King of the Ring

King of the Ring is an annual World Wrestling Entertainment tournament first held in 1985. From 1993 to 2002, it was held as a pay-per-view event as well. After a four year hiatus, the King of the Ring tournament returned in 2006 as a SmackDown! exclusive tournament.

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. 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 Randy Savage ("Macho King"), Owen Hart ("King of Harts"), "King" Mabel (now known as Viscera), Kurt Angle ("King Kurt"), Edge ("King Edge The Awesome") and most recently, Booker T ("King Booker").

Pay-per-view
The King of the Ring main event was an event in which typically fifteen to sixteen wrestlers wrestled in a one-on-one single elimination bracket. When a wrestler wins a match in the bracket, they advance forward to take on another wrestler that has also won. The final few matches would then take place at that year's King of the Ring event. The winner of the final match is officially crowned the King of the Ring. There were also other matches that took place at the King of the Ring event since it was a traditional three hour pay-per-view.

While some believe that the new King of the Ring traditionally receives a WWF/WWE Championship shot at the SummerSlam pay-per-view, this only became an established rule in 2002, for what would become the final King of the Ring tournament for 4 years until SmackDown! general manager Theodore Long brought it back in 2006. Only four kings went on to challenge for the championship at SummerSlam (Owen Hart, Mabel, Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar) and only in Lesnar's case was the challenger granted a title shot as a "right" after winning the King of the Ring. More important than an actual title shot was the prestige of winning the tournament itself; some wrestlers have made being king an integral part of their gimmick, and, in general, the winner of the King of the Ring is a wrestler whom management has picked to advance in the storylines and be the next breakout star. In fact, Steve Austin's famous "3:16" saying started at KOTR. A number of wrestlers have had huge successes after winning the tournament (in particular Steve Austin, but also Bret Hart, Kurt Angle, Triple H, and others), while some wrestlers have admittedly been "flops" as king (such as Mabel and Billy Gunn).

The PPV also was considered the fifth major WWF PPV (alongside the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series) as it was one of their only annual events.

Revival
It was announced in April 2006 that the King of the Ring tournament would be returning in 2006 after its four year hiatus. The 2006 tournament was the first tournament since 1991 that had not been shown on its own pay-per-view. The 2006 tournament was won by Booker T, who faced Bobby Lashley in the final at the Judgment Day pay-per-view event.

List of winners
The event became a pay-per-view as of this point
 * 1985: Don Muraco
 * 1986: Harley Race
 * 1987: Randy Savage
 * 1988: Ted DiBiase
 * 1989: Tito Santana
 * 1990: uncontested
 * 1991: Bret Hart
 * 1992: uncontested
 * 1993: Bret Hart
 * 1994: Owen Hart
 * 1995: Mabel
 * 1996: Steve Austin
 * 1997: Hunter Hearst Helmsley
 * 1998: Ken Shamrock
 * 1999: Billy Gunn
 * 2000: Kurt Angle
 * 2001: Edge
 * 2002: Brock Lesnar

''The event returned in 2006 and was exclusive to the SmackDown! roster''
 * 2006: Booker T

1985
Under the name WWF Wrestling Classic, the tournament was held on July 8, 1985 at the Sullivan Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The tournament brackets were:

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

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

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

1: Iron Mike Sharpe substituted for The Warlord. 2: DiBiase paid Bass off to fake an injury.

1989
The tournament was held on October 14, 1989 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The tournament brackets were:

1: Bill Woods substituted for Barry Windham.

1991
The tournament was held on September 7, 1991 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The tournament brackets were:

1: Pete Doherty substituted for Kerry Von Erich.

1993
King of the Ring 1993 took place on June 13, 1993 and emanated from the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio.


