Who was the best King of the Ring and why?

[quink987]

so since 1985 WWE had the KOTR tourmament but it wasnt till the WWE started having a PPV called KOTR in 1993 that the people who won it were recognised for it so thats what im doing. and every person who has won it has gone on to great things and won the WWE title apart from a select few.

who did you think was the most deserving of it and who was your favourite heres the list of winners

Bret Hart 1993
Owen Hart 1994
Mabel 1995
Steve Austin 1996
Triple H 1997
Ken Shamrock 1998
Billy Gunn 1999
Kurt Angle 2000
Edge 2001
Brock Lesner 2002
Booker T 2006
Willam Regal 2008
Sheamus 2011

so thiers the list and for me its got to be Owen Hart of 1994 because he wore that Crown with so much pride. he had a difficult tournament against Tatanka, 1 2 3 Kid (which for the 4mins the match was, was Awesome so fast paced) and Razor Ramon. Long live the King of Hearts

 

[King of the Words]

I gotta go with Bret Hart. He fought 3 great matches in one night. First Razor, then Perfect which was a classic, and wrapped it up against Bam Bam. The title of King of the Ring just fit him so well because at the time he was the best in ring WWF wrestler IMO. Having Bret win brought a lot of prestige to this PPV and made it an instant classic which continued on for a decade straight. Honourable mention to Owen Hart, who was great as well, and Austin, Triple H and Kurt Angle.

 

[MrAsmith97]

deserving: steve austin as it would lead to multiple achievments in his career
my favorite: Billy Gunn, he as well as edge were two guys that you would never expect (at the time) to win

 

[Matisyahu]

I'd have to go with Owen because he never let anyone forget that he was the King of the Ring as well as a two time Slammy Award Winning King of Harts OWEN Hart.

Owen was that rare type of wrestler with a heel persona that was hokey and funny but you knew he could handle himself in the ring and that fact that he won this and the slammys just made it that much better.

One of the greatest and funniest wrestlers ever

 

[IHW]

King Booker is the best that i have personally watched.
I loved his King reign and he held the World Title during.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

Of those listed Bret and Austin are the best wins as it truly elevated their careers but neither really did anything with the moniker "King of the Ring" where as the likes of Owen and Booker really took it and ran with. Thus why I think heels that have won KotR usually end up having the best and most entertaining reigns.

Of those not listed Harley Race and the Macho King are by far and away better than anyone else that laid claim to the King of the Ring.

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

depends on what you mean by Best... who went on with the crown and was the best "king of the ring" or who had the best win, or who was the win best for... I'd say Owen and Booker did the most with being Kings of the Ring as they made sure people knew it for a while... booker took it a step further (or back rather) and took on a kings moniker like Savage, Haku, and Race did... mabel did too but he was such a joke he doesn't win on any of these categories.... As for who had the best win... easily Bret Hart... he put on 3 amazing and varied matches and it was the first on a KOTR ppv... And who was winning it best for... that's easy as well... Austin since it pretty much blew the door wide open for the rest of his career and wrestling in general.

 

[123NewChamp]

Well I will have to say, the Best King Of The Ring Winner is Owen Hart. And there are some very credible winners here on this list such as Bret Hart who I think had the toughest opponets for one night, but The King Of The Ring has also worked Wonders and Upgraded Superstars careers to New Heights. (hence: Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Triple H.) But Owen was the most credible King Of The Ring Champion. B/C, he did all he could, and made it well known he was the King Of The Ring Champion. Honestly, u either loved him or hated him, but he earned it. But back then for those who watched wrestling at the time, knew he needed to prove that he was as good as his brother. But He treated the King Of The Ring, and them 2 Slammy's as if he had the WWF Championship. And that's true pride of a wrestler and a heart of a champion. Another winner who I didn't like how he won it, but brought prestige back and was on his way to something was William Regal. The aftermath of the tournament coulda work wonders for his career, but he got busted if you know what I mean. But there haven't nor will there ever be a credible KOTR Champ like Owen Hart.

 

[berlinbrawler]

I guess I would have to go with Bret Hart. He was the only guy that gave the impression that the KotR title came with some real prestige. He made it mean something.

The most impactful King obviously was Stone Cold, as his promo after winning served as the stepping stone he needed to catapult himself to superstardom.

My personal favorite was Owen Hart. At the time I was a huge Owen Hart mark (little brother rebelling against his older brother? As the youngest of 3 brothers I was absolutely sold) and when he won the final match against Razor I literally jumped for joy.

I find it considerably more difficult to decide on WORST King of the Ring.
There was Billy Gunn, who simply was no star and killed off any remaining prestige the title may have had at one point.
Unless, that is, the prestige was already gone completely when MABEL won it. Damn, that was a dark year for the WWF.
An honorary mention has to go to Sheamus. He was on a roll and the sky seemed the limit. Then he became King Sheamus and immediately his career plunged into a downward spiral. I've never seen anyone transition so quickly from "legit badass" to "complete joke." If you're gonna be a "King" you have to know how to sell the concept. Randy Savage and Booker T pulled it off nicely. Sheamus almost committed career suicide.

 

[Spuddogg]

Gotta be Stone Cold, for what he did after it, he become the legend of the wwe and the greatest superstar ever

 

[mesl]

Austin 3:16, most influential moment and outcome in King of the Ring history.. The attitude and disdain towards Jake Roberts and announcing to the world just how good he is will never be matched. The single greatest career propelling moment ever, and it wouldn't have been possible if he didn't just win an event like King of the Ring.

