Behind The Secret Classic WWE PPV Nobody Ever Talks About

5. The Best Ever WWE Tournament

Bret Hart Bam Bam Bigelow King of the Ring 1993
WWE

The 1993 King of the Ring is the greatest tournament WWE has ever put together.

From the moment KOTR was announced, to the moment Bret Hart donned the winner's crown, WWE got so much right with this tourney. Everything about the King of the Ring felt like a big deal and, well, just made sense.

Even before the PPV itself, the KOTR was treated as a prestigious honour, as reflected by the major names who didn't manage to qualify for the tournament.

In TV qualifiers, audiences saw a host of significant players come up short, such as two-time World Champion, Bob Backlund; a Giant Gonzales who had just manhandled the Undertaker; one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions of all time, Tito Santana; monster heel and former World Title challenger, Kamala; powerhouse former Tag Team Champion, Typhoon; a Papa Shango who had spent the prior year feuding with Ultimate Warrior; Matt Borne's devilishly delightful Doink the Clown, who it took Mr. Perfect three matches to finally overcome and earn his own spot in the King of the Ring; and Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels and Crush fought to a double count-out in their attempts to qualify.

For the PPV tournament itself, the field of Bret Hart, Razor Ramon, Mr. Hughes, Mr. Perfect, 'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan, Bam Bam Bigelow, Lex Luger and Tatanka was a brilliant mix of easily identifiable babyfaces and heels.

Hart gave a masterpiece in selling across his three tournament matches, with the Hitman being more wore down with each passing match, and making sure to sell the damage absorbed in those matches. And while it would've been great to have Hart vs. Mr. Perfect in the KOTR final, the better story - and better creative - was to position Bret as the battered underdog going up against the fresher, stronger, vicious Bam Bam Bigelow in that final; with the Beast from the East having received a bye in the semi-finals after decimating loveable veteran Hacksaw in the first round.

For a Mr. Perfect who was barely six months into his first ever WWF babyface run, he was absolutely sensational in showing the fighting spirit to face the dominant Mr. Hughes head on, in addition to his banger with Hart. Likewise, Razor Ramon was fantastic as the cocksure, larger heel who Bret Hart just about outsmarted in the opening round.

Elsewhere, the WWF kept both Tatanka and Lex Luger's undefeated streaks alive thanks to a time limit draw, and Luger nicely kept his heat with a post-match beatdown of the Native American.

All in all, not a match was wasted, not a match felt illogical, and the King of the Ring tournament as a whole flowed in an effortleslly engaging and entertaining way.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.