10 Best WWE King of the Ring PPV matches

For the first time in four years, we have seen the return of the King of the Ring tournament.

The King of the Ring tournament was held annually from 1985 to 2002 - barring the 1990 and 1992 editions. While some of these events were not televised, the King of the Ring re-debuted as its own pay-per-view in 1993. The PPV was held annually until 2002 after which it stopped airing before it made a return in 2015.

During this time, we saw some of the best performances and matches in WWE history.

The King of the Ring pay-per-views often received mixed reviews from fans and critics as they generally had a dozen matches per event, including KOTR tournament matches and several championship matches. Despite most King of the Ring events following this formula, several editions of the PPV had some pretty good match-ups.

Having said that, let us look at the top 10 matches from King of the Ring PPVs. The list comprises of King of the Ring tournament matches, WWE Championship matches and even grudge matches that took place during the PPV.

#10 The Rock, Kane & The Undertaker vs. Triple H, Shane McMahon & Vince McMahon - 2000

This was one of the most unusual ways to decide the WWE Championship. It was so unusual that we wouldn't see this kind of WWE Championship match again for another 9 years until Backlash 2009, and haven't seen it again since. And that was, a six-man tag team match, for the WWE Championship.

Despite being on the same team, The Rock, Kane and The Undertaker were each challenging for the WWE Championship, and if either one of them could have taken the winning pinfall, they would become Champion. While on the opposing team, WWE Champion Triple H could not only retain the title if he pinned any of them, but he would also retain if his partners, Shane and Vince McMahon, were to have scored the pin.

At the time this match happened, it actually received mixed to poor response. It was just looked at as being a weak main event, especially with those who were involved. I think it was actually pretty damn decent though. The squabbling between Rock, Kane and The Undertaker added heat, there were some good exchanges from everyone involved, Vince played his usual cowardly heel to perfection, Kane delivered one of his best Chokeslams ever (to partner The Rock) and The Undertaker planted Shane McMahon through the announcers table with a sick Chokeslam from the top turnbuckle.

What was best was the very popular decision to put the WWE Championship on The Rock once again. Triple H had only retained it from him at Judgement Day a month earlier, so most expected another lengthy reign. It also marked the beginning of The Rock's best WWE Championship reign.

#9 Kurt Angle vs. Hulk Hogan - 2002

When Hulk Hogan returned to WWE for the first time in 9 years in 2002, his match with The Rock at WrestleMania X8 stood out more than anything before and after it. And rightfully so, in terms of crowd reaction and atmosphere, it is one of the best encounters ever.

However, that wasn't the only epic showdown Hogan had in 2002. His match with Kurt Angle at the King of the Ring was a really solid offering. Hogan tossed Angle around early on, making himself look strong. It was just a month earlier that Angle had lost his hair to Edge, and had been wearing headgear to keep a wig in place. Hogan managed to rip it off, which was highly entertaining. Angle was still the best at playing the funny heel wuss.

Hogan would hulk himself up after an Angle Slam, but Angle avoided the dreaded big boot. He attempted to hit Hogan with a chair, but it bounced off the ropes at hit himself. Hogan connected with the boot and as he was about to hit the Legdrop of Doom, Angle grabbed Hogan's leg and applied the Ankle Lock. Amazingly, Hogan would actually tap out for the first time in his WWE career, to lose a match.

It was a pretty exciting match and Angle went over looking strong.

#8 Shawn Michaels vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin - 1997

Much like the Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman, Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin was a match of two Superstars who were feuding and got placed in a tag team that saw them become WWE Tag Team Champions.

Shawn Michaels started off the match by aiding a fan who fell over the barricade. This gave the dirty heel Steve Austin an opportunity to attack him from behind. They had a series of submissions and tests of strength, followed by some quick near falls. They battled outside of the ring and back in, through a mixed reception from the crowd for both Superstars.

The ref was knocked down, then Michaels attempted a Super Kick but was reversed into a Stunner. After a recovery, Michaels then hit Austin with a Sweet Chin Music and made the cover. Another referee ran down but instead of making the count, he checked on the first referee. This angered Michaels to the point that he knocked out this referee also. In an unpopular decision, both men were disqualified.

