SLAM! Stats: Anointing a new King By JON WALDMAN - Royal Statistician, SLAM! Wrestling

SLAM! Speaks: Bow down to the King

All hail King William Regal. Yes, the former lord of WCW is now the King of the Ring in WWE. We here at SLAM! bow our heads to the new ruler of the ropes and present this royal stat pack on Regal and his victory.

• Regal is the first non-North American to win the tournament. He is also the second kayfabe winner to not be from the U.S. or Canada (Tito Santana, really born in Mission, TX, was billed from being from Tocula, Mexico.
• Regal is also the third kayfabe non-Canadian or American to wear the crown. Along with Santana, Haku, a native of Tonga, succeeded Harley Race as WWE's king in the mid 1980s. Incidentally, Haku competed in both the 1987 and 1989 KOTR tournaments, advancing to the quarter finals each time.
• Regal is the first man to win the tournament after three victories in one night since Kurt Angle pulled the trick in 2000.
• Regal is the first to win all of his matches via submission since Ken Shamrock in 1998.
• Regal is the second consecutive former WCW'er to win the King of the Ring, following Booker T in 2006. Other WCW alumni who have donned the crown include Steve Austin (1996) and Triple H (1997). Harley Race, who won the 1986 crown, was, of course, a former NWA Champion.
• With his victory, Regal is now one step closer to completing the WWE Grand Slam, consisting of a Heavyweight Title, the Intercontinental Title and the Tag Team Championships. Members of this prestigious club include Bret Hart, Steve Austin, Triple H, Kurt Angle and Edge.
• Regal is the fourth man to have both the European Championship and KOTR listed on his resume. The others are Triple H, Owen Hart and Angle.
• Regal also joins the...well...less prestigious club of men who've won both the Intercontinental Title and KOTR. Of the 17 men who have won the tournament, only Race, Ted DiBiase, Mabel and Brock Lesnar have not held that title.