7 best careers of wrestlers after winning King of the Ring
WWE had officially announced in 2019 that the prestigious King of The Ring tournament would be returning post a four-year hiatus.
The tournament was held annually from 1985 to 2002 - although no events were held in 1990 and 1992. While some of these events were un-elevised, the King of The Ring re-debuted as it's own Pay-Per-View in 1993, until its final airing in 2002. Following a four year absence, the King of The Ring returned to WWE TV in 2006, being held on Smackdown over the course of a month before its finals at Judgement Day, where it was won by Booker T.
The tournament made three more returns, in 2008 on RAW, won by William Regal, 2010 on RAW won by Sheamus, and 2015 on RAW won by Wade "Bad News" Barrett.
Four years later, the King of The Ring once again returned on Monday night RAW. 16 superstars entered, half from RAW and half from Smackdown, and Baron Corbin won the event after defeating hot favorite Chad Gable to be crowned as the new king.
One of the major issues that has plagued the WWE over the years is their piling mid card crisis. Too many superstars languish in a non-title setup and hence leave the brand owing to creative frustrations. The King of the Ring tournament helps legitimize the presence of these stars and gives them an opportunity in the form of a launchpad to get to the main event scene.
Here, we take a look at seven such superstars who have over the years won the King of the Rings tournament and have gone on to make legendary WWE careers.
#7 Brock Lesnar - 2002
Before he was UFC Champion and the dominant force that struck fear into his opponents today,WWE Wrestlers Brock Lesnar had the best rookie year in wrestling history.
In his first year in WWE, Lesnar was a 2-time WWE Champion and Royal Rumble winner, was in the main event of WrestleMania and had defeated the likes of The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero and more. But the beginning of his rise to the top all started by winning the 2002 King of The Ring, where he defeated Rob Van Dam in the finals to take the crown.
As mentioned before, following his KOTR victory, Lesnar would take on all those accolades above and would also hold the WWE Championship for a third time in 2003 before he left WWE in 2004. After being the best draw in the UFC for several years, 'The Beast' returned to WWE in 2012, where he has since won the WWE Championship for a 4th time and became a 3 time WWE Universal Champion.
Lesnar would also win the 2019 Money in The Bank, take away The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak and win many more big matches over the like of John Cena, Triple H, Randy Orton, Goldberg, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and more.