#7 Bret Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow - 1993

Other than a terrific one-man performance in his match with NFL star Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania XI in 1995, this was the best match that the late Bam Bam Bigelow had in WWE. It was also a great underdog performance for Bret Hart and the best multiple match performance ever in one night for a Superstar.

By the time this match happened, Bigelow had only wrestled so far on this night for 5 minutes. He had his semi-final win and then got a pass through to the final due to a time limit draw in the other semi-final. Bret Hart, on the other hand, had wrestled his two matches earlier with Razor Ramon and Mr. Perfect, which had a combined total of 30 minutes in the ring. On top of that, it had been one hour and 20 minutes since Bigelow's 5-minute match, so the advantage was heavily in his corner.

Despite the odds against him, Hart put in a fantastic performance against Bigelow. Hart had also injured himself in his match with Perfect, and had to deal with that throughout. Bigelow press slammed Hart from the ring all the way to the floor. He dominated Hart with a series of headbutts and submissions while also showcasing overpowering strength.

As Hart attempted a comeback, the late Luna Vachon came out and hit him with a chair. Bigelow hit a Headbutt to get the three count. The victory for the new 'King' was short-lived however as Earl Hebner ran out to debunk the decision due to the interference and the match was back on. Some elbow shots, a Russian leg sweep and second rope bulldog by Bret would lead him to try the Sharpshooter, but Bigelow was too powerful. Hart ended up on Bigelow’s shoulders, and rolled-forward into a victory roll to win the crown.

#6 Bret Hart vs. Diesel - 1994

From the moment Kevin Nash debuted for WWE in 1993 as 'Diesel', it was obvious WWE and Vince McMahon had big plans for the seven-footer, more than just the bodyguard of Shawn Michaels. This was Diesel's first big test on a main event level platform, a WWE Championship match with Bret Hart at the King of the Ring.

Shawn Michaels would have a reverse role here as he accompanied Diesel to the ring while Bret Hart brought out his own backup to fend off Michaels in the form of Jim 'The Anvil' Neidhart. They seemed to be going for a whole David vs. Goliath feel as the announcers are really playing up the height difference. Diesel overpowered Hart in the early going, before Hart was eventually able to work on Diesel's legs, bringing him down to his size.

They went back and forth for a while on submissions, but every time Hart locked something in, Diesel powered out. Shawn Michaels successfully interfered several times, while Neidhart had accidentally distracted the referee. After so much back and forth action and legitimately tense moments, the match came to a scrappy finish with Neidhart clotheslining Diesel for a DQ win.

A poor ending but still a very exciting match.

#5 Kane vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin - 1998

If a modern-day wrestling fan had never seen the Attitude Era and you had to choose one pay-per-view to show them, this would be it. The 1998 King of the Ring really was the Attitude Era all in one night.

The event will be best remembered for the incredible Hell in A Cell between The Undertaker and Mankind, but that is actually a shame because it was a really solid event as a whole. And one thing that is really overlooked about it is the WWE Championship main event First Blood match between Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Kane, as this was arguably the best match of the Big Red Machine's career.

In a typical crazy storyline from this era, if Kane lost, he would have had to set himself on fire. They brawled mostly in the early going, a lot of rights and lefts from Kane. On the presumed orders of Vince McMahon, the Hell in A Cell cage was lowered. They played around with it for a while before the incredible sight of Mankind, who was hurled off the top of the structure earlier, made his way out. He was soon followed by The Undertaker, who took out the referee.

Taker attempted to hit Mankind with the chair but meets Austin instead and was busted open. As Austin finally bloodied Kane, the referee called for the bell, but after seeing the blood on Austin first, he awarded the WWE title to Kane.

#4 Shawn Michaels vs. The British Bulldog - 1996

Surprisingly, Shawn Michaels and The British Bulldog didn't have as many matches as one would have thought. When fans do look back on them, they think of when Michaels defeated Davey Boy to become the second-ever WWE European Champion in 1997.

So, I like to look back at this one as somewhat of a forgotten classic. It's easy to understand why, as this was also the night of the birth of Austin 3:16, which overshadowed everything. There was a slow start early on with Michaels grabbing a long headlock. The action picked up for a few moments with Michaels applying a headscissors before Bulldog locked him in a long headlock of his own.

