Every WWE King Of The Ring PPV Ranked

Tournaments are one of the best things about professional wrestling as they create drama, propel storylines forward, and add a sense of genuine competition that only enhances the “sports” in sports entertainment. 

WWE’s regular tournament is King of the Ring, with the concept being used in recent years to determine world title challengers for SummerSlam. That isn’t how the concept began, however, and was initially a house show tournament from 1985 until 1991 which saw early kings like Don Muraco, Harley Race, Tito Santana, Ted DiBiase, and Randy Savage. 

The concept was finally brought to pay-per-view in 1993 and was part of the original Big Five along with the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series.

King of the Ring remained a pay-per-view until 2002 and was briefly revived as a WWE Network special in 2015. WWE King & Queen of the Ring was then held in 2024. 

This is every WWE King of the Ring pay-per-view ranked. 

12. King Of The Ring 1995

The New Generation era had its moments but it isn’t usually looked on with fondness decades later. The worst year is generally considered to have been 1995 with business suffering and WWE creative presenting fans with complete duds like Avatar, Dean Douglas, and Mantaur.  

Most of 1995’s major events were poor but none were as bad as King of the Ring which featured an unworthy tournament winner, a terrible tag team main event, and Bob Holly & The Roadie having arguably the best match on the card.

The quarter-finals of the King of the Ring featured Savio Vega (subbing for an injured Razor Ramon) vs. Yokozuna, The Roadie vs. Bob Holly, Shawn Michaels vs. Kama, and Mabel vs. The Undertaker. With such talents on offer, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker may have been considered the favourites but ‘Taker was swiftly eliminated by Mabel and Michaels was knocked out when he and Charles Wright went to a 15-minute time-limit draw. 

With the two favourites out of the running, it was guaranteed that the eventual winner would be a massive disappointment, if not a colossal disaster.

The final ended up being Mabel vs. Savio Vega and Mabel went on to win and become King of the Ring in the process. Mabel’s promise of a main event push was then awful due to his habit of injuring opponents, including The Undertaker and Diesel, and he was gone from WWE less than a year later. 

Elsewhere on the show, Jerry Lawler and Bret Hart wrote another chapter in their multi-year rivalry, this time in a Kiss My Foot Match. The Hitman beat The King and then made him kiss his foot, followed by Lawler’s own.

The main event of Diesel & Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Sycho Sid & Tatanka was better than the tournament finals by default but was still almost 20 solid minutes of kick/punch house show calibre non-action. 

A bad show full of bad wrestling and bad booking. 

11. King Of The Ring 2015

While not a pay-per-view, WWE revived King of the Ring in 2015 as a one-hour WWE Network special and it was the only King of the Ring event of the 2010s. The show wasn’t anything worth rewatching, though, and featured three short matches to determine who would leave with the crown, cape, and sceptre.

First up, Neville continued to impress on the main roster as he defeated Sheamus, while Bad News Barrett overcame R-Truth to advance to the final. This led to a rematch between Bad News Barrett and Neville only two days after their Extreme Rules pre-show match, with Barrett getting his win back after Neville whiffed on a Red Arrow and ran straight into a Bull Hammer. 

Barrett is one of the most unmemorable King of the Ring winners, but this show was a nice proof of concept which WWE would seldom repeat on the WWE Network.

Overall, though, only completionists are going to bother giving King of the Ring 2015 a rewatch.

10. King Of The Ring 1999

By 1999, WWE was in the midst of the red-hot Attitude Era and was more popular than ever due to the likes of Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, Mr. McMahon, and Mick Foley.

The red-hot characters and compelling storylines didn’t always translate into great shows, however, particularly when it came to pay-per-view. Viewed out of context, anyone watching today who wasn’t a fan at the time would be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss was actually about. 

While the King of the Ring tournament itself was a draw, the main selling point of the show in 1999 was the next step in the Austin vs. McMahon saga. A lot had happened between the boss and his loathsome working man’s champion in the prior two years, but the tension had escalated when Linda McMahon made The Texas Rattlesnake the new CEO of WWE. 

Vince clearly wasn’t going to work for someone who took great delight in routinely trying to ruin his life, and so challenged Stone Cold to a Handicap Ladder Match, joining forces with son Shane with control of the company on the line. The match was entertaining enough, full of inventive torture by Austin and the McMahons. The finish, with a mystery man raising the briefcase and costing Austin the match, was novel, but sadly never given closure because the writing team dropped the whole thing the next night, although many suspect it was The Big Boss Man.  

The tournament itself was full of short, mostly dull matches with poor finishes, like Bob Holly getting disqualified three minutes into his match with X-Pac, or the referee deciding that Ken Shamrock couldn’t continue due to some vague injury to some vague part of his body. 

The eventual winner, Billy Gunn, who defeated X-Pac, has gone down in history as one of the biggest misfires ever, as what was supposed to propel him into singles stardom ended up being a huge missed opportunity. 

Elsewhere, The Rock and The Undertaker had a WWE Title match filled with the ref bumps and interference that were common at the time, with ‘Taker remaining champion following a Pedigree from Triple H and Tombstone from The Undertaker to the Brahma Bull.

9. King Of The Ring 2000

WWE did little wrong in the year 2000, especially on pay-per-view. The beginning of the year featured many great pay-per-views, including Royal Rumble, No Way Out, Backlash, and Judgment Day, with all four shows containing very good matches, title changes, and storyline advancement in front of hot crowds. 

Though King of the Ring strived to reach the same bar, a sub-par tournament, uneven main event and one of the worst matches ever, meant that it was one of the poorest shows of the year. The talent was unquestionably there, but the booking was suspect at best.

It’s incredible that the tournament matches managed to disappointment, especially as they featured great workers like Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, and Chris Jericho along with the likes of Rikishi, Crash Holly, Val Venis and Bull Buchanan.

Benoit, Guerrero, and Jericho were all eliminated in the quarter-finals by Rikishi (by DQ), Val Venis, and Kurt Angle respectively, leaving Angle as the only sensible option to win left. The Olympic gold medallist ultimately did win too, defeating Rikishi following a top-rope Angle Slam. 

Less eventful than Kurt Angle winning King of the Ring was two of Vince McMahon’s stooges in Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson facing off for the Hardcore Title in a horrendous match which ended when Crash Holly defeated Patterson. 

The show’s main event saw the WWE Championship defended in a six-man tag team match as The Rock & Brothers of Destruction faced Triple H, Shane McMahon, and Vince McMahon, with the entertaining enough match seeing the WWE Title change hands after The Rock hit non-champion Vince McMahon with a Rock Bottom. 

Other matches on the show included a Four-Way Tag Team Title Elimination Match as Edge & Christian defended against The Hardy Boyz, Test & Albert, and Too Cool. There was also a Handicap Tables & Dumpsters Match of The Dudley Boyz vs. X-Pac, Road Dogg & Tori. 

Overall, King of the Ring 2000 was a show featuring no classic matches and a lot of questionable decision making.

8. King Of The Ring 1997

WWE King of the Ring 1997 was another bad show, but it did have one great match and a worthy tournament winner. 

Following a few very tough years, WWE were on the up in 1997 with Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and The Undertaker firmly established as the top stars in the company, while the likes of Mankind, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin were gaining considerable momentum. 

One of the main stories heading into the show revolved around Austin and Michaels as tag team partners who don’t like each other and the WWE Tag Team Champions squared off in the semi-main event to determine who the team captain was.

Their match was easily the best thing on the show and a match of the year contender for WWE, even if it did feature multiple ref bumps and end in a double DQ after Earl Hebner disqualified both competitors for attacking the referees. Michaels and Austin continued to brawl post-match regardless.

Austin vs. Michaels wasn’t originally planned for the show, with HBK initially scheduled to face perennial rival Bret Hart. The Hitman, who had also undergone knee surgery just a couple of months before King of the Ring, was fuming at Michaels, who had made his infamous ‘Sunny days’ remark just a few weeks before the show. Worried that Hart might legitimately hurt another of his top stars on the show, and given that Hart was still far from feeling 100 per cent after surgery, the match was scrapped by Vince McMahon. 

For the King of the Ring tournament itself, the likes of Triple H, Mankind, Ahmed Johnson and Jerry Lawler were all in contention for the crown. Johnson was promptly eliminated in the semi-finals by the future Triple H, which was a deeply unpopular decision in Providence, Rhode Island but undoubtedly the right call long-term. Lawler, meanwhile, failed against Mankind, who was in the middle of his gradual face turn. 

This set up Mankind vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley in the final and it was the former Terra Ryzing who emerged victorious in a fine match, picking up the win with a Pedigree after Chyna had already decked Mick Foley with a sceptre. This allowed Helmsley to reign supreme, one year after the fallout of the Curtain Call delayed his coronation.

