KOTR Tournament on RAW

[Rated K for Kennedy... Kennedy!]

I'm just hoping this means Regal becomes an actual wrestler and gives up the GM gig, In fact I've long been thinking Regal could be the perfect stepping stone for CM Punk and the match last night proved they work well together, Overall I'm proud of my countryman and for a one night tournament I think it provided a bit of everything (athletcism, humour {kinda}, and some seriously stiff blows).

I don't say this often but:

WELL DONE WWE, good show.

 

[Canadian Knight]

I agree that they could have used some other wrestlers. Reason why was I would have loved to see Regal take on someone else then Hornswoggle. I mean it was nice to see Regal win and King Regal sounds better then King Punk. The only thing is what are they going to do with it. I think he should play more of a role as GM, almost like Darth Vader would be like, then have some face make him angry and have a feud. If anyone else wonder what is going on, please tell me because it seems odd to have someone as GM become King.

 

[Father:_Polley]

why is it odd? it means he can manipulate things the way he wants to manoveur himself in the title hunt, sort of like the way HHH did when he was in charge of Raw. He has an entire roster he can use to take out his opposition. If they're pushing him for the title, that's how i think they'd do it

 

[NYSandman]

LMFAO @ Regal! Good for him! He looks like he's in shape, too.

All in all, I think the show was actually quite good. The matches were good, the interviews were good, and for once, ONCE, WWE got a parody right. The Hilary Obama thing was funny without going too far, which is WWE's track record.

But, back to KOTR. I am glad Punk didn't win. I like Punk, but not as king. I think and older more dignified wrestler was the way to go, and I think Regal was a good choice. I like the way he didn't sell anything, and just sat in his chair with that serious look on his face. But Regal, please, I implore you, do something about the hair!

I'd like to see more of this stuff on free TV. It was nice to not have to pay 40 bucks to see an important event, and an event that was, IMO, pretty damn well done.

It just proves that Vince still knows how to make TV. Why he doesn't constantly provide this quaility is beyond me, because he has the talent to pull it off.

Congrats to my British friends. I always liked Regal.

ALL HAIL THE KING!

 

[JazzyJB05]

I'm not upset that Regal won because he's a pretty good wrestler, but Khali, Horny and Punk had no business being in the tournament. Way too much talent in the WWE to have to use a midget, a big guy who can't wrestle, and a guy who already has a championship shot with the MITB. Now with regal, i can see many ways to go with this. Like someone posted earlier, he is the GM and can pretty much manipulate his way into contention. It's not like Regal cant wrestle. Or like someone posted on another thread, he could start some kind of faction. I just hope WWE doesnt completely discredit the KOTR by having Regal winning and go back to just doing backstage segments. Also, the draft is coming up, maybe we could have a new GM now that Regal is ready to fight??

 

[D.Miller]

Regal is truly deserving of the KOTR Title. He is such a phenomenal wrestler and since he'd returned to the ring, he'd only leave impression behind him as the current General Manager of RAW. The guy is just fit, quick, and methodical in the ring. My recommendation would be for him to make a full-time return to a wrestling but he does such a wonderful job as GM, too, so assuming that fitting him into some storylines and matches occasionally perhaps, are best for him.

Punk, shouldn't have been in the KOTR in my opinion. He's got possession already of his Money In The Bank briefcase, he didn't need this opportunity as neither did the gimmick of this tournament suit him. Punk is no king but surely a great competitor, nonetheless. He made the night for sure as did Y2J. It should of came down to Jericho and Regal, undoubtedly though.

Others like Hornswoggle and Khali entered into the KOTR, pathetic! MVP was a good show but had to drop to Jericho as Hardy did the same to Punk, poor things. Anyway, the KOTR tournament was alright based on my own view.

 

[HellBoundPower]

I have to say I was pretty unimpressed with the King of the Ring last night. It started off pretty good with MVP and Jericho, and went downhill from there. My biggest problem is that they put Hornswoggle in the Tournament. Are you kidding me? They could've easily put someone that can actually wrestle a match in the ring with Regal. With the massive amount of talent they have on the WWE Roster, why the hell couldn't they have put some decent talent together and made the King of the Ring an unforgettable night.

