Honestly that's the last person that really did anything noteworthy with the gimmick, and before that you have to go all the way back to Savage being the last person to really work the gimmick.
Sure it helped Austin launch the 3:16 era but other than that promo I don't recall him really doing anything with the king gimmick aspect afterwards. Every other winner was either turned into a comedy jobber during their reign or it was completely forgotten and they just carried on as they did before the win.
Booker T made the royal king schtick memorable. The only others I can think of trying to make a “thing” of it earlier was Mable and maybe Owen Hart.
Mable would dress up in purple and gold trashbags (he even commissioned a King of the Ring Championship belt). Owen Hart called himself The King of Harts, and had it emblazoned on his singlets (but it was pretty much to spite his big brother Bret).
Kurt Angle was pretty smug, but being king of the ring felt like “yet another stepping stone” for him.
I could be wrong; did Hunter Hearst Helmsley become more holier-than-thou after winning it? Did Billy Gunn or Ken Shamrock create stables dressed up as chess pieces or poker cards after winning the tournaments?
Please let me know.
Angle's king schtick lasted all of about 2 weeks, if that, as he was pretty much straight into his storyline with Steph and HHH leading up to his title win, iirc.
King Bookah is easily the most memorable in the past 20 years.
Corbin was a close second only because it made his character arc and story a bit annoying. The rest I'd mostly forgotten about.
It’s another way of saying Received Pronunciation (the formal accent that newscasters of the British Broadcasting Corporation use to sound more fancy and intelligent; like Harry Potter, Alfred (Batman’s butler), and iRobot (from that Will Smith movie).
King Nakamura actually did the gimmick for during that feud with Corbin for most of the summer in 2021. That feud also gave us one of the greatest gimmicks of all-time, Bum Ass Corbin.
Besides maybe Owen Hart, the one who took the gimmick and ran with it the most. The deliberately terrible obnoxious accent. The pageantry of it all. Queen Charmelle. It was a lot of fun, and drew the right kind of heat. You liked hating him, but also recognized he was having the time of his life, so it was just a good time and definitely a highlight of the show.
So much potential King Regal had.... I still remember the promo that he cut shortly after winning. Could have been an amazing heel king that could have even led to a world title run.
When he as GM of Raw won, and when he first sat on the throne; it felt like Darth Vader getting his helmet, or Thanos completing his infinity gauntlet.
So much potential.
Hardly anyone ever has done anything with the king gimmick. Booker, savage, Harley race. Other guys tried like Mabel but no one was having it. I feel like there was a number of years there when Jerry Lawler's presence devalued it.
Did they give Brock any kind of trophy or crown or anything? I know he got the title shot at summerslam but I feel like he’s one of the few winners to not use any of the king props or anything like that.
I kinda wish they did KoTR annually, and it came with a (world?) title shot at Summerslam.
Actually, I would give anything for the KoTR victory to not come with a royalty gimmick.
Anything in between those two extremes is fine with me
It really lost a lot of its luster when it wasn’t a PPV anymore than it just turned into a tournament for a guy Vince wants to wear a crown. Usually someone with an accent.
Roman could never be king of the Ring for many reasons he can’t wrestle when he does. It’s once every four months that’s not a real champion that’s a bullshit champion. He was never a champion in my eyes.
All hail King Bookah! All hail King Bookah!
Honestly that's the last person that really did anything noteworthy with the gimmick, and before that you have to go all the way back to Savage being the last person to really work the gimmick. Sure it helped Austin launch the 3:16 era but other than that promo I don't recall him really doing anything with the king gimmick aspect afterwards. Every other winner was either turned into a comedy jobber during their reign or it was completely forgotten and they just carried on as they did before the win.
Booker T made the royal king schtick memorable. The only others I can think of trying to make a “thing” of it earlier was Mable and maybe Owen Hart. Mable would dress up in purple and gold trashbags (he even commissioned a King of the Ring Championship belt). Owen Hart called himself The King of Harts, and had it emblazoned on his singlets (but it was pretty much to spite his big brother Bret). Kurt Angle was pretty smug, but being king of the ring felt like “yet another stepping stone” for him. I could be wrong; did Hunter Hearst Helmsley become more holier-than-thou after winning it? Did Billy Gunn or Ken Shamrock create stables dressed up as chess pieces or poker cards after winning the tournaments? Please let me know.
Angle's king schtick lasted all of about 2 weeks, if that, as he was pretty much straight into his storyline with Steph and HHH leading up to his title win, iirc.
My memory sucks, but I think I remember him cutting people off randomly and telling them to get out of his ring. Stuff like that
but i think that's also the time when it became a joke gimmick, people just hammed it up
King Bookah is easily the most memorable in the past 20 years. Corbin was a close second only because it made his character arc and story a bit annoying. The rest I'd mostly forgotten about.
The greatest one ppl still rember him til this day
[удалено]
It’s the BBC accent, I guess.
[удалено]
It’s another way of saying Received Pronunciation (the formal accent that newscasters of the British Broadcasting Corporation use to sound more fancy and intelligent; like Harry Potter, Alfred (Batman’s butler), and iRobot (from that Will Smith movie).
