WWE Reportedly Considering Bringing Back Event That Made Steve Austin Famous

WWE is reportedly bringing back a former premium live event that initially broadcast from 1993 until 2002. According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the King of the Ring event could be making its return to the WWE premium live event calendar. It's said that, if brought back, the show would feature both the King of the Ring tournament and the Queen's Crown tournament. The report indicated that, because of guaranteed money coming in from the organization's deal with Peacock, WWE has no need to worry when it comes to putting on shows that didn't draw in the past as the "dynamic" is now different. 

The King of the Ring premium live event was a permanent fixture on the annual WWE schedule for nine years, but it was eventually pulled by then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon after the 2002 offering due to its lack of pay-per-view buys. The tournament itself had been contested between 1985 and 1991 before becoming its own standalone event. 

The tournament was ultimately reprized in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, and 2019, with matches being contested across "WWE Raw" and "WWE SmackDown." The finals of the 2015 tournament had its own WWE Network special show, but it was not recognized as a premium live event. In 2021, WWE announced the first-ever Queen's Crown tournament would take place simultaneously with the King of the Ring tournament on WWE programming, with the finals taking place at the Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Zelina Vega made history by becoming the inaugural Queen's Crown tournament winner. Many huge names have won King of the Ring, including Bret "The Hitman" Hart, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin — who coined his iconic "3:16" catchphrase at the event — Triple H, Kurt Angle, Edge, Brock Lesnar, Booker T, and most recently The New Day's Xavier Woods.