So most of us want King of the Ring back, but....

[LODemolition]

how would you book it? Would you book it as its own ppv or would you have the tournament on Raw/Smackdown/Main Event? How many competitors would you have? 8, 12, 16? Who would your winner be?

Personally, I'd love to see it be get the spotlight it deserves and have its own ppv, replacing Hell in a Cell or TLC. In the weeks leading up to King of the Ring, I would have the first round matches of a 16-man tournament on Raw and SD. The quarterfinals, semifinals, and final match would all take place in the night of the ppv. That's 7 matches, so it also gives you time for a WWE Championship match, maybe a Tag Team Championship match...I'd throw in 2 or 3 matches in between rounds of the tourney.

I think the winner of the KOTR always worked best as someone who wasn't established as a main eventer yet. When someone needed to make a name for themself and was on the verge of a major push, those made for the best KOTR winners. Stone Cold Steve Austin, Owen Hart, Triple H, and others catapulted into superstardom following their King of the Ring win. If it were to make its long-awaited return, there are 3 I would have in mind to take the win.

1) Cesaro: A KOTR tournament would be the perfect way to get Cesaro's career back on track, as he's the best pound for pound wrