In less than two weeks, the King and Queen of the Ring is going to be amongst us, and we are in search of a new champion of the tournament. In the past several big names have won the tournament and history would have it that many of those big names also used that tournament’s results to establish themselves as hotshots of the industry after winning this.
Here are five winners of the King of the Ring tournament who are deemed as icons of the sport.
#1 Randy Savage won King of the Ring
Sept 30, 1989: Macho Man Randy Savage was crowned "Macho King" after winning the King of the Ring tournament. #80s pic.twitter.com/nN3CojKegX
Advertisement— Old School 80s (@OldSchool80s) September 30, 2023
Randy Savage clinched this tournament to his name in 1987 where he went onto defeat King Kong Bundy in the final that was held in Providence, Rhode Island. Randy’s dynamic persona blended with his extraordinary fighting flair made this a superhit.
#2 Bret Hart won King of the Ring
The only man to win this tournament twice was another icon of the sport, Bret Hitman Hart. In 1991, he went onto beat Irwin Schyster in Providence while following that up with another staggering win against Bam Bam Bigelow in Dayton, Ohio in 1993 to double his tally.
#3 Stone Cold Steve Austin
It was in 1996 at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that Stone Cold Steve Austin went onto win the tournament at the expense of Jake the Snake Roberts. Legends have it that it was the triumph in this tournament that earned SCSA his cult status in WWE.
#4 Triple H
June 8th 1997 Hunter Hearst Helmsley Defeats Mankind to become the 11th King Of The Ring #WWERaw #WWEKingAndQueen
Yes. Triple H. pic.twitter.com/jOAU77THLdAdvertisement— Kreative Control (@creativekntrl) May 14, 2024
The year after SCSA clinched his big win, Hunter followed that year up with a sizeable victory and he did it against the formidable might of Mankind at Providence. This was also the two different eras that saw coming together while Mankind was in his twilight and Triple H was just getting started to wreak havoc.
#5 Brock Lesnar
The Beast Incarnate seized this tournament in 2002 as he laid waste to Rob Van Dam in the finals. Brock’s sheer magnitude left the high-flying RVD in pieces and WWE had their new fear in the rise of the Beast.
Honourable mentions: Owen Hart, Ken Shamrock, Kurt Angle, Edge, Booker T, Sheamus.
