WWE: The top five King of the Ring tournament winners so far

4. Booker T

No one in the modern era made better use of the “King of Wrestling” gimmick than Booker T. The five-time WCW Champion cheated to pick up a win over Bobby Lashley at Judgment Day 2006 and become the seventeenth King of the Ring.

In the following weeks, he completely changed his character to reflect the win. Booker took on regal entrance music, the robe and crown, and a king’s court including Queen Sharmell, Sir William Regal, and Sir Finlay. He quickly became one of the most hated antagonists on SmackDown for over a year.

King Booker was already a 17-year veteran with an impressive list of accomplishments with both WCW and WWE. However, his King of the Ring win granted him a place in the main event again. In July, he defeated Rey Mysterio at the Great American Bash to become the World Heavyweight Champion for the first time in five years.

There is plenty of room to criticize WWE for the way they used Booker when he came over during the Invasion storyline, but this was undeniably his most successful role with the company.

Many could argue the King gimmick is outdated. But Booker T should be commended because he fully embraced it and managed to make it work.