WWE Announce King Of The Ring, Return Of Mae Young Classic, And More

A very interesting video package aired during last night's Hall of Fame ceremony...

Jack King looking thoughtful

Apr 7, 2018

King of the Ring

A video package aired during last night's Hall of Fame ceremony, detailing a number of upcoming events.

The most newsworthy of all were the return of the King of the Ring tournament, and the second ever Mae Young Classic.

King of the Ring will be based around WWE's UK division, although it's not yet clear how it will differ from 2017's UK Championship Tournament. Like the more recent event, King of the Ring has traditionally followed a single-elimination format.

King of the Ring was initially held annually from 1985 to 2002 (with the exception of 1990 and 1992), and was first won by Don Muraco. It has since returned sporadically, the last event taking place in 2015 as a Network-exclusive show. It was won by Wade Barrett.

The tournament has been won by some of the most highly-regarded wrestlers of all time, including Randy Savage, Bret Hart, Steve Austin, Triple H, and Kurt Angle.

The inaugural Mae Young Classic took place last year and saw Kairi Sane defeat Shayna Baszler in the final. It featured notable talent from around the world, including Candice LeRae, Toni Storm, Piper Niven (Viper), Tessa Blanchard, and Mercedes Martinez. It was also the site of breakout performances from the likes of Bianca Belair, and returning WWE Superstar Serena Deeb.

Last night's video package also included the announcement of several Network specials, including a WWE 365 feature on AJ Styles, and WWE 24 features on The Hardys, Ronda Rousey, and Raw's 25th anniversary show.

Returning series include Camp WWE, Table for 3, and The Edge & Christian Show.