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King of the Ring is a professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by WWE. The tournament was held annually from 1985 to 2002, with the exception of 1990 and 1992, and from 1993 to 2002 the tournament was produced as a pay-per-view event.

The tournament endured a four-year hiatus until its return in 2006 as an exclusive event of the SmackDown brand. The tournament returned as an inter-brand event for both Raw and SmackDown in both 2008 and 2010. WWE released a best of King of the Ring DVD in late 2011.

History[link]

Although the King of the Ring tournament was first made into a pay-per-view event in 1993, the original King of the Ring tournament was actually held in 1985. Don Muraco was the first King of the Ring in 1985. The second King, Harley Race, is noted for parlaying his King of the Ring victory into his "King of Wrestling" gimmick. At the time, the crown was contested similar to other championship titles. Haku ("King Haku" ) was awarded the crown by Bobby Heenan after Race was sidelined due to an injury. Race eventually returned from his injury and briefly feuded with King Haku, but was unable to regain the crown. King Haku then lost the crown to "Hacksaw King" Jim Duggan, who then lost it to Randy Savage ("Macho King") in late 1989. Savage abandoned the "Macho King" gimmick upon his retirement in 1991. Owen Hart ("King of Harts"), Mabel ("King Mabel" ), Edge ("King Edge the Awesome"), Booker T ("King Booker"), and most recently William Regal and Sheamus are all wrestlers that also took on "King" nicknames after winning King of the Ring tournaments. In addition to the King's crown, various female wrestlers were portrayed as "Queen" while they were aligned with "Kings", including "Queen of the Ring" Fabulous Moolah (aligned with "King" Harley Race at Wrestlemania III), Sensational Queen Sherri (manager of "Macho King" Randy Savage), and Queen Sharmell (manager of King Booker).

Pay-per-view[link]

The King of the Ring was an event in which typically sixteen wrestlers wrestled in a one-on-one single elimination bracket. When a wrestler wins a match in the bracket, he advances to take on another wrestler who has also won. The final few matches would then take place at that year's King of the Ring event. The winner of the final match is officially crowned the King of the Ring. There were also other matches that took place at the King of the Ring event since it was a traditional three hour pay-per-view.

From 1993 to 2002, the King of the Ring was considered the fifth major WWF PPV (alongside the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series.^{[citation needed]}

Revival[link]

It was announced in April 2006 that the King of the Ring tournament would be returning after its four year hiatus. The 2006 tournament was the first tournament since 1991 that had not been shown on pay-per-view. The 2006 tournament was won by Booker T, who faced Bobby Lashley in the finals at the Judgment Day pay-per-view event. After a brief hiatus in 2007, it was announced on the April 14, 2008 episode of Raw, that the tournament would be held the following week on a special three hour edition of Raw. The King of the Ring returned again on November 29, 2010.^[1]

King of the Ring event dates and venues[link]

From 1993 through 2002, King of the Ring was produced as a pay-per-view event.

• The finals of the 2006 King of the Ring were held as part of the Judgment Day pay-per-view, which emanated from Phoenix. The quarterfinal and semifinal matches were conducted at various other venues.

Pre pay-per-view event results[link]

1985[link]

The tournament was held on July 8, 1985 at the Sullivan Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The tournament brackets were:

1. ^ Tito Santana fought Jim Brunzell to a draw; Brunzell then won a coin toss to determine who would continue in the tournament.

• Hulk Hogan defeated Nikolai Volkoff to retain the WWF Championship
  • Hogan pinned Volkoff.

1986[link]

The tournament was held on July 14, 1986 at the Sullivan Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The tournament brackets were:

1. ^ Rudy Diamond was a substitute for Bob Orton.
2. ^ Mr. X was a substitute for Hercules Hernandez.

• Bruno Sammartino defeated The Designated Hitman (a substitute for Eddie Andelmann, a local TV/radio personality who refused to wrestle)
• The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid) defeated The Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) (with Johnny V.) in a steel cage match to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship
  • Dynamite and Beefcake escaped from the cage first. Smith then escaped the cage to win the match after Valentine had accidentally knocked him out the door.