While I wasn't happy with the Tournament at all, I was happy that Regal won over CM Punk. CM Punk is already Mr. Money in the Bank, and didn't need to be both. Honestly I think Jericho should've went over Punk, so he could have an old school grudge match against Regal. But that's not how it went down, obviously. I just hope that they do something with Regal. Put him in the Main Event or something. Don't let the Tournament be a complete waste.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Regal's a better choice than most. It suits his character. With Punk I doubt it would have helped him. The only positive I saw with him winning is that he could possibly turn heel. He would after all have been Mr. Money In The Bank and the KOTR.

I just hope that they don't turn Regal into a nobody again next week. Which I suspect they might. If they do then the whole episode was a waste of time.

 

[mcflyboy]

I was wondering if anyone else felt that this whole KOTR tournament seemed kind of slapped together almost at the last minute without any real thought behind it?

There was almost no warning (just one week in advance), and no build up for it whatsoever. No footage from prior KOTRs, no discussion on how the whole thing works. No one even knew who was going to be in it. It kind of seemed like there was an original plan for the 3 hour special (maybe the draft?) that got cancelled at the last minute so someone quickly came up with doing KOTR.

Similarly, during the show itself, there was no explanation whatsoever as to why there was a KOTR, what the point of it was, why we should care who wins it.

There was also no reasons offered or logic behind the participants. Why some and not others? How were entrants decided? and come on....hornswoggle is in the tournament? and khali? and i don't mind regal winning it, but again, after he won all that happened was a little caption under his name stating he was the winner. yeah...ok, but so what? what does this mean? he didn't even make an announcement or get coronated or anything.

I don't know...to me this whole thing seemed lazy and unplanned, and difficult to really care about. maybe they did originally plan a draft but cancelled it because they didn't want a draft less than a week before a PPV. but this whole KOTR thing could have been done better.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

WWE has in their contract that they must produce several 3 hour Raw's a year. So yeah it was pretty much just an idea that was slapped together to fill time. It wasn't before an important PPV, it's wasn't any sort of anniversary so they just used an old gimmick.

That being said I found it far more intresting than anything they've done onm Raw in a while. Even if the matches weren't up to much, it was a different format than usual.

 

[kevin 2 the xtreme]

Who knows im thinking that with King Regal, maybe they will take Regal out of the GM position and make him one of he draft picks to ECW or Smackdonw. This could be the time that Regal becomes the Heavyweight champion or the ECW Champion. They could bring Flair back and have him as GM. Maybee the WWE has decided to spice things up a bit

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Regal will never be a world champ. He's solid but better as a comedy GM. The problem is that nobody cares about him. He's not even really popular in England. He got a monster pop in England in 2004. But that is because it was the first Raw there and he was with a fresh Eugene. He get's good pops. But compared to what Davey Boy Smith used to get they're nothing.

He'll just ebcome another comedy characeter. I don't even see him getting a mid card title. Although a ECW or Smackdown move would suit him. Imagine what he could teach the younger talent.

 

[idontknowwhattosay]

what can they do with Regal if he is partially inactive? Punk should of not made it to th finals. having MVP and Hardy lose clean in the first round back to back kills all momentum into their match Sunday. Hornswoggle shouldn't of been in it and the same applies to Kahli. WWE made a lot of stupid mistakes in organizing the tournament this year.

 

[Skullz Crack'Em]

After everybody thinking Kennedy was going to win the KOTR, I expected WWE to throw a curveball, but Regal was not what I had in mind. I think that this was just a ploy to make him even more of a comedic GM, but is that such a big deal? He was already over as a GM and if WWE is only going to make him more arrogant than before and have him act like a King, than the tournament was a waste of time. After this, I think Regal should lose his GM role because if he can put himself in the KOTR than what is stopping him from giving himself a WWE title shot? It doesn't make much sense unless he will challenge for the WWE title after Backlash, but seriously, who can see that happening?

