Ranking Greatest WWE King of the Ring Winners Ever

WWE's King of the Ring tournament throughout the years has not only showcased some of the best wrestlers in company history but also catapulted the careers of several iconic competitors.

Don Muraco was the first to capture the crown in 1985 followed by a slew of other WWE Hall of Famers when it originated as a non-televised tournament. Upon King of the Ring turning into its own annual event in 1993, even more notable names went on to lay claim to the prestigious accolade.

It wasn't until "Stone Cold" Steve Austin reigned supreme in the tourney that it started to serve as a stepping stone toward the main event scene. Triple H, Kurt Angle, Edge, Brock Lesnar and Booker T all went on to win world titles after becoming King of the Ring.

The crown has lost a lot of its luster in recent years with William Regal, Sheamus, Wade Barrett, Baron Corbin and Xavier Woods finding early success shortly after securing it only to amount to very little.

Thus far, the 2024 installment has been handled exceptionally well and the hope among fans is that a significant push awaits the eventual victor. Where will they rank among the greatest King of the Ring winners ever?

Randy Savage (1987)

Fresh off his year-long reign as Intercontinental champion, The Macho Man was clearly main event bound but had some time to kill until it was time to win his first WWE Championship at WrestleMania 4. That led to him winning the third-ever installment of King of the Ring and being incredibly entertaining in the role.

It fit him as a heel to a tee, yet he ultimately won over the audience and organically turned babyface. As a result, his stint as king was short-lived.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley/Triple H (1997)

Triple H is The King of Kings for a reason. The gimmick he started out with in WWE was befitting of the crown, but ironically, it was only after winning King of the Ring that he channeled his inner intensity and took that next step toward the top of the card.

Had he won King of the Ring when he was originally supposed to in 1996, who knows if he would have followed that same path to super stardom.

Kurt Angle (2000)

The Olympic gold medalist was such a natural at everything upon arriving in WWE that it was no surprise to see him win the King of the Ring tournament his rookie year with the company.

He won the Intercontinental Championship and the European Championship earlier in 2000 and followed up on his King of the Ring victory by becoming WWE champion that October. Angle's in-ring excellence made him a true king of the squared circle.

Booker T was an instant fan favorite from the moment he jumped from WCW to WWE in 2001. However, despite his immense popularity, he was never able to get beyond a certain level and largely settled for midcard success in those first few years.

In 2006, he completely reinvented himself as King Booker by beating Bobby Lashley in the finals of that year's installment on SmackDown. He quickly ascended through the ranks and was World Heavyweight champion mere months later.

His commitment to the character was made it work so well. Between the phony English accent, the over-the-top mannerisms and his real-life wife Sharmell acting as his "queen," Booker was WWE's quintessential king—and finally a world champ to boot.

The shtick earned him four months with what's affectionately known by fans as "Big Gold" and an extended stay in the main event scene where he belonged. His battles with Batista dominated the title picture in the latter half of the year.

He remained King Booker long after his reign was over. Triple H besting him in a clash of kings at SummerSlam 2007 was essentially his swan song from the company.

Owen Hart's talent was always deniable, but it was unknown how far it'd take him with WWE primarily being the "land of the giants" in the early 1990s and much bigger stars being on the rise—including his own brother, Bret.

By the onset of 1994, The Hitman had already accomplished almost everything there was to do: countless tag titles, multiple reigns as Intercontinental champion and WWE champion, a Royal Rumble victory, and back-to-back WrestleMania main events.

The only thing that alluded him coming out of The Show of Shows that year was a win over Owen.

They resumed their rivalry into the summer, where Owen emerged victorious in the King of the Ring tournament—the exact accolade Bret had achieve two times prior. Owen was determined to outshine his brother by any means necessary, and as such, The King of Harts was born.

That prepared him for the main event-level push he subsequently received heading into his heated rematch with Bret at SummerSlam, this time inside a steel cage with the gold up for grabs.

The two contested arguably the greatest cage match in WWE history with Owen proving he can hang even in defeat. His King of Harts character should have kept him in the main event mix a lot longer than it did.

Brock Lesnar wasn't the slightest bit concerned with wearing a crown or carrying a scepter when he entered the 2002 King of the Ring tournament. That was why he was the perfect person to win it.

He was already on rampage coming off his explosive post-WrestleMania Raw debut and saw King of the Ring as an opportunity to create more carnage. Sure enough, he made short work of all of his opponents including Bubba Ray Dudley, Booker T, Test and ultimately Rob Van Dam.

This was the only year where the winner was promised a world title shot at SummerSlam that August. Lesnar rose to the occasion and defeated The Rock in an excellent match at the event to become one of the fastest-rising and youngest WWE champions of all-time.

The King of the Ring served its purpose in elevating The Next Big Thing to that next level because the main event scene is where he has stayed. He wreaked havoc on SmackDown for the next two years and held the WWE title another two times before calling it quits at WrestleMania 20.

Exactly a decade removed from his first appearance on WWE TV, Lesnar resurfaced in April 2012 and the rest is history.

In the near-40 year existence of the King of the Ring concept, Bret Hart is the only individual to have won it twice. Amazingly, it was back-to-back installments in 1991 and 1993.

The 1991 tourney took place at a non-televised house show and saw Hart earn a bye in the semifinals before beating Irwin R. Schyster in the finals. His string of wins in 1993 were far more impressive.

At the inaugural King of the Ring pay-per-view, Hart wrestled three matches in one night and every single of them was terrific. He first knocked off Razor Ramon in the quarterfinals, followed by Mr. Perfect in the semifinals, and then finally Bam Bam Bigelow in the main event to capture the crown.

He undoubtedly had the best performances of any King of the Ring winner in the tournament and reinforced his Excellence of Execution nickname in the process.

Perhaps the best part was that The Hitman hardly needed another nod as King of the Ring. He had already won the WWE Championship months earlier and was an established commodity in the main event picture, but at least this served as a reminder of what exactly he was capable of when the bell rang.

The 1996 King of the Ring tournament itself was nothing special. Only the semifinals and the finals were held at the eponymous event and none of the three matches were terribly matches with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. Marc Mero being the best of the bunch.

It was Austin's victory speech that solidified his status as WWE's greatest King of the Ring winner.

While running down his fallen opponent Jake Roberts, The Texas Rattlesnake coined the term Austin 3:16. In what was quite literally an overnight sensation, the popular phrase was plastered on fan signs as soon as the next night's Raw while the Austin 3:16 shirt became a record-setting merch item for the company.

Interestingly, it was several months before WWE did anything of note with Austin. He was mostly directionless until kicking off his feud with Bret Hart in the fall, but it was winning King of the Ring and the subsequent speech that earned him such a prominent spot so quickly.

Austin's career-altering performance against Hart at WrestleMania 13 soon led to the dawn of the business-booming Attitude Era, and his King of the Ring triumph was the genesis of it all.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.