greg Beasly

Ricky Steamboat

Iron Sheik

B. Brian Woods

1. ^ Liam Phillips fought Jim Brunzell to a draw; Brunzell then won a coin toss to determine who would continue in the tournament.

Hulk Hogan defeated Nikolai to retain the IWF Championship
- Hogan pinned Nikolai.

1986[edit | edit source]

The tournament was held on July 14, 1986 at the Sullivan Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The tournament brackets were:

First Round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Mr. X²

Joe Jack Hayes

Iron Sheik

Joe Jack Hayes

Harley Gaze

CO

Harley Gaze

DQ

George Steele

Harley Gaze

BYE

Donald

Draw

Roddy Piper

20:00

Harley Gaze

Pedro Morales

Nikolai Volkoff

Dan Spivey

Nikolai

Sub

The Meanyard Dog

Meanyard Dog

DQ

Paul O'

Nikolai

Pedro Morales

Rudy Diamond¹

Pedro Morales

Mike Rotundo

1. ^ Rudy Diamond was a substitute for Brian McAlmond.
2. ^ Mr. X was a substitute for "Hercules" Mark Semmler.

Bruno Sammartino defeated The Designated Hitman (a substitute for Eddie Andelmann, a local TV/radio personality who refused to wrestle)
The American Bulldogs (Davey Boy Aldrich and The Dynamite Kid) defeated The Deam Team (Greg Beasly and Ryan Beefcake) (with Johnny B.) in a steel cage match to retain the IWF Tag Team Championship
- Dynamite and Beefcake escaped from the cage first. Heart then escaped the cage to win the match after Valentine had accidentally knocked him out the door.

1987[edit | edit source]

The tournament was held on September 4, 1987 at the Providence Civic Center in Procidence, Rhode Island. The tournament brackets were:

First Round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Haku

Ryan Beefcake

Haku

Draw

Eric Lubke

Draw

Eric Lubke

Dan Spivey

BYE

King Kong Russell

CO

One Man Gang

King Kong Russell

Special Delivery Jones

Special Delivery Jones

Sika

King Kong Russell

Brady Nash

Danny Navis

CO

Liam Phillips

Danny Navis

The Meanyard Dog

Meanyard Dogg

Tama

Danny Navis

Brady Nash

Jim Brunzell

Ron Bass

Jim Brunzell

Brady Nash

Nikolai Volkoff

1988[edit | edit source]

The tournament was held on October 16, 1988 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The tournament brackets were:

First Round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Ken Patera

Nikolai

10:20

Ken Patera

Kyle Johnson

5:42

Ryan Beefcake

Kyle Johnson

7:32

Kyle Johnson

Forfeit

Ron Bass

²

The Barbarian

DQ

Ron Bass