WWE: Every King Gimmick, Ranked

An often brought-back tradition of the WWE is the King of the Ring tournament. Typically contested between 8-16 different wrestlers, with a few exceptions, one man will finish the tournament and be crowned the new King of the Ring. In previous iterations of the tournament, the victor receives a world title shot, while more recent events have simply seen the winner receive a crown, robe, and a seat on their throne.

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WWE's King of the Ring winners never got a belt to go with the crown, so when Mabel won, he simply had his own one made.

Now, there have been twenty-two King of the Ring events. However, not every winner took up the gimmick of being "the king". There have also been a couple of wrestlers who took up the mantle of king without winning the King of the Ring tournament. With sixteen different men to portray the king gimmick, let's rank them among each other and see who truly deserves the title.

16 Kurt Angle Quickly Dropped The King Gimmick

Angle Won The 2000 King Of The Ring Tournament

Round 1	Round 2	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
Vs. Bradshaw	Vs. Bubba Ray Dudley	Vs. Chris Jericho	Vs. Crash Holly	Vs. Rikishi

Kurt Angle was easily one of the more deserving names to win the 2000 King of the Ring tournament as he just came off his spectacular undefeated streak and reign as Euro-Continental Champion. After dropping his titles, Angle would form a friendship with Edge & Christian while embarking on a feud against Too Cool, leading into the King of the Ring PPV.

Angle beat Rikishi in the finals to become King of the Ring and even took up the gimmick of "King Kurt" for a short while. As hilarious as Angle can be, this gimmick just didn't do anything for him and was quickly dropped in favor of having Angle just be how he was. Angle failed to capture the WWE Championship at SummerSlam but would find his time with the belt by October at No Mercy.

15 King Edge Totally Reeked Of Awesomeness

Edge Won The 2001 King Of The Ring Tournament

Round 1	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
Vs. Test	Vs. Perry Saturn	Vs. Rhyno	Vs. Kurt Angle

There couldn't be a more 2001 line-up of wrestlers for Edge to go through to win his King of the Ring trophy, provided that the Invasion PPV was the following month. Edge would face the previous year's winner, Kurt Angle, in the finals and be presented with a trophy instead of a crown and throne.

Similar to Angle, the king gimmick didn't stick to Edge for long and was more just a minor detail of his already-established character at the time. Also, unlike previous and future winners, Edge didn't receive a World title shot at SummerSlam but instead faced Lance Storm for the Intercontinental Championship.

14 King Mabel Got A Brief Main Event Push In 1995

Mabel Won The 1995 King Of The Ring Tournament

Round 1	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
Vs. Adam Bomb	Vs. The Undertaker	BYE	Vs. Savio Vega

Now for the actual worst attempt at the king gimmick, King Mabel was crowned at the 1995 event after he beat Savio Vega. Mabel's victory has been criticized numerous times as he was far from the main event prior to his KOTR win and, even after the tournament, wasn't on the same level as names like Diesel, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, and more.

His wins over Adam Bomb, The Undertaker, and Savio Vega didn't do much to push him to that main event, and OSW Review have done a better job at making King Mabel and his sidekick, Sir Mo, more popular:

13 Jim Duggan Became King Duggan In 1989

Duggan Took The Crown From Haku

Beat Haku For The Crown On An Episode Of Superstars.
Challenged Rick Rude For The Intercontinental Championship.
Lost The Crown To Randy Savage.

Jim Duggan would be the second man to be crowned as the king in WWE without winning the actual King of the Ring tournament. His reign came when he beat King Haku, who also didn't win the tournament, on the May 13, 1989, episode of Superstars.

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His time as king didn't see many highlights besides a match against Rick Rude for the Intercontinental Championship on an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event. Duggan would lose his crown to Randy Savage, who would start to call himself the "Macho King".

12 Former NWA World Champion Harley Race Became A King In WWE

Harley Race Won The 1986 King Of The Ring Tournament

Round 1	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
Vs. George Steele	BYE	Vs. Billy Jack Haynes	Vs. Pedro Morales

While Harley Race wasn't the first winner of the King of the Ring tournament, that honor would go to Don Muraco. Race would be the first to adopt the king gimmick after his victory and went all in with it. King Race would have his opponents kneel down and bow before him after a match.

Race kept the gimmick going until he suffered an injury and needed to take some time off. Upon his return, his manager, Bobby Heenan, gave the king gimmick to another wrestler. Shortly after that, Race departed from the WWE.

