By Jonathan Williams
Though winning the King of the Ring tournament hasn’t always guaranteed main event status, most of its winners have used their royalty as a stepping stone to bigger things in WWE. From its early days as an annual World Wrestling Federation event to its ascension to pay-per-view status to its recent return as a somewhat sporadic biannual SmackDown and Raw showcase, King of the Ring has been an integral part of WWE for more than two decades.
Booker T reprises his King Booker persona as host of "The Best of King of the Ring." Photo courtesy WWE
Hosted by Booker T (reprising the comical British-accented King Booker persona he took on after winning the 2006 King of the Ring), the new The Best of King of the Ring DVD set features some of the most exciting moments in King of the Ring history. Booker begins by giving us a quick history lesson, mentioning some of the tournament’s early winners such as Don Muraco, Harley Race, “Macho Man” Randy Savage and “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase. And this list proves to be the perfect setup for the first match, the 1993 finals between Bret “Hit Man” Hart and Bam Bam Bigelow, which is followed by the tournament’s first televised coronation ceremony.
Having won the previous tournament two years earlier, Hart was defending his crown against one of his biggest and most vicious opponents ever. And following his hard fought victory, Jerry “The King” Lawler attacked the new king during this coronation, which set up a rivalry that didn’t culminate until their Kiss My Foot Match at the King of the Ring pay-per-view in 1995 (also included here).
And you can’t talk about King of the Ring without including “Stone Cold” Steve Austin‘s victory over Jake “The Snake” Roberts in 1996, after which he delivered the infamous Austin 3:16 promo that would become the genesis of his antihero persona. Also included in this three-disc set are King of the Ring finals such as Triple H‘s victory over Mankind in 1997, Kurt Angle‘s victory over Rikishi in 2000, Brock Lesnar‘s victory over Rob Van Dam in 2002 and, of course, Booker T‘s ascension to the throne after defeating Bobby Lashley at Judgment Day in 2006.
But it’s not just King of the Ring finals matches that once made King of the Ring one of WWE’s top attractions. In fact, some of WWE’s most memorable moments have been part of King of the Ring events without being part of the actual tournament. Yokozuna‘s shocking victory over Hulk Hogan in 1993, the brutal Hell in a Cell match between the Undertaker and Mankind in 1998 that solidified Mick Foley as a hardcore legend and the bloody street fight between Kurt Angle and Shane McMahon in 2001 were all part of King of the Ring and are all included in this set.
The Best of King of the Ring includes several other matches, ranging from somewhat forgotten moments in the careers of Austin, Jeff Hardy and Edge to the most recent King of the Ring winners William Regal and Sheamus. Though it does rehash a lot of material that has been including elsewhere, it is interesting to see a showcase of some of King of the Ring’s best moments featured in one set. Considering how many career defining moments are included here, one can only hope that WWE might be considering bringing back the King of the Ring as an annual event of some sort.
For more information, go to www.wweshop.com.