Winning the WWE King of the Ring tournament is an accolade that every wrestler wants on their resume. Battling through the field and emerging as the King is a huge accomplishment and one that has launched many wrestling careers. The men and women who have achieved this feat have been pushed to the top of the company and have enjoyed very lucrative careers.
Recently, WWE has been awarding the winners of these tournaments with a World Championship opportunity, and most winners have cashed in. It’s a rare occurrence, but not one without precedent.
There have been cases in WWE history where the King/Queen of the Ring enjoyed such great success that they were awarded a run with the big strap before that year ended. Below, we will look at the 6 cases when the King/Queen of the Ring winner captured gold before the year ended.
Kurt Angle (King of the Ring 2000)
The rookie year that Kurt Angle enjoyed was unprecedented. He debuted at the Survivor Series in 1999 and was instantly pushed to the top of the card. He was fantastic as the smug heel, and once he got a few months of experience under his belt, he showed a maturity with his wrestling skill that shouldn’t have been there.
Before too long, he was enjoying reigns as both Intercontinental and European Champion. It was incredible to think that in only a few months, he enjoyed more success than some had in their entire careers.
As great as the early part of 2000 was for Kurt Angle, it got even better. The Olympic Gold Medalist defeated Bradshaw, Bubba Ray Dudley, Chris Jericho, Crash Holly, and Rikishi on his way to being crowned WWE’s King of the Ring. It was a tremendous accomplishment for Angle, as it showed further faith from the front office as to his top-of-the-card viability.
Once Kurt Angle was crowned King, he was pushed to the top of the company, feuding with the likes of Triple H and The Rock. Before long, Kurt Angle was able to upend WWE Champion The Rock at No Mercy 2000. It was a monumental victory for a man who hadn’t finished his first full year with WWE.
Brock Lesnar (King of the Ring 2002)
When Brock Lesnar burst onto the WWE scene, he took very little time to make an impact. On Raw, he cut through multiple wrestlers, and that was just the beginning for the Beast. With his size and skill, there was no slowing down his rise to the top. Brock Lesnar was a main event guy, and he needed to be presented as much to the wrestling world.
Brock Lesnar’s debut was in April, and only a few months later, he had been entered into the King of the Ring tournament. Bubba Ray Dudley, Booker T, Test, and Rob Van Dam were his victims en route to winning the tournament.
At no point did any of these men pose much of a threat to Brock Lesnar, and he easily won the crown. It was also a victory that guaranteed him a shot at the WWE Undisputed Championship at SummerSlam, where he went on to defeat The Rock to become WWE’s Undisputed Champion.
