King of the Ring was a
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
pay-per-view (PPV) and
WWE Network
WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television
Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television t ...
event
Event may refer to:
Gatherings of people
* Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion
* Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest
* Event management, the organization of e ...
produced by
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
, a
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
-based
professional wrestling promotion. The PPV event was held annually in June and was established in 1993 when the promotion was still called the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, renamed WWE in 2002). It centered on the
King of the Ring tournament
The King of the Ring tournament is a men's professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held periodically by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. Established in 1985, the winner of the inaugural tournament was Don M ...
, which had been held annually as a non-televised
house show from 1985 to 1991, with the exception of 1990. During the event's run as a PPV, it was considered one of the promotion's five biggest events of the year, along with the
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named afte ...
,
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...
,
SummerSlam
SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
, and
Survivor Series
Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...
, dubbed the "Big Five." The
2002 event was the final King of the Ring produced as a PPV. To coincide with the
brand extension introduced earlier that same year, the 2002 event featured wrestlers from both the
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
and
SmackDown! brand divisions. In 2003, the event's PPV slot was replaced by
Bad Blood.
The tournament endured a four-year hiatus until its return in
2006 as an exclusive tournament for wrestlers of the SmackDown! brand. Instead of a dedicated PPV, however, this tournament concluded at that year's
Judgment Day. While the tournament has since been held periodically as a non-PPV event and included WWE's other brands, the conclusion to the
2015 tournament aired exclusively as an event on the WWE Network and also occurred when a brand extension was not in effect. It has thus far been the last tournament to air as a separate event from WWE's other programs.
History
The
King of the Ring tournament
The King of the Ring tournament is a men's professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held periodically by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. Established in 1985, the winner of the inaugural tournament was Don M ...
is a
single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
in which the winner is crowned the "King of the Ring." The tournament was established in 1985 by the then-
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
(WWF) and was held annually until 1991, with the exception of 1990. These early tournaments were held as special non-televised
house shows in an effort to boost attendance at these events.
In 1993, the WWF began to produce an annual June
pay-per-view (PPV) titled King of the Ring. The inaugural PPV took place on June 13, 1993, at the
Nutter Center
The Nutter Center is a multi-purpose arena located at Wright State University, in Fairborn, Ohio. It mainly serves as the home court of the Wright State Raiders men's and women's basketball teams. It is also regularly used as a music venue for ...
in
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...
. Unlike the previous non-televised events, the PPV did not feature all of the tournament's matches. Instead, several of the qualifying matches preceded the event with the final few matches then taking place at the pay-per-view. There were also other matches that took place at the event as it was a traditional three-hour pay-per-view.
The King of the Ring pay-per-view was considered one of the promotion's "Big Five" PPVs of the year, along with the
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named afte ...
,
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...
,
SummerSlam
SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
, and
Survivor Series
Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...
, up until its disestablishment after the
2002 event—it was the only event of the five to never be hosted at least once at
Madison Square Garden. In 2003, the event's PPV slot was replaced by
Bad Blood.
In early 2002, the WWF was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) following a lawsuit from the
World Wildlife Fund
The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...
over the "WWF" initialism.
Also around this time, the promotion introduced the
brand extension, in which the roster was divided between the
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
and
SmackDown! brands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform.
The 2002 tournament and PPV was in turn held for wrestlers from both brands.
After a four-year hiatus, the tournament returned in
2006 and was held exclusively for wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand. Unlike the previous years, however, there was not an associated pay-per-view. Instead, tournament matches took place across episodes of ''
SmackDown!'' with the finale being held at
Judgment Day.
While WWE has continued to periodically hold the tournament across their other programs, the semifinals and final of the
2015 tournament aired exclusively as an event on WWE's online streaming service, the
WWE Network
WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television
Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television t ...
, which launched in February 2014. It has thus far been the only tournament since 2002 to have its own dedicated event. This 2015 tournament also occurred when a brand extension was not in effect.
In October 2022,
Dave Meltzer
David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has als ...
of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' reported that the WWE is planning to resurrect the King of the Ring pay-per-view event (also known as premium live event) in 2023 as the WWE began a major overhaul of its pay-per-view schedules.
Events
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:King Of The Ring
1993 establishments in Ohio