The Top 5 Kings in WWE History
WWE's King of the Ring tournament made a surprise return in 2019 and Baron Corbin was crowned the winner after a finals bout with Chad Gable, arguably the tournament's favorite.
The tournament has made sporadic appearances since 2010 with only three events held since in 2010, 2015 and most recently 2019. Despite being a prestigious tournament, the WWE for reasons best known to itself, has not decided to make this annual affair a regular setup.
However, we can look back to the long history of King of the Ring tournament winners, as well as others who have more symbolically carried the moniker of the king in WWE.
Not all kings are created equally. Despite winning the King of the Ring tournament and spending weeks to follow wearing a crown, Sheamus and Wade Barrett, for example, gained little from the gimmick. On the contrary, they looked a little silly and even anachronistic by the standards of the 2010s to the point that being king may have actually hurt them in the long run.
However, there are those performers who have thrived with the king title, given the extra bit of credibility it offered or the way it has helped them stand out from the field of other Superstars.
The King of the ring tournament is often seen as a stepping stone for a mid-carder to gain legitimacy and become part of the main event title picture and hence the need to be crowned. king is amplified to that extent.
This article takes a look back at the top five kings in WWE history who have made the most of winning this prestigious tournament.
#5 Owen Hart
Though WWE had staged King of the Ring tournaments dating back to the 1980s, they only started televising them, let alone making them the focus of a pay-per -view, in 1993. In 1994, Owen Hart did a lot to elevate the concept when he was crowned the King of Harts.
Hart followed in his brother Bret's footsteps in fighting his way through the bracket. One of the key differences was that when Bret won the tournament, he was already a main event level talent, whereas this victory helped shore up Owen's spot as a guy who could legitimately challenge for a world title.
Hart played the part of king masterfully, too. Whereas his brother let the accomplishment of winning the tournament speak for itself, and didn't talk about it much afterward, Owen crowed about it incessantly to play into his arrogant and braggadocios heel persona. The king gimmick defined him just as he defined what being crowned king could mean in that era.
Owen defeated Razor Ramon in the finals and was crowned king.
Owen was largely in the shadows of his brother Bret Hart, who attained a 'superstar' status back in the day and this win helped Owen cement his place as a top competitor.