King of the Ring
professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by WWE
King of the Ring was a WWE Pay Per View that ran from 1993-2002 in June of each year. In each show, a tournament was held to decided the King of the Ring. The first King of the Ring aired on June 13, 1993.
1993
edit- Bobby: You know if Bret Hart went to bed in a hotel and he asks for a wakeup call at 1:23 in the morning. The guy will come in and say "It's 1 2 3." I bet he'll kick out of bed.
- Bobby: (Lex Luger must put on an elbow pad to cover up the steel plate inside his forearm.) Okay, then when Tatanka comes to the ring, lets tie his shoes together so he can't dance. Lets handcuff him so he can't throw a chop. Let's make it fair huh?
- Savage: It's not the same thing and I'm not even going to argue. If you don't like it that's your problem Heenan.
- Bobby: I'd like to ask you to leave Savage.
- Mean Gene Okerlund: I cannot believe, ladies and gentlemen, what we have just seen. But I believe it's official, it's been confirmed, there is a new World Wrestling Federation Champion, and he is Yokozuna. More on the condition of Hulk Hogan as soon as there are any details are available. With me right now, speaking of champions, the Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels, you have a title defense against the big man from Hawaii, Crush. I'm very interested, after the night has gone the way it has, whether you believe lightning could strike twice in the same buliding, here in the Nutter Center in the heart of America.
- Shawn Michaels: Well, I think we can agree that lightning definitely struck once. I mean, it struck Hulk Hogan. But that kind of stuff doesn't affect Shawn Michaels. I mean, I think we can agree that Hulk Hogan is not the caliber of superstar that Shawn Michaels is. I mean, come on. The guy is a dinosaur, and Yokozuna gobbled him up like a big ol' brontosaurus burger.
- Mean Gene: A little bit, I believe you've been too much of that Jurassic Park. Now, Shawn Michaels, I'm very curious, we saw this man appear out of nowhere, out of left field in Albany, New York, when you recaptured the Intercontinental Title. This so-called bodyguard, this insurance policy, what's his name?
- Shawn: What's his name? His name is my insurance policy, that's what it is.
- Mean Gene: He's gotta have a name. Does he talk?
- Shawn: I do the talking. You wanna know what his name is?
- Mean Gene: Yeah.
- Shawn: I'll give you the info. His name is Diesel, as in diesel fuel, that which makes a Mack truck go! This is a Mack truck, and this man protects Shawn Michaels every inch of the way.
- Bobby: [About the Smoking Gunns] Aren't those the two guys that go behind the horses with the brooms? Maybe I'm wrong.
- Savage: Wouldn't surprise me.
- Jim Ross: (DiBiase locks the Million Dollar Dream on Billy Gunn) Billy Gunn, fading into obscurity in this contest!
- Bobby: I'll make him feel at home, (sings) Happy trails, to you...
- Bobby: (DiBiase releases a hold on Billy Gunn) He probably couldn't stand the smell of those dirty jeans and cowboy boots...
- Bobby: But Hulk Hogan lost it all, didn't he?
- Savage: Yokozuna's the new champion!
- Bobby: HAHAHAHAHA!!!
- Bobby: Don't forget the camera flash hit Hogan right in the eye. And Hogan, if your sitting on there in the back listening. Remember Hulk, we'll keep an eye out for you. HA HA HA HA!
- Jim Ross: Oh Bobby that's sickening! It's not even funny.
- Mean Gene: Alright, there is bedlam and pandemonium here in the dressing room of the new World Wrestling Federation Champion, Yokozuna, here with the very delighted manager, Mr. Fuji, and the president of the World Wrestling Federation, Jack Tunney. You saw this entire thing go down as Yokozuna defeated Hulk Hogan.
- Jack Tunney: I would just like to congratulate our new champion Yokozuna, and I know Mr. Fuji is very pleased about this.
- Mean Gene: I thank you, President Tunney. Now Mr Fuji...
- Mr. Fuji: Yes, yes.
- Mean Gene: Things certainly going down tonight a whole lot different than they did at WrestleMania IX.
- Mr. Fuji: Like I told you, Gene Okerlund. Didn't I tell you that my Yokozuna beef up to 550 lbs? And when Hulk Hogan faces him, he would go down, down, down, and we would regain the belt like we did? And Hulk Hogan and all Hulkamania... dead.