I guess we will find out in the coming weeks if WWE has something big planned for Regal or not. My guess would be that it was just to add more comedy to Regal's promos which would be totally stupid because I always thought the KOTR was a launching pad for midcard superstars to give them a chance at the Main Event scene. It looks like WWE cares more for comedy angles than anything else at this point, but they are NOT funny. You hear me WWE? I said you are NOT funny, stick to wrestling goddamnit!

 

[D.J.]

i think tha KOTR tournament was ok...except 4 Khali and Hornswoggle bein in tha tournament!!! except the tha matches involving those 2...each match was pretty good...wasnt expecting Regal 2 win it @ all...but its good because CM Punk should not hav won it since he is already MITB winner...i would have loved 4 Kennedy, Morrison and Benjamin 2 b in tha tournament but o well i guess lol...pretty good 3 hour raw last night

 

[strafro]

I saw some people mention that it would have been better if it was Jericho vs. Regal in the finals, but I disagree for one small reason. Jericho went over Punk either last week or the week before and that could have ruined some credibility for the MITB because if Jericho beats Punk twice in a row, how come he couldn't win then? King Regal, meh, dunno how I feel won't be able to say until I see how it pans out. Could be good, could be terrible, I'm leaning towards terrible.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

How much do you want to bet that the only thing that will come out of this...unfortunately...will be that Regal and Finlay will feud, and that'll be the "comedy angle with Hornswoggle" to go on for a month? Something that could've happened without needing to give Regal the King of the Ring.

The more I think about how likely that is, I feel sick lol. Finlay and Regal are talented guys, but shouldn't receive pushes over the talent that will carry the company in the future (names we've all mentioned before), but the WWE is going to push this as a comedy angle anyway, so Finlay and Regal won't be able to have a solid match. Instead, they'll have 5 or so sloppy, "funny, but nobody is laughing", shit matches where Regal is the more dominant one but Hornswoggle tries to distract him all the time.

AKA "JBL versus Finlay, version 2.0".

 

[Father:_Polley]

How much do you want to bet that the only thing that will come out of this...unfortunately...will be that Regal and Finlay will feud, and that'll be the "comedy angle with Hornswoggle" to go on for a month? Something that could've happened without needing to give Regal the King of the Ring.

The more I think about how likely that is, I feel sick lol. Finlay and Regal are talented guys, but shouldn't receive pushes over the talent that will carry the company in the future (names we've all mentioned before), but the WWE is going to push this as a comedy angle anyway, so Finlay and Regal won't be able to have a solid match. Instead, they'll have 5 or so sloppy, "funny, but nobody is laughing", shit matches where Regal is the more dominant one but Hornswoggle tries to distract him all the time.

AKA "JBL versus Finlay, version 2.0".

this is what worries me. I would love to see regal and finlay match each other without a midget ruining my enjoyment of the match. both of these guys could be outstanding, as glimpsed in the semis. Regal is not built for comedy pushes at this stage. He was right for king of the ring, but i can't help feeling that's why the midget was even in the tournament to begin with.

However NoFate, i disagree that they shouldn't be given a push to carry the company. Booker was deemed worthy to carry the company and he's the same age as Regal. Both are still good wrestlers and are more than capable of putting on a good programme.

my view...if HHH wins we could see the return of an old rivalry with William Regal. that's the best bet for him aiming for gold, and using the roster to do his dirty work

 

[MrScott]

Jericho went over Punk either last week or the week before and that could have ruined some credibility for the MITB because if Jericho beats Punk twice in a row, how come he couldn't win then?

so jericho over punk would hurt his credibility, yet Regal a guy who hasn't wrestled in god knows how long (well since last week to orton, then trying to be the 3rd opponet to try to beat down tripple H, and then the battle royale to get to be gm) you think dosen't?

Jericho is someone i could see beating Punk as punk is definetly not an established foe yet, and all he has to his credit is the ECW title and MITB, then losing constantly since.

then again i guess if you wish to see it as WWE screwing with jerichos return by having him lose to everybody but still being able to beat Punk could be bad then your logic works, but currently it dosen't.

