The WWE announced that the King of the Ring tournament will return this Monday night with the first round slated for RAW and the semifinals and finals airing on the WWE Network on Tuesday.
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The King of the Ring has been an event that the WWE has produced on-and-off since 1985 and even served as an annual pay-per-view every June from 1993-2002.
18 different Superstars have held the distinction of King of the Ring throughout the years. 2015's edition will mark the first time since 2010 that the tournament will be contested.
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In honor of the WWE bringing back the tournament, Sports World News will rank every winner in the history of the King of the Ring from worst-to-first.
18) King Mabel, June 25, 1995: No disrespect to the deceased Nelson Frazier Jr., but the big man is known for winning the tournament in arguably the worst year for the WWE from a booking and gimmick standpoint in its history. This tournament, which emanated from the CoreStates Spectrum in Philadelphia, had the likes of The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels in it, but neither man made it past the first round. Vince McMahon had big plans for Mabel, which eventually flopped. Mabel defeated 'Taker in the first round, received a bye in the second and finished off Savio Vega in the finals to get to the throne.
17) King Gunn, June 27, 1999: Much like Mabel, McMahon had huge plans for Billy Gunn in 1999 and they also flopped. Gunn, McMahon's hand-picked winner, defeated Ken Shamrock, Kane and X-Pac en route to winning the tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina. His subsequent push was a bust.
16) King Race, July 14, 1986: Harley Race won the second King of the Ring tournament at Sullivan Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Race defeated George "The Animal" Steel in Round 1, received a bye in Round 2, overcame Billy Jack Haynes in the semifinals and then topped Pedro Morales to win it all.
15) King Santana, October 14, 1989: Tito Santana won the King of the Ring tournament in 1989 at the Providence Civic Center in Rhode Island. Santana overcame Bushwhacker Butch, The Warlord and Akeem before gaining some revenge from his former partner Rick Martel in the tournament finals after "The Model" turned on him at WrestleMania V that spring.
14) King Regal, April 21, 2008: William Regal took home the honors during a special episode of RAW that featured the tournament from the BI-LO Center in Greenville, S.C. Regal had a relatively easy first round, defeating Hornswoggle and he then conquered Finlay in the semifinals and dropped fan favorite CM Punk to win the crown.
13) King Muraco, July 8, 1985: Don Muraco has the distinction of being the first-ever King of the Ring tournament winner as he won the inaugural event at Sullivan Stadium. Muraco defeated four men in one night, including Junkyard Dog, Les Thornton, Pedro Morales and The Iron Sheik.
12) King Shamrock, June 28, 1998: The WWE changed things up in the mid-to-late 1990s by having just the semifinals and finals on pay-per-view. Ken Shamrock became the 1998 winner at the Pittsburgh Civic Center in Pennsylvania after he defeated Jeff Jarrett and his archrival The Rock in the same night. "The World's Most Dangerous Man" defeated Kama and Mark Henry on television to advance.
11) King Sheamus, Nov. 29, 2010: Sheamus won the last edition of the event on a special episode of Monday Night RAW in 2010. Sheamus defeated R-Truth and Kofi Kingston in the opening two rounds and then received a bye into the finals, where he thwarted off John Morrison.
10) King Booker, May 21, 2006: Booker T revitalized the classic heel royalty gimmick when he won the King of the Ring in 2006. Booker adopted a fantastic fake British accent to go along with his win. This tournament was held over a month-long period which saw Booker T overcome Matt Harvey and Kurt Angle to advance to the finals where he took out Bobby Lashley at Judgment Day at the America West Arena in Phoenix.
9) King Dibiase, Oct. 16, 1988: Ted Dibiase bounced back from losing in the WWE Championship tournament to "Macho Man" Randy Savage at WrestleMania IV by winning the King of the Ring seven months later. "The Million Dollar Man" overcame Brutus Beefcake, Ken Patera, Ron Bass and Savage to win the honor at the Providence Civic Center. Dibiase never officially won the WWE Championship after unsuccessfully trying to purchase it, but he has a King of the Ring crown to his name.
8) King Savage, Sept. 4, 1987: After losing the Intercontinental Championship to Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat in one of the best matches ever at WrestleMania III, Randy Savage bounced back in a big way in the fall. Savage defeated Nikolai Volkoff, Jim Brunzell, Danny Davis and King Kong Bundy to win the honor. The victory propelled him into one of the top Superstars in the company, and he'd win the vacant WWE Championship six months later for the first time in his career.
7) King Triple H, June 8, 1997: Before "The Game" went on to compile a monumental career, he won the King of the Ring as a stepping stone to greatness. Triple H left the Providence Civic Center as royalty after dropping Ahmed Johnson and then Mankind in a match that spanned nearly 20 minutes.
6) King Edge, June 24, 2001: "The Rated 'R' Superstar" is one of the best tournament winners ever and he defeated Rhyno in the semifinals and then conquered the throne after beating Kurt Angle, who was going for his second crown, in the finals. This edition of the tournament emanated from the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. Edge defeated Test and Perry Saturn on television to advance.
5) King Angle, June 25, 2000: The Olympic Hero added a King of the Ring honor to his impressive resume when he escaped the FleetCenter in Boston as the king. Angle dropped Chris Jericho, Crash Holly and Rikishi to win the honor while he also topped Bradshaw and Bubba Ray Dudley on television to get there.
4) King Lesnar, June 23, 2002: In the final pay-per-view installment of the event, Brock Lesnar won the King of the Ring as part of his impressive rookie season. "The Beast" defeated Test and Rob Van Dam at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio to become king after knocking off Bubba Ray Dudley and Booker T on television. Lesnar would go on to defeat The Rock for the Undisputed Championship at SummerSlam 2002 and would win the Royal Rumble and the main event of WrestleMania XIX to round out a great rookie year.
3) King of Harts, June 19, 1994: Father's Day 1994 was a special one for Owen Hart as he became the second member of his family to ever win the King of the Ring tournament. Hart defeated Tatanka, the 1-2-3 Kid and Razor Ramon to win the honor after besting his brother Bret Hart in the opening match of WrestleMania X three months earlier. This victory propelled Hart into the main event and he battled his brother for the WWE Championship in a Steel Cage Match at SummerSlam 1994.
2) King Bret, Sept. 7, 1991 and June 13, 1993: Bret "Hitman" Hart won the King of the Ring twice in his career. Hart defeated Pete Doherty and Skinner in the opening two rounds before receiving a bye into the finals and dropping IRS in 1991. Two years later, Hart had three amazing matches with three very different opponents at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio to win the crown. Hart trumped Razor Ramon, Mr. Perfect and Bam Bam Bigelow to win it all.
1) King Austin, June, 23, 1996: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin changed the landscape of professional wrestling when he won the King of the Ring tournament at the MECCA Arena in Milwaukee, Wis. Austin wiped out Marc Mero in the opening round and had to get stitched up following the bout, but he returned to eliminate Jake "The Snake" Roberts in the finals and uttered an infamous promo that eventually helped launch him into the next big thing in wrestling, coining the "Austin 3:16" moniker in his acceptance speech. Austin would go on to become the top draw in the WWE and launch the Attitude Era, nearly single-handedly winning the Monday Night Wars for the WWE.
Several huge names have won the King of the Ring during their careers and now a new heir to the throne will be determined when the 2015 installment of the tournament starts on Monday Night RAW.
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