1987[link]

The tournament was held on September 4, 1987 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The tournament brackets were:

1988[link]

The tournament was held on October 16, 1988 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The tournament brackets were:

1. ^ Mike Sharpe substituted for The Warlord.
2. ^ DiBiase paid Bass off to fake an injury.^[2]

• Jim Duggan defeated Dino Bravo (with Frenchy Martin) in a flag match

1989[link]

The tournament was held on October 14, 1989 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The tournament brackets were:

1. ^ Bill Woods substituted for Barry Windham.

1991[link]

The tournament was held on September 7, 1991 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The tournament brackets were:

1. ^ Pete Doherty substituted for Kerry Von Erich.

• The Beverly Brothers defeated The Bushwhackers

References[link]

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

• WWF King of the Ring History

The Ring may refer to:

Film[link]

• The Ring (1927 film), a film by Alfred Hitchcock
• The Ring (1952 film), a film by Kurt Neumann
• The Rings, a 1985 horror film by Honarmand, aka 'Zangha'
• The Ring (1996 film), a film by Armand Mastroianni
• Ring (film), a 1998 Japanese horror film by Hideo Nakata, aka Ringu or The Ring
• The Ring (2002 film), a horror film by Gore Verbinski, a remake of the Japanese film

Literature[link]

• The Ring, a book by Daniel Keys Moran
• The Ring (novel), by Danielle Steel
• The Ring, a children's book by John Updike
• The Ring (magazine), a boxing periodical
• "The Ring" (poem), a poem by Heinrich Wittenwiler

Television[link]

• "The Ring" (Angel), a 2000 episode of Angel
• The Ring (Chuck), a fictional spy organization in Chuck
• "The Ring" (South Park), a 2009 episode of South Park
• "The Ring" (Yes, Dear), an episode of Yes, Dear

Other uses[link]

• Nürburgring or the Ring, a German racetrack
• The Ring (rock formation), a rock formation in Bulgaria
• The Ring: Terror's Realm, a 2000 video game
• Vaginal ring or the Ring, a hormonal contraceptive device
• The Ring (album), an album by Terri Hendrix

See also[link]

• One Ring, a fictional ring of power in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
• The Ring of the Nibelung or Der Ring des Nibelungen, a cycle of operas by Richard Wagner
• Ring (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

King Of... is a television comedy talk show made by Big Talk Productions for Channel 4. It was first broadcast on 17 June 2011 and is hosted by Claudia Winkleman. The show also has two celebrity guests and a studio audience.^[1] The guests discuss what is the 'king of' various categories.

On 24 June 2011, Channel 4 announced that King Of... was to be cut short due to Winkleman's pregnancy. The final 2 episodes, with Ruby Wax & Johnny Vegas and Billie Piper, will not be recorded.

Episodes[link]

Series 1[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• King Of... at channel4.com
• King Of... at the British Comedy Guide
• @c4kingof Twitter

Tyrone Spong
Born	Tyrone Clinton Spong (1985-09-03) September 3, 1985 (age 26) Paramaribo, Suriname
Other names	King of the Ring
Nationality	Dutch Surinamese
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	103.5 kg (228 lb; 16 st 4 lb)
Division	Super Heavyweight Heavyweight Cruiserweight Middleweight
Style	Muay Thai
Stance	Orthodox
Fighting out of	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Team	Team Mr. Perfect Fighting Factory Carbin
Trainer	Ernesto Hoost Lucien Carbin
Years active	2001–present (Kickboxing)
Kickboxing record
Total	76
Wins	68
By knockout	42
Losses	6
By knockout	3
Draws	1
No contests	1
Other information
Website	http://www.tyrone-spong.nl
last updated on: January 28, 2012

Tyrone "King of The Ring" Spong (born September 3, 1985) is a Dutch-Surinamese kickboxer. He is the reigning WFCA Cruiserweight Muay Thai and the former It's Showtime 95MAX World champion, fighting out of Fighting Factory Carbin in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

As of May 2011, Spong is ranked the #7 heavyweight in the world by LiverKick.com.^[1]

Career[link]

Tyrone Spong was born in Suriname. In 1990 at the age of 5, he moved to the Netherlands with his family.

