WWE's King of the Ring tournament began in 1985 and was initially a non-televised event until it became an annual pay-per-view from 1993 to 2002.
Notable winners include legends like Bret Hart, Triple H, Kurt Angle, and Stone Cold Steve Austin, with the latter's 1996 victory famously launching his now-iconic "Austin 3:16" catchphrase, a moment which catapulted the Texas Rattlesnake into Superstardom.
WWE later brought the format back, but whereas previous winners received a significant push, it then became largely comedic. Winners like Booker T and Wade Barrett adopted a "King" persona and, as time passed, King of the Ring became largely meaningless.
Talking on his Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, the current WWE executive explained why Vince McMahon scrapped King of the Ring after Brock Lesnar's 2002 victory.
"[In Vince McMahon's voice] 'F**k King of the Ring,'" Prichard recalled. "You know, one day we’re sitting there, we’re talking about what we’re going to do for King of the Ring. [mimicking McMahon] 'Why are you thinking King of the Ring? We do King of the Ring every year. It sucks!'"
"So Vince wanted to get away from the King of the Ring. He was tired of the tournament concept. He didn’t want to do it. So it was that easy. One day, he came in and said, 'We’re not doing King of the Ring anymore. Stop thinking that way. Get outside of the box and move forward. Let’s come up with something else.' That was it."
On Triple H's watch, King and Queen of the Ring took place earlier this year and was treated like a serious tournament. Gunther was named King of the Ring and earned a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship, ultimately beating Damian Priest to win the title.
Nia Jax, meanwhile, was named "Queen" and beat Bayley to become WWE Women's Champion. Neither Superstar was given a silly gimmick and it only served to elevate their respective positions on RAW and SmackDown.
"It’s a great accomplishment," Gunther said earlier this year. "I’ve always been a big fan of tournaments. I’ve always enjoyed professional wrestling out of the competitive aspect, so the King of the Ring, like, when I knew I’m going to be in there and I’m going to go all the way, yeah I was excited for that because that’s like I said, it’s a format that I’m really excited about."
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