King Of The Ring Returns Tonight

[Jack-Hammer]

According to various reports, the King of the Ring tournament returns on tonight's episode of Raw. The tournament itself will be held on Raw tonight while the finals will take place live on the WWE Network tomorrow night at 8 p.m. EST. I haven't read anything concerning who the participants are or how many participants make up the field. Personally, I think this is something of a blown opportunity. There's been no prior advertising or hype for it, so it's not as though it feels like a major happening. It just seems to me that maybe the tournament could have been a further reason to tune in along with the ppv fallout.

At any rate, there's potential for some good matches.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I would imagine they go with the standard 8 man bracket, as only the Semis and Finals are on tomorrow night.

I can see the 8 being

Barrett
Neville
Ryback
Bo Dallas
Kane
Curtis Axel
Jey Uso (need to do something with him while his bro is out injured)
Someone from NXT - Either Balor, Itami or Tyler Breeze.

I see Bray attacking Ryback, letting Bo advance over him and showing their alliance. Barrett beats Jey Uso to go into the semis and whoever from NXT to get to the final...

Neville beats Kane in another "big upset"
and Axel loses to whoever from NXT comes up

Final I think would make most sense if it's Barrett v Neville again, last night was great and either guy would benefit from the rub of winning King Of The Ring.

As for the lack of build up, I kind of like it, that it's a surprise. It's goal is to get you to watch the network and it's going to happen now.

I don't see too many "big names" in the tourney, but this is a way to get some guys over/up the ladder without needing titles. Even if Barrett wins which I think is likely, a Neville win over Kane for example would be a big deal for him.

 

[Prince Vee]

I love this idea of King of the Ring Tournament. But yes, they didn't hype it and just added it up just like promoting the normal WWE network for $9.99. Anyhow many of us, the IWC has been waiting for WWE to bring back the King of the Ring tournament and I'm happy about it. This could be a platform for some Wrestlers to evolve to their next level!

Personally I've some names whom I want to win the tournament and I've specific reasons for each of them respectively!

BAD NEWS BARRETT
I never give up with this guy. He's just misplaced! He got tons to potential to win any title in the company! Once he connects with the crowd people loves him either he's a face or a witty sarcastic Heel! But I don't think it's gonna happen!

BRAY WYATT
He never did anything to prove that he's the new face of fear! He lost to the Undertaker. That doesn't mean any obvious advantage to him! Winning this tournament will solidify his position as THE NEW FACE OF FEAR

I don't want to see Roman Reigns win this competition. Not because I hate him, just because I don't want WWE universe to boo the hell out of him if he wins the tournament..

Cheers!!

 

[yourdamnluck]

This could have been huge. Hunter should have hyped it more. It still can be but only if a heel wins. First choice will be Rusev or else he's buried and if they really want to bury him i'd like to see sheamus win it again. In any case it should be a heel.
edit: Just found out Rusev is going to be buried in IQM vs cena so he's out and BNB is in with sheamus in finals Ireland vs Britain, there's more animosity between these 2 than USA and Russia.

 

[MCMG]

There is a lack of build so maybe the winner isn't going to be someone big. If there are only 8 guys you can pick from:

Stardust, Barrett, Sheamus, Harper and Rusev. As for babyfaces; Ziggler, Neville, Ambrose, Sandow, Ryback are the obvious names. I'd suggest Finn Balor could even make an appearance.

There are some pretty good options. Sandow might be a decent choice given he hasn't got much going for him. Rusev would work. Ziggler could win and have the propel him into the title picture.

Without seeing the bracket, I see two potential winners. Barrett and Balor. Sure Balor hasn't even debuted yet but that would be an incredible way to introduce him. There were rumours about him getting the call up and this would be a great opportunity. Let him really hit the ground running. As for Barrett, he is already a heel and adding the "king" title to him would give everyone another reason to hate him. Recent examples are guys like Booker T and Sheamus. Plus he is British.

This is a fun idea. It could have been made to be a bigger deal but I'm intrigued.

 

[ASKane]

In my opinion if you bring back a tournament like KOTR you don't bring it back to be a way to use midcarders for a few hours of programming over the next two days, for me this needs to be a #1 contenders tournament and I would do it one of two ways.

1. Top level talent competing to earn a title match to main event Payback and I would work a bracket something like this:
Winner in bold
Round 1
Reigns v Ziggler
Neville v Cena (Rusev and Lana distract Cena allowing Neville to get the pin)
Orton v Wyatt
Ambrose v Barrett
Round 2
Reigns v Neville make it a very close and long match allowing both men to show their talent
Orton v Ambrose
Round 3
Reigns v Orton I think that despite it being 1 - 1 between Orton and Rollins I think the fresh match will be good and have Orton v Kane at Payback and then a Triple Threat Ladder match at MITB for the title, which could allow for a same night cash in

2. A first title match tournament - as the name suggests it features superstars yet to compete for a World Title and the winner will get there match at Raw next week while Orton and/or Reigns get Rollins at Payback. Multi man matches like Chambers dont count (Cesaro) Bracket something like this

Round 1
Neville v Kidd
Cesaro v Rusev (same as Cena match before just roles reversed)
Ambrose v Harper
Wyatt v Bo Dallas (Didnt want to do an NXT call up to lose and couldnt think of another so I thought family moment)

Round 2
Neville v Cesaro
Wyatt v Ambrose

Round 3
Wyatt v Neville - Wyatt wins the title shot then gets screwed by the Authority prompting a face turn and feud with Authority

 

[L@RISANO]

Given it hasn't been hyped much, I guess it has been decided on the fly and thus, I just can't see it be as exciting as such a tournament should be, which is a huge pity.


