King of the Ring 2018

**King of the Ring (2018)** was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the UWF. It took place on July 19th, 2018. The event took place at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. It was the first, and to date only, UWF King of the Ring event, and marked the culmination of the 2018 King of the Ring tournament. It was also the first pay-per-view where the UWF Championship did not main event the show, and had the longest build, with six episodes of Revolution separating it and Backlash 2018.

Five matches were contested on the main card. In the main event, Vinny Marseglia pinned Larry Sweeney to win the 2018 King of the Ring tournament, earning a shot at the UWF Championship for SummerSlam. On the undercard, Chris Jericho beat Cesaro to win his first UWF Championship, and The Miz retained the Intercontinental Championship against Roman Reigns. Also, Marty Scurll defeated Daniel Bryan and Triple H in a Street Fight, and Enzo Amore won a Hardcore match over The Undertaker.

## Storylines

On the June 6th episode of *Revolution*, Larry Sweeney defeated Marty Scurll in his debut match to advance to the 2018 King of the Ring Quarterfinals. The next week, Vinny Marseglia defeated The Brian Kendrick to also make the quarterfinals. On the June 22nd episode of *Revolution*, Sweeney pinned Jimmy Jacobs while Marseglia pinned Triple H to both advance to the tournament semifinals. The next week, Sweeney and Marseglia beat Matt Hardy and Seth Rollins respectively to reach the 2018 King of the Ring Finals. On the go-home episode of *Revolution*, the contract signing between Sweeney and Marseglia descended into chaos, resulting in Sweeney fleeing Marseglia.

On the June 6th episode of *Revolution*, Cesaro's UWF Championship celebration was interrupted by Chris Jericho, who turned heel by attacking the fan-favorite champion. The next week on The Highlight Reel, Jericho explained that his being left out of the King of the Ring tournament was the company denying him an opportunity, so he instead took an opportunity for himself by standing up to the UWF Champion. On the June 22nd episode of *Revolution,* Cesaro and Jericho were on opposing sides of an eight-man tag team match won by Cesaro's team after Cesaro reversed a Codebreaker from Jericho. On the July 5th episode of *Revolution*, Cesaro and Jericho verbally confronted one another on a Miz TV segment, which led to a staredown with no physical interaction. Later that night, Jericho distracted Cesaro during his match, causing him to get pinned by The Brian Kendrick. On the go-home episode of *Revolution*, Jericho hit a Codebreaker on Cesaro, costing them a tag team match against CM Punk and Seth Rollins.

At Backlash, Triple H pinned Daniel Bryan, albeit with his feet on the ropes for leverage. On the June 15th episode of *Revolution*, Bryan attacked Triple H following the latter's interview, indicating that their feud isn't over yet. The next week, Triple H ambushed Bryan before his King of the Ring quarterfinal match with Seth Rollins, causing Bryan to be eliminated from the tournament. On the July 5th episode of *Revolution*, Marty Scurll defeated Triple H. After the match, Scurll attacked Triple H with an umbrella, as well as Bryan who had come to take advantage of a downed Triple H. Maxine announced on UWF.com that Scurll, Bryan, and Triple H would take part in a Triple Threat Street Fight at King of the Ring.

At Backlash, Roman Reigns, Minoru Suzuki, and The Brian Kendrick won a six-man tag team match, earning a number one contender's triple threat match against each other for the next episode of *Revolution*. On the June 6th episode of *Revolution*, Reigns defeated Suzuki and Kendrick to become the number one contender to The Miz's Intercontinental Championship. On the June 22nd episode of *Revolution*, Reigns speared Miz after the latter's victory over Sammy Guevara, holding the Intercontinental Championship high afterward.

On the June 6th episode of *Revolution*, Enzo Amore cost himself and The Undertaker a tag team match win in their debuts against Rick Rude and CM Punk after Undertaker ignored Amore's calls for a tag. The next week, Undertaker defeated Amore, albeit by DQ after Amore kicked Undertaker in the groin. On the go-home episode of *Revolution*, Amore and Undertaker once again teamed up, this time victorious against Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream in a match where the winning team would earn a spot on the King of the Ring card, However, the post-match celebration descended into a brawl between the two competitors.

## Event

#### **Preliminary matches**

The show kicked off with the first match of the night, which saw Enzo Amore pin The Undertaker following a Tornado DDT through the Spanish Announce Table. Prior to the match, Ethan Carter III had added a Hardcore stipulation due to Amore's groin-kicking habits in the weeks leading up to the match. This would be Undertaker's final match in the UWF to date.

The show's first segment saw Renee Young interview The Miz on his Intercontinental Championship match. The feed then went to Marty Scurll and Nigel McGuinness discussing a new product for Villain Enterprises: Villain Energy! Finally, Ethan Carter III announced that the UWF and UFC would be crossing over later that night, but kept the matchup a mystery.

The second match saw The Miz successfully defend the Intercontinental Championship against Roman Reigns following a Skull Crushing FInale in what would be Reigns's final match for ten months.

Backstage, Larry Sweeney cut a promo on the King of the Ring Finals. Elsewhere, Matt Hardy announced his intentions to chase the Intercontinental Championship in the future. Inside the arena, Austin Aries made his debut in the UWF, cutting a promo in the ring. Outside the arena, Daniel Bryan and William Regal argued over Bryan's training intensity and overcommitment to bettering himself. Finally, Minoru Suzuki defeated UFC fighter Daniel Cormier to win the UFC Championship in a match not officially sanctioned by the UWF.

The third match saw Marty Scurll roll up Daniel Bryan - who had just hit a Dragon's Bite on Triple H - to win the Triple Threat Street Fight. In the fashion of his opponents, Scurll put his feet on the ropes for leverage during the winning pinfall.

Backstage, The Brian Kendrick declared that "everything happens for a reason", including his loss in the King of the Ring tournament and subsequent absence from the pay-per-view card. Elsewhere, Emma and Zack Ryder cut a promo on Bubba Ray Dudley, who Ryder had lost to two weeks prior.

Ethan Carter III and Drake Maverick announced that following SummerSlam, the UWF would split into two brands, with Carter running *Revolution* and Maverick running the unnamed second brand.

Backstage, Chris Jericho took part in Musical Therapy with Elias. Elsewhere, The World Warriors did stuff. Then, Jimmy Jacobs cut a promo on him sitting on the sidelines with his Money in the Bank briefcase.

The fourth match saw Chris Jericho pin Cesaro following a Codebreaker to win the UWF Championship for the first time, ending Cesaro's reign at 95 days. Jericho became the oldest champion with his win, at 47 years of age at the time of winning the title.

Outside the arena, Vinny Marseglia cut a promo on the King of the Ring Finals. Elsewhere, CM Punk declared himself the "true King" and called everyone else an "asshole".

#### **Main event**

The main event of King of the Ring saw Vinny Marseglia pin Larry Sweeney following a RedRum to win the 2018 King of the Ring tournament. This was the first pay-per-view where the main event was not a match for the UWF Championship, as well as the first time the loser of a pay-per-view main event would come back and win the next.

## Results

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