“For more than 20 years, the King of the Ring has been a favorite tradition of the WWE Universe, a tournament to crown wrestling royalty. Past kings have included Randy Savage, Bret “Hit Man” Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Edge, and Brock Lesnar.
But the King of the Ring’s popularity goes beyond the storied tournament, as for 10 years, King of the Ring was a wildly popular PPV event that produced a number of unforgettable moments including the Hell in a Cell match between Undertaker and Mankind, Stone Cold’s memorable battle with Mr. McMahon and Shane McMahon for control of the WWE, Austin’s debut of his revolutionary “Austin 3:16” catchphrase, the first-ever match between Hulk Hogan and Kurt Angle, as well as matches for the WWE Championship.
Now all those moments are collected in The Best of the King of the Ring, a 3-DVD set packed with more than 8 hours of amazing matches, interviews, moments, and more.”
WWE The Best of King of the Ring will hit stores in the USA on December 13th – get yours.
It’s soon to be available to pre-order for UK/Europe at Silvervision.co.uk!
Check out more posts here on WrestlingDVDNetwork.com:
In the past when it has really bothered me, like on the Jericho and Steamboat DVDs I’ve been able to get rid of the bars by zooming in. It cuts the bars but also zooms in too far. Either way you end up losing something. Also, different DVD players do different things as far as the bars go. My home DVD player plays with bars, but my girlfriend’s DVD player takes the bars off without me having to do anything and stretches the picture to fit the screen. I was amazed when I first came acroess it. And another note on the KOTR cover, i loved Shamrock in WWE, and I enjoy all the other guys on the cover, but i think we can safely say Owen is not there for a reason, that reason being the lawsuit. If his matches are not on the DVD i, as well as many others will reconsider the purchase all together. It’s not a KOTR DVD if Owen is absent from its content.
i bet wwe had to be kicking themselves when ken shamrock became king of the ring over the rock. if the rock won it, it would be him on the cover and it somewhat make more sense with the front cover page.
but adding so many former KOTR champs on the front seems a bit too much. i would have added at least 5 KOTR winners most (forming a circle) for the cover.
SRB, Simon – Totally agree with you on the bars. They put everyhting into 16:9 to accomodate the newer footgae, regardless of whether most of the footage they are using is archive footage. The bits where Booker talks in between will look normal but we will get some crap on the sides of the picture no doubt. It was lile that on the Nitro DVD. If you have to zoom in to get rid of them it makes the picture look rubbish. If I’ve missed something then please someone explain how you sort it out. Whats the bloody point of going to the trouble of putting stuff on DVD and even onto blu ray when it only takes up half the picture? Maybe my tv is just too old? I really feel like I need someone to explain this to me. I don’t get it.
@SRB: Glad it’s not just me! My Blu Ray player has many picture settings, but none that completely resolve the problem. Even the best option still has some amount of bars on the side (albeit thinner), but then you lose picture at the top and bottom. I just don’t see why it’s needed. I watch back DVDs from 1999-2007 on the DVD player on the 32″ screen and they look fine.
Agreed Simon. The bars are a terrible feature and really hurt the DVD. People might say “well you can fix them if you go to menu and..” blah blah blah. we shouldnt have to fix anything.
I don’t think there’s an issue with using Owen’s footage on DVDs, as there was stackloads in the Best of Raw Seasons 1&2 set, and even more on the Hart Family compilation. So I’d imagine at least one of his matches will make the cut.
What worries me more is whether or not this set will have the dreaded 4:3 bars down the left and right sides, which I find highly aggravating and totally unnecessary. I’d go so far to say that if they are included, then I won’t bother with this at all.
@Mabel: Fair enough, Bret Hart DID retain the crown – but it was never billed or promoted as such, and so it was never really perceived in that manner (IMO).
