King of the Ring - Definition and Overview

King of the Ring was an annual World Wrestling Entertainment-produced pay-per-view event. The first King of the Ring was held in 1993 and the final event was held in 2002.

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. Traditonally, The King of the Ring winner would challenge the World Wrestling Entertainment champion at SummerSlam, similiar to the winner of the Royal Rumble challenging the champion at WrestleMania.

List of King of the Ring Winners

• 1993: Bret Hart
• 1994: Owen Hart
• 1995: Mabel
• 1996: Stone Cold Steve Austin
• 1997: Hunter Hearst Helmsley (known later as Triple H)
• 1998: Ken Shamrock
• 1999: Billy Gunn
• 2000: Kurt Angle
• 2001: Edge
• 2002: Brock Lesnar