Would be brilliant if the KotR PPV was brought back this year, and it actually lasted 3/4 weeks with the more relevant guys on the roster taking part. It would definitely make for some great programming, I am sure.

 

[rbv13]

this needs to be a #1 contenders tournament

No thanks. Setting a title shot stipulation is not only lazy booking but steals a bit of excitement from the finish. The King of the (Brass) Ring needs to stand alone as an honor in itself. They can take care of the winner with a proper push moving forward.

As for this version of the KotR it sounds like it was a last minute idea or Vince gave the green light on it within the last week. It is a shame there has been very little build. It would have been exciting to see the tournament worked into the Battleground event.

Still, it is good to see its return.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE's released the brackets for the tournament and it looks like this:

Round 1

Dean Ambrose vs. Sheamus

Neville vs. Luke Harper

R-Truth vs. Stardust

Dolph Ziggler vs. Bad News Barrett

Aside from the inclusion of R-Truth, for some damn reason, it looks like a pretty solid line up of established mid-card talent and fresh faces.

Ambrose vs. Sheamus is wide open.

In Neville vs. Harper, I'd say that Neville goes over.

For Truth vs. Stardust, I see little chance of Truth scoring the win.

For Ziggler vs. Barrett, I'd say it'll be Ziggler as Barrett's been on a helluva losing streak.

 

[cornerdon26]

Ambrose vs Sheamus - Ambrose wins after a Ziggler distraction
Neville vs Harper - Neville wins
Truth vs Stardust - Stardust wins
Bad News Barrett vs Ziggler - Zigglers win via DQ after Sheamus attack.

Ambrose vs Ziggler - Ambrose wins, BNB somehow gets involved though
Stardust vs Neville - Neville wins

Ambrose vs Neville - Ambrose wins, mutual respect after the match.

 

[Navi]

As for this version of the KotR it sounds like it was a last minute idea or Vince gave the green light on it within the last week. It is a shame there has been very little build. It would have been exciting to see the tournament worked into the Battleground event.

Still, it is good to see its return.

This seems to be a new thing with the WWE doesn't it. They have untold how many hours of TV each week, plus their own Network, and they couldn't hype diddley squat.

Anyway saw the first round of matches JH posted, and I hope Ambrose wins them all, even the ones he isn't in, dammit, the man needs wins.

 

[GeTiTT]

I predict the final will be Dean Ambrose Vs BNB. I wouldn't mind either one of these guys winning. i would prefer BNB a little over Ambrose though. I feel they can mold his character to fit KING OF THE RING. Hopefully from here we can see BNB move up on the card and begin participating in the main event scene more often. As for Dean Ambrose i see him winning the MITB briefcase this year. So KOTR should be for BNB. I dont feel Sheamus needs this to gain credibility. And i think it will be a loss cause for Ziggler to win anything as now matter what he achieves they proved to not believe in him as a top contender.

 

[MartialHorror]

Barrett winning would make no sense as WWE barely seems to have any interest in him.

Round 1:
1) Ambrose Vs Sheamus: I'm guessing Sheamus, simply because I know WWE likes backing him and he did win the last one, so probably will be built up as the main heel of this program. Expect Harper to fuck Ambrose over though.

2) Neville Vs Luke Harper: I'm going with Neville, although I wonder if Ambrose will get vengeance if Harper screws him.

3) R-Truth Vs Stardust: Stardust, derp.

4) Ziggler Vs Barrett: Probably Ziggler, since as bad as he has been booked, Barrett has gotten it a lot worse. Plus, it evens out the faces and heels.

ROUND 2

1) Sheamus Vs Neville: Sheamus, only because it's a little early for Neville.

2) Stardust Vs Ziggler: Ziggler, because Stardust is still mostly a jobber.

Final Round: Sheamus Vs Ziggler: Zigger.

Why? To get the taste of man-ass out of his mouth. It's probably a consolation prize for him being so poorly utilized in the eyes of the fans.

 

[rbv13]

The opening round was rather disappointing. Not so much because of who won but rather how. Two very predictable screw jobs made for a pretty lack luster opening. Ziggler looks like a dumb ass sending Sheamus to the next round. Because of the DQ Dean should want some measure of revenge but it is more likely he will never mention what happened.

 

[MartialHorror]

OW! I WAS WRONG!!!! SO SO WRONG!!!!
I'm now beginning to think that Neville might win, as I was sure Ziggler or Ambrose would get it. Would Sheamus win it again? I don't know. I'd be shocked if Barrett took the victory and everyone knows R-Truth will lose.