King of the Ring

[TheSportsGuy1014]

Let me start off by saying I am sorry if this is a reposted topic or anything.

Does anyone remember back when the WWE (Then WWF) did King of the Ring to help build young stars. It was were Stone Cold was born. For the most of the winners it lead to more success. Here are the winners:

King of the Ring Winners
1985 Don Muraco
1986 Harley Race
1987 Randy Savage
1988 Ted DiBiase
1989 Tito Santana
1991 Bret Hart
1993 Bret Hart
1994 Owen Hart
1995 Mabel
1996 Steve Austin
1997 Hunter Hearst Helmsley
1998 Ken Shamrock
1999 Billy Gunn
2000 Kurt Angle
2001 Edge
2002 Brock Lesnar
2006 Booker T
2008 William Regal

Of that group only two have really failed, those being Billy Gunn, Mabel, and Ken Shamrock. All of the others used the KOTR to build themselves up from midcard level to main event level.

I think the WWE could use the King of the Ring to help build some of the midcarders now. Guys like Shelton, Christian, CM Punk, Mysterio, Priceless, and others could make this tournament worth watching. The only real chance a younger star has of making a spash is the Royal Rumble, which has recently been given to already main eventers (Undertaker, Cena, & Orton) rather than up and comers (Benoit, Mysterio, & Batista). The only other chance anyone has is Money in the Bank, which I love the concept but I think if the made the KITR a staple of the summer/fall PPV lineup it could help build the product.

Bring back King of the Ring!

 

[The Brain]

In order for King of the Ring to be important it needs to be brought back as a one night tournament on pay per view. I never understood why WWE got rid of that pay per view. The timing was never better for the tournament. Eliminating that pay per view after the roster split did not make any sense. RAW and Smackdown superstars could have been seeded in the tournament to face each other in the first round creating some fresh matches for ppv. It would create more of a rub for someone to win three matches in one night to become king. Having the tournament spread over a few weeks on RAW or Smackdown would not have nearly as much impact. Also in order to be effective there needs to be a good mix of talent. For example having MVP beat the Miz, Kofi Kingston, and Brian Kendrick would only make him king of the midcarders. Throw in someone like Edge or Jericho to make the win more significant. You may think someone like MVP shouldn't go over someone like Edge or Jericho on a major ppv, but keep in mind the idea is to elevate somone to the next level.

 

[srka42]

I think that at the begining of the whole brand extension the idea of any combining of the rosters was a no no. They needed more time to develop the storylines on both shows. Now that all three shows are all together most times it doesn't really matter so a return of a join kotr tournament would be great.

 

[thelcon21]

I liked what the WWE did in 2002. Brock Lesnar won the King of the Ring and went on to face the Rock at Summerslam for the WWE Championship. I always thought they should use the King of the Ring like they use the Royal Rumble. The winner is King and gets a shot at his brands championship at Summerslam.

Another way they could do it is have the tournament at No Way Out and have the King of the Ring tournament to decide who can fight the other title holder the Royal Rumble winner doesn't want to face. I think that is a better option then having Vicky Guerrero just put John Cena and Big Show in the title match against Edge like they did this year. Come on its Wrestlemania make people earn title shots on the big stages.

 

[srka42]

But if we do have a kotr someone in the mid card needs to win. Its a tradition for a mid carder who's on the rise to use the momentum to rise up the card. Guys that I think could use a rub from the kotr:

John Morrison
MVP
Kofi Kingston
CM Punk (although he's been put on a rocket since the start of his career and he's already money in the bank)
Tyson Kidd (maybe not a win but a run with great matches against some of these guys could showcase the dungeon talent he's been showing on ecdub)

Anyone else think of anyone else who could use the push?

 

[The Catacomb]

Of that group only two have really failed, those being Billy Gunn, Mabel, and Ken Shamrock. All of the others used the KOTR to build themselves up from midcard level to main event level.

Hate to be a dick and point it out, but, that's 3 and not 2 who failed. You gotta stop taking so many blows to the head or stop drinking so much Vodka when you post.(J/K)

I think the WWE could use the King of the Ring to help build some of the midcarders now. Guys like Shelton, Christian, CM Punk, Mysterio, Priceless, and others could make this tournament worth watching. The only real chance a younger star has of making a spash is the Royal Rumble, which has recently been given to already main eventers (Undertaker, Cena, & Orton) rather than up and comers (Benoit, Mysterio, & Batista). The only other chance anyone has is Money in the Bank, which I love the concept but I think if the made the KITR a staple of the summer/fall PPV lineup it could help build the product.

Yeah, I totally agree with you on this. You can't have enough ideas and gimmicks that give young stars a chance at leaping into the upper card matches. They should bring this back as it adds to any wrestlers' resume to have the title of former or current king of the ring. I don't know why they gave the last one to Regal though. He really didn't gain anything or do anything with it at all. If they started it again, i'd give Matt Hardy the win to boost his career even more to make him main event worthy than he already is. It would probably be the final thing that jumps him into the main event status in everyones eyes.

 

[finneycom1]

I was just talking about this last night with some friends over watching Raw. One asked when the next big PPV was. I told him it was SummerSlam in August. But, KOTR used to be in June.

This was always a good way to build a new superstar. Dont put it on Raw like last year. It loses its value. Plus, I am really wanting another PPV where a tournament actually takes place. Also, I want the final 8 participants all to fight on the card like back in the day. Dont have all of the quarter-final and semi-final bouts on Raw and have the final on the PPV. Just put the qualifying matches on Raw. That tournament with 2 championship matches would be a good PPV!

