4. Booker T (King of the Ring 2006)
There might not be a man who benefited more from winning King of the Ring than Booker T. He maintained a strong presence at the mid-card level, but his chances at winning the big strap were few and far between.
Then luck hit when SmackDown was weak on main event heels, and Booker T was tapped to enter the King of the Ring tournament. Booker T only had to go through two men on his way to victory, but those men were Matt Hardy and Bobby Lashley, two of SmackDown’s biggest stars.
When Booker T won the tournament, his character shifted to King Booker. His head grew three sizes that day, and King Booker became the worst kind of insufferable heel. His entrance to the ring drew so much heat, and that was amped up to eleven when his wife, Sharmell, started to announce her husband.
The delusional nature of his character was spot on and was backed up by his great in-ring work. It wasn’t too long before King Booker was wearing gold around his head and a World Championship around his waist.
3. Owen Hart (King of the Ring 1994)
The youngest Hart sibling’s time spent in his older brother’s shadow was coming to an end. Owen Hart had the talent to be one of WWE’s best, but being a member of the Hart family was going to follow him every step of the way. He needed his moment to break away from his family and become his own wrestler.
That momentum started when he viciously turned on his brother and then beat him in a WrestleMania 10 stunner, and it was completed when Owen Hart became the King of Harts.
Becoming the King of Harts was a shot in the arm to Owen Hart’s push. His character blossomed into a main event talent and was seen as a legitimate threat to any championship. It’s also a moniker that he kept for years, becoming the true King of Harts.