- Mean Gene: A lot of Americans very unhappy tonight at the King of the Ring.
- Mr. Fuji: Why?
- Mean Gene: Well, I guess because you predicted something they didn't think was gonna happen: a piece of Americana perhaps dying tonight.
- Mr. Fuji: [laughing] America and Hulk Hogan is finished. Now Yokozuna is new WWF Champion.
- Yokozuna: BANZAI!!!
- Mean Gene: I am very curious. It seems to me that an event like this, of this magnitude, calls for a celebration. Do you plan to celebrate the victory?
- Mr. Fuji: Prince Akihito [sic], he recently got married.
- Mean Gene: Yes, he did.
- Mr. Fuji: A Japanese girl who attended Harvard University in America. So now, Prince Akihito, you and your newly bride, you celebrate. All Japan celebrates. Later on, Yokozuna and myself, we'll celebrate.
- Mean Gene: Not too close with that camera. A little decorum please.
- Mr. Fuji: Why you talking about camera?
- Mean Gene: Very good. I thank you, Mr. Fuji, and I thank you very much, Yokozuna. From here, we go back to Japan? Is that the bottom line?
- Mr. Fuji: No, no, no, no, no. You know what? We will celebrate in America. Big celebration. Later, we will notify all American people...
- Mean Gene: What do you mean? Big celebration here in America?
- Mr. Fuji: Yes. We'll have many people enjoy.
- Mean Gene: I can hardly wait for that.
- Savage: I think Crush is the total package! You got size, you got strength you got quickness, this is unbelievable! Look at Shawn Michaels now, that's capital worry in Shawn Michaels mind, he can't believe what he's just gotten himself into!
- Bobby: Wrong, Macho Mouth! He may be strong, he may be big, he may be quick, but between those ears, it's just a busted up pineapple.
- Jim Ross: Well, we'll be sure to mention that to him...
- Bobby: Well I didn't say that, I'm just relaying what I heard earlier.
- Bobby: Shawn doesn't have to beat Crush, Crush has to beat him.
- Jim Ross: You want to take the easy way out in everything in your life?
- Bobby: You gotta take the easy way out, this is life! Remember, a friend in need is a pest.
- Bobby: Did the referee see it?
- Savage: I saw it.
- Bobby: YOU DON'T COUNT! DID THE REFEREE SEE IT? THEN IT DOESN'T COUNT!
1994
edit- Gorilla: Boy, oh boy, what a strange state of affairs, Randy.
- Savage: I got a theory. Call me crazy, call me nuts, but I'm just thinking that Neidhart was out there in Bret's corner, and possibly the only motive that he had, being in Bret's corner, was to make sure that the Hitman didn't lose his title to Diesel, but he's hoping that the Rocket will beat the Hitman. I don't know.
- Gorilla: Oh, I don't know...
- Art Donovan: Let me ask you a question, did you two guys act like that in the ring when you were wrestling?
- Gorilla: Do you think...do you think the Anvil is that smart, Randy? I don't.
- Savage: The Rocket might be.
- Todd Pettengill: [reading proclamation] "Ladies and Gentlemen, whereas the 1994 World Wrestling Federation King of the Ring Tournament has now been concluded, it is time for the coronation ceremony to commence. After having successfully endured and triumphed through three grueling tournament rounds, may I call upon "The Rocket" Owen Hart as we proclaim him the 1994 King of the Ring.
- Owen Hart: Wait a minute here, Pettengill. I just want you to know, and all you dumb people out there, I did what I said I would do! I am the King of the Ring, and I want everyone to start giving me the respect of a king!
- Todd: Ladies and gentlemen, President Jack Tunney at this time will do the honors in presenting the King his...
- Owen: You wait a minute here, Pettengill. I don't want Jack Tunney! I want the only person in my whole family that I can trust, my main man, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart! He's gonna present the King with his crown. Get down on one knee, Pettengill! Get down and salute the King! Down on your knees! Down!
- Gorilla: [as Neidhart presents the scepter, cape and crown] Well, the Rocket obviously taking over this coronation ceremony, and he's got the power of the Anvil standing right there to allow him to do just that. He's got Todd down on one knee, now the tremendous cape.
- Savage: Look at the Anvil and the Rocket together. I mean, they're family, but we all know what's going on. This has many dimensions.
