Watch the Throne: Ranking Every King of the Ring Winner

#2 Brock Lesnar, 2002 King of the Ring

Brock Lesnar becomes the Number One Contender, having demolished Rob Van Dam

The King of the Ring tournament in 2002, WWE's last until four years later when Booker T won the crown, added a new wrinkle to the competition: that year's winner would receive not only the title of King of the Ring, but also a shot at the WWE Undisputed Champion at SummerSlam. Like the 1993 Royal Rumble, the first to include the Number One Contendership stipulation, the move was an effort both to somehow legitimize the event and also give justification for a beastly newcomer to receive a title shot very soon after his debut.

Brock Lesnar interrupted a hardcore match on the night after WrestleMania X8 to annihilate some lower-card talent, and continued this path of destruction through ECW and Tough Enough castoffs until a program with the Hardyz elevated his stature (and the brutality of his game). In the preliminary rounds broadcast on weekly television, Lesnar easily dispatched Bubba Ray Dudley and Booker T to advance to the June pay-per-view, where an easy bout with Test led to a finals match against Rob Van Dam.

Lesnar displays his brute strength

Setting the tone for much of his career, the match was standard Lesnar dominating a smaller man with numerous power moves, while the smaller Van Dam used quick strikes and flashy signature maneuvers like the Rolling Thunder to attempt to gain an advantage; when RVD tried to use his aerial superiority to take The Beast down, though, Lesnar easily snatched him out of midair for an F5 and the crown.

His Career After King of the Ring

Lesnar's 2002 coronation created wrestling history in more ways than one

The robe, throne, and crown meant little to The Next Big Thing, and he fought Van Dam throughout the summer before using his guaranteed title shot to challenge The Rock in the main event at SummerSlam 2002; there, Lesnar became the youngest WWE champion in history (at the time, at least) and, in kayfabe, made his contract and title exclusive to SmackDown, beginning the first "two world titles" era in company history.

Since then, Lesnar has won WWE's top prize (in one form or another) a further four times, and is seen by many backstage as one of the company's most valuable commodities; all of this success can be traced back to the world title opportunity he won by conquering 2002's King of the Ring tournament.