Every WWE King Of The Ring Winner Ranked From Worst To Best

18. Ted DiBiase (1988)

Ted DiBiase
WWE

1988 was a banner year for Ted DiBiase.

The Million Dollar Man headlined WrestleMania 4 against “Macho Man” Randy Savage, losing in the finals of the tournament to crown a new WWF Champion. DiBiase actually had worn the gold briefly (and even defended it at a couple house shows) a couple months earlier after Andre the Giant defeated Hulk Hogan and surrendered the title to Ted in a decision that was retconned on TV.

Despite coming up short in that tournament, DiBiase would triumph in the 1988 King of the Ring, defeating Savage (via count-out) in the finals. As with nearly all of the pre-televised KOTR tournament winners, DiBiase was never referenced as king on television.

However, DiBiase would introduce the Million Dollar Championship six months later and continue on a winding career with WWF that lasted until 1993, when he all but retired from in-ring activity.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.