The main event of King of the Ring featured a WWE Title match between The Undertaker and Faarooq with the Nation of Domination at ringside supporting Ron Simmons. The match was terrible, with ‘Taker winning with a Tombstone. The Deadman was then taken out post-match by Ahmed Johnson. 

Other matches that happened at King of the Ring saw Goldust defeat Crush, while The Hart Foundation of Owen Hart, the British Bulldog, and Jim Neidhart picked up a win over Sycho Sid and the Legion of Doom. Bret Hart would also appear on the show and challenge five Americans to face the Hart Foundation at Canadian Stampede, which set up one of the best pay-per-views WWE have ever aired. 

7. King Of The Ring 2002

The spring of 2002 was very much a transitional period for WWE. Amidst falling television ratings, stagnant pay-per-view buyrates, poor creative decisions and uncertainty around some of their top stars, the company were looking to the future and trying to prepare the Next Big Thing in a bid to boost business. 

That Next Big Thing was Brock Lesnar and he was the favourite heading into the semi-finals at King of the Ring in a final four which also included Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam and Test. The inevitable happened on the show as Lesnar flattened Test and went on to soundly defeat RVD to win the tournament, setting up Brock for a WWE Title match at SummerSlam.

The semi-final between Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam was an entertaining match but was caught up in a controversial situation post-match as Jericho, seemingly dismayed at the lacklustre critical appraisal the match was receiving, took to his website and posted a long rant condemning the online smarks that apparently didn’t appreciate his and Van Dam’s efforts and ability.

The tirade began with ‘Hello J*ckoffs’ and didn’t pick up much from there, with Jericho accusing forum-dwellers and dirtsheet writers of disrespect and over analysing things, suggesting that if they didn’t like the match that they should stop watching WWE and take up bowling instead. 

In the main event, The Undertaker delivered an anti-classic for the Undisputed Title against babyface Triple H. The two legends often have excellent chemistry inside the squared circle but their dynamic was wrong in 2002 and they failed to click in their 23-minute match that was overshadowed by The Rock, who took out ‘Taker with a Rock Bottom. This didn’t matter, though, as The Undertaker later hit HHH with a Low Blow and rolled him up to win the match, with Taker standing tall after the three men squabbled post-match.   

Elsewhere, Eddie Guerrero took on Ric Flair in a decent match, with The Nature Boy a substitute for a "Stone Cold" Steve Austin who had “taken his ball and went home” after refusing to put over Brock Lesnar in a King of the Ring qualifier on a random episode of SmackDown with no build.

Kurt Angle also made Hulk Hogan tap out clean to the Angle Lock in a somewhat shocking result as the Hulkster was enjoying a nostalgia-fuelled Indian summer. There were also two title changes on the show as Jamie Noble won the Cruiserweight Title from Hurricane and Molly Holly captured the WWE Women’s Title from Trish Stratus. 

6. King & Queen Of The Ring 2024

The first King & Queen of the Ring pay-per-view and the first fully fledged King of the Ring pay-per-view since 2002 saw the show emanate from Saudi Arabia with two tournaments to conclude. 

Multiple tournaments meant WWE abandoned holding the semi-finals on the same show, with only the tournament finals being held at the pay-per-view.

The first final of the night saw Nia Jax defeat Lyra Valkyria to become Queen of the Ring in an okay David vs. Goliath contest, during which Jax absolutely crushed Valkyria with the annihilator for the win. The King of the Ring final between Randy Orton and Gunther was far more entertaining as two of WWE’s best went toe-to-toe for over 20 minutes, only for the match to end in a botch as Orton’s shoulders weren’t down on a crucifix pin. 

The main event saw Cody Rhodes defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Logan Paul and the match was an entertaining affair. The show taking place in Saudi Arabia did bring the match down, however, especially as the finish of the match featured local actor Ibrahim Al Hajjaj, who was the guest ring announcer, getting involved. 

As had become typical of WWE main events since the summer of 2020, the match featured a ref bump, which provided the opening for Logan Paul to use the brass knuckles against Cody Rhodes, only for Al Hajjaj to grab Paul’s leg. This allowed Rhodes to block the Haymaker and follow up with three Cross Rhodes for the win. 

The first two matches at King & Queen of the Ring were entertaining enough as Liv Morgan defeated Becky Lynch for the Women’s World Championship following "unintentional" interference from Dominik Mysterio, who found himself in a love triangle between Liv and Rhea Ripley at the time.

Sami Zayn also successfully defended the Intercontinental Title in a Triple Threat against Chad Gable and Bronson Reed in a match filled with very good in-ring action that centred around Otis being conflicted about helping Gable to win despite the match having no rules.

