Power Ranking Bad News Barrett and Every King of the Ring Winner

Bad News Barrett added his name to WWE's royal lineage by taking home the King of the Ring crown last week. A hurried tournament and a lack of hype holds him back, though, from becoming one of the most iconic winners of the tournament.

Bret Hart and Steve Austin will forever be the standard bearers in that department.

When fans think back to the biggest moments that event has offered over the years, The Hitman and Austin's images pop up first. For Hart, it was delivering some of the top in-ring action that led to a new King of the Ring. The Texas Rattlesnake's now-famous victory speech is a huge part of him sitting on the top tier of this list.

Barrett's story as king is only just beginning, however. Should he fuse the king gimmick into his own persona, should he use this win to ascend to main event status, he will climb these rankings.

The best King of the Ring winners earn lofty spots on this list by way of their star power, the difficulty of their route to the top and the matches and memories they created along the way. How a king built on the gimmick and the prominence of the tournament during the year that they won figure into the rankings as well.

19. Mabel

Choosing Mabel to win the 1995 King of the Ring was a mistake.

Up to that point, champions and stars on the rise earned that honor. WWE saw stardom in Mabel's future that never came. He made the tournament feel like a joke.

Here was one half of a rapping midcard tag team achieving the same victory as Harley Race and Bret Hart. 

Mabel didn't help make his win feel special through his ring work. Every one of his bouts during the tournament were awful. In addition, his path to the crown included him taking out a low midcarder Adam Bomb and getting a bye in the semifinals.

Having to watch him don a gold and purple royal costume that looked like something a mom would sew for her son in second grade afterward only made his win worse. 

18. Billy Gunn

There's ample reason why Billy Gunn is a no-show in WWE's video hyping the return of the King of the Ring.

King of the Ring 1999 is in the discussion for the worst WWE pay-per-view ever. That's damning for the tournament winner.

Gunn's tourney matches were only slightly better than Mabel's. He also gets bonus points for taking out two former winners in Mabel (known as Viscera by this point) and Ken Shamrock.

Still, Gunn's run to the crown and reign afterward were both forgettable. Partly that's due to Gunn not being a big enough star to handle this role. He was a tag team specialist being asked to be something he wasn't. 

It's hard to recall what Gunn did with the crown. And he and X-Pac put on one of the most disappointing finals in the event's history.

17. Tito Santana

Had Tito Santana's King of the Ring tournament win come after WWE began to put the event on pay-per-view, it likely would have elevated his career and made that moment a far bigger part of company history.

Instead, fans more often forget that Santana was even king. It was of such little importance to his career that WWE didn't even mention it in his Hall of Fame video tribute.

Santana was a far bigger star than Billy Gunn or Mabel, though. His victory didn't cheapen the tournament like they did. It was just not seen by many folks.

His competition was decent but not overly impressive. He knocked off Akeem and The Warlord en route to the crown. 

None of those matches have since become classics, and he didn't do much with the king gimmick. The power of the coronation faded quickly after it happened.

16. Ken Shamrock

Ken Shamrock joins Tito Santana on the list of King of the Ring winners who most often slip fans' minds. The MMA fighter didn't build on the win. It would have been odd to see him go full cape and crown, but essentially not touching the gimmick makes him miles less iconic than stars like Harley Race before him.

Shamrock had a good match against The Rock. That alone puts him a few spots above the cellar-dwellers of the list.

His victory being on pay-per-view makes it a touch more memorable than Tito Santana's.

Still, it's hard to recall much of what happened as he captured the crown and after he wore it symbolically over the next year.

15. William Regal

When William Regal sat in WWE's throne, the King of the Ring tournament had been pushed away from pay-per-view and relegated to being a part of Raw.

That hurts the significance of his win. Other stars headlined a major show in becoming king. Regal was treated more like a side project.

Demolishing Hornswoggle in fewer than 20 seconds doesn't help him either. Other King of the Ring winners faced far stiffer competition.

He did, though, compose a quality match with CM Punk in the finals. That bout was on par with what Ken Shamrock and The Rock put together in 1998. Regal's full embrace of the royalty-based gimmick puts him over the former UFC star, though.

14. Ted DiBiase

Had the King of the Ring concept been more established in 1988, it would have been a great vehicle for Ted DiBiase. The money-hungry aristocrat was the perfect fit for the King of the Ring gimmick. 

His win came before the event went to pay-per-view or even television, though. 