I did a quick check on TheHistoryOfWWE.com’s DVD section, and the last set which involved an Owen match was the double RAW set (Seasons 1 & 2). Beforehand, Owen was like Eddie Guerrero – a fixture of DVD releases. If the featured performer had a match with Owen, it was on there. Austin, Rock, HHH, Edge, you name it. That said, a lot of the releases lately wouldn’t have had an Owen match to use (Nitro, Rey’s last set, Orton, Big Show (can’t remember if he worked with Owen at all), etc.).
The lawsuit could have had any types of stipulations. An example could be dont use his pictures for advertising but you can use pre-exsisting video footage, it could say no matches can be used unless referring to another wrestler like SCSA. all i know is that to come out with a KOTR set and not have him in it at all would be a travesty. When was the last time any of his matches were included on a set? I personally dont remember…
“If Owen is not on the cover, we will see if any of his matches are even there. Who knows how far that lawsuit got pushed.”
Hard to say, but if memory serves, a lot of the bruhaha started when Martha noticed Owen on the cover of Hart And Soul. It could very well be simply an issue of advertising the guy, who knows? As we’ve seen on this site, though, Owen is well featured in the piledriving clip of the Stone Cold DVD, so he isn’t completely off-limits. I’m hoping the 1-2-3 Kid match from ’94 is on. I think it’s that match which not only is a forgotten good one, but one of the better sub-5 minute matches you’ll find.
heres a list of matches that I hope will be on there.
owen hart vs 1-2-3 kid from kotr 94
all three of bret hart’s matches from kotr 93
Shawn vs bulldog kotr 96
stone cold vs hbk kotr 97
angle vs hogan kotr 02
undertaker vs mankind kotr 96
shamrock vs the rock kotr 98
undertaker vs the rock kotr 99
I know we are gonna get the hell in a cell match from kotr 98,the handicap ladder match from kotr 99,and angle vs Shane from kotr 01.i hope its the final time that undertaker vs mankind from kotr 98 is released cause i don’t wanna see it on another dvd ever again
Wow, such an insightful reply from “anonymous” (nice name, btw). I realise that it’s down to Martha that Owen isn’t on the cover. Duh. That still doesn’t mean I won’t complain about it. Owen is probably the foremost KOTR winner in my mind so I obviously think he deserves a place on the cover. And I think people will remember Billy Gunn (and even Mabel) more than they will Sheamus and even Regal as KOTR winners since they actually won them when it was still a PPV event (i.e. when it actually mattered) not some glorified Raw special.
@Simon: Actually, Bret Hart is a two time King of the Ring champion. Whether you count the first one or not, it’s still in the history books. He is a two time KOTR, Kurt Angle is not.
@Yish, Randy Savage won the 1987 King Of The Ring tournament. However, he didn’t become “Macho King” until 1989 when he beat King Duggan for the WWF Crown. The WWF Crown was an unofficial Title more or less that could be won during random matches.
The WWF Crown started after Harley Race won the second King Of The Ring tournament in 1986. He began wearing a crown and robe and called himself the King Of Wrestling and was managed by Bobby Heenan. After Race got injured in the spring of 1988, Bobby Heenan created a new King and chose Haku to be the King. In the April 1989 Haku lost the Crown to Duggan and Duggan would lose the Crown to Savage in August of 1989. The WWF Crown officially came to an end at WrestleMania VII after The Ultimate Warrior beat Randy Savage in the Career Ending Match. That was the last night Savage used the “Macho King” name.
@ AIC hey retard the only reason they put “that piece of crap sheamus” cuz no one remembers Billy Gunn, and Owen’s bitch of a wife wont let him in…think before u whine,bitch n complain
Love the cover!! But i do own pretty much all KOTR events on DVD already so.. Unless it has other stuff on there like interviews, qualifying matches and promos i don’t think i will get it.
They put that piece of crap Sheamus on the cover yet no Owen or even Billy Gunn. Wasn’t buying it anyway but wouldn’t even take a free copy now if it was given to me.