5. King Of The Ring 2001

Not long before King of the Ring 2001, WWE were dealt a major blow when Triple H suffered a torn quadriceps during the main event of the May 21, 2001 Raw while teaming with Steve Austin as the dreaded Two Man Power Trip in a WWE Tag Team Title match against Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho. 

With the Cerebral Assassin ruled out for many months, storylines had to be re-written. The increasingly-paranoid Bionic Redneck continued to battle Benoit and Jericho without the aid of his teammate, with the three clashing in a triple threat match for Austin’s WWE Title in the headliner at King of the Ring.

The match was good, as you would expect from three skilled performers, but the match is more notable for another major injury as Benoit would suffer a serious neck injury, putting him on the shelf for the next year. Austin also came out of the show hurting, injuring his back when the debuting Booker T – interfering on behalf of the invading WCW – put him through the announce table. At least it ended the show in a great manner, though.

The Invasion angle also saw former WCW standout Diamond Dallas Page, who had been revealed as the stalker of the Undertaker’s then-wife Sara, get buried in a quick match with the Deadman, killing off what could have been a good angle and much longer feud. 

The King of the Ring tournament matches on the show were better but still a bit of a letdown considering the talent on display in Kurt Angle, Christian, Edge and Rhyno, especially with the view that any of the four could emerge with the crown.

In the end, Edge got the nod, defeating Angle in the final following interference from Shane McMahon. This led to the real highlight of King of the Ring 2001 as Kurt Angle and Shane McMahon squared off in a Street Fight.

Full of inventive spots and a level of violence not typically seen on WWE programming, their match delivered in a big way and produced one of the WWE moments of the 2000s as Kurt Angle tried and tried again to German Suplex Shane through a pane of glass, eventually doing so after McMahon had already landed on the top of his head when the glass initially refused to shatter. 

Elsewhere, you had a Light Heavyweight Title match between X-Pac and Jeff Hardy and a Tag Title offering of the Dudley Boyz vs. Kane and Spike Dudley. 

4. King Of The Ring 1996

The 1996 King of the Ring pay-per-view is the perfect example of how the tournament can boost a talent, including a wrestler who was never picked for stardom and made the most of their opportunity. 

This show, very much remembered for Steve Austin, is most famous for the iconic Austin 3:16 promo that lead to a gazillion t-shirt sales and helped the one-time Hollywood Blond on his way to becoming the industry leader.

As for the tournament matches themselves, the pick of the bunch was Austin’s semi-final victory over Marc Mero, during which Austin’s mouth was badly injured, necessitating a quick trip to the emergency room before his match with Jake Roberts, who had beaten Vader to book his place in the final. 

Stars of WWE’s not-quite Attitude Era were also in action, with The Undertaker having a brawl with Mankind, a harbinger of an ultra-intense rivalry to come. Ahmed Johnson also captured the Intercontinental Title from Goldust, and Shawn Michaels and British Bulldog had a good WWE Title match in the main event. 

Elsewhere, the Smoking Gunns retained the tag titles against the Godwinns, while The Ultimate Warrior handily defeated Jerry Lawler in one of Warrior’s last-ever matches for WWE. 

3. King Of The Ring 1994

The second King of the Ring pay-per-view, the 1994 edition managed to get the mix of good wrestling, logical storytelling, and big moments just right for the most part. 

The tournament was a real coming out party for the stars of WWE’s New Generation with 1-2-3 Kid, Jeff Jarrett, Razor Ramon, Tatanka and eventual winner Owen Hart all having a decent showing. The match between Kid and Hart was especially exceptional, likely the best three-and-a-half-minute wrestling match you’re going to find anywhere.

The King of Hart’s final victory over Ramon was capped off with a wonderfully obnoxious coronation, with Owen relishing in being the wonderful jerk that we all loved him for and setting him up nicely to continue his feud with big brother and then-WWE Champion, Bret Hart. 

Bret was also in action, defending his title against Diesel in another mat masterpiece from the best there is, was and ever will be. Diesel more than held up his end as the two stalwarts played human chess for over 20 minutes. Diesel also looked to have the title won after a Sweet Chin Music from Shawn Michaels and a Jackknife Powerbomb, only for Jim Neidhart to interfere and stop Diesel from securing the tainted victory and end the match in a DQ win for Big Daddy Cool.

Bizarrely, though, the WWE Title match was in the middle of the card as King of the Ring was headlined by Roddy Piper vs. Jerry Lawler in a match that belonged in the 1980s and was dominated by Lawler being distracted by a fan at ringside who he had humiliated on Raw.