The pace finally picked up with a lot of back and forth action, reversals, power moves from Bulldog, believable near-falls and we even got a sick piledriver from Bulldog. At one point, Michaels went for a hurricanrana, but Bulldog turned it into a sitout Powerbomb for a two count, which was an awesome counter. Michaels retained his title, thanks to Sweet Chin Music.

#3 Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect - 1993

As mentioned earlier, eventual 1993 King of the Ring winner Bret Hart wrestled three incredible performances in one night to become King. And while his match with Razor Ramon was solid and tournament win over Bam Bam Bigelow was excellent, it was this match that was easily the best.

Bret Hart and 'Mr. Perfect' Michael McGillicutty had several other great matches over the years, including a match at SummerSlam 1991 that is regarded as one of the best ever. This encounter, however, should be looked at as being almost every bit as memorable as it was an instant classic. A wrestling sequence started it, involving hip tosses and takedowns, these two knew each other so well. Some great exchanges and counters as both men attempted various submissions and pinfall attempts.

Mr. Perfect would send Hart to the outside and then shoved him off all the way into the steel guardrail, injuring the Hitman in the process. We saw some more great storytelling, selling, reversals, and submissions in what was a great story being told to us by two of the best ever. The end to this five-star performance came when Perfect rolled Hart into a small package for two before Bret reversed it into his own inside cradle for three.

#2 Kurt Angle vs. Shane McMahon - 2001

Now, this match was just pure violence. It was just seriously brutal.

As a performer in the ring, if Shane McMahon knew how to do anything, it was to take one hell of a beating. An angry Kurt Angle kicked things off with a one-sided attack on McMahon, throwing him around, still furious from earlier in the evening when Shane had cost him the King of the Ring crown. After McMahon fought back, Angle messed around with him with some mat-wrestling moves, which saw McMahon soon grow tired of and decided to go dirty on Angle instead.

Now on the floor, McMahon got on the railing behind Jim Ross and Paul Heyman and jumped over both them and the table to hit Angle with a clothesline in a great spot. Some kendo sticks and trash cans were soon introduced for some fun.

Now fighting up to the top of the ramp, Angle suplexed McMahon over his head into one of the bulletproof glass walls (placed there by mistake instead of soft sand glass), but it didn't break, and McMahon would land on his neck with a sickening thud.

That was one of the sickest spots ever. It is amazing how he didn't break his neck. It was later revealed that Vince McMahon almost put a stop to the match here but was convinced otherwise not to. Angle picked McMahon up for another suplex, this time successfully breaking the glass.

Angle did the same thing through the other glass and again, and it didn't break, but again, did the second time. Somehow McMahon isn't dead. Back in the ring, after another amazing performance by McMahon, Kurt hit an Angle Slam from the top rope, putting an end to this brutal war.

#1 The Undertaker vs. Mankind - 1998

Perhaps one of the most, if not the most famous match in the history of WWE and all of wrestling, The Undertaker and Mankind went to hell and back at the King of the Ring event in 1998.

The second-ever Hell in A Cell match on pay-per-view, this one just outperformed The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels from Badd Blood, just for the sheer violence upgrade. The two started things off at the very top of the cell. As they traded blows, the cage roof started to give way as they battled over to the side. Then, to the amazement and horror of everyone watching, Taker threw Mankind off the top of the cell, and he fell 20 feet through the Spanish announcers' table below.

The thud of Mankind's landing was horrifying. Although the bell didn't ring, Jim Ross says the match will be coming to an end as Mankind is being stretchered away, but instead, he hopped off and climbed back up on top of the cell, only to be met with a Chokeslam from The Undertaker, as Mankind dropped another near 20 feet, this time through the Cell roof to the ring below.

Amazingly, Mankind continued the match. The battle went on for another near 15 minutes, where Mankind amazingly got some offense in and even managed to make Taker bleed thanks to help from the cell. The sick carnage wasn't over yet however as Mankind retrieved a bag of thumbtacks from under the ring. He emptied them and tried to knock The Undertaker into them. After nearly hitting each other into them, Taker backdropped Mankind onto the tacks, and then delivered a Chokeslam, again on the tacks, followed by a Tombstone for The Undertaker to take it home.

Easily the most violent match in WWE history.

What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.

Edited by Amar Anand