Click here to read the 2015 WWE King of the Ring Results.
This is not widely known, but before King of the Ring became a pay-per-view event in 1993, the WWF held a King of the Ring tournament almost every year dating back to 1985. If you love wrestling trivia, make sure to bring this up the next time you and your friends are having a contest. Here are the winners of King of the Ring prior to 1993:
1985 King of the Ring: Don Muraco (via defeating Tito Santana).
1986 King of the Ring: Harley Race (via defeating Pedro Morales).
1987 King of the Ring: Randy Savage (via defeating King Kong Bundy).
1988 King of the Ring: Ted DiBiase (via defeating Randy Savage).
1989 King of the Ring: Tito Santana (via defeating Rick Martel).
1990 King of the Ring: No event took place…
1991 King of the Ring: Bret Hart (via defeating Irwin R. Schyster).
The following is the full list of WWE King of the Ring Winners from 1993 (the PPV era):
1993 King of the Ring: Bret Hart (via defeating Bam Bam Bigelow).
1994 King of the Ring: Owen Hart (via defeating Razor Ramon).
1995 King of the Ring: Mabel (via defeating Savio Vega).
1996 King of the Ring: Steve Austin (via defeating Jake Roberts).
1997 King of the Ring: Triple H (via defeating Mankind).
1998 King of the Ring: Ken Shamrock (via defeating The Rock).
1999 King of the Ring: Billy Gunn (via defeating X-Pac).
2000 King of the Ring: Kurt Angle (via defeating Rikishi).
2001 King of the Ring: Edge (via defeating Kurt Angle).
2002 King of the Ring: Brock Lesnar (via defeating Rob Van Dam).
* Brock Lesnar was the last King of the Ring winner due to the WWE dropping the tournament & adding the “Bad Blood” PPV for the Raw brand in June ’03.
2006 King of the Ring: Booker T (via defeating Bobby Lashley).
* The King of the Ring Tournament was brought back to WWE in 2006 exclusively for the Smackdown brand. Matches took place on Smackdown the weeks prior to Judgment Day.
2008 King of the Ring: William Regal (via defeating CM Punk).
* The King of the Ring Tournament was brought back to WWE in 2008 as part of a three-hour edition of Monday Night RAW. The tournament was held in one night featuring William Regal defeating CM Punk in the finals.
2010 King of the Ring: Sheamus (via defeating John Morrison).
* The King of the Ring Tournament was brought back to WWE in 2010 as part of a three-hour edition of Monday Night RAW. Qualifying matches took place with tournament concluding on November 29, 2010. Sheamus def. John Morrison in the finals.
2015 King of the Ring: Bad News Barrett (via defeating Neville).
* The King of the Ring Tournament was brought back to WWE in 2015 as part of the WWE Network on April 28. Quarterfinal matches took place on Monday Night RAW the night before with Bad News Barrett, R-Truth, Sheamus and Neville all advancing. Barrett def. Neville in the finals the following night in Moline live on the WWE Network.