King of the Ring

[Kelso1ftw]

The title should say it all and a recent thread got me thinking about the King of the Ring tournament. WWE over the past 6 years has been doing a KOTR tournament every 2 years and I'm sure there is a possibility of doing one by the end of the year. Being crowned KOTR can show who the next big thing is going to be the next big thing, or a character change, or even just another notch on a belt for an already top talent guy. Some of the winners have been Edge, Brock Lesner, Bret Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and many more very recognizable names. The last winner was Sheamus and he has now risen up to be one of the bigger stars in the WWE. So my questions for you guys are this....


Who would be a good choice to win or even compete in the KOTR if they do bring it back this year?

And what would it mean for their character?

Lastly do you want to see KOTR return and would you maybe like to see it more or less often?

My top 5 choices to win would be:
1. Daniel Bryan
2. The Miz
3. Cody Rhodes
4. Ryback
5. Alberto Del Rio

I am really not sure how any of these winners would have a direct character change from winning the tournament, like Booker T did back in 2006. The only one that would come close would be Del Rio who could really use this to evolve and change his character into maybe more of a higher class, to make him think he is above everyone and maybe start using more of the rich side of him and buying people off to win matches. I think Cody could run with a character change too that could work with winning the KOTR.

Personally I like how its set up now with it being held every 2 years.. I wouldn't be against it coming back as a PPV since they are really big on gimmick PPV's now and this would be just another one to add instead of Over the Limit.

 

[Ethelion]

Who would be a good choice to win or even compete in the KOTR if they do bring it back this year?

Preliminary Rounds: Rey Mysterio def. Cody Rhodes; The Miz def. R-Truth; Wade Barrett def. Kofi Kingston; Christian def. Dolph Ziggler

Semi-Finals Rounds: Wade Barrett def. Rey Mysterio; Christian def. The Miz

Final Round: Wade Barrett def. Christian

WINNER: Wade Barrett

And what would it mean for their character?

It would definitely boost the character's confidence heading into more established feuds, in my case, Barrett's.

Lastly do you want to see KOTR return and would you maybe like to see it more or less often?

Sure, why not? I'd like to see it somewhere in between more and less though.

 

[MINISTRYrising]

I would love to see the king of the ring tornament return and this is how i would do it. First switch No Way Out and Over The Limit around so that No Way Out was know in May. Then i would replace Over The Limit with The King of the Ring. Know Once you Have done this i would make the the Tornament more important and have it be like the Royal rumble where the winner would go on to face either the WWE or World champion.

 

[drugfreeford]

I have several choices in mind to become the King of the Ring but my biggest choice is CM Punk because he deserves it, it will be interesting, and he can even create a new catchphrase: King of the World=Best in the World.

 

[closet_fan]

Since the WWE has so much time now with 3 hours, why not have it on a RAW instead of making it it's own PPV?

 

[Trance Metaphor]

Who would be a good choice to win or even compete in the KOTR if they do bring it back this year?

It would be awesome if Daniel Bryan won the KOTR. I know he's already way over, but he just fits the bill as a tournament guy. With his past history in the indies, he's been in a lot of tournaments and I feel like a prestigious KOTR victory would do wonders for his already impressive wrestling resume. Naturally, I'd like for him to win the Royal Rumble as well. Sheamus is the only guy in recent memory to win the big three WWE accomplishments; KOTR, Royal Rumble and WWE Championship.

And what would it mean for their character?

Not sure, but he can tell everyone how he's the king of wrestling or something without actually acting like a king, which is downright corny.

Lastly do you want to see KOTR return and would you maybe like to see it more or less often?

I would love to see the KOTR return and more often. KOTR should be like in 2001 with the trophy. That felt much more special and rewarding. Edge is lucky.

 

[JBK2008]

There should be a King of the Ring Tournament every year. Not only will it be an achievement for the superstar, but a trophy just for kicks, but also add in a title shot at the following ppv! Or the KOTR winner can have a title shot of their choosing at any ppv for the coming year.

Kind of like winning MITB, but you can't cash in say when the champion is vulnerable after a match. I don't know, just thought it'd be a cool idea. As for who should win in 2012, I'd go with Cody Rhodes or a Wade Barrett. Maybe even Daniel Bryan for kicks. It'd be a good way to get a mid card guy over or cement a main event guy for the long haul!

 

[THTRobtaylor]

King Of The Ring was always used as a way to get someone into the World title picture... since 1993 anyway. Prior to that though it was more about the prestige. I would like to see it go back to that, rather than being just another Rumble/MITB elevator to the main event. To someone from NXT, making the last 32 or last 16 is a push in itself.

If they bring it back, it should be over a long period, at least two months and involve everyone eligible. Use the 3 hour RAW's, NXT, Smackdown, all the shows and their rosters. It's USP can be that it's the only event open to the whole (male) roster, regardless of brand. Once month 1 is done you are down to the last 32 and the brackets become more intense, the go home to the KOTR PPV is the last 16 and the night itself the final 8. It can't be this year, but next May I'd start.

If it's done correctly then it is a surefire way to bring in someone like Ambrose, who could go to the final/semi final on a "shock" ticket. You can elevate multiple talents throughout the tourney, if Orton ain't winning it, he can job out early via interference etc, but giving someone that precious pinfall.

My final 8 (on todays roster) would be -

Damien Sandow
Antonio Cesaro
Sheamus
Chris Jericho (winner)
Dean Ambrose (finalist)
Kofi Kingston
Tensai

Remember this wouldn't be about creating a new maineventer (by winning anyways) so Jericho getting it would be a nice reward for this past run and to establish the premise that the KOTR is worth winning and not just a stepping stone. He would then have a ready made feud with Ambrose who could be the new "rebel" who refuses to lose throughout the tourney, perhaps do the Austin/Bret turn in the final. Kofi would be a good semi finalist and Sandow could pick up an early win over Sheamus to shock the world. By then someone like Cesaro or Sandow losing in the semi to Jericho would still be a massive push for them.

 

[Wolf Pac]

I immediately thought of Wade Barrett when I entered this thread, he'd be my #1 choice to win a King Of The Ring, assuming he doesn't win a World Title beforehand though. He is English and England has that royalty background, so I don't see the KOTR fitting perfectly for anyone but Barrett, and the fact he's a rising star makes it all the more better. I always believe that the King Of The Ring should be used to give a rising star the big rub and elevate them into the main event scene. Daniel Bryan would also be a good choice but only if the KOTR isn't used to shoot someone to the main event scene like the past few KOTR's, I could see the king gimmick fitting him easily. Damien Sandow would be another good choice.

I would absolutely love for it to return full time as a PPV and I agree with THTRobtaylor that I would rather see it just be there to give a star prestige and give that person a normal, slow build up towards the World Title instead of a #1 Contenders shot at a World Title, we have 2 PPV's for those already. King Of The Ring and Money In The Bank as PPV's in the June/July slots wouldn't be bad actually, it would save us from having some random ass abomination in June that WWE will end up changing again the next year like they have done the past few years.