Top 10 best WWE King and Queen of the Ring PPV matches of all time

The King and Queen of the Ring is a professional wrestling pay-per-view hosted by WWE since 1993. The pay-per-view is hosted to determine the King of the Ring, through a traditional eliminator tournament. WWE hosted this PPV until 2002, but discontinued it and simply hosted it on weekly TV shows (Raw & SmackDown).

WWE has brought the PPV back, rebranding it to King and Queen of the Ring in 2024. Since King of the Ring is back, here we take a look at the top 10 best WWE King of the Ring PPV matches of all time.

10. The Rock & Brothers of Destruction vs Triple H & The McMahons (2000)

In the main event of the 2000 King of the Ring PPV, Triple H defended his WWF Championship on the line teaming up with Vince McMahon & Shane McMahon fighting against The Rock, Kane & The Undertaker. Where if any member of Triple H’s team gets pinned, the wrestler who pins will be declared the winner.

During the match, Kane turned on Rock to become the champ. On the other hand, The Undertaker attacked Kane with a chair. In the final moments of the match Rock pinned Vince McMahon to become the WWF Champion.

9. King of the Ring Semifinals- Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect (1993)

In the first ever King of the Ring PPV in 1993, Bret Hart faced Mr. Perfect in the semi-finals of the King of the Ring Tournament. The match swung both sides with Mr. Perfect having the major control. Perfect came so close to winning, but all of a sudden, Bret Hart reversed the Small Package and picked up the win.

8. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Chris Jericho vs Chirs Benoit (2001)

In the main event of the 2001 King of the Ring PPV, Stone Cold Steve Austin defended his WWF Championship against Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit in a Triple Threat Match. The match began with Jericho & Benoit teaming up and attacking Austin. Their teamwork made Austin submit to the Walls of Jericho & Crippler Crossface at the same time.

Since there could only be one winner, the match continued. During the final moment, WCW Champion Booker T invaded and attacked Austin. Back in the ring Benoit while delivering a back-suplex to Jericho from the top rope broke his neck. When all three were barely able to move, Austin somehow crawled and got the pinfall to retain the title.

7. King of the Ring Finals- The Rock vs Ken Shamrock (1998)

At the 1998 King of the Ring PPV, The Rock faced the Underdog Ken Shamrock in the King of the Ring Tournament finals. The match had a backstory from WrestleMania 14, where Shamrock’s Intercontinental Championship win was reversed and made Rock retain the title. This was a rematch of WrestleMania 14, where Shamrock got his revenge by making Rock tap out to the Ankle lock and become the 1998 King of the Ring.

Also Read: List of all WWE Women’s Tag Team champions in history

6. King of the Ring Finals- Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Jake Roberts (1993)

At the 1996 King of the Ring PPV, Stone Cold Steve Austin faced Jake Roberts in the King of the Ring Tournament Finals. Roberts suffered a rib injury at the King of the Ring semi-final match against Vader earlier the same day, which played a major role. WWF President Gorilla Monsoon wanted Roberts to quit the match, but Roberts continued.

However, Austin targeted Robert’s injured ribs and won the match by hitting a stunner. During the coronation, Austin mocked Robert’s Bible-Preacher gimmick and said the iconic quote “Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!”. This officially kickstarted the Steve Austin Era.

5. Kane vs Stone Cold Steve Austin (1998)

At the 1998 King of the Ring PPV, Stone Cold Steve Austin defended his WWF Championship against Kane in a First Blood Match in the main event of the show. The fallout of the Hell in a Cell match between Undertaker vs Mankind played a major role in the match. Mankind interfered with a chair on behalf of Kane, where Taker came to counter Mankind. During the final moments of the match, Taker accidentally attacked Austin & made him bleed. Following that he made Kane bleed with the chair shots, but the referee saw Austin bleeding first and awarded the title to Kane.

4. Shawn Michaels vs Stone Cold Steve Austin (1997)

Both Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin were the WWF Tag Team Champions at the time, however, they picked a brawl over who was the captain of the team. They had a singles match at the 1997 King of the Ring PPV, where both Michaels and Austin went on to attack the referees. Where the third referee double-disqualified the match, however Austin & Michaels brawled with each other. Although this seems to be a disqualification, the match was absolute fun.

3. Shawn Michaels vs The British Bulldog (1996)

At the 1996 King of the Ring PPV, Shawn Michaels defended his WWF Championship against British Bulldog in the main event of the show. Mr. Perfect was the special outside enforcer of the match. The match went back and forth, and several interferences took place, Bulldog’s wife Diana, and manager Cornette interfered on Bulldog’s behalf, whereas Owen Hart was in the commentary.

In the final moments of the match, Michaels hit an Elbow Drop and Sweet Chin Music to win the match, despite the obstruction from Hart. After the match, Bulldog, Hart and Vader attacked Shawn Michaels and Johnson. Ultimate Warrior made the save and ended the show.

2. Kurt Angle vs Shane McMahon (2001)

Kurt Angle was the MVP of the 2001 King of the Ring PPV. Angle wrestled a total of three matches in the pay-per-view, in which his Street Fight match with Shane McMahon was iconic. Earlier the same night Shane McMahon caused Kurt Angle his King of the Ring finals match and it set the hype for the match. The match swung both sides and they brawled throughout the arena and involved multiple weapons. In the final moments of the match Angle slammed McMahon through the glass and Angle Slammed him from the top rope to win the match and get his revenge.

1. The Undertaker vs Mankind (1998)

In the 1998 King of the Ring PPV, The Undertaker and Mankind fought in a Hell in a Cell match. In the early minutes of the match, Undertaker tossed Mankind from the top of the cell to the Spanish announcement table. During the mid-match, Taker choke-slammed Mankind, breaking the roof. Mankind tried to fight back by slamming him on the Thumbtacks and delivering a Mandible Claw, but Undertaker hit the Tombstone Piledriver to win the match.

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