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WWE King of the Ring returns to TV
This week's post-SummerSlam episode of WWE Raw featured the big announcement that the King of the Ring tournament will be returning in WWE following a four-year absence.
The tournament will kick off next week on WWE Raw and will continue on WWE SmackDown Live every week.
According to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, the finals of the 2019 King of the Ring tournament are currently set to air at WWE's Clash of Champions PPV taking place at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 15th.
For those who missed it, this year's King of the Ring tournament will feature 16 names from WWE Raw and SmackDown Live, including The Miz, Ricochet, Cedric Alexander, Drew McIntyre, Cesaro, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe representing the red brand. As for SmackDown Live, the tournament will feature Elias, Kevin Owens, Chad Gable, Andrade, Shelton Benjamin, Buddy Murphy, Ali and Apollo Crews.
WWE King of the Ring has a very prestigious past
From 1993 through 2002, WWE produced King of the Ring as its own PPV, with the tournament kicking off on TV weeks before the PPV and culminating at the actual KOTR PPV event.
Since 2002, the King of the Ring tournament has been held as a TV-only tournament, playing out on WWE Raw and SmackDown.
Following 2002, the tournament took a four-year hiatus in WWE and returned in 2006 as a SmackDown exclusive tournament. After 2006, the tournament returned as a co-branded tournament in 2008, 2010 and 2015.
Many top names have won the once-prestigious King of the Ring tournament, with Don Muraco winning the inaugural tournament back in 1985. Subsequent winners have included Harley Race, Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar, Randy Savage, Bret Hart (two-time winner), Ted DiBiase, Tito Santana, Ken Shamrock, Billy Gunn, Kurt Angle and more.
The most recent winner of the tournament, which took place in 2015, was Wade Barrett, who defeated former WWE star Neville in the tournament finals.
Who do you think will win this year's King of the Ring tournament? Let us know in the comment section!
