King of the Ring – the chance to join wrestling’s nobility. In the past, the King of the Ring pay per view has made careers. Every previous winner is either already in the Hall of Fame or will appear in there one day. In this column we look at why bringing back the King of the Ring is something that WWE truly needs.
It allows a new King to be born
This is the simplest reason for the King of the Ring. Previous winners include Owen and Bret Hart, Stone Cold, Brock Lesnar and Triple H whose careers then went on a strong upward trajectory. Using it as a platform for a push means that the traditional methods (swapping around the US and IC title, squash matches left right and centre) aren’t needed. King Kurt, King Booker, King Edge – it gives a wrestler prestige which they may not have had before.
Provides the opportunity for cross brand matches
With Raw and SmackDown being on separate brands, there are the Big Four PPVs each year where you would expect cross brand matches to happen. King of the Ring allows one other chance for this to happen. Raw and SmackDown could have their own qualifiers and quarter finals, followed by the semi finals and final on the night of the Pay Per View. This enables new matches or meetings between former friends (or enemies).
Allows the establishing of a legacy
The previous winners have had King of the Ring leave a lasting impact on their careers. Without winning it, Edge may not have had the singles push he ran with. Stone Cold would never have used the numbers 3:16. Brock Lesnar won the WWE Championship a mere few months after becoming King Lesnar. There are a multitude of wrestlers who need and deserve the push to be crowned King of the Ring and would complement their careers nicely.
Creates something to strive for
Outside of the Big 4 Pay Per Views, there isn’t much build up for anything. King of the Ring was an annual event and could have easily been the 5th Big PPV. I’d love to see a return to the King of the Ring meaning something. Billy Gunn won the event in 1999 and didn’t take part in 2000 and cut an amazing promo about it in the ring. If the current crop of wrestlers are allowed the chance to do this, who knows where they could go.
Queen of the Ring
Alongside their male counterparts, the women’s wrestling spotlight in WWE is getting brighter. We could see a Queen of the Ring tournament run along side King of the Ring. There is the quality in depth for them to make an impact and you could even include a few from NXT too. Giving the women of WWE something to strive for is just as important for the men. It would allow the women to push themselves more and push their envelope even more than they have so far 2016.
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