Few fans saw him knock off Brutus Beefcake, Ken Patera and Randy Savage. That's quite the impressive list of victims, but his semifinal win came via forfeit after he paid off Ron Bass. That would have been a more iconic moment had the cameras been rolling.

DiBiase was a top-tier star when he won the crown, something that guys like William Regal and Billy Gunn can't say. It's hard to remember, though, what he did post-coronation. WWE didn't take advantage of adding a royal element to his character.

13. Don Muraco

By virtue of being the first-ever King of the Ring, Don Muraco's name will always come up when discussing the event's history.

Still, it's hard to name a single moment he had as King of the Ring. WWE hadn't yet figured out how to milk that gimmick. And so he won the crown only to have it gather dust afterward.

His tournament matches not being televised hurts his rankings. He did, though, face top competition. Muraco defeated two former world champs in Pedro Morales and The Iron Sheik en route to winning the tourney. That sure beats William Regal taking out Finlay and Hornswoggle to claim his victory.

Other King of the Ring winners are more iconic in spite of Muraco making history. Quality bouts and post-victory moments see to that.

12. Booker T

Booker T's put-on accent, jutted-out pinky finger and overall cartoon portrayal of a king may have annoyed some fans, but at least it created memories. While Don Muraco's kingly pursuits are hard to pinpoint, Booker T made sure to maximize the gimmick. 

He had an OK match against Bobby Lashley, but a bye as well. Other King of the Ring winners have a bigger collection of standout bouts from their tournament runs.

When Booker T took home the crown in 2006, it was the first time the event wasn't on pay-per-view since the early '90s. Instead, the tourney unfolded on SmackDown and the finals aired at Judgment Day. That lower level of prominence hurts King Booker's ranking.

11. Bad News Barrett

Just a week into his reign, Bad News Barrett already stands above several previous winners. The tournament he won was thrown together and not on pay-per-view, but it was at least televised unlike the ones that Ted DiBiase and company competed in.

The finals aired on the WWE Network, the first time that has happened in event history.

Barrett boasts a pair of high-quality clashes en route to his victory. His opening-round match with Dolph Ziggler was competitive and fun, the kind of bout these men have just about every time they meet. In the finals, Barrett and Neville put themselves in any future King of the Ring "best of" collection.

He's a star on the rise, which is the ideal winner of these events. He can't bring prestige to King of the Ring the way that someone like Harley Race did, though.

10. Harley Race

Before Harley Race outlasted the competition in 1986 to become the second-ever King of the Ring, he had already been NWA world champ several times over. He was a top-flight star in the twilight of his career. His name elevated the King of the Ring concept.

It most certainly helped that he embraced his position as wrestling royalty and made it a central part of his gimmick.

That's a big part of why when one reflects back on King of the Ring, it's hard not to picture Race twirling his cape and demeaning his foes. The crown became the catalyst for several feuds.  

All that being said, it's hard to rank him higher than this. His win came before the event moved to pay-per-view. The matches he won that night have only been seen by precious few people. Having a second-round bye rather than roll through a quality opponent doesn't help his case either.

9. Edge

Edge modernized the King of the Ring gimmick. Rather than do as Harley Race did and become a fully adorned king, he carried around an oversized trophy and referred to himself as King Edge the Awesome.

That shift helped make The Rated-R Superstar a memorable part of King of the Ring history.

His performances in the ring aid him as well. Against Rhyno and Kurt Angle, he put on strong performances. None of those matches were on a Mr. Perfect vs. Bret Hart level but still miles better than so many of the five-minute bouts that other WWE kings have on their resume.

The crown came at an ideal time for Edge. He was a popular tag team star beginning to emerge as a singles competitor. He was clearly on the way up, and that made it exciting to see him end the tournament as the victor.

Oddly enough, though, Edge vs. Angle didn't go on last during the pay-per-view. Three matches followed it that night, making the finals feel like less of a major event. 

8. Kurt Angle

WWE timed Kurt Angle's coronation even better than it did Edge's. He was a red-hot star in 2000. The Olympic gold medalist was clearly headed skyward when he won the King of the Ring.

His momentum and popularity made him an exciting choice to win the tournament.

He did his best to add to King of the Ring's best in-ring hits. His win over Crash Holly was a solid match. Angle topped himself earlier that night, though, with one of King of the Ring's best, a thriller against Chris Jericho.

A disappointing finals (vs. Rikishi) and like Edge, having that match go on more toward the middle of the show hurts his rankings. It didn't make his victory feel quite as special.

