King of the Ring (1988)

The 1988 King of the Ring was the fourth annual King of the Ring professional wrestling tournament produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The tournament was held on October 16, 1988 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island as a special non-televised house show. The 1988 tournament was won by Ted DiBiase. In addition to the tournament, there was only one other match during the night. In this match Jim Duggan defeated Dino Bravo (with Frenchy Martin) in a flag match. Duggan pinned Bravo when Martin accidentally hit Bravo with the flag.

King of the Ring
PromotionWorld Wrestling Federation
DateOctober 16, 1988
CityProvidence, Rhode Island
VenueProvidence Civic Center
Attendance6,700[1]
King of the Ring tournament chronology
← Previous
1987
Next →
1989

Production

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Background

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The King of the Ring tournament was an annual single-elimination tournament that was established by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1985 with the winner being crowned the "King of the Ring." The 1988 tournament was the fourth King of the Ring tournament. It was held on October 16, 1988 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island and like the previous years, it was a special non-televised house show.[2]

Storylines

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The matches resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by World Wrestling Federation's writers.[3]

Results

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No.Results[1][4]StipulationsTimes[1][5]
1Ken Patera defeated Nikolai VolkoffKing of the Ring tournament first round match10:20
2Ted DiBiase defeated Brutus BeefcakeKing of the Ring tournament first round match7:32
3Ron Bass defeated The Barbarian by disqualificationKing of the Ring tournament first round match7:02
4Shawn Michaels defeated Dangerous Danny DavisKing of the Ring tournament first round match3:37
5Bad News Brown vs. Hercules ended in a double countoutKing of the Ring tournament first round match6:05
6Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated VirgilKing of the Ring tournament first round match5:43
7The Red Rooster defeated Marty JannettyKing of the Ring tournament first round match11:00
8Mike Sharpe defeated Boris ZhukovKing of the Ring tournament first round match6:27
9Jim Duggan defeated Dino Bravo (with Frenchy Martin)Flag match8:43
10Ted DiBiase defeated Ken PateraKing of the Ring tournament quarter-final match5:42
11Ron Bass defeated Shawn MichaelsKing of the Ring tournament quarter-final match7:39
12The Red Rooster defeated Mike SharpeKing of the Ring tournament quarter-final match3:27
13Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated The Red RoosterKing of the Ring tournament semi-final match7:21
14Ted DiBiase defeated Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) by count-outKing of the Ring tournament final match6:11

Tournament bracket

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First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
            
Ken Patera Pin
Nikolai Volkoff 10:20
Ken Patera Pin
Ted DiBiase 5:42
Brutus Beefcake Pin
Ted DiBiase 7:32
Ted DiBiase Forfeit
Ron Bass 2
The Barbarian DQ
Ron Bass 7:02
Ron Bass Pin
Shawn Michaels 7:39
Dangerous Danny Davis Pin
Shawn Michaels 3:37
Ted DiBiase CO
Randy Savage 6:11
Bad News Brown DCO
Hercules 6:05
BYE  
Randy Savage  
Randy Savage Pin
Virgil 5:43
Randy Savage Pin
The Red Rooster 7:21
Marty Jannetty Pin
The Red Rooster 11:00
The Red Rooster Sub
Iron Mike Sharpe 3:27
Mike Sharpe1 Pin
Boris Zhukov 6:27

1. ^ Mike Sharpe substituted for The Warlord.
2. ^ DiBiase paid Bass off to fake an injury.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c WWF King Of The Ring 1988
  2. ^ Beaston, Erik (August 18, 2019). "WWE King of the Ring: Everything You Need to Know About Historical Tournament". Bleacher Report. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  3. ^ Grabianowski, Ed (2006-01-13). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  4. ^ "King of the Ring 88 - Providence, RI - Civic Center - October 16, 1988 (6,700)". The History of WWE. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  5. ^ "WWF King of the Ring '88 at Providence Civic Center wrestling results - Internet Wrestling Database". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  6. ^ Ted DiBiase: The Million Dollar Man, p.162, Ted DiBiase with Tom Caiazzo, Pocket Books, New York, 2008, ISBN 978-1-4165-5890-3