Undertaker Throws Mankind Off Hell in a Cell and Wildest Moments in WWE KOTR History

King and Queen of the Ring returning to WWE's premium live event schedule in 2024 has been long overdue.

The tournament originally ran as a standalone pay-per-view from 1993 to 2002, at which point it was shelved as an annual attraction. It later served as a television special in 2006, sometimes transpiring all in one night and losing the luster it once had.

Triple H, a former King of the Ring winner in his own right, taking the creative reigns of WWE from Vince McMahon in 2022 gave fans faith that by resurrecting the concept, it would become a priority once more.

So far, the in-ring action in both the men's and women's tourneys hasn't disappointed, and for the first time in over two decades, they will culminate on a WWE PLE on Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Those initial installments of the event featured plenty of monumental milestones and unforgettable matches, including The Undertaker throwing Mankind off the top of Hell in a Cell—an astonishing visual that is still talked about to this day.

King and Queen of the Ring 2024 will have the tall task of attempting to live up to some of the wildest moments in the PPV's history.

Kane Captures His First and Only WWE Championship (1998)

Mankind's spectacular leap from the top of The Devil's Playground is of course what the 1998 King of the Ring is most known for, but that wasn't how the event ended.

Kane battled "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in a First Blood match for the WWE Championship, and thanks to an assist from Mankind, The Big Red Machine became champ.

Granted, his reign was short-lived as Austin regained the gold on the next night's Raw, but it was a shocking conclusion to the night nonetheless.

Bret Hart Forces Jerry Lawler to Kiss His Foot (1995)

The near-two-year feud between Hart and Lawler culminated at King of the Ring 1995 in one of the strangest stipulation matches WWE has ever held: a Kiss My Foot match.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about the actual contest, but Lawler having to kiss The Hitman's foot afterward was a sight to behold—albeit a bizarre one.

Yokozuna Regains WWE Championship from Hulk Hogan (1993)

Yokozuna's crowning moment at WrestleMania IX was quickly crashed by Hogan, who defeated him for the WWE Championship within minutes of winning it.

Hogan had largely been booked as an unstoppable force up to this point, so Yokozuna besting him in a rematch at King of the Ring 1993 to get the belt back served as a stunning swan song for The Hulkster until his return to the company nearly a decade later.

King of the Ring 1993 was one of the only installments to feature three rounds of the tournament transpiring on pay-per-view. Only the uneventful first round aired on television leading into the event.

The eight Superstars who took part in the quarterfinals were all hungry for the crown, but Bret Hart was simply on a higher level than everyone else. Having already won King of the Ring two years prior and the WWE Championship to boot, he had little to prove, but that didn't stop him from putting in the performance of a lifetime that night.

He first knocked off Razor Ramon in an excellent opening outing before besting Mr. Perfect in another awesome match in the semifinals. He would've looked strong in defeat had he gone on to lose in the finals, but he proceeded to pull off the seemingly impossible by beating Bam Bam Bigelow to win the whole thing.

A true King of the Ring in every sense, The Hitman completed the hat trick and earned the right to retain his spot atop the throne. His in-ring excellence was officially undisputed after that evening.

Kurt Angle cemented his status as a star on the rise at King of the Ring 2000 by winning the entire tournament, but he found himself in a much more precarious position at the subsequent installment.

To start the show, the Olympian knocked off Christian to advance to the semifinals, where he lost to Edge due to interference from archrival Shane McMahon. Similar to Bret Hart in 1993, he pulled triple duty by then taking on McMahon in a Street Fight.

The son of the WWE chairman had already proved he was in his element in an extreme environment, so they had quite the competitive contest. While brawling around ringside, they blasted each other with any weapons they could find and went to great lengths to inflict as much punishment as possible.

The defining moment of the match occurred when Angle attempted to suplex McMahon through a panel of glass only to fail to break it. He repeated the spot and managed to shatter the glass the second time, but he was unsuccessful in breaking another panel of glass with a similar suplex until the third attempt shortly thereafter.

McMahon emerged a bloody mess and continued to fight before falling to an Angle Slam off the top rope. To call it an absolute war would be an understatement.

The in-ring portion of the 1996 King of the Ring tournament—at least as far as the finals and semifinals were concerned—was nothing special. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. Marc Mero was well-wrestled, but Jake Roberts vs. Vader was kept brief and Roberts vs. Austin in the finals wasn't much better.

Austin becoming King of the Ring may not have gone down as anything remarkable had it not been for his career-altering victory speech.

In addition to putting the rest of the roster on notice, he also addressed his defeat of Roberts and cleverly coined the term "Austin 3:16" while mocking the Bible verse John 3:16. Almost overnight, the slogan took off and caused his stock to skyrocket.

The way he spoke with such intensity and conviction, it was clear he was going to be a top-tier talent. He didn't immediately amount to main event glory, but he gradually worked his way up the card from that point forward and was world champion by WrestleMania 14.

This was a prime example of King of the Ring laying the groundwork for a Hall of Fame-worthy career and showcasing a star who desperately needed the platform.

After leaving a lasting impression at King of the Ring in 2000 and 2001, Kurt Angle made sure to stand out once again at the 2002 installment.

Although he didn't compete in multiple matches this time, he did do battle with legend Hulk Hogan for the first time one-on-one. The Hulkster had just lost the WWE Championship to The Undertaker and overcoming Angle was his first step toward regaining the gold.

It would have been simple for WWE to book Hogan to defeat Angle decisively and use The Olympic Gold Medalist as a stepping stone in that way, but not only were they evenly matched, but Angle also carried the veteran to one of his best bouts during that entire run.

In fact, Hogan had to do what he could to hang with him as opposed to the other way around.

More shockingly, Angle managed to secure the submission victory against Hogan, making it the first time he had tapped out in his WWE career. He lost by submission in WCW, but the WWE audience simply wasn't accustomed to seeing Hogan submit.

The company didn't do much to capitalize on the moment, but it's an accolade Angle can forever lay claim to.

It's one of the most iconic pro wrestling moments ever and for good reason. The magnitude of this awe-inspiring and downright dangerous feat has yet to be replicated over 25 years later.

The Undertaker and Mankind had been feuding on and off for over two years, and of the many gimmick matches they had in that time, nothing measured up to the aura their Hell in a Cell clash had at King of the Ring 1998.

It was less of a match and more of a spectacle. The Deadman meticulously took his time tearing apart Mankind by brutalizing him all over the structure, only for his rival to persevere through the pain and power out of every pinfall attempt.

Their brawl atop the cell was wild enough, but 'Taker proceeded to take control of Mankind and send him spiraling off the side and through a commentary table. Fans watching both worldwide and in the arena were left in total shock.

Mankind squirming his way back to this fight not only indicated he had fight left in him but that he was alive at all. Undertaker putting him through the top of the structure to the mat below for the win was also incredible, but it's the historic leap that lives on in the annals of both King of the Ring and WWE history.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.