Either way anyway anyone losing to regal could be seen as bad, or good depending on how you look at regal, he is a good wrestler, just not pushed as a top quality guy

 

[Father:_Polley]

Punk came out of that match looking aggressive and dominant. He was beaten by Regal locking on one move after a 30second match and a match with finlay - clearly the fresher man...that's a credible loss. And he hasn't wrestled in a while, that was his choice to take a break. if he's back now, great
Jericho's return is over, he's in mid-card land for a while and i think the fact punk beat him in a very good match sets up a nice feud to work there. it builds up CM Punk and Jericho looks good in the process of what could be a good fued

 

[schaeffershawn]

Just a question but seriously what is everyones problem with regal.

He had some of teh best TV title runs ever in the old wcw, he is one of the best heel mid card champions in the last thirty years, he has been used to put egde, RVD, Jericho and Test over. He gets more reaction then half the heels on the roster did anyone miss the regal sucks chant during the match with Finley? He is a fromer tag champ, IC and European champ. He paid his dues getting over in comedy teams with Tajiri and Eugene, and is a highly respected techniqual wrestler. He is better in the ring then JBL and gives better promos then Orton. He was in King Bookers court. I can go on and on, but allow me to conclud eby saying this, look at who most people wanted to win the tournament. Kennedy screws up ever oppertunity he is given, Carlito is in a program for teh tag titles, Morrison holds the tag titles and is only a year away from being Johnny Nitro, not what i call screaming im ready for a push, Punk did not need it, Hardy is in a fued for the US title, MVP upon losing teh title can make a case for getting ahead of edge in the title contention.

Regal or jericho was the best choice and with it looking like jericho is going heel to fued with HBK he really did not need it.

 

[GodCompleX]

I'm lovin Regal as KOTR. He's deserved a wrestling push for awhile now and this is a good starting point. He's a great wrestler, great on the mic and now hopefully can get a push to match.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Just a question but seriously what is everyones problem with regal.

He had some of teh best TV title runs ever in the old wcw, he is one of the best heel mid card champions in the last thirty years, he has been used to put egde, RVD, Jericho and Test over. He gets more reaction then half the heels on the roster did anyone miss the regal sucks chant during the match with Finley? He is a fromer tag champ, IC and European champ. He paid his dues getting over in comedy teams with Tajiri and Eugene, and is a highly respected techniqual wrestler. He is better in the ring then JBL and gives better promos then Orton. He was in King Bookers court. I can go on and on, but allow me to conclud eby saying this, look at who most people wanted to win the tournament. Kennedy screws up ever oppertunity he is given, Carlito is in a program for teh tag titles, Morrison holds the tag titles and is only a year away from being Johnny Nitro, not what i call screaming im ready for a push, Punk did not need it, Hardy is in a fued for the US title, MVP upon losing teh title can make a case for getting ahead of edge in the title contention.

Regal or jericho was the best choice and with it looking like jericho is going heel to fued with HBK he really did not need it.

I can't speak for everyone else, but it seems like they agree with me that the problem isn't that Regal won it, its how Regal won it and how much of a waste it'll end up being in comparison to what they could've done. To me, Khali is someone that I "don't like" and I would fire. Regal, I love him as General Manager, he's a talented guy and everything, but unless they're going to push him to the main event with this, they wasted the King of the Ring on him.

As far as him getting a bigger reaction than half the heels on the roster...I don't know, man. You can't make the case for the Finlay match, as that was basically a continuation of what had happened earlier. Its fresh in peoples minds, and they have nobody else to boo or cheer during the night, so they might as well boo the bad guy. If they had spread the tournament out and not ran repetitive promos on it, nobody would've cared about what he did with Finlay by next week.

Better in the ring than JBL? Definitely. Has he consistently performed at a level that is at the minimum "ok"? From what I've seen, yeah, I can't remember Regal being terrible. Does he deserve a King of the Ring win, which will most likely be built solely around a comedy angle with a midget that has lost every iota of his comedic potential a long time ago? No. As I said, I don't want to speak for everyone else, but if they agree with me, the issue is "why did we just sit through 3 hours of disgracing the King of the Ring name just for a Hornswoggle feud, rather than actually crowning someone who could receive a push to the main event?"