 * Dark match: Papa Shango defeated Owen Hart to retain the USWA Heavyweight Championship
 * Shango pinned Owen.
 * KOTR Quarter-Final: Bret Hart defeated Razor Ramon (10:25)
 * Hart pinned Ramon.
 * KOTR Quarter-Final: Mr. Perfect defeated Mr. Hughes (6:02)
 * Hughes was disqualified.
 * KOTR Quarter-Final: Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Jim Duggan (4:59)
 * Bigelow pinned Duggan.
 * KOTR Quarter-Final: Tatanka fought Lex Luger to a time limit draw (15:00)
 * Both men were eliminated from the tournament.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: Bret Hart defeated Mr. Perfect (18:56)
 * Bret pinned Perfect after a Small Package.
 * Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji) defeated Hulk Hogan to win the WWF Championship (13:08)
 * Yokozuna pinned Hogan after a fireball from a cameraman's camera blinded Hogan.
 * The Smokin' Gunns (Billy and Bart) and The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) defeated The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu) and Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster) (6:49)
 * Billy pinned DiBiase.
 * Shawn Michaels defeated Crush to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship (11:14)
 * Michaels pinned Crush.
 * KOTR Final: Bret Hart defeated Bam Bam Bigelow to win the King of the Ring tournament (18:11)
 * Bret pinned Bigelow after a Victory Roll.

The tournament took place between May 1 and June 13, 1993. The tournament brackets were:

1 Crush and Shawn Michaels fought to a Double Count-Out on WWF Superstars 5/22/93 in a King of the Ring Qualifying Match. Michaels had lost the WWF Intercontinental Championship just five days earlier. Crush petitioned WWF President, Jack Tunney over the decision stating that Michaels purposely cost both men a berth into the WWF King of the Ring 1993 Tournament. Crush was later awarded a WWF Intercontinental Championship Title Match with Michaels at the King of the Ring PPV.

2 Mr. Perfect and Doink The Clown battled to a Ten Minute Time Limit Draw in the first King of the Ring Qualifying Match on WWF Superstars 5/1/93. Mr. Perfect and Doink The Clown wrestled again to a Ten Minute Limit Draw on WWF Wrestling Challenge 5/15/93. The two battled for the final berth on WWF Monday Night RAW 5/24/93 in a match where there was no time limit.

1994
King of the Ring 1994 took place on June 19, 1994 and emanated from the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.


 * Dark match: Sparky Plugg defeated Kwang
 * Sparky pinend Kwang.
 * KOTR Quarter-Final: Razor Ramon defeated Bam Bam Bigelow (8:24)
 * Ramon pinned Bigelow.
 * KOTR Quarter-Final: Irwin R. Schyster defeated Mabel (5:34)
 * IRS pinned Mabel.
 * KOTR Quarter-Final: Owen Hart defeated Tatanka (8:18)
 * Owen pinned Tatanka.
 * '''KOTR Quarter-Final: The 1-2-3 Kid defeated Jeff Jarrett (4:39)
 * Kid pinned Jarrett.
 * '''WWF Intercontinental Champion Diesel defeated WWF Champion Bret Hart (22:51)
 * Bret was disqualified, both men retain their titles.
 * '''KOTR Semi-Final: Razor Ramon defeated Irwin R. Schyster (5:13)
 * Ramon pinned IRS.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: Owen Hart defeated The 1-2-3 Kid (3:37)
 * Owen forced the Kid to submit.
 * The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu) defeated Crush and Yokozuna to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship (9:16)
 * Fatu pinned Crush.
 * KOTR Final: Owen Hart defeated Razor Ramon to win the King of the Ring tournament (6:35)
 * Owen pinned Ramon after Jim Neidhart came ringside and helped Owen score the win.
 * After the match, Owen christened himself the "King of Harts".
 * Roddy Piper defeated Jerry Lawler (12:30)
 * Piper pinned Lawler.

The tournament took place between April 13 and June 19, 1994. The tournament brackets were:

1 Crush (replacing the originally announced Jimmy Del Ray) and Tatanka wrestled to a Double Count-Out on WWF Monday Night RAW on 5/30/94 in a King of the Ring Qualifying Match. The two would wrestle again the next week on RAW in a Lumberjack Match for the final slot in the WWF King of the Ring 1994.