@Harry Faversham: Angle’s quest to retain his crown in 2001 was nothing short of heroic. Not only the two tournament matches on the night, but that immense classic with Shane McMahon sandwiched in between. He may not have won, but I’d say that was the best KOTR performance. His desperation to retain his crown made it seem like the most important thing in the world, something that none of the others achieved.
Great to see Shamrock on the cover. A big part of the WWF in the pivotal years 1997 and 1998. I love that Bret is central on the cover. His King of The Ring performance was by far the best. None of the others are even close.
4 me, Bret, Owen, Shamrock, HHH, Austin n Billy Gunn r the main Kings! Pity Owen aint on the cover! As 4 Macho King-he was just called King but I don’t rememba him winning it!
I actually like they have a few random guys on the cover. For example, could anyone have guessed that Ken Shamrock of all people would ever grace the cover of a WWE release? Maybe he had a shot back in 1997/1998 with In Your House, but today? I wouldnt have guessed it. Great choices to have Bret and Booker right up front and the cover looks great in my opinion. I like the royalty / luxury theme. I would have liked to have seen some of the early guys on there too, but since the 85-91 events werent taped from my understanding there would be no point including them on the cover since their matches wont be there. Im looking very forward to future covers featuring The Repo Man, Crush and Barry Horwitz. LOL
Ken Shamrock and Lesnar shouldn´t be on the cover!I would choose either Savage(R.i.p.)or/and Owen Hart(R.i.p.) this cover pisses me off,William Regal?Really?This looks not that great!
Brock Lesnar in the cover?Sometimes i wonder why people care about Lesnar,he has no respect for the wrestling business whatsoever,he gave the middle finger to wrestling fans at wrestlemania 20 remember?
Posted in 
Tags: 
In the past when it has really bothered me, like on the Jericho and Steamboat DVDs I’ve been able to get rid of the bars by zooming in. It cuts the bars but also zooms in too far. Either way you end up losing something. Also, different DVD players do different things as far as the bars go. My home DVD player plays with bars, but my girlfriend’s DVD player takes the bars off without me having to do anything and stretches the picture to fit the screen. I was amazed when I first came acroess it. And another note on the KOTR cover, i loved Shamrock in WWE, and I enjoy all the other guys on the cover, but i think we can safely say Owen is not there for a reason, that reason being the lawsuit. If his matches are not on the DVD i, as well as many others will reconsider the purchase all together. It’s not a KOTR DVD if Owen is absent from its content.
that cover is so cool.i love it.but the sucky thing is if owen hart isn’t on here,we got another chris benoit situation.
I really want the KOTR set but no Owen would mean NO sale. I’ll have to wait until I hear confirmation about Owen in it.
i bet wwe had to be kicking themselves when ken shamrock became king of the ring over the rock. if the rock won it, it would be him on the cover and it somewhat make more sense with the front cover page.
but adding so many former KOTR champs on the front seems a bit too much. i would have added at least 5 KOTR winners most (forming a circle) for the cover.
SRB, Simon – Totally agree with you on the bars. They put everyhting into 16:9 to accomodate the newer footgae, regardless of whether most of the footage they are using is archive footage. The bits where Booker talks in between will look normal but we will get some crap on the sides of the picture no doubt. It was lile that on the Nitro DVD. If you have to zoom in to get rid of them it makes the picture look rubbish. If I’ve missed something then please someone explain how you sort it out. Whats the bloody point of going to the trouble of putting stuff on DVD and even onto blu ray when it only takes up half the picture? Maybe my tv is just too old? I really feel like I need someone to explain this to me. I don’t get it.
@SRB: Glad it’s not just me! My Blu Ray player has many picture settings, but none that completely resolve the problem. Even the best option still has some amount of bars on the side (albeit thinner), but then you lose picture at the top and bottom. I just don’t see why it’s needed. I watch back DVDs from 1999-2007 on the DVD player on the 32″ screen and they look fine.
Agreed Simon. The bars are a terrible feature and really hurt the DVD. People might say “well you can fix them if you go to menu and..” blah blah blah. we shouldnt have to fix anything.