7. Sheamus

There must be something about Europeans that make them right at home with a king gimmick. Even though it could have easily come off as corny, Sheamus pulled off being wrestling's king, crown and all, in 2010.

He was in a unique spot at the time. He was both an emerging star and a former world champion. The Celtic Warrior held the WWE title early in his career and then experienced another move upward during this time.

A standout match in the finals against John Morrison pushes him past Edge and Kurt Angle. His victory felt huge after he made it through a battle like that.

A mix of the King of the Ring's short hiatus before this edition, Sheamus' Celtic spin on the gimmick and a fun tournament run puts him in the top seven. More iconic winners who (aside from one Hall of Famer) had the benefit of being on pay-per-view.

6. Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar scratched his name into King of the Ring history.

None of his matches are especially good, but his intensity and aggression caught fans' attention. He plowed through top competition including Booker T and Rob Van Dam. His steamroll act was captivating, as it still is today.

WWE crowned him at a perfect time, the King of the Ring win signifying his rise to the top tier of the company.

Lesnar didn't don a crown afterward. He didn't work the gimmick at all. Still, he remains one of the more memorable winners of the tournament thanks to star power and his success afterward. Better bouts and working the throne into his persona somehow would have pushed him even higher here. 

5. Randy Savage

Randy Savage's metamorphosis into The Macho King was fascinating. The added layer of gimmick amplified his arrogance and the grandeur that already surrounded him.

Fresh off making the Intercontinental Championship feel far more valuable, Savage did the same for the King of the Ring. His charisma and ridiculous attire made him a king fans could never forget.

If only his victory had come when the event was televised. More fans would have seen him take down Nikolai Volkoff and King Kong Bundy. The lack of spotlight on the event and the lack of classics to emerge from his tournament run keep him out of the top four.

4. Hunter Hearst Helmsley

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Mankind was a showcase of juxtaposition, a blue blood tangling with a deranged brawler. It's also one of the best finals bouts in King of the Ring history.

His matches with Ahmed Johnson and Crush are nothing special, but the fact that he was allowed reentry into the tournament make him stand out in the field of winners. Of course the privileged snob got special treatment.

The man who would become Triple H was on his way up when he donned the crown. He showed great promise but was not a major star just yet.

He would later extend the effect of his victory to the length of this career. His King of Kings moniker is a hat tip to this career achievement. He has since folded a royal element into his gimmick long term in a way that no one else has.

Only a trio of iconic mat monarchs surpass him. A more impressive tournament and a stronger imprint on King of the History has Owen Hart sit above Helmsley.

3. Owen Hart

When Owen Hart last defeated Razor Ramon to become 1994's King of the Ring, the concept was still fresh, still rising in prominence.

At that point, only future Hall of Famers had won the tournament. Hart was not a star on Don Muraco or Ted DiBiase's level but was hugely popular. There was a buzz surrounding him that made his victory highly memorable.

It seemed to signal the next step in his journey to the main event scene.

He looked good in just about every tourney match. His wins over Ramon and 1-2-3 Kid stood out and remain some of the best contests the event has had to offer.

Hart's transformation into the King of Harts afterward elevated him. Like Randy Savage, the gimmick accentuated what already made him a memorable character.

2. Steve Austin

A whirlwind ran through the 1996 King of the Ring.

Steve Austin's surging stardom found a home at the event. He tore through Jake Roberts, Bob Holly and Marc Mero. The Mero matchup was the best of the bunch from a technical standpoint. It was his stomping of Roberts that is most unforgettable, though.

Austin's victory was a show of dominance, a fearsome predator mangling an older beast.

He topped that off with the most famous coronation speech in King of the Ring history. No other catchphrase caught fire after this event like 3:16 did. 

It's no surprise that Austin has become one of the most iconic winners of this tourney despite not playing king after the victory. He only has one man ahead of him on this list. Credit history-making and in-ring classics for that.

1. Bret Hart

Bret Hart's name will forever be associated with the King of the Ring.

He is the only man to win it twice. He was the last man standing at the first pay-per-view version of the event. And when ranking the best King of the Ring matches ever, one has to include two of his offerings from 1993.

His win over Bam Bam Bigelow felt like the big fight it was supposed to be. Both men's styles meshed well together in one of the big man's career highlights. Before that, Hart and Mr. Perfect tore the house down with a display of mat prowess that has yet to be matched at the event.

The fact that Hart's coronation fed directly into a memorable feud with Jerry Lawler makes his victory even more memorable. 

It's going to take artistry in the ring and a trail-blazing wrestling king to ever top The Hitman.