1995
King of the Ring 1995 took place on June 25, 1995 and emanated from The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


 * Dark match KOTR Qualifier: Savio Vega (w/Razor Ramon) defeated Irwin R. Schyster (w/Ted DiBiase) (4:01)
 * Vega pinned IRS.
 * '''KOTR Quarter-Final: Savio Vega (w/Razor Ramon) defeated Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette) (8:24)
 * Yokozuna was counted-out.
 * '''KOTR Quarter-Final: The Roadie (w/Jeff Jarrett) defeated Bob Holly (7:30)
 * Roadie pinned Holly.
 * KOTR Quarter-Final: Shawn Michaels fought Kama (w/Ted DiBiase) to a time-limit draw (15:00)
 * Both men were eliminated from the tournament.
 * KOTR Quarter-Final: Mabel (w/Mo) defeated The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (10:44)
 * Mable pinned Undertaker after Kama interfered.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: Savio Vega (w/Razor Ramon) defeated The Roadie (w/Jeff Jarrett (6:36)
 * Vega pinned Roadie.
 * Mabel received a bye due to the draw between Michaels/Kama.
 * Bret Hart defeated Jerry Lawler in a "Kiss My Foot" match (9:20)
 * Hart forced Lawler to submit, as a result Lawler had to kiss Hart's foot.
 * KOTR Final: Mabel (w/Mo) defeated Savio Vega to win the King of the Ring tournament (8:32)
 * Mabel pinned Vega.
 * Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Tatanka and Sycho Sid (w/Ted DiBiase) (17:35)
 * Diesel pinned Tatanka.

The tournament took place between May 14 and June 25, 1995. The tournament brackets were:

1 Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith wrestled to a 15:00 Time Limit Draw on WWF Monday Night RAW on 6/5/95 in a King of the Ring Qualifying Match. Yokozuna would defeat Luger the next week on RAW for the final slot in the King of the Ring Tournament.

2 Savio Vega defeated Irwin R. Schyster in a match prior to the pay-per-view, to fill the vacancy left due to Razor Ramon's rib injury he suffered on June 9 in Uniondale, New York in a ladder match against Jeff Jarrett. Ramon had qualified on May 16 in Danbury, Connecticut over Jacob Blu.

1996
King of the Ring 1996 took place on June 23, 1996 and emanated from the MECCA Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.


 * Dark match: The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) (w/Cloudy) defeated The New Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Leif Cassidy) (8:06)
 * Skip pinned Cassidy.
 * Dark match: Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Aldo Montoya (3:00)
 * Helmsley pinned Montoya.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: Steve Austin defeated Marc Mero (16:49)
 * Austin pinned Mero.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: Jake Roberts defeated Vader (3:34)
 * Vader was disqualified.
 * The Smokin' Gunns (Billy and Bart) defeated The Godwinns (Henry and Phineas) to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship (10:10)
 * Billy pinned Phineas.
 * The Ultimate Warrior defeated Jerry Lawler (3:50)
 * Warrior pinned Lawler.
 * Mankind defeated The Undertaker (18:21)
 * Mankind pinned Undertaker.
 * Ahmed Johnson defeated Goldust to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship (15:34)
 * Johnson pinned Goldust.
 * KOTR Final: Steve Austin defeated Jake Roberts to win the King of the Ring tournament (4:28)
 * Austin pinned Roberts.
 * '''Shawn Michaels defeated The British Bulldog (w/Mr. Perfect as Special Guest Referee) to retain the WWF Championship (26:25)

The tournament took place between May 27 and June 23, 1996 (the entire first two rounds were actually done on May 27 and 28, two of the three quarterfinal matches actually occurred before the first round was completed). The tournament brackets were:

1997
King of the Ring 1997 took place on June 8, 1997 and emanated from the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.