 

[Yuffie_Kisaragi]

Sorry but why do a few young guys who have only been in the business a few years deserve to win kotr. Regals been wrestling since before some of the roster were born, hes had numerus 4 star matchs, has continued to put over less talented guys in his career, has had to put up with crap like kissing Vinces arse, dressing like a buxom wench and jobbing to a man in a dress. Hes a great wrestler who makes his opponent look strong. is awesome on the mic and the highlight of his WWE careers a short intercontinental title run.

Regal deserves the push much more than screw up Kennedy and lazy carlito. Push him as a strong mid carder for the rest of the year before feuding him against Triple H or Cena for the WWE title. Then send him off to ECW to challenge Kane and win the ECW title.


Besides none of the other competitors bar Y2j were good enough for it or suited for it.

CM Punk: Winner of mitb and not good enough mic skills
MVP: Got a good gimic already so why change it
Khali: yeah right
Hornswaggle: yeah right
Finlay: In the middle of the hornswaggle angle
Matt Hardy: Not a main eventer yet and is set to win the US Title
Kennedy: Screws up every opurtunity he gets
Carlito: Lazy and definetly not over any more
Morrison: Not main event standard yet
Shelton: Still needs to do more on ECW before recieving a big push.

 

[BrooklynBuc]

I actually enjoyed the King of the Ring. While I agree Hornswaggle was not who I would have picked for the first match, it's similar to when Mankind got to face Gillberg in the opening round of Survivor Series Deadly Game, or when Mabel got a bye after Shawn Michaels and Kama tied in the '95 King of the Ring. The heel gets a bye\easy match and is less winded, and gets the win over the hard-fighting face who spent the first matches fighting to win. The event did several things:

Finlay: pushed him to be a tough-as-nails never-quitting competitor. LEt's not forget that between the comedy with Hornswaggle lies a great wrestler who had a better-than-expected match against JBL.

Chris Jericho: playing the tweener role to perfection. He can feud with a top heel in MVP and a top face in CM Punk. Maybe a triple-threat match for the three of them in the future? Besides, Jericho wants to bring credibility back to the IC title, so he won't be going for the WWE title anytime soon.

Matt Hardy: had a good match with CM Punk to prove he can hang with the big boys. Wins over MVP combined with close losses to Orton and Punk means that he will be US champion soon.

MVP: didn't look strong but it's obvious that he needs a new finisher. Even if he loses the belt to Hardy he won't be far behind to be a contender for the World Heavyweight Title.

Great Khali: did his job. Beat up a face, ran from a bigger face.

C.M. Punk: didn't need to be King of the Ring. He still looked strong in defeat, although I wish he didn't tap out, but two guys passing out might have been overkill. Still, the matches before and Regal's easy path makes him able to bounce back. Odd, though, why he doesn't have a match at Backlash...

William Regal: deserves to be King of the Ring. After all the mid-card belts he's won, and plus considering the humiliation he's suffered over the years, still he is perceived as a serious threat to any title. He wrestles better than 3\4 of the roster, he's off the juice, and he's a friend of HHH. Maybe they have another King vs. King feud with HHH vs. Regal. Maybe he'll be the one to injure Cena and give him a storyline reason to be gone to shoot the movie. Maybe he'll move to ECW and feud with Kane over the ECW title.

Besides, so what if he's RAW's general manager? HE can't leave the position, or use it to his advantage, like when Austin was made CEO of the WWF and booked a WWF title match with himself vs. The Undertaker? Besides, what if Regal did leave the GM position, only to have Teddy Long, who is fed up with the bitch-boy role, usurp the spot and become RAW's new GM and feud with Vickie and the Smackdown roster? Or maybe Armando and the ECW roster? This storyline did well and can go many directions, so quit being mad because Kennedy isn't King of the Ring. Remember this: Kennedy was SUPPOSED to be in this spot, but they pulled him out of it, just like they did for Money in the Bank in both years (one for injury, one for God knows), and the McMahon son storyline (for steroids). They must have had something big planned unless they just had nowhere else to go with him...