50 Fascinating Facts About WWE in The 1980s
25. WWE’s Quiet Kings Of The Ring
You'd have to be living under a boulder or requiring an eye test not to notice the garish outfits 'Macho King' Randy Savage rocked up in during his time with that gimmick. Randy took on the royal vibes after feuding with Jim Duggan. Weirdly, he didn't do it after winning the King Of The Ring tournament in 1987. That might be because KOTR was little more than a house show attraction in the 80s.
The WWF ran it between 1985-1989, gave the concept a few years off, then brought it back in 1991. After that, the promotion rethought King Of The Ring as a standalone pay-per-view event that kicked off in 1993. Wrestlers like Harley Race, Savage and Haku (who didn't actually win a tournament) used the 'King' character to varying effect, but what about the 'quiet Kings'?
Workers such as Don Muraco, Bret Hart, Ted DiBiase and final 80s winner Tito Santana didn't wear the crown and cape or carry a sceptre around with them. It's unclear why. Santana's King Of The Ring victory was barely ever mentioned (if at all) on TV. It's curious that the federation chose to keep such a landmark live event attraction a secret when the cameras were rolling.
Seeing Tito become 'Rey' Santana ('King' Santana) could've been fun, but it wasn't to be. He was eventually repackaged as 'El Matador' instead. Spare a thought for those who won King Of The Ring in its infancy but didn't get to make that part of their act on programming. DiBiase, in particular, would've enjoyed bragging about that during his 'Million Dollar Man' run.
'Million Dollar King', anyone?