10 Moments That Destroyed WWE's King Of The Ring
Documenting the events that precipitated the crown's fall from grace...
Long live the king!
That old battle cry doesn't have the greatest track record in the land of WWE considering even the greatest kings had a limited run with the crown. Yes, even the best, most successful monarchs in WWE history only lasted a little while with the gimmick, usually not exceeding more than a year. Knowing this, despite the prestige and prominence presented whenever WWE hosts a King Of The Ring tournament, is it really something to fight over?
Winning the crown has had a curse-like effect on talents like Bad News Barrett and Sheamus in recent times. It seems that the King Of The Ring has gone from a pillar of super stardom in part responsible for the success of Bret Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Triple H to a downtrodden, laughing stock of a prize where many who haven't won it have fared better than those that did.
So what happened? Why did this once prestigious accomplishment experience such a fall from grace?
Like most things that change over time, it's not due to any one thing. In fact, there're numerous reasons why WWE's King Of The Ring title has gone from a Royal Rumble-like honor to being good for not much more than an accessory for an action figure. To see how it all happened, the following 10 moments have been pinpointed ones that helped destroy the King Of The Ring.
10. 1995
The first sign of things to come came at the 1995 pay-per-view.
The previous two years' events were good shows with major developments taking place. So the expectations were in place for a similar show in 1995. Unfortunately, what fans got was the complete opposite.
Not only was the tag team main event a failure, but the tournament itself left a lot to be desired. Featuring the likes of I.R.S., The Roadie, Bob Holly, and Savio Vega, the quality of competitors were no where near what '93 and '94 had presented, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker notwithstanding.
In addition to HBK drawing Kama in the first round and Undertaker getting cheated out of a quarterfinals victory, the worst part of the evening came when Mabel from Men On A Mission was crowned the 1995 King Of The Ring.
Almost as fast as he was rushed into the main event scene, Mabel dropped out of the picture not long after SummerSlam '95. The entire tournament was used to push the big 500 pounder but it was clearly done without much foresight as his main event shelf-life lasted just two months.
The decision to crown Mabel in 1995 was the first mistake of many that would ultimately plague the King Of The Ring.