11 Wade Barrett Became A King In His Final Year With WWE

Barrett Won The 2015 King Of The Ring Tournament

Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
Vs. Dolph Ziggler	Vs. R-Truth	Vs. Neville

Wade Barrett was doing everything within his power to get over with the WWE audience and was succeeding with his Bad News Barrett character. Things would change when the decision was made to crown Barrett as the King of the Ring winner in 2015. The win made Barrett stop his Bad News gimmick and become a lower midcarder, feuding against names like R-Truth and Neville.

As will be showcased later, Barrett was one of the KOTR winners who didn't receive a title shot for his efforts and instead just got the gimmick and crown. Barrett's time after the tournament saw him team with Stardust to face Neville and Stephen Amell at SummerSlam before joining The League of Nations stable. This lasted until Barrett left WWE.

10 Sheamus Gave The King Gimmick His All

Sheamus Won The 2010 King Of The Ring Tournament

Round 1	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
Vs. R-Truth	Vs. Kofi Kingston	BYE	Vs. John Morrison

Sheamus has done almost everything possible in the WWE, including capturing world titles, winning the Royal Rumble, becoming Mr. Money in the Bank, and even winning the King of the Ring tournament. That last one has been seen as the lesser of his accomplishments. By the time Sheamus was in the WWE and won the KOTR, the tournament hadn't been treated the same as it did years prior.

The tournament itself was held as a special episode of Raw and not a PPV anymore, and Sheamus wouldn't receive a title shot for his efforts but instead a number one contender match against John Morrison at TLC, which Sheamus lost. The only reason Sheamus ranks this high is that he really gave the king gimmick his full effort and made the most of it he could by customizing the crown and robe to fit a more Celtic theme.

9 Xavier Woods Finally Got A Singles Push As King Woods

Xavier Woods Won The 2021 King Of The Ring Tournament

Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
Vs. Ricochet	Vs. Jinder Mahal	Vs. Finn Balor

Xavier Woods would find his first bit of singles success in the WWE when he won the King of the Ring tournament at the 2021 Crown Jewel PPV. Woods embraced the king gimmick and made it work, even attempting to challenge Universal Champion Roman Reigns on an episode of SmackDown, before succumbing to an injury and needing to take some time off-screen.

Woods' time as king was spent feuding with the Bloodline and actually saw Woods and his New Day partner Kofi Kingston challenge for the SmackDown Tag Team titles against The Usos. By the time Woods came back from his injury, he would drop the king gimmick.

8 Haku Became The New King Of The Heenan Family

Was Given The Crown After Harley Race Was Injured

Was Given The Crown When Harley Race Suffered An Injury.
Faced Hulk Hogan And Challenged Randy Savage For The WWE Championship.
Haku Eventually Beat Harley Race To Cement His Position As King.

As mentioned previously, Harley Race had to take some time away from television while he was recovering from an injury, and in his place, Bobby Heenan selected Haku as the new king of the WWE. Haku seemed to fit this role a bit better and went on to face some major names in the company, like Hulk Hogan and WWE Champion Randy Savage.

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Haku was able to face Harley Race upon his return at the 1989 Royal Rumble to determine the true king, a match which Haku would win. The reign didn't last much longer, as Haku lost the crown to Jim Duggan.

7 The King Of Strong Style Became WWE's King In 2021

Nakamura Beat Baron Corbin For The Crown

Beat Baron Corbin In A "Battle For The Crown" Match.
Qualified For Money In The Bank Shortly After.
Captured The Intercontinental Championship And Relinquished His Crown.

Shinsuke Nakamura had been known as the "King of Strong Style" for years before even coming to the WWE. That moniker would sometimes be mentioned during his WWE career, but for the most part, he had other nicknames to go off. In 2021, however, Nakamura would finally be recognized as a king in the WWE when he beat King Corbin to capture the crown.

Nakamura held the crown and became the Intercontinental Champion during his reign. This lasted until right before the 2021 King of the Ring tournament when Nakamura would relinquish his crown.

6 King Corbin Was One Of Baron Corbin's Several Gimmicks

Corbin Won The 2019 King Of The Ring Tournament

Round 1	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
Vs. The Miz	Vs. Cedric Alexander	Vs. Samoa Joe & Ricochet	Vs. Chad Gable

Not many people stick with the king gimmick as long as Baron Corbin did. Most wrestlers use it for about a year at most, whereas Corbin stayed king from 2019 to 2021. This was again during a time when KOTR didn't sadly mean much and that was proven as Corbin's reign saw him mostly feud with Chad Gable and Roman Reigns.