In 2003, his first year as a pro, he made his mark winning 12 fights a year. In 2004, he fought against Rafi Zouheir at the Battle of Zaandam and won his first European Muay Thai Title (WKN). In 2004 Spong also visited Japan to compete in Shootboxing where he lost to Ryuji Goto. Goto suplexed him in the final seconds of the fight to earn a well-received unanimous decision. His next fight in April 2005, was against Belgian Mohammed Ouali for another European Title (WPKL). Spong won the fight by unanimous decision.

In December, 2005 at the A-1 Combat Cup in Duisburg, after three consecutive KO's in one night, Tyrone Spong won his first tournament Championship.

In 2006 Spong had two his biggest victories of his young career, KO wins over Muay Thai veteran Joerie Mes and two weeks later knocking out K-1 superstar Kaoklai Kaennorsing from Thailand in a first round.

On March 28, 2009, Spong participated in the first ever K-1 Heavyweight (-100 kg) Title tournament, held in Yokohama, Japan. He was beaten by Gokhan Saki in semifinals by right hook KO of the extra round.^[2]

Spong finally met rival Nathan Corbett at Champions of Champions II in what was widely considered a battle between the two best Muay Thai fighters in the world at their weight class for the W.M.C. world title -93 kg. The fight was a close affair with Spong knocking Corbett down on the second round only for it to end with a controversial decision. In the third round Corbett managed to knock Spong out with a huge right hook causing the referee to stop the fight. However, due to the referee's misleading hand signals, Corbett rushed back in to knock Spong down once more, not sure that the fight had been stopped. After considerable confusion the fight was declared a no contest instead of a Corbett KO win.

After defeating the Worlds heavyweight champion, Kyotaro he fought Jerome Le Banner in April 2010. Similar to the Nathan Corbett fight Spong broke his right hand in the first round and was knocked down. Despite coming back strongly he lost by decision. At the end of the year he qualified for the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final, defeating veteran Ray Sefo in an elimination match, only to lose to eventual winner Alistair Overeem at the quarter final stage in what was a more competitive fight than most initial thought - as Overeem was much the bigger fighter. At the start of 2011, Spong had to vacate the It's Showtime 95MAX world title due to a number of issues such as not having had a title defense in the allocated two years and his management stating that he had moved up in weight to fight as a heavyweight.^[3]

Titles[link]

• 2008 1st It's Showtime World 95MAX champion (Defense: 0)
• 2008 W.F.C.A. Thaiboxing World Cruiserweight champion (Defense: 1)
• 2008 KO World Series '08 Oceania winner
• 2007 1st SLAMM Events 79 kg class champion (Defense: 0)
• 2005 A1 World League winner
• 2005 W.P.K.L. European Middleweight champion (Defense: 0)
• 2004 W.K.N. Thaiboxing European Middleweight champion (Defense: 0)
• M.T.B.N. Muay Thai Dutch Junior class -66 kg class champion (Defense: 0)

Personal life[link]

Spong is married with three children.^[4] He is an avid lover of animals, as is evidenced by the majority of his tattoos. He is the owner of several pit bull terriers, which he bred himself.^[5] Spong has trained in America with Floyd Mayweather Sr.^[6] He is friends with mixed martial artists Rashad Evans and Mo Lawal. He has helped both of them prepare for some of their fights.^[7] Spong trains his physical conditioning at the legendary ReAT Sports athletic performance facility in Amsterdam, under the world renowned Strength & Conditioning specialist Rayen Bindraban.^[8]

Kickboxing record[link]