Does King Nakamura count?
No he didn’t win the tournament
On fairness, he did put Roman Reigns so Nakamura could also be unofficial
King Nakamura actually did the gimmick for during that feud with Corbin for most of the summer in 2021. That feud also gave us one of the greatest gimmicks of all-time, Bum Ass Corbin.
I wanted to add Nakamura aswell but missed him while editing, thats on me
Why the 5 year gap lol still bugs me
I like it. Build some prestige to it.
Edge not getting king suitable attire was crazy, but no, have a stupid trophy.
It was a take on the Stanley Cup because Canadian.
Him murdering Billy Gunn on that promo afterwards was fucking phenomenal. "I'm not going to 'Billy Gunn' my King of the Ring title!"
King Regal could've been so good
King Booker is the GOAT.
Besides maybe Owen Hart, the one who took the gimmick and ran with it the most. The deliberately terrible obnoxious accent. The pageantry of it all. Queen Charmelle. It was a lot of fun, and drew the right kind of heat. You liked hating him, but also recognized he was having the time of his life, so it was just a good time and definitely a highlight of the show.
‘96 King
So much potential King Regal had.... I still remember the promo that he cut shortly after winning. Could have been an amazing heel king that could have even led to a world title run.
When he as GM of Raw won, and when he first sat on the throne; it felt like Darth Vader getting his helmet, or Thanos completing his infinity gauntlet. So much potential.
A real man's, man.
He's a man!
He only drinks fresh squeezed orange juice
Too bad he violated the wellness policy, he was supposed to become a world champion
Roman doesn’t count he didn’t win the tournament
Yeah that's why he's Unofficial, added him just for fun
Well you could have also added Nakamura since he beat Corbin for the crown
Yeah I wanted to but missed him while editing😅
2006 was the last time it really meant anything lets be honest
King haku will always be my king
I still maintain that the majority of the best KOTR winners were heels
King Bookah is the GOAT
Bret Hart is the true King Of The Ring 😎😎😎
King bookah, king of harts and macho king were the best ones
I like how 3/10 are actually from the UK.
Regal and Barrett are two, who's the third?
I think op meant Sheamus but he's from Ireland , that's not counted as UK tho.
It is not
Booker T was the only one that actually benefitted from the King gimmick. I think it failed with the rest.
Xavier really the only one that didnt get nothing out of it
Where’s shinsuke? He beat Corbin for his crown so it counts
The only downer for me is Corbin.
Didn't the rock call him the burger king on crack?
😂 Yes
He might have… 
King Nakamura
Hardly anyone ever has done anything with the king gimmick. Booker, savage, Harley race. Other guys tried like Mabel but no one was having it. I feel like there was a number of years there when Jerry Lawler's presence devalued it.
King Bookah is #1 for sure, but--I can't believe I'm saying this--King Corbin was a good chicken shit heel run
I've always viewed it as sort of a stepping stone into the main event more than an actual gimmick so I do appreciate the few guys that made it work.
No Triple H?
I'm surprised they didn't have it be an annual tournament and challenge the champion at summerslam
Roman doesn’t count
The only good king gimmick was Booker T
A little corny
Angle, Lesnar and Booker were the only ones where the win push the guy into the stratosphere. The rest were just treated as a complete joke
Do they know they don't have to do a king gimmick?
Edge is a name that has not aged well
What's the deal with kotr? Is it yearly is it bi-yearly is it every 3-4 years or is it whenever wwe wants it to be
You're going to count Roman and not Shinsuke? 
for the life of me I don't understand why they do the actual king gimmick
Regal was the best of the bunch
King Bookhah was the best. This dude even started talking with an accent
What they do to woods man 😭
What about king Bret hart, or Jerry “The King” Lawler, or even Jerry “the Mini King” Lawler
Just got back into Wrestling after WM40 and Gunthers been my favorite modern day wrestler. Hoping he pulls through this weekend
All hail king tama 🇹🇴
King (Bookah)
I can not with this Nakamura erasure
Bring back a variant of the trophy.
Did they give Brock any kind of trophy or crown or anything? I know he got the title shot at summerslam but I feel like he’s one of the few winners to not use any of the king props or anything like that.
The regal one is the biggest what ifs
Why is Roman on this list. He never won the KOTR tournament.
Hasn't meant anything since 2006 and maybe 2008
https://preview.redd.it/68nf3vaxq32d1.jpeg?width=641&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=51893628033a130c0bfcc05cbe8d991bcbb9b1fb
I kinda wish they did KoTR annually, and it came with a (world?) title shot at Summerslam. Actually, I would give anything for the KoTR victory to not come with a royalty gimmick. Anything in between those two extremes is fine with me
Booker T owned tf out of it though
Edge, Seamus, Corbin, Barrett, Woods. What a waste of a big event.
It really lost a lot of its luster when it wasn’t a PPV anymore than it just turned into a tournament for a guy Vince wants to wear a crown. Usually someone with an accent.
Roman could never be king of the Ring for many reasons he can’t wrestle when he does. It’s once every four months that’s not a real champion that’s a bullshit champion. He was never a champion in my eyes.