At the Smackdown tapings last night, it was announced by Teddy Long that the King of the Ring tournament will be returning, starting next week with Kurt Angle facing off against the (recently suspended?) Randy Orton.
King of the Ring last took place in 2002, playing a big part in Brock Lesnar’s rookie push. As part of the storylines, Brock’s agent Paul Heyman convinced Vince McMahon to add a stipulation that the winner of the King of the Ring tournament get a shot at the Undisputed WWE Heavyweight Title at Summerslam. Brock went on to become King of the Ring, and then beat The Rock for the Undisputed Championship at Summerslam at Nassau Colleseum in August 2002.
The tournament — which culminated at the annual King of the Ring Pay Per View from 1993 through 2002, but also existed as far back as 1985 — has also had its share of controversy. Most recently, one reported reason Steve Austin walked out on WWE in 2002 was because WWE wanted him to lose to Brock in the opening round of the tournament, which Austin felt had no build-up.
According to Wikipedia, the King of the Ring winners from 1985-2002 were:
(Non-Pay Per View)
1985: Don Muraco
1986: Harley Race
1987: Randy Savage
1988: Ted Dibiase
1989: Tito Santana
1990: not held
1991: Bret Hart
1992: not held
(Pay Per View)
1993: Bret Hart
1994: Owen Hart
1995: Mabel (Viscera)
1996: Steve Austin
1997: Triple H
1998: Ken Shamrock
1999: Mr.Ass/Billy Gunn
2000: Kurt Angle
2001: Edge
2002: Brock Lesnar
The King of the Ring tournament is also known for helping to jump start Austin’s career, as the “Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass” catch phrase came following Stone Cold’s win over Jake “The Snake” Roberts in 1996.
It is not clear whether or not the 2006 King of the Ring will be Smackdown-exclusive or cross-promotional between SD and RAW. We’ll have more on this as it is available.
