With the 2019 King of the Ring Tournament well under way, I thought I would share what I would of done for the returning tournament, and how I would make it feel like a big deal. Although, rumors are that the finals will be held at Clash of Champions so there seems to be some stock in the finish.
I have been thinking, with all the current tournaments happening and scheduled in (and out of) WWE why has it been so long since a successful King of the Ring?
It’s been 18 years since a King of the Ring was crowded on a PPV of the same name. So, the question is, is now a good time to add the royal tournament back to the WWE schedule?
A Brief History of King of the Ring
For anyone who is unsure, The King of the Ring tournament is typically sixteen wrestlers, who wrestle in a one-on-one single elimination bracket, this is single elimination so if you win you advance and if you lose you are out. It’s a simple concept that has lasted over 30 years in the WWE, and probably longer in other wrestling promotions.
After a few years of success, the tournament was finally given its own PPV, the first King of the Ring PPV was held June 13th, 1993 where Bret Hart beat Bam Bam Bigelow. King of the Ring was considered one of WWE’s ‘Big Five’ PPV. Yes, at one time King of the Ring was that important.
Why Bring It Back Now?
Addressing the elephant in the room, this feels like a bit of a knee jerk reaction to Harley Race passing. I wouldn’t be shocked if Vince McMahon had been told that a lot of Network viewers have been checking out Harley Race matches and old King of the Ring PPV’s, and he thought we can do that… next week on Raw.
It’s worth noting that a tournament with the same rules started both the 205 Live weekly show, and the whole NXT UK brand, so there are legs in this idea, if done correctly.
How Would Book King of the Ring
Firstly, the embarrassment that was the 2015 King of the Ring that was on the WWE Network need to be forgotten about. It was completely pointless, there was no incentive for fans to watch, or any incentive for the winner. Except of course being shackled to a hit and miss ‘King’ gimmick.
In fact Wade Barrett has said since that they didn’t actually know the winner of the final until about 20 minutes before the match.
Since the brand split (not counting the wildcard rule) there are certain wrestlers who fans have not seen in the ring together for a long time, that’s why I really like that the King of the Ring tournament is inter-promotional. This means we are (almost) guaranteed to see a match we would never see on a weekly basis. I just think the brackets could of been split more to have brand vs brand matches in the early rounds.
There is then the added interest of NXT, with there being sixteen participants (32 if you wanted) who enter the King of the Ring tournament I would personally have six spots go to Raw, six spots go to Smackdown, two spots going to NXT and two spots going to the cruiserweight division.
With the ease of creating shows that can now be shown on the WWE Network, I think it would be really interesting to have a series of King of the Ring qualifier match, and even bracket-ology shows on the WWE Network before the actual King of the Ring starts. This could even be incorporated into the already established ‘Worlds Collide’ series.
Getting every brand involved could really add something fresh to the whole of WWE programming and giving the fans matches that they have never seen. This would also make the whole tournament feel like a huge opportunity, especially for NXT and the Cruiserweight division.
I have created brackets below to show what brand I would put where, to ensure we see the most ‘must see’ matches with all the separate brands.
What Does the ‘King of the Ring’ Win?
At the last King of the Ring PPV in 2002, the winner of the tournament would receive a WWE Undisputed Championship shot at Summer Slam. As most will know the 2002 King of the Ring winner was Brock Lesnar and he did go onto Summer Slam to beat The Rock to become the youngest (at that time) WWE Champion in history.
This would be another great way to make the tournament feel like something important. To add the stipulation that the winner would get a Championship match, not only makes watching the tournament worthwhile but it also adds interest for a PPV’s main event match.
With all the WWE PPV’s now being co-branded, this could be a great time to add to something different to the PPV’s. Rumors are that the finals will be held at Clash of Champions. If the winner was to get a championship match, they could easily build a solid feud between champion and King of the Ring leading into Survivor Series.
I want to mention that the closest thing we have to the King of the Ring in wrestling right now is New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s (NWJP) G1 Climax (or Grade One Climax) which happens every August and lasts usually for four weeks. The different being that in the G1 Climax, the participants battle in a Round-Robin style, and the winners of the blocks wrestle each other.
The winner receives a Championship match usually at NJPW’s annual ‘Wrestle Kingdom’ PPV on January 4th, its safe to say Wrestle Kingdom is the Wrestlemania of New Japan. This is (as with most NJPW tournaments) a hugely prestigious event. Winning the G1 is a huge honor and usually pushes the winners career to the next level.
The G1 Climax is hugely successful for NJPW, not only generating record receipt gates, but also garnering front-page coverage on the sports sections of numerous newspapers in Tokyo.
If WWE could get a small percentage of what the G1 means to NJPW and recreate it in WWE for the King of the Ring, this could be a huge annual event for WWE and should be promoted as such. Build it up make it important.
Why is This Not Happening This Way?
I am almost shocked that WWE decided to dis-continue the whole King of the Ring tournament all those years ago, and when they did bring it back as a network special is was a mockery of its former glory.
With the way WWE is heading, to build a wrestling monopoly and to snatch up as many of the biggest indie wrestlers they can, King of the Ring could be a great way to showcase every division and brand of the company, just look at NXT’s Breakout Tournament, it provided eight guys an opportunity to showcase who they are an begin to establish them quickly.
If WWE were to use the right superstars for the tournament, this would mean the right mix of former champions, and mid-card stars, the correct feel to the whole idea. This means have the superstars take it seriously and act like they want to win, because it could change their career path.
The correct commentary team, meaning the likes of Michael Cole with Cory Graves, Nigel McGuinness, Jerry ‘the King’ Lawler and even former King of the Ring Kurt Angle would all be perfect.
As long as they do not have a cheesy crown, robe or gimmick change, with the winner getting a championship match would also set the main event stage for Survivor Series.
Honestly, just announcing it on Raw that it will start next week, makes me think that this will not be anything near the prestige it as in the 80’s and 90’s, and it’s just thrown together to make somewhat pointless matches mean something.
This feels like the same as most things within WWE at the moment, they seem lazy and manufactured. No really buzz is ever created, it’s just going through the motions.
If WWE was to put some real time and effort into King of the Ring, I honestly think it could be a big win for them. They should open the tournament with (if they were to use every brand) a match you wouldn’t see anywhere else, a perfect example would be Daniel Bryan vs Velveteen Dream. This could create huge interest with zero effort.
Instead we will probably get Samoa Joe in a crown and ugly red velvet robe.
I really hope I’m proved wrong and they really get behind this going forward, but I’m skeptical at best. Maybe if it goes well it will be big.
Those are my thoughts on the return of King of the Ring, but what are yours? Could the tournament work in WWE’s current product?
Who would you like to see the next King of the Ring?
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