Kickboxing record

68 Wins (42 (T)KO's, 25 decisions), 6 Losses (3 (T)KO's, 3 decisions), 1 Draw, 1 No Contest Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time 2012-06-30 Peter Aerts Music Hall & BFN Group present: It's Showtime 57 & 58 Brussels, Belgium 2012-01-28 Win Melvin Manhoef It's Showtime 2012 in Leeuwarden Amsterdam, Netherlands Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00 2011-06-18 Win Loren Javier Jorge It's Showtime Madrid 2011 Madrid, Spain Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00 2011-05-14 Win Igor Mihaljevic It's Showtime 2011 Lyon Lyon, France KO (Left Knee) 1 2:01 2010-12-11 Loss Alistair Overeem K-1 World GP 2010 Final, Quarter Final Tokyo, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00 2010-10-02 Win Ray Sefo K-1 World GP 2010 Seoul Final 16 Seoul, Republic of Korea Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00 Qualifies for K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final. 2010-04-03 Loss Jerome Le Banner K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Yokohama Yokohama, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00 2009-12-05 Win Keijiro Maeda K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final Yokohama, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00 2009-06-27 NC Nathan Corbett Champions of Champions II Montego Bay, Jamaica No contest 3 0:55 2009-05-16 Win Attila Karacs It's Showtime 2009 Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands Decision (Split) 3 3:00 2009-03-28 Loss Gökhan Saki K-1 World GP 2009 in Yokohama Yokohama, Japan KO (Right hook) 4 1:58 2009-01-24 Win Samir Benazzouz Beast of the East Zutphen, Netherlands TKO (Corner stoppage) 3 2:23 2008-11-29 Win Zabit Samedov It's Showtime 2008 Eindhoven Eindhoven, Netherlands Decision (Unanimous) 5 3:00 Wins It's Showtime 95MAX World title. 2008-10-05 Win Gary Turner K.O. Events "Tough Is Not Enough" Rotterdam, Netherlands TKO (Doctor stoppage) 1 1:05 2008-04-26 Win Azem Maksutaj K-1 World GP 2008 in Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands KO (Knee strike) 2 0:45 2008-03-15 Win Ondrej Hutnik It's Showtime 75MAX Trophy 2008, World Title Fight 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands KO (Left liver punch) 2 2:32 Retains title of W.F.C.A. World Thaiboxing Cruiserweight championship.(1) 2008-02-09 Win Nikos Sokolis KO World Series 2008 in Auckland Auckland, New Zealand KO (Left liver punch) 1 2:25 Wins KO World Series 2008 in Auckland Cruiserweight world title. 2008-02-09 Win Chad Walker KO World Series 2008 in Auckland Auckland, New Zealand KO (Overhand right) 1 1:08 2008-01-26 Win Aurelien Duarte Beast of the East Zutphen, Netherlands Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00 Wins vacant title of W.F.C.A. World Thaiboxing Cruiserweight (-86.18kg) title. 2007-12-24 Win Rasmus Zoeylner Return of the King 2 Paramaribo, Suriname KO 2 2007-10-27 Win Emil Zoraj One Night in Bangkok Antwerp, Belgium TKO (Doctor stoppage) 4 1:02 2007-08-26 Win Human Nikmaslak Return of the King 1 Paramaribo, Suriname KO (Knee strike) 1 2:31 2007-06-02 Win Dmitry Shakuta Gentleman Fight Night IV Tilburg, Netherlands Decision 5 3:00 2007-05-06 Win Yodchai Wor Petchpun SLAMM "Nederland vs Thailand III" Haarlem, Netherlands TKO (Referee stoppage) 1 2:38 Wins the vacant title of SLAMM World 79kg title. 