 * Dark match: The Headbangers (Mosh and Thrasher) defeated Bart Gunn and Jesse James (6:10)
 * Thrasher pinned Gunn.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/Chyna) defeated Ahmed Johnson (7:42)
 * Helmsley pinned Johnson after a Pedigree.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: Mankind defeated Jerry Lawler (10:24)
 * Mankind forced Lawler to submit with the Mandible claw.
 * Goldust defeated Crush (9:56)
 * Goldust pinned Crush after a DDT.
 * The Hart Foundation (Owen Hart, The British Bulldog and Jim Neidhart) defeated Sycho Sid and The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) (13:37)
 * Owen pinned Sid with a sunset flip.
 * KOTR Final: Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/Chyna) defeated Mankind to win the King of the Ring tournament (19:26)
 * Helmsley pinned Mankind after a Pedigree.
 * Shawn Michaels fought Steve Austin to a double disqualification (22:29)
 * Both men were disqualified after they attacked the referee.
 * The Undertaker defeated Faarooq to retain the WWF Championship (13:43)
 * Undertaker pinned Faarooq after a Tombstone Piledriver.

The tournament was held between May 12 and June 8, 1997. The tournament brackets were:

1 Helmsley was allowed another spot in the tournament because he was not properly instructed prior to his match with Ahmed Johnson the previous week that he could be eliminated via disqualification and thus threatened the WWF with legal action; Vader was originally in this spot but was injured in his No Holds Barred match with Ken Shamrock at In Your House: A Cold Day in Hell on May 11.

1998
King of the Ring 1998 was held on June 28, 1998 and emanated from the Pittsburgh Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The tagline for the event was "Off With Their Heads".


 * The Headbangers (Mosh and Thrasher) and TAKA Michinoku defeated Kaientai (Funaki, Men's Teioh and Dick Togo) (6:41)
 * Michinoku pinned Funaki after a Michinoku Driver.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: Ken Shamrock defeated Jeff Jarrett (5:29)
 * Shamrock forced Jarrett to submit with a Ankle Lock.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: The Rock defeated Dan Severn (4:25)
 * Rock pinned Severn after D'Lo Brown interfered and hit a 'Lo Down on Severn.
 * '''Too Much (Brian Christopher and Scott Taylor) defeated Al Snow and Head (w/Jerry Lawler as Special Guest Referee) (8:27)
 * Christopher pinned Head after attaching a bottle of Head & Shoulders to it.
 * '''X-Pac defeated Owen Hart (8:30)
 * X-Pac pinned Hart after Chyna interfered and hit Owen with a DDT.
 * The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) defeated The New Midnight Express (Bombastic Bob and Bodacious Bart) to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship (9:54)
 * Gunn pinned Bob.
 * KOTR Final: Ken Shamrock defeated The Rock to win the King of the Ring tournament (14:09)
 * Shamrock forced Rock to submit with a Ankle Lock.
 * The Undertaker defeated Mankind in a Hell in a Cell match (17:38)
 * Undertaker pinned Mankind after a Tombstone Piledriver.
 * Kane defeated Steve Austin in a First Blood match to win the WWF Championship (14:52)
 * Kane won after The Undertaker interfered and hit Austin with a steel chair causing Austin to bleed.

1999
King of the Ring 1999 took place on June 27, 1999 and emanated from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.