I don’t think there’s an issue with using Owen’s footage on DVDs, as there was stackloads in the Best of Raw Seasons 1&2 set, and even more on the Hart Family compilation. So I’d imagine at least one of his matches will make the cut.
What worries me more is whether or not this set will have the dreaded 4:3 bars down the left and right sides, which I find highly aggravating and totally unnecessary. I’d go so far to say that if they are included, then I won’t bother with this at all.
@Mabel: Fair enough, Bret Hart DID retain the crown – but it was never billed or promoted as such, and so it was never really perceived in that manner (IMO).
I did a quick check on TheHistoryOfWWE.com’s DVD section, and the last set which involved an Owen match was the double RAW set (Seasons 1 & 2). Beforehand, Owen was like Eddie Guerrero – a fixture of DVD releases. If the featured performer had a match with Owen, it was on there. Austin, Rock, HHH, Edge, you name it. That said, a lot of the releases lately wouldn’t have had an Owen match to use (Nitro, Rey’s last set, Orton, Big Show (can’t remember if he worked with Owen at all), etc.).
The lawsuit could have had any types of stipulations. An example could be dont use his pictures for advertising but you can use pre-exsisting video footage, it could say no matches can be used unless referring to another wrestler like SCSA. all i know is that to come out with a KOTR set and not have him in it at all would be a travesty. When was the last time any of his matches were included on a set? I personally dont remember…
“If Owen is not on the cover, we will see if any of his matches are even there. Who knows how far that lawsuit got pushed.”
Hard to say, but if memory serves, a lot of the bruhaha started when Martha noticed Owen on the cover of Hart And Soul. It could very well be simply an issue of advertising the guy, who knows? As we’ve seen on this site, though, Owen is well featured in the piledriving clip of the Stone Cold DVD, so he isn’t completely off-limits. I’m hoping the 1-2-3 Kid match from ’94 is on. I think it’s that match which not only is a forgotten good one, but one of the better sub-5 minute matches you’ll find.
coooooooool cover
I am glad they have put Regal and Shameus on the cover because i hope it includes their King of the Ring final matches
If Owen is not on the cover, we will see if any of his matches are even there. Who knows how far that lawsuit got pushed.
A King of the Ring set and the cover doesn’t have Billy Bitchcakes???
J/K, good cover, would be nice if Owen was on it, but I understand the legal issues. Hopefully he’s a part of the set, though.
heres a list of matches that I hope will be on there.
owen hart vs 1-2-3 kid from kotr 94
all three of bret hart’s matches from kotr 93
Shawn vs bulldog kotr 96
stone cold vs hbk kotr 97
angle vs hogan kotr 02
undertaker vs mankind kotr 96
shamrock vs the rock kotr 98
undertaker vs the rock kotr 99
I know we are gonna get the hell in a cell match from kotr 98,the handicap ladder match from kotr 99,and angle vs Shane from kotr 01.i hope its the final time that undertaker vs mankind from kotr 98 is released cause i don’t wanna see it on another dvd ever again
Here’s hoping we get a list of content soon.
Less cool is the CG’d crown and cowl for Bret, nice to see him front and center though.
HOLY SHIT! SHAMROCK!?! AWESOME!
Wow, such an insightful reply from “anonymous” (nice name, btw). I realise that it’s down to Martha that Owen isn’t on the cover. Duh. That still doesn’t mean I won’t complain about it. Owen is probably the foremost KOTR winner in my mind so I obviously think he deserves a place on the cover. And I think people will remember Billy Gunn (and even Mabel) more than they will Sheamus and even Regal as KOTR winners since they actually won them when it was still a PPV event (i.e. when it actually mattered) not some glorified Raw special.
@Simon: Actually, Bret Hart is a two time King of the Ring champion. Whether you count the first one or not, it’s still in the history books. He is a two time KOTR, Kurt Angle is not.
