The Top 5 Kings in WWE History

#2 Booker T

The king gimmick saved Booker T's WWE run and pushed his legacy to new heights.

By 2006, King of the Ring was no longer a staple, annual part of WWE programming, WWE shrewdly brought it back, though, as a summer draw and a way of helping to distinguish and push Booker T in a new way.

Booker had been quite arguably the biggest WWE star to move directly into the WWE ranks when WWE bought its competitor in 2001. He garnered a well-deserved featured role for the next two years but floundered in the aftermath as he slipped toward the mid-card and came at increasing risk of getting lost in the shuffle. A heel turn had helped him get some direction. Becoming King of the Ring reinvented the man.

Booker's 2001 to early 2006 felt more like a coda to his WCW story than a worthy new chapter of his career. As king, however, Booker reinvented himself. Using a terrible put-on British accent and teaming up with his wife as his queen, Booker became one of the most compelling heels on the WWE landscape, including earning the chance at an extended World Heavyweight Championship reign.

He feuded with the likes of Triple H, The Undertaker & Batista and played the heel king role to the hilt.