 * Dark match: Meat defeated Kurt Angle
 * Meat pinned Angle.
 * Sunday Night HEAT match: The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) fought Edge and Christian to a no-contest (1:28)
 * Sunday Night HEAT match: Midion and Viscera defeated The Big Boss Man in a Handicap match (1:47)
 * Midion pinned Boss Man.
 * Sunday Night HEAT match: Prince Albert defeated Val Venis (1:57)
 * Albert pinned Venis.
 * Sunday Night HEAT match: Ken Shamrock defeated Shane McMahon (0:43)
 * McMahon was disqualified when Steve Blackman interfered and attacked Shamrock.
 * KOTR Quarter-Final: X-Pac defeated Hardcore Holly (3:02)
 * Holly was disqualified after hitting X-Pac with a steel chair.
 * KOTR Quarter-Final: Kane defeated The Big Show (6:36)
 * Kane pinned The Big Show after attacking him with a steel chair.
 * KOTR Quarter-Final: Mr. Ass defeated Ken Shamrock (3:37)
 * The referee stopped the match after Shamrock started bleeding from the mouth.
 * '''KOTR Quarter-Final: Road Dogg defeated Chyna (w/Triple H) (13:19)
 * Road Dogg pinned Chyna after a Pumphandle Drop.
 * '''The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) (w/Michael Hayes) defeated The Brood (Edge and Christian) (w/Gangrel) (4:49)
 * Matt pinned Christian.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: Mr. Ass defeate Kane (5:25)
 * Mr. Ass pinned Kane after The Big Show interefered and hit Kane with a steel chair.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: X-Pac defeated Road Dogg (3:08)
 * X-Pac pinned Road Dogg after a X-Factor.
 * The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) defeated The Rock to retain the WWF Championship (19:10)
 * Undertaker pinned Rock after a Tombstone Piledriver.
 * KOTR Final: Mr. Ass defeated X-Pac to win the King of the Ring tournament (5:33)
 * Mr. Ass pinned X-Pac.
 * Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon defeated Steve Austin in a Ladder match (17:11)
 * The McMahons won when Shane grabbed the briefcase, winning Austin's 50% ownership of WWF.

The tournament took place between May 25 and June 27, 1999. The tournament brackets were:

2000
King of the Ring 2000 took place on June 25, 2000 and emanated from the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts.


 * KOTR Quarter-Final: Rikishi defeated Chris Benoit (3:25)
 * Benoit was disqualified after attacking Rikishi with a steel chair.
 * KOTR Quarter-Final: Val Venis defeated Eddie Guerrero (8:04)
 * Venis pinned Guerrero with a Bridging Fisherman's Suplex.
 * KOTR Quarter-Final: Crash Holly defeated Bull Buchanan (4:07)
 * Crash pinned Buchanan with a roll-up.
 * KOTR Quarter-Final: Kurt Angle defeated Chris Jericho (9:50)
 * Angle pinned Jericho after an Angle Slam.
 * Edge and Christian defeated Too Cool (Grand Master Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty) (c), The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) (w/Lita) and T & A (Test and Albert) (w/Trish Stratus) in a Four Corners Elimination match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship (14:11)
 * Matt pinned Test after Jeff hit a Swanton Bomb. (3:41)
 * Christian pinned Matt after an Unprettier (7:55)
 * Edge pinned Sexay after Christian hit Sexay with a tag title belt. (14:11)
 * KOTR Semi-Final: Rikishi defeated Val Venis (3:15)
 * Rikishi pinned Venis after a Belly-to-Belly Suplex.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: Kurt Angle defeated Crash Holly (3:58)
 * Angle pinned Crash after an Angle Slam.
 * WWF Hardcore Champion Pat Patterson fought Gerald Brisco to a no-contest in a Evening Gown match (3:07)
 * The match ended when Crash Holly pinned Patterson to win the Hardcore Championship.
 * D-Generation X (Road Dogg and X-Pac) and Tori defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) in a Handicap Tables Dumpster match (9:45)
 * DX and Tori won when both Dudleyz were put in the dumpster.
 * After the match, the Dudleyz hit the 3D on both X-Pac and Road Dogg before Bubba Ray hit a sit-down powerbomb off the top on Tori through a table set up in the ring.
 * KOTR Final: Kurt Angle defeated Rikishi to win the King of the Ring tournament (5:56)
 * Angle pinned Rikishi after a Super Belly-to-Belly Suplex.
 * The Rock, Kane and The Undertaker defeated Triple H, Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon (17:54)
 * Rock pinned Vince after a Rock Bottom to win the WWF Championsip.
 * The pre-match stipulation was that Triple H's WWF Title was on the line and whoever got the pinfall/submission would get the title as well.

The tournament took place between May 29 and June 25, 2000.

2001
King of the Ring 2001 took place on June 24, 2001 and emanated from the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.