 

[Wald]

Best tournament was by far and away 1993. Bret worked one great match (Razor) and two classics (Perfect and Bam Bam) and put the entire tournament on the map as a result. I rate that nights work alongside Ric Flair in the 1991 Rumble as the best one night performance by any wrestler in WWF/E history.

I have to say that Owen Hart was my favourite King though. That, coupled with his 2 time Slammy Award winning phase, really set the tone for his character's progression. Plus we got the epic Summerslam cage match out of his win

 

[Harthan]

It has to be Stone Cold Steve Austin. There's not a case out there of a guy winning King of the Ring and riding it straight to the top at all like Austin did. From the second he won that crown and delivered one of the most iconic promos in wrestling history, it was obvious he was going to be a huge part of the WWF in the near future. This was not the beginning of the Attitude Era, but it was the herald of its coming. You can directly trace the legendary Austin vs Bret match at WrestleMania 13 to this match. Steve Austin came into his own at King of the Ring 1996, and he rode it straight to the top. I don't think there's a better example of someone using King of the Ring to ascend to the heights that Austin did. Certainly, you must consider him the greatest King of the Ring ever.

 

[Workrate]

is everyone forgetting brock lesnar???

Yes.

The best, for me, are Austin and the two Harts. Bret's because of the quality of the matches, Owen's because of the way he carried the honor and became so synonymous with it well after the win, and Austin because his KOTR promo is what launched the Stone Cold era and essentially birthed the biggest superstar of all-time.

 

[jsn_since89]

SCSA win in 96' changed the company so that has to be noted; but for me I was a Big Brock fan and I have to say his purely because:

1. HIS QUICK RISE TO THE TOP...
You look at all the Legends of this company; they all had to go through gimmick changes before finally becoming a star. The difference with Brock was he simply was what he was; THE NEXT BIG THING. I loved how he came in so quickly as well and was allowed to be put over by top performers cleanly. WWE had never really done that before with rookies, especially heels.

2. THE KOTR WINNER WAS DONE/USED CORRECTLY
I liked how they didn't turn him into King Brock with the Crown, Chair and Gown. Or receive a Trophy or something. They used the format to the tournament the best way, 16 Competitors, 8 Raw, 8 Smackdown, SF matches at the PPV and the Winner receives title shot at S'Slam!

(p.s Bring the KOTR back!")

 

[King Patrick Star]

I can’t really say who was the most deserving King Of The Ring, only because I think they all deserved to be King for whatever reason.

He wasn’t my favorite SuperStar or the most successful, but I can say that Booker T. was my favorite King Of The Ring between 1993 to 2011. He took the Crown, the Scepter and the Throne and really embraced his Kingdom. His run as WWE King lasted the longest I believe and he even won the World Title while King.

 

[spinningtorturerack]

My personal favourite is Edge winning KOTR as it brought about a great storyline with his split with Christian and kickstarted his midcard dominance of Smackdown. He had the epic feud with CHristian over the summer, followed by Angle and other great superstars! Seemed to be one of the few good things during the Invasion....

 

[Grizzly0u812]

Who was the best Kind of the Ring, I will have to say Stone Cold cause right after he won the King of the Ring its almost like he took right off with his Austin 316 said I just kicked your ass, pretty much, that was his catch phrase, although he did not wear a crown and cape, I feel his career just took right off.

Then we have the Macho King with Sherry, when he won the King of the Ring he started acting and dressing the part with Sherry by his side you always knew the matches and enterences were going to be different.

Booker T was entertaining also, talking like he was true royality.

have to say those 3 really used the KOTR to further their careers.

 

[thebarber]

Austin hands down benefited the most from his KOTR victory. The famous 3:16 speech catapaulted him staright to the upper mid card from pugatory. And to think HHH was supposed to win the tourney before the Curtain Call incident the previous month.
To the guy above, Savage didnt become the Macho King by beating Duggan, that was the King of WWE,. the same title held by Harley Race, Duggan and Haku. Duggan and Haku were never crowned official King of the Rings. Savage was KOTR in 1987, back when it was a non televised one night tournament. But the Macho King was a gimmick after beating King Duggan

 

[Arsenal]

Macho King was the greatest King the WWE ever saw. Of course, he's the GOAT, so anything he did was pure gold.

Stone Cold's win was the most important, like many have said. It, along with his iconic promo, put him over HUGE into upper mid-card status, whereas before he was nothing important.

When you look at that list of winners, I see that the "King of the Ring" title put over a lot of guys as upper mid-carders and pushed them towards stardom. The WWE should bring it back, with the winner getting a title shot at SummerSlam. It would really help get someone over, which the WWE has a major problem with right now.

 

[edgethefuture]

This is a no-brainer for me I will and always will say Booker T or should I say King Bookah
he lasted the longest and just acted like king and he was probably the most dominant as king but if I had to choose a second it would be stone cold because he just sky rocketed from winning that same with booker though he went from mid card to instant heavyweight beating rey for the world title at Gab 06 and stone cold well ....... he's the greatest well second but they both are the definite best so that's my opinion.

 

[Wald]

I think people are giving the King of the Ring too much create for making Austin a star. Sure he cut the famous promo in wrestling history at the event, but it took Bret Hart at the Survivor Series to make him into a main eventer. By that stage everyone had forgotten about him winning KotR and he never seemed to care about it

 

[The Idiot]

Owen Hart, by far. He did the best job of winning the KOTR and turning it into a gimmick. I was always a fan of "The King of Harts."

 

[theBec2101]

I would have to say Bret or Owen Bret because it lead to a major fued from the start. Owen because that lead to a neverending fued with Bret and a great match at WM
...........But then theres Austin, and it made him Austin 3:16 and the attitude era began