 

[Agent-67]

I agree the KOTR needs to be a ppv, not just matches for 3 weeks on Raw and Smackdown. You could still do two world title matches on the card and an eight man tournament. It would be a great ppv for midcarders to showcase talent in matches. The winner would receive credibility as well. I don't like the idea of the winner going on to Summerslam to face a champion though. I think that idea with the Royal Rumble is terrible. The reason being you know the 1-2 or seldomly a 3rd guy that can win the event. No one thought Kingston, CM Punk, Shelton, etc were going to WM. You knew this year HHH or Orton were winning that Royal Rumble. Having the winner go to mania ruins the unpredictability of the rumble. WWE needs to get events like KOTR back on ppvs. Their PPV's are Raw and Smackdown without promos now. Bring back a serious KOTR tourney, SS should be Raw vs Smackdown with the winners advancing to a final survivor match, bring back war games, royal rumble is great, only use the elimination chamber once a year at a specific ppv. Make the ppv's original not just another show that you have to pay 45 bucks for.

 

[gooders11]

regal went on to win the ic championship after his kotr win

 

[OIL]

They could use the KotR quite easily. The only thing is, they ruined it last year. Sure, Regal did well. He gained mega, mega heat from the fans, and he really was quite entertaining for a while. But I feel the KotR should be used to elevate stars, quite like MITB. It helps get them noticed, but if they brought it back the WWE would really have to bring back the prestige to it because right now, most of the fans have no idea what the KotR is. (The younger audience).

 

[ericnb64]

I definately think that the wwe should bring back the king of the ring tournament. Someone posted about having the tournament winner face the brands champion at summerslam, but i disagree. I think that they should put it in late december early january where new years revolution used to be. Then the winner could challenge the champion at The Royal Rumble.

 

[TheSportsGuy1014]

I like the idea of replace the traditional survivor series for a tournament. There is no point to Survivor Series as it is. Occasionally their will be stipulations to spice things up, but in general there is nothing worth watching here. Make it a KOTR Tourney, you can add a few filler matches later in the card to give the guys a break between the Quarters and the Semi's and the Semi's and the Finals.

SAMPLE CARD
1 vs. 8
2 vs. 7
3 vs. 6
4 vs. 5
ECW Championship
Women's Championship
1/8 vs 4/5
2/7 vs. 3/6
Tag Team Championship
World Heavyweight Championship
KOTR Final
WWE Championship

That is a twelve match card. But whenver they do the one night tourneys the matches don't usually run terribly wrong. Otherwise there would be nothing left at the end of the night.

 

[bxbigshow]

Personally I'd take out the ECW/Tag/Women's Tite matches. Make it 9 matches and give these guys time to work. 4 Raw guys, 4 Smackdown/ECW guys. Winner doesn't get the title shot at SummerSlam. But rather at the following Raw, you want the spotlight...here you go. While maybe the first 2 winners put on great classic matches with the champ, he doesn't win. But one year...lightning in a bottle.

 

[colalella2891]

I think they should have superstars like Matt Hardy win KOTR, just to raise their superstar status. I agree with that point, for midcarders to win the tournament, because I don't think main eventers really need to win the tournament because they're already at the top.

 

[kingdeano]

Fist of all TYSON KIDD IS NOT FROM THE DUNGEON THE DUNGEON IS DEAD AND BURRIED!!!!! KIDD IS STEALING HARRY SMITH'S SPOT! WWE is killing the Hart Foundation once and for all and THIS is the final chapter.........

Now onto kingofthering. I think mid carders should win in an attempt to build them up or inject them into the main event. 2009 kotr winner Mr. Kennedy.... If he's fit.

 

[The Doctor]

I agree that they should bring back KotR. Now, I didn't watch back when KotR was a PPV, but it sounds really exciting and fun to watch. The qualifying matches as well as the tournament itself can showcase many wrestlers' talents, and the person who wins can get mega pushes/heat. It's a good idea all around.

 

[DeadManInc]

Personally I think it would be a great idea to bring king of the ring back but i would use it differently.Instead of the winner getting a title shot whenever make it like the royal rumble so say the winner of king of the ring gets a main event spot for the title of his choice at summerslam,this would be a good way to incorperate a storyline and also give a midcarder a decent push.

 

[HBK-aholic]

I've always loved the King of the Ring PPV, I like the idea of several matches in one night, for no reason other than the need to win this title. The WWE is about storylines and furthering feuds all the time. I don't see a problem with having an event where that's put behind them - friends fighting etc. And of course, it could be used to further feuds e.g. if a wrestler interfered and made the guy he's feuding with lose. Unoriginal, but fun.

 

[Rizza]

I would like to see KOTR return but with some build up or notice before they just suddenly throw it on us like last year. However I think to make the event a little more prestigious they should incorporate in to a PPV and give the matches alot more time then last years ,not necessarily its own ppv like back in the day but at least maybe the Finals on PPV and maybe even the semi-finals if the card isn't over booked . If they do bring it back I would personally like to see Matt Hardy win it this year ,and go over someone huge in the finals as I think it would do wonders for his credibility. KOTR has been a platform for success in the past and even though it has lost some of the that special Aura that surrounded it I believe it could still be used to push stars bigger then MITB and Mid-Card Championships.

 

[TheSportsGuy1014]

The more I think about the less I like the idea of having a World Championship match included in the prize for winning. With a title match you are more likely going to get a big name to win the tourney. Do you think SCSA would have won if there was a Championship match attached. I doubt it. I think they could use it as a way to elevate midcarders to Main Event level. Especially if a Midcarder beats a Main Eventer in the finals. You could have them fued over the title of KOTR. Make it a lengthy program, with the midcarder coming out on top. It would be a great way to launch them into the main event scene.