Comparing WWE Royalty: King Of The Ring Vs. The Royal Rumble (Updated!)

Two WWE accomplishments carry a royal air to them: winning the annual Royal Rumble match and becoming the King of the Ring. 

While the Rumble has occurred every year since 1988, the KOTR has been a bit more sporadically since its inception in 1985.

Here’s a comparison of those who have reached these triumphs.

Scoring

After recently reading Freakonomics, I decided to try to quantify this. 

The scoring will go like this:

Each winner of either match or tourney receives a points for their other major accomplishments. I have selected two accomplishments to use in quantifying their success:

HOF induction = 10 points

World or WWE title reign = 5 points (does not include any title outside of these two, such as ECW, WCW, etc.)

Only winning respective event = 1 point

(Author's note: There's no real reason behind this scoring method except to provide a uniform manner of quantification that emphasizes areas I consider prominent in a WWE superstar’s career: winning big gold or getting invited to the Hall.)

Let's see how it turns out...

WWE King of the Ring

The King of the Ring has been around a long time, since 1985 (longer than I originally thought when the pay-per-views were popular). 

While the title of King would go to several who defeated other “Kings,” this comparison only takes into account those who won the tourney themselves.

KOTR Winners in the Hall of Fame (10 Pts Each)

Six Different WWE Hall of Fame inductees have held the title of King, most before it became a pay-per-view event. Bret Hart remains the only superstar to win it twice. They are: 

Don Muraco

Harley Race

Ted DiBiase

Tito Santana

Bret Hart

Stone Cold Steve Austin

While I’m not certain the title held too much prestige prior to becoming its own PPV (I rarely hear about it nowadays, anyway), it could be argued that no one did more with the coronation platform that Stone Cold, creating “Austin 3:16” and symbolizing an attitude that would lead to unrivaled greatness.

Points: 10 x 6 = 60

KOTR Winners with World/WWE Championships (5 Pts Each)

Nine Winners of the KOTR had either already won or went on to win the World and/or the WWE Championship. They are, with their title reigns in parentheses:

Randy Savage (x2)

Bret Hart (x5)

Stone Cold Steve Austin (x6)

Triple H (x13)

Kurt Angle (x5)

Edge (x10)

Brock Lesnar (x3)

Booker T

Sheamus (x2)

This is no doubt an impressive list of former (and current) WWE and World champions, especially considering that champions were for the most part not typically advanced in the tourney when they were already established (no Hogan, Flair, Cena, Batista, etc.).

Points: 5 x 47= 235

The Rest Of The Kings Of The Ring (1 Pt Each)

Five KOTR winners had success in the WWE, but not that much in comparison with their fellow winners. They are: 

Owen Hart

Mabel

Ken Shamrock

Billy Gunn

William Regal 

Outside of Owen (who some feel should be in the Hall already), this is a fairly lackluster list. Each of these superstars was able to accomplish various championships, though only a handful of main event feuds or high profile spots.  

Points: 1 x 5= 5

King of the Ring Scoring Total

So using this completely made up system, the King of the Ring has received an even 300 points. 

Let’s check out the Rumble using the same wonderfully made up measurement tool.

WWE Royal Rumble

The Rumble is the favorite match of the year for many fans (including Jerry Lawler, and it takes a king…). 

As we get ready for this year’s battle, let’s see how it measures up.

Royal Rumble Winners in the Hall of Fame (10 Pts Each)

Six different WWE Hall of Fame inductees (including the soon to be inducted Shawn Michaels) outlasted them all to win the biggest match of the year. They are: 

Big John Studd

Hulk Hogan

Ric Flair

Bret Hart

Shawn Michaels 

Stone Cold Steve Austin

The same number of Rumble winners are in the Hall as there are Kings. (Though Stone Cold, HBK, and Hulk all have multiple wins, while the only multiple-time King is the Hitman.)

Points: 10 x 6 = 60

Rumble Winners with World/WWE Championships (5 Pts Each)

Seventeen of the 20 Royal Rumble match winners had either already won or went on to win either the World or the WWE Championship. They are (reigns in parentheses): 

Hulk Hogan (x6)

Ric Flair (x2)

Yokozuna (x2)

Bret Hart (x5)

Shawn Michaels (x4)

Stone Cold Steve Austin (x6)

Vince McMahon (wow, that’s depressing)

The Rock (x7)

Triple H (x13)

Brock Lesnar (x3)

Chris Benoit

Batista (x4)

Rey Mysterio (x2)

Undertaker (x7)

John Cena (x9)

Randy Orton (x7)

Edge (x10)

Considering the fact that the rumble winner has been facing a top level champion at WrestleMania every year for over a decade, it’s no surprise that so many winners would also be champions.

Points: 5 x 89 = 445

The Rest (1 Pt Each)

3 Rumble winners would not go on to win WWE or World Championships. They are:

Hacksaw Jim Dugan

Lex Luger

Alberto Del Rio

The Rumble couldn’t help these WWE superstars, as none has yet experienced a top-level title reign in the WWE or an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame (though Dugan is heavily rumored to head to the hall this year and Del Rio has a World title match at WMXXVII).

Points: 1 x 3 = 3

Royal Rumble Total

Our matrix tells us that the Rumble match has received 508 points. I think we have a winner!

Final Scores and Overview

Final scores:

KOTR - 300 points

Royal Rumble - 508 points

And the Rumble wins!

Boasting champions every year but the first two, winning the WWE Royal Rumble appears to be one of the most impressive things a superstar can do. 

The King of the Ring certainly doesn’t hurt (and several were able to accomplish both), but it’s got nothing on the guaranteed headlining of the biggest event of the year. 

Seems like it’s better to rumble royally than to be crowned king!

What Did We Learn?

What did we learn? 

Well, probably something we could have figured out on our own, that winning the Royal Rumble match is a much more significant accomplishment than winning the King of the Ring. 

WWE has always made the Rumble match a priority and tended to use the KOTR as somewhat of an experiment to see how a superstar could perform when given a push.

Lesnar did receive a guaranteed title shot in 2002 at SummerSlam (signaling efforts to elevate the summer spectacular), but the pay-per-view disappeared the next year and the tournament has since only occurred on Raw.

With seven of the last 10 Rumble winners taking top gold at the most recent WrestleMania, one thing we do know is that it looks good for whoever walks away Sunday in the BIGGEST ROYAL RUMBLE EVENT EVER!!!