The fan played into the finish too as they stopped Lawler from winning the match by using the ropes for leverage, which allowed Piper to hit a Back Suplex for the win in what would be his final WWE match for a year.  

With Lawler in action, the colour commentator for the match was Art Donovan as the former NFL great was inexplicably tasked with calling the action alongside Randy Savage and Gorilla Monsoon and spent most of the show sounding lost and confused. 

Confused co-host and poor main event aside, King of the Ring is recommended for anyone who needs a reminder of just how good Bret and Owen Hart were.

2. King Of The Ring 1993

Another event which displayed just how good Bret Hart was inside the squared circle was the 1993 edition of WWE King of the Ring, which was the first KOTR PPV. 

Bret began his long night by defeating Razor Ramon in the quarter-finals of the King of the Ring tournament before he advanced to the final with a win over Mr. Perfect in the semi-finals, with the match - like their effort at SummerSlam 1991 - being another excellent pro wrestling encounter. 

The final saw Bret square off with Bam Bam Bigelow, with the Beast from the East rolling past Jim Duggan before receiving a bye due to  Tatanka and Lex Luger wrestling to a time limit draw earlier in the night.

The main event was a perfect big man/little man encounter, with The Hitman earning the win with a victory roll and very much cementing himself as a top star in WWE, especially after his disappointing WrestleMania IX loss. 

Hart’s ascent to top babyface status was sorely needed as a noticeably leaner Hulk Hogan was prepared to leave the company, dropping the WWE Title to Yokozuna following an exploding camera to the face to end a dud of a match. 

Everything else at King of The Hill Ring isn’t particularly exciting during a rewatch in Shawn Michaels vs. Crush for the Intercontinental Title and an eight man tag featuring The Smoking Gunns, the Steiner Brothers, Money Inc., and The Headshrinkers. 

The show is worth tuning in for simply to watch Bret Hart’s clinic of a pro wrestling pay-per-view. 

1. King Of The Ring 1998

Even if it didn’t have the best overall quality of matches and the tournament winner was something of a misfire, the 1998 King of the Ring pay-per-view simply has to take the top spot for historical and storyline reasons and for the fact that Mick Foley practically risked his life for our entertainment. 

The Hell in a Cell match between Mankind and The Undertaker is still talked about with reverence decades later, a true testament to the efforts of both Foley and Undertaker, who it should be noted wrestled the match with a painful ankle injury. 

An ankle injury was the least of Foley’s worries, of course, as he sustained a laundry lists of bumps, bruises, breaks, knocks, scratches, scrapes, dislocations, disorientations, and his actual tooth somehow going from his mouth to getting stuck in his nose when he was thrown first off and then through the steel structure. 

Lesser men wouldn’t have carried on, but Foley continued to punish himself, being beaten to a pulp by The Undertaker in what resembled a murder scene as much as a match. The jaw-dropping action was accentuated by the commentary of Jim Ross, who was clearly worried about the wellbeing of one of the company’s stars. His call of ‘Good God almighty, they've killed him. As God is my witness, he is broken in half!’ still holds power all these years later. 

While you would never advocate for or encourage anyone to do what Foley did that night, it inarguably helped define his legacy and made this show in particular a must-see.

Even with a spectacle like the Hell in a Cell match on the card, nothing was stopping the insanely over Stone Cold from headlining the show, taking on – and surprising losing to – Kane in a First Blood match for the WWE Title. Austin would win the title back the next night on Raw but Kane’s sole WWE Title reign is another highlight on the night. 

The King of the Ring tournament itself featured The Rock, Jeff Jarrett, Ken Shamrock, and Dan Severn in the semi-finals. Rock overcame Severn, while Shamrock defeated Jarrett before The Great One and the World’s Most Dangerous Man faced off in a solid final. While Shamrock won the match with an Ankle Lock, it was obvious that The Rock had a very bright future ahead of him. 

Elsewhere, Owen Hart and X-Pac had a good match that was vastly different from their scintillating sprint four years earlier, The New Age Outlaws took on the New Midnight Express, and the team of Too Much took on Al Snow and Head. Not only that but Head – an actual mannequin head that Snow used to carry around and talk to – took the fall after Brian Christopher attached a bottle of Head and Shoulders shampoo to it and pinned Head. 

Putting that bit of nonsense aside, King of the Ring 1998 is a good show with one very noteworthy match, making it a solid recommendation as the best King of the Ring pay-per-view ever!