Love the cover. Owen Hart should’ve been on it too but we all know why he isn’t…
Thumbs up if when you first saw the cover you thought Kurt Angle was Santino! XD
Lol, Ken Shamrock is on a WWE Cover.
Something doesn’t look right
*looks at the superstars*
Ah, there it is. The lobster head is the odd man out.
@Yish, Randy Savage won the 1987 King Of The Ring tournament. However, he didn’t become “Macho King” until 1989 when he beat King Duggan for the WWF Crown. The WWF Crown was an unofficial Title more or less that could be won during random matches.
The WWF Crown started after Harley Race won the second King Of The Ring tournament in 1986. He began wearing a crown and robe and called himself the King Of Wrestling and was managed by Bobby Heenan. After Race got injured in the spring of 1988, Bobby Heenan created a new King and chose Haku to be the King. In the April 1989 Haku lost the Crown to Duggan and Duggan would lose the Crown to Savage in August of 1989. The WWF Crown officially came to an end at WrestleMania VII after The Ultimate Warrior beat Randy Savage in the Career Ending Match. That was the last night Savage used the “Macho King” name.
@ AIC hey retard the only reason they put “that piece of crap sheamus” cuz no one remembers Billy Gunn, and Owen’s bitch of a wife wont let him in…think before u whine,bitch n complain
Love the cover!! But i do own pretty much all KOTR events on DVD already so.. Unless it has other stuff on there like interviews, qualifying matches and promos i don’t think i will get it.
They put that piece of crap Sheamus on the cover yet no Owen or even Billy Gunn. Wasn’t buying it anyway but wouldn’t even take a free copy now if it was given to me.
@Harry Faversham: Angle’s quest to retain his crown in 2001 was nothing short of heroic. Not only the two tournament matches on the night, but that immense classic with Shane McMahon sandwiched in between. He may not have won, but I’d say that was the best KOTR performance. His desperation to retain his crown made it seem like the most important thing in the world, something that none of the others achieved.
Great to see Shamrock on the cover. A big part of the WWF in the pivotal years 1997 and 1998. I love that Bret is central on the cover. His King of The Ring performance was by far the best. None of the others are even close.
The cover line-up would make for a great 5-on-5 elimination match!
4 me, Bret, Owen, Shamrock, HHH, Austin n Billy Gunn r the main Kings! Pity Owen aint on the cover! As 4 Macho King-he was just called King but I don’t rememba him winning it!
I actually like they have a few random guys on the cover. For example, could anyone have guessed that Ken Shamrock of all people would ever grace the cover of a WWE release? Maybe he had a shot back in 1997/1998 with In Your House, but today? I wouldnt have guessed it. Great choices to have Bret and Booker right up front and the cover looks great in my opinion. I like the royalty / luxury theme. I would have liked to have seen some of the early guys on there too, but since the 85-91 events werent taped from my understanding there would be no point including them on the cover since their matches wont be there. Im looking very forward to future covers featuring The Repo Man, Crush and Barry Horwitz. LOL
Shame Owen Hart is not on the cover hes the only other meaningful King along with the men on the cover.
Ken Shamrock and Lesnar shouldn´t be on the cover!I would choose either Savage(R.i.p.)or/and Owen Hart(R.i.p.) this cover pisses me off,William Regal?Really?This looks not that great!
Brock Lesnar in the cover?Sometimes i wonder why people care about Lesnar,he has no respect for the wrestling business whatsoever,he gave the middle finger to wrestling fans at wrestlemania 20 remember?
cover could have been better if it were just 5 guys … i’d have replaced ken shamrock with macho king randy savage … oooh yeah!!
just thought…they missed King Mabel and Billy Gunn!!!
i really lke it
They should flip flop Sheamus and Edge or Regal so that they would have old school on the bottom and new school on the top.
i get the idea but it the superstar photos have just been copied and pasted and look to basic
they are missing King Mabel!!!!! what a travesty lol. but seriously I would have liked to see Owen on there