5 Best King of the Ring matches of all time

2) Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Wildman Marc Mero – King of the Ring 1996

When fans think about individuals that were elevated through winning the King of the Ring tournament, the conversation begins and ends with Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Texas Rattlesnake used his win in 1996 to immediately rocket straight up the ranks and become a household name for the WWE.

Before Austin defeated Jake The Snake Roberts in the King of the Ring Finals and cut his famous Austin 3:16 promo, he faced Wildman Marc Mero in the semifinals of the tournament. The two men were considered two of the future stars for the company and were looking to win.

Both Austin and Mero were among the most polished performers on the roster, but this contest got ugly in a hurry. Mero split Austin's lip open and the blood was pouring out of his face. Austin used his arsenal to try and ground Mero to slow down the pace, while Wildman used his high-flying expertise to speed things up. Mero hit a somersault plancha and a suicide dive to the outside on Austin.

The crowd was into this and got louder as the action escalated. Stone Cold hit an alley-oop version of the stun gun for a near fall and then followed with the Stone Cold Stunner to hand Marc Mero his first defeat in WWE. Austin was rushed to the hospital for stitches before coming back to win the 1996 King of the Ring later in the night. It was a banger of a contest that delivered the good from both men.