2007-03-25 Loss Amir Zeyada Rings Gala, Vechtsenbanen Utrecht, Netherlands TKO (Referee stoppage/Punches) 3 1:49 2006-11-12 Win Joerie Mes Pride & Honor Ahoy 2006 Rotterdam, Netherlands TKO (Knee strike) 5 1:12 2006-10-01 Win Kaoklai Kaennorsing SLAMM "Nederland vs Thailand II" Almere, Netherlands KO (Right punch) 1 1:55 2006-06-18 Win Sem Braan 2H2H The Road To Tokyo Amsterdam, Netherlands KO (Left hook) 3 1:40 2006-06-03 Win Henry Akdeniz Gentleman Fight Night 3 Tilburg, Netherlands TKO (Doctor stoppage) 3 3:00 2006-05-06 Win Farid M'Laika Gala de Kickboxing Geneva, Switzerland Decision (Unanimous) 5 2:00 2006-04-29 Win Cho In Jun MARS World Fighting GP Seoul, Korea KO 1 2:07 2005-12-03 Win Senol Kiziltas A-1 Combat League Duisburg, Germany TKO (Knee strike) 2 Wins A-1 Combat League World title. 2005-12-03 Win Senol Cetin A-1 Combat League Duisburg, Germany TKO (Corner stoppage) 1 2005-12-03 Win Rene Litchko A-1 Combat League Duisburg, Germany KO (Right hook) 1 0:45 2005-10-09 Win Vincent Vielvoye Rotterdam Rumble Rotterdam, Netherlands Decision 5 3:00 2005-05-08 Win Younnes el Hamsani Muay Thai Gala Amsterdam, Netherlands Decision 5 3:00 2005-04-09 Win Mohammed Ouali Muay Thai Champions League XIV Netherlands Decision 5 3:00 Wins title of W.P.K.L. European Middleweight(-72.5kg) championship. 2004-12-23 Win Renato Hasset The Night of Legend Paramaribo, Suriname KO 4 2004-11-14 Win Richard Weston Muay Thai/Mixed Fight Gala, Sporthal Stedenwijk Almere, Netherlands KO 1 2004-10-17 Win Rafi Zoufeir Battle in Zaandam II Zaandam, Netherlands TKO (Low kicks) 3 Wins title of W.K.N. Thaiboxing European Middleweight (-76.2kg) championship. 2004-04-18 Loss Ryuji Goto Shoot　boxing: Infinty-S Vol.2 Tokyo, Japan Decision 3 3:00 2004-03-21 Win Hamid El Caid Profighters Gala in Almere Almere, Netherlands Decision 5 3:00 2004-02-22 Win William Diender 2H2H Rotterdam, Netherlands Decision (Majority) 5 3:00 2003-11-12 Draw Younnes el Hamsani Veni, Vidi, Vici II Veenendaal, Netherlands Decision draw 5 3:00 2003-11-02 Win Xavier Gatez Immortality Amsterdam, Netherlands KO 2 2003-10-13 Win Rocky Grandjean 2H2H in Ahoy Netherlands TKO (Doctor stoppage) 2 2003-07-04 Win Gregory Costina Baas Sports Willemstad, Curaçao TKO (Low kicks) 4 2003-05-18 Win Melvin Rozenblad Killerdome III Amsterdam, Netherlands Decision 5 3:00 Makes His A-class debut. 2003-04-19 Win Henry Akendiz Beast of The East Zutphen, Netherlands TKO (Corner stoppage) 1 3:00 2003-04-13 Win Jan van Denderen East Side III Gorinchem, Netherlands Decision 5 2:00 2003-02-02 Win Harry Lodewijks Killerdome II Amsterdam, Netherlands KO 1 2003-01-11 Win Tarik Slimani Dudok Arena Hilversum, Netherlands 2002-10-27 Win Ray Staring Beast of The East Arnhem, Netherlands Decision 5 2:00 2002-05-19 Loss Amir Zeyada Itai-Te Promotions, Thaiboksgala Predators III Amsterdam, Netherlands KO (Slam) 4 0:47 2002-03-08 Win Dave van der Ploeg Beast of The East Zutphen, Netherlands Decision 5 2:00 2002-03-03 Win Olli Koch Loasana Promotions, The Palace Groningen, Netherlands KO 1 2001-09-22 Win Werner Stoel Champions Gym Gala in Hanenhof Geleen, Netherlands Decision 5 2:00 Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest       Notes