King of the Ring 2018

**King of the Ring 2018** was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event run by the Ultimate Wrestling Federation. It took place on July 19, 2018. It was the first event under the King of the Ring name and featured talent from the Revolution brand. The event took place at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. The event was centered around the finals of the 2018 King of the Ring tournament, making it the first UWF pay-per-view to not have the UWF Championship match main event the show. Five matches were held on the event's card.

The main event of the evening was King of the Ring finals, with Television Champion Vinny Marseglia defeating Larry Seeeney to claim the crown. Other matches on the card included Chris Jericho defeating Cesaro to win the UWF Championship for the first time, The Miz successfully defending the Intercontinental Championship against Roman Reigns, Marty Scurll defeating Daniel Bryan and Triple H in a street fight, and Enzo Amore defeating The Undertaker. Also televised on the event was Minoru Suzuki defeating then-UFC Champion Daniel Cormier to win the title, bringing it to the UWF.

**King of the Ring Chronology**

Previous: Inaugural

Next: Final

**Revolution Pay-per-view Chronology**

Previous: Backlash 2018

Next: SummerSlam 2018

**UWF Pay-per-view Chronology**

Previous: Backlash 2018

Next: SummerSlam 2018

## Storylines

Shortly following Backlash, it was announced that the King of the Ring tournament was set to return. In the words of EC3, this meant a clean slate for all competitors, past grudges and favoritisms be damned. This tournament took place from June 6th to the King of the Ring pay-per-view on July 19th. there were 16 participants, 15 matches, and 4 rounds in total.

One finalist of the tournament was Larry Sweeney, who had announced his return to active competition during the Backlash pay-per-view. He defeated Marty Scurll in the first round on June 6th, followed by Mr. Money In The Bank Jimmy Jacobs in the second round on June 22nd. After defeating Matt Hardy in the semifinals, Sweeney set himself up for the King of the Ring finals at the King of the Ring pay-per-view.

The other finalist was Television Champion Vinny Marseglia, who defeated The Brian Kendrick and Triple H to reach the semifinals, where he defeated Seth Rollins to reach the King of the Ring finals. On the July 5th episode of Revolution, Marseglia successfully defended his title against Drew Gulak.

On the June 6th episode of Revolution, Cesaro, having just won the Champion of Champions match, celebrated retaining his UWF Championship to close the show. However, Chris Jericho, who had been denied the opportunity into the King of the Ring tournament, attacked Cesaro, turning heel. On the July 5th episode of Revolution, Jericho caused a distraction which led to Cesaro losing to The Brian Kendrick in an upset. On the July 12th edition of Revolution, Jericho intentionally threw a tag team match while partnering with Cesaro, causing him to lose once again just before their title match at King of the Ring.

At Backlash, Roman Reigns, along with The Brian Kendrick and Minoru Suzuki, won a 6-man tag team match. This led to them squaring off in a triple threat match on the June 6th episode of Revolution, with Reigns getting the victory and the number one contendership to the Intercontinental Championship. Champion The Miz was upset in the first round against Matt Hardy, officially setting up the match between Reigns and The Miz for the title at King of the Ring.

On the June 15th episode of Revolution, Marty Scurll announced Villain Enterprises, a business venture he embarked on with associate Nigel McGuinness. Meanwhile, Daniel Bryan and Triple H were continuing their rivalry from Backlash, with HHH attacking Bryan before his match, causing him to lose in near record time. During their brawl, Bryan dropped a vending machine onto HHH, indirectly causing him to lose his match later on in the night. Following a match between HHH and Scurll, the two of them, plus Bryan, engaged in unsanctioned combat. This led to an announcement from Maxine that Scurll, HHH, and Bryan would compete in a triple threat street fight.

On the June 6th episode of Revolution, Enzo Amore and Undertaker made their debuts in a losing effort against other debuting superstars CM Punk and Rick Rude. The next week, a match between the two ended in a DQ victory for Undertaker after Amore delivered a low blow in the middle of their match. They teamed up again on July 5th, this time in a winning effort against Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream. After the match, Amore once again low-blowed Undertaker.

## Event

The show opened with Enzo Amore taking on The Undertaker. Prior to the match, it was announced that EC3 had changed the match to a hardcore match. The match ended when Amore threw a fireball into 'Taker's face, followed by a tornado DDT through the Spanish Announce Table for a pinfall victory.

The second match was for the Intercontinental Championship between champion The Miz and Roman Reigns. The match ended when The Miz hit a Skull Crushing Finale to score a pinfall victory. This marked both The Miz's first title defense since his win at WrestleMania, as well as Reigns's last match with the company to date.

In between matches, an impromptu fight between the UWF's Minoru Suzuki and the UFC's Daniel Cormier was held for the UFC Championship. Suzuki won the fight in a mere 9 seconds, claiming the title and bringing it over to the UWF.

In the third match of the night, Marty Scurll defeated Daniel Bryan and Triple H in a triple threat street fight. The match ended when Bryan hit a Dragon's Bite on HHH, who rolled out of the ring. Scurll rolled up Bryan for the pinfall victory, using the ropes as leverage.

The fourth match of the evening saw Chris Jericho defeat Cesaro to win the UWF Championship for the first time. The match ended with Jericho connecting with the Codebreaker for the pinfall victory. This marked Cesaro's final match, as he would go on hiatus to treat his injuries.

The main event was the 2018 King of the Ring finals between Television Champion Vinny Marseglia and Larry Sweeney. The match ended when Marseglia hit the Redrum on Sweeney to claim a pinfall victory and the title of King of the Ring.

## Reception

The event was very well-received by critics. Fauche called the show "heck of a hecking show". Semiobsessive gave the main event "7 umbrellas out of 10". Mr Leedles called Jericho's title win "incredible". HeelBoi said he "can't wait" for the announced brand split.

## Results

Enzo Amore defeated The Undertaker via pinfall

* Hardcore match

The Miz (c) (w/Hired Gunns defeated Roman Reigns via pinfall

* Singles match for the Intercontinental Championship

Marty Scurll defeated Daniel Bryan and Triple H via pinfall

* Triple Threat Street Fight

Chris Jericho defeated Cesaro (c) via pinfall

* Singles match for the UWF Championship

Vinny Marseglia defeated Larry Sweeney via pinfall

* King of the Ring tournament Finals