 * Sunday Night HEAT match: Matt Hardy (w/Lita) defeated Justin Credible to retain the WWF European Championship (7:03)
 * Hardy pinned Credible after a Diving Hurricarana from Lita.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: Kurt Angle defeated Christian (8:17)
 * Angle pinned Christian after a Angle Slam.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: Edge defeated Rhyno (8:52)
 * Edge pinned Rhyno after a Edgecution.
 * The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) defeated Kane and Spike Dudley to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship (8:32)
 * Bubba pinned Spike after a 3D.
 * KOTR Final: Edge defeated Kurt Angle to win the King of the Ring tournament (10:21)
 * Edge pinned Angle after an Edgecution.
 * Jeff Hardy defeated X-Pac to retain the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (7:11)
 * Jeff pinned X-Pac after a Swanton Bomb.
 * Kurt Angle defeated Shane McMahon in a Street Fight (26:00)
 * Angle pinned Shane after a Super Angle Slam.
 * Steve Austin defeated Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit in a Triple Threat match to retain the WWF Championship (27:52)
 * Austin pinned Benoit after Benoit hit a back suplex on Jericho off the top rope.

The tournament took place between June 4 and June 24, 2001. The tournament brackets were:

2002
King of the Ring 2002 took place on June 23, 2002 and emanated from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The official theme song was "Ride Of Your Life" by Neurotica


 * Sunday Night HEAT match: The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) defeated Raven and Steven Richards (6:02)
 * Jeff pinned Richards after Raven walked out on his partner.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: Rob Van Dam defeated Chris Jericho (14:32)
 * RVD pinned Jericho after a Five-Star Frog Splash.
 * KOTR Semi-Final: Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) defeated Test (8:18)
 * Lesnar pinned Test after an F-5.
 * Jamie Noble (w/Nidia) defeated The Hurricane to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship (11:38)
 * Noble pinned Hurricane with a roll-up.
 * Ric Flair defeated Eddie Guerrero (17:00)
 * Flair pinned Guerrero after Bubba Ray Dudley interfered and hit Guerrero with a Bubba Bomb.
 * Molly Holly defeated Trish Stratus to win the WWE Women's Championship (5:41)
 * Molly pinned Trish with leverage from a handful of tights after a Belly-to-belly suplex.
 * Kurt Angle defeated Hulk Hogan (12:08)
 * Angle forced Hogan to submit with the Ankle Lock.
 * KOTR Final: Brock Lesnar defeated Rob Van Dam to win the King of the Ring tournament (5:42)
 * Lesnar pinned RVD after an F-5.
 * The Undertaker defeated Triple H to retain the WWE Undisputed Championship (23:44)
 * Undertaker pinned Triple H with a roll-up.

The tournament took place between June 3 and June 23, 2002. The tournament brackets were:

1 Edge forfeited his match to Chris Jericho due to a shoulder injury.

2006
The tournament took place between April 14 and May 21, 2006. The tournament brackets were:

1 Kurt Angle was injured by Mark Henry on the April 28, 2006 episode of Friday Night SmackDown!. Due to the injury, Angle's spot was turned into a bye.

Trivia

 * Bret Hart is the only multiple time King of the Ring winner, having won it twice back-to-back times in 1991 and 1993 (the event was not held in 1992). Coincidentally, Hart's 1991 crown was from the last tournament to be non-PPV, whereas his 1993 crown was from the first tournament to be on PPV.
 * Bret Hart, Steve Austin, Triple H and Brock Lesnar are the only four people who have won both the King of the Ring and the Royal Rumble.
 * The 1999 King of the Ring Tournament is singular because it is the only one in which all of its televised Qualifying Round matches occurred on Sunday Night HEAT. Normally, most King of the Ring matches happened at WWE's main shows RAW, SmackDown!, or Superstars. The only other tournament to have matches contested on HEAT was the 2000 edition, but they were only few matches with mainly low and mid-card contestants.
 * King of the Ring 2006 was the first King of the Ring tournament not to be held at a King of the Ring pay-per-view since 1991.
 * The 1995 event was the only one where the winner recieved a physical title belt for winning.