- Gorilla: Well, let's remember, Randy Savage, that they were a tag team combination, the New Foundation. We know how tight they were.
- Savage: Look at this. Can you believe what we're seeing at the time that we're seeing it, going on right now, all the way live from the Baltimore Arena, the King of the Ring 1994, is Owen Hart the Rocket.
- Gorilla: Well, we saw a miscarriage of justice last year when Bret the Hitman's coronation was interrupted by the self-professed king, Jerry Lawler, and now we're seeing a disgusting coronation here.
- Todd: Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the 1994 King of the Ring. Ladies and gentlemen, the R...
- Owen: Wait a minute here. My first proclamation as King is to be, from this day forward, known as the King of Harts! The King of Harts, and I want you people to remember it with respect for the King of Harts.
1995
edit- [After defeating the Roadie, Savio Vega is interviewed by Carlos Cabrera in Spanish.]
- Dok Hendrix: [Translating] "I don't know how I got here. There's no way I'm going to beat Mabel, there's no way. I feel so fortunate that Mabel's going to wipe the ring with me. I'm gonna quit stealing hubcaps." Carlos told me "He might as well quit and give it up now." He says he's complentating that.
- Vince: I think we've had enough of this. At least enough of that translation from Dok.
- Crowd: [chanting angrily during the King of the Ring final between Mabel and Savio Vega] ECW! ECW! ECW!
1996
edit- Dok Hendrix: All right, ladies and gentlemen, the fourth prestigious King of the Ring, Stone Cold Steve Austin, an incredible victory.
- Steve Austin: The first thing I want to be done is to get that piece of crap out of my ring! Don't just get him out of the ring, get him out of the WWF, because I proved, son, without a shadow of a doubt, you ain't got what it takes anymore! You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16—Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!
- Vince: He is stone cold...
- Dok Hendrix: Come on, that's not necessary.
- Steve: All he's gotta do is go buy him a cheap bottle of Thunderbird...
- Vince: All right, stop it.
- Steve: ...and try to dig back some of that courage he had in his prime. As the King of the Ring, I'm serving notice to every one of the WWF Superstars. I don't give a damn what they are, they're all on the list, and that's Stone Cold's list, and I'm fixin' to start running through all of them! And as—
- [Austin looks to the crowd and mouths off, "Piss off."]
- Vince: All right, that's Stone Cold Steve Austin...and his remarks...the 1996 WWF King of the Ring.
- Steve: ...As far as this championship match is considered, son, I don't give a damn if it's Davey Boy Smith or Shawn Michaels. Steve Austin's time has come, and when I get the shot, you're looking at the next WWF Champion, and that's the bottom line, because Stone Cold said so!
- Dok Hendrix: [as Austin leaves] Obviously, anything but humble. The fourth prestigious King of the Ring, Stone Cold Steve Austin.
1998
edit- [Al Snow has just tagged Head]
- Jim Ross: The Head is the legal man. What the hell am I saying?
- [On Chyna at the Spanish announce table]
- Jim Ross: What did she...what did she say?
- Triple H: Something about Taco Bell. I don't know, they wanna go to Taco Bell or something, they want a burrito supreme.
- Lawler: Run for the border.
- Jim Ross: You're not bilingual?
- Triple H: There's a lot of bi- things I am, but -lingual's not one of them. [Beat] Hey, wait a minute, did I just mean to say that?
- Jim Ross: I don't think you did, but be that as it may, we're live.
- Jim Ross: Well, ladies and gentlemen, I'll tell you what— Maybe we oughta call the Red Cross, because I think that our next two contests, as we said, they're gonna be very unique. The first— The Hell In The Cell, it is lowering as we speak!
- [The cell begans to lower]
- Jerry "The King" Lawler: [Overlapping while pointing at the cell] It's coming down! It's coming down!
- Jim: We've only seen one Hell In A Cell matchup in WWF history.
- Lawler: And it was the most unbelievable match that I think I've ever witnessed, J.R.
- Jim: It is a perverse, vile, diabolical structure.
- Lawler: Satanic! Hellish!
- Jim: It will absolutely be unforgiving as this— As this night progresses.
- Lawler: Wow.
- Jim: It—it is custom-built for injury. It may be the last structure that The Undertaker and Mankind stand in before they arrive at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburg. And I hope, and I pray, that that does not happen.
- Lawler: This match has so much riding on it, J.R....
- [Mankind's theme song, "Schizophrenic", begans to play]
- Lawler: ...that the loser may not even stop at the hospital. They may go straight to the morgue.
- Jim: Well let's, uh, hope it isn't that drastic, King, obviously.
- [Mankind appears wielding a chair]
- Howard Finkel: [Bell rings] Ladies and gentleman, the following contest is the Hell In The Cell Match!
- Lawler: J.R., what's— what's he got there?
- Finkel: Introducing the participants. First: Weighing 287 pounds, Mankind!
- Jim: He was born Mick Foley on Long Island, New York. His manifestations as Dude Love and Cactus Jack are infamous. But none, are more deranged, than Mankind: His scarred body. He's missing half an ear.
- Lawler: [as Mankind surveys the cell] Look at this.
- Jim: He says when he gets inside the steel, he will feel at home.
- Lawler: There's no place like home...There's no place like home...
- Jim: And can you imagine what this human being, will do to himself...as he—as—
- Lawler: [interrupting] Oh that's what great about this, J.R. That's what's great. I'm—I'm telling ya, I've watched this guy. I've competed against this guy.
- [Mankind exits the cell to look up its ceiling]
- Lawler: It's like...especially when you're in there, in the ring against him, all of a sudden you start thinking, "Nothing that I do hurts this guy." This guy feels no pain. Or if he feels pain, he enjoys it. Look!
- [Mankind tosses the chair on top of the cell]
- Jim: Just threw that chair on top of that cage.
- Lawler: What is he doing?
- Jim: Well he's—
- Lawler: Is he's climb—
- Jim: He's— Mankind is climbing the cage—
- Lawler: Well, you're— You're supposed to start out inside the cage, isn't he?
- Jim: And yeah, The Undertaker is not even been introduced.
- Lawler: What's he doing?
- Jim: Well, he's trying to get up to the top of the cage.
- Lawler: Well I see that. But why—?
- Jim: I— Well—well he's not very logical. I mean, I—he needs therapy. Who knows what he's thinking. God only knows.
- Lawler: Of all the things he's lost, I think he misses his mind the most—
- [The bell gongs as the The Undertaker's theme song, "Graveyard Symphony", is heard]
- Lawler: Uh oh, here we go!
- [The lights turn dark]
- Lawler: Whoa it's...totally dark in here! He may fall off that—that cell!
- Finkel: His opponent: From Death Valley, weighing 328 pounds, The Undertaker!
- Jim: On this warm summer's night in The Igloo, there is a chill in the air that signifies the arrival, of the one and only The Phenom of the World Wrestling Federation!
- Lawler: [Reacting to each pyrotechnics The Undertaker passes] Ah! Man! Gosh!...That's like walking through Hell right there! I think that—that may be an omen, J.R.!
- Jim: The Undertaker is a changed man. For many reasons he is almost, and I hate to say this, but he's almost Satanic in his—in his attitude.
- Lawler: [Referring to Mankind] No, you talk Satanic? You're looking at it right there: Mankind, up on top of that cell.
- Jim: Mankind, with a steel chair, on top of the cell—
- [Taker begans to remove his attire]
- Lawler: Wait a minute! Do you—Do you think he's daring The Undertaker to start this match up there?
- Jim: I don't—
- Lawler: [Interrupts] It's over the last one we saw ended.
- Jim: If so, I don't think that Mankind will have to ask twice. The pain that these two men are preparing to endure is inhuman. How they will put their bodies on the line here, is beyond description—
- [Taker starts climbing the cell]
- Lawler: Uh oh! Look!
- Jim: —and The Undertaker says—
- Lawler: He's doing it!
- Jim: "You want me up there? You wanna come up there and fight? I'm gonna come up and whip your butt!"
- [Undertaker and Mankind are fighting on top of the Hell in a Cell]
- Jim Ross: Undertaker fighting back. He's fighting back. They're right above us folks and I don't like it a damn bit!
- Lawler: Oh my god.
- [Undertaker tosses Mankind from the top of the cell all the way down to the Spanish announce table]
- Jim Ross: GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY!!! GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY!!! THAT KILLED HIM!!!
- Lawler: Oh my God!
- Jim Ross: AS GOD AS MY WITNESS, HE IS BROKEN IN HALF!!