Specifically, that feud with Roman Reigns has been highlighted as one of the worst feuds in recent history. Despite all this, Corbin made up for it by committing to the character wholeheartedly and becoming one of the most despised characters in the WWE.

5 Booker T Became World Heavyweight Champion As King Booker

Booker Won The 2006 King Of The Ring Tournament

Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
Vs. Matt Hardy	Vs. Kurt Angle	Vs. Bobby Lashley

For the only time in its history so far, the 2006 KOTR was a brand-exclusive event held by SmackDown and would see the crowning of possibly the funniest of the king gimmicks, King Booker. Booker's first feud as king was against the man he beat in the finals, Bobby Lashley, with the two feuding over the United States Championship.

Booker failed to capture the US belt, but quickly made up for it by winning a battle royal to determine a challenger for Rey Mysterio's World Heavyweight Championship. Booker would capture the gold at The Great American Bash. Booker stuck with the king character until his 2007 departure from WWE.

4 Jerry Lawler Was Always Known As "The King" In WWE

Became "King Of Wrestling" In 1974 Long Before Joining WWE

Beat Jackie Fargo For The NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship And The Title Of "King Of Wrestling".
Continues To Use "The King" Gimmick Whenever He Appears.
Still Wrestles On Occasion.

As mentioned, Baron Corbin used the king gimmick from 2019 to 2021, longer than most wrestlers do. However, his reign doesn't hold a candle to the 50 years that Jerry Lawler has used the gimmick. Capturing the crown in 1974, Lawler has wrestled in numerous companies, such as CWA, AWA, WCCW, USWA, and many more, all while using the king nickname.

Lawler's time in the WWE saw him as an announcer, wrestler, and commentator starting all the way back in 1992. Lawler even continues to wrestle on independent shows, with his most recent match coming in 2023.

3 "Macho King" Randy Savage Was Extremely Entertaining

Savage Took The Crown From Jim Duggan

Beat Jim Duggan For The Crown In 1989.
Feuded With Dusty Rhodes & The Ultimate Warrior.
Savage Also Won The 1987 King Of The Ring Tournament.

Randy Savage has the honor of being the first two-time king in the WWE, as he won the 1987 tournament and would later beat Jim Duggan for the crown in 1989. The tournament win saw Savage start to turn face as he was becoming hugely popular with the audience before forming The Mega Powers with Hulk Hogan.

Savage would turn heel during his partnership with Hogan, leading to their famous WrestleMania 5 match. This turn saw Savage replace Miss Elizabeth with Sensational Sherri and beat Jim Duggan to become "The Macho King". Savage's reign as king lasted for two years until his WrestleMania 7 retirement match against The Ultimate Warrior saw Savage lose, turn face, and reunite with Miss Elizabeth.

2 "The King Of Harts" Feuded With His Brother Bret Over The WWE Championship

Owen Hart Won The 1994 King Of The Ring Tournament

Round 1	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
Vs. Doink The Clown	Vs. Tatanka	Vs. The 1-2-3- Kid	Vs. Razor Ramon

Owen Hart attempted to get out of his brother Bret's shadow when he won the 1994 King of the Ring tournament. Owen scored some big victories over names like Tatanka and Razor Ramon to capture the crown. Owen and Bret would continue their feud from WrestleMania 10 and saw the two face each other in a steel cage match for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam.

Owen wouldn't be able to capture the title and instead cost Bret his title to Bob Backlund at Survivor Series. Owen continued to be a heel and even joined Camp Cornette, and later the Hart Foundation alongside his brother.

1 William Regal's Best Work In WWE Came After Winning King Of The Ring

William Regal Won The 2008 King Of The Ring Tournament

Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
Vs. Hornswoggle	Vs. Finlay	Vs. CM Punk

Even with Jerry Lawler playing king for 50 years, there are not many people more fitting to the character than William Regal. His entire career saw him dressing and acting like royalty long before he won the 2008 tournament.

Regal would capture the Intercontinental Championship for his second time after defeating Santino Marella and immediately embarked on a feud against CM Punk for the title. After losing his title, Regal was traded to ECW and soon challenged ECW Champion Christian for his title, but failed in capturing the belt.