10 Fascinating WWE King Of The Ring 1999 Facts

9. WWE Tried To Misdirect Fans By Making It Look Like Big Show Was Winning

King Of The Ring 1999 Finish Ladder
WWE.com

When Billy Gunn suddenly turned heel in the spring of 1999, and thereafter qualified for the King of the Ring tournament, "Mr. Ass" seemed like a safe bet to take the crown. His sudden singles push made it rather apparent that he was on the fast-track up the card, and putting him over in the tournament seemed more than logical.

Indeed, Gunn ended up winning. WWE, however, employed a red herring in the days before the PPV. Word got out that the box art for the upcoming home video release of the event had the words, "See the Big Show go through eight men en route to winning the King of the Ring." No known VHS or DVD release of the show features that phrase or anything like it, so it seems that story was planted to throw people off of Gunn's trail.

Then again, it could also be that plans were for Show to win the tournament (based on the tagline), and the words were scrapped once booking changed.

Contributor
Contributor

Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.