As it is a professional wrestling championship, the championship was not won not by actual competition, but by ascripted ending to a match determined by thebookers and match makers.[a] On occasion the promotion declares a championship vacant, which means there is no champion at that point in time. This can either be due to a storyline,[b] or real life issues such as a champion suffering an injury being unable to defend the championship,[c] or leaving the company.[d]
Originally theRey del Ring tournament was a 30-man elimination match, starting with four wrestlers in the ring, then when a wrestler was eliminated through pinfall, submission, count out or disqualification another participant was added until 29 men had been eliminated. In 2008 IWRG changed the format to be more likeWorld Wrestling Entertainment'sRoyal Rumble match; two men start in the ring and a new wrestler joins the match at a specific time interval. Unlike the Royal Rumble throwing a wrestler out of the ring did not result in elimination. The first tournament, the2002Rey del Ring was held on June 6, 2002, in IWRG's primary arena, Arena Naucalpan inNaucalpan, State of Mexico,Mexico. The tournament was won byÚltimo Vampiro when he eliminatedBombero Infernal as the last participant.[8] In 2004 the winner of that year'sRey del Ring tournament was also awarded the vacantIWRG Intercontinental Middleweight Championship; the match sawFantasy eliminateAvisman as the last participant to win the tournament and the championship.[9]Cerebro Negro won both the2005 and2006 tournaments, making him the only person to win the tournament twice.[10][11] In 2007 theRey del Ring was won byYamato, the first non-Mexican to win the tournament.[12] Yamato worked for IWRG through a deal struck with Japanese wrestling promotionAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) that allowed AJPW to send young wrestlers to Mexico to gain in-ring experience. The2008 Rey del Ring was won byScorpio, Jr. while the2009 Rey del Ring tournament was won byPuerto RicanRicky Cruzz.[13] The twoRey del Ring winners would later team up to win theIWRG Intercontinental Tag Team Championship fromLos Junior Dinamitas (El Hijo de Cien Caras andMáscara Año 2000, Jr.).[14] IWRG did not hold aRey del Ring tournament in 2010 and never gave an official explanation as to why not. In 2011 IWRG introduced theRey del Ring Championship to be awarded to the winner of the2011 Rey del Ring tournament winnerEl Pantera.[1] Pantera wouldvacate the Championship on the date of the 2012Rey del Ring tournament, allowing tournament winnerOficial Factor to become the new champion as well.[15] After Oficial 911 won the 2013Rey del Ring tournament Oficial Factor handed over the championship belt to 911.[16]
El Pantera became the first everRey del Ring Champion as a result of winning the 2011Rey del Ring tournament on June 16, 2011 when he eliminatedÚltimo Gladiador as the last tournament participant.[1] He was awarded with an actual championship belt, to be work for IWRG matches and defended when appropriate between tournaments. Pantera made the first ever championship defense on July 10, 2011 when he successfully defeated Último Gladiador to retain the championship. The championship was vacated for the 2012Rey del Ring tournament so that the winner of the tournament could become the newRey del Ring Champion at the same time. Oficial Factor won the tournament, lastly eliminatingHijo del Pirata Morgan to win the Championship.[15] on August 12, 2012 Hijo del Pirata Morgan became the first person to win theRey del Ring Championship outside of the tournament when he defeated Oficial Factor.[17] He held the championship for a total of 42 days, until September 23, 2012 when Oficial Factor regained the championship.[18] Factor won the title in aRelevos Suicidas match that also includedTrauma I andMascara Ano 2000 Jr., and as a result of his victory Factor also won theIWRG Junior de Juniors Championship from Hijo del Pirata Morgan.[18]
This was aLucha de Apuestas Hair and Mask vs Titles tag team match between Eterno (hair) and El Hijo del Espectro Jr. (mask) against Fresero Jr. (Intercontinental Heavyweight) andDemonio Infernal (Rey del Ring). Eterno pinned Demonio Infernal to win the title.
DefeatedDMT Azul by DQ to win the vacant title. DMT Azul performed a piledriver (which is a banned move in Mexico), being DQ'd, so Hijo de Canis Lupus won the title.
The very first 'Rey del Ring tournament was held on April 21, 2002, produced and scripted by IWRG and held inArena Naucalpan. While most of the match results are known, sources are unclear on who competed in the Rey del RingTorneo Cibernetico match, only recording thatBombero Infernal won the match.
^Hornbaker (2016) p. 550: "Professional wrestling is a sport in which match finishes are predetermined. Thus, win–loss records are not indicative of a wrestler's genuine success based on their legitimate abilities – but on now much, or how little they were pushed by promoters"[4]
^Duncan & Will (2000) p. 271, Chapter: Texas: NWA American Tag Team Title [World Class, Adkisson] "Championship held up and rematch ordered because of the interference of manager Gary Hart"[5]
^Duncan & Will (2000) p. 20, Chapter: (United States: 19th Century & widely defended titles – NWA, WWF, AWA, IW, ECW, NWA) NWA/WCW TV Title "Rhodes stripped on 85/10/19 for not defending the belt after having his leg broken by Ric Flair and Ole & Arn Anderson"[6]
^Duncan & Will (2000) p. 201, Chapter: (Memphis, Nashville) Memphis: USWA Tag Team Title "Vacant on 93/01/18 when Spike leaves the USWA."[7]
^Reference to the 2003 tournament has been found but no winner was identified.
Hornbaker, Tim (2016). "Statistical notes".Legends of Pro Wrestling - 150 years of headlocks, body slams, and piledrivers (Revised ed.). New York, New York: Sports Publishing.ISBN978-1-61321-808-2.
Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000).Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
^"Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 - 2008 :344 Pantera".Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Blue Bell,Pennsylvania,United States: Sports and Entertainment publications LLC. August 2008. October 2008.
^ab"El tesoro del Hijo del Pirata".Mi Lucha Libre (in Spanish). May 25, 2011. Archived from the original on February 8, 2013. RetrievedJanuary 29, 2013.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (March 21, 2021)."IWRG Guerreros De Acero".CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database.Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 27, 2023.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 9, 2021)."IWRG Rey Del Ring".CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database.Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 27, 2023.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 15, 2022)."IWRG Rey Del Ring 2022".CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database.Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 27, 2023.
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 14, 2023)."IWRG".CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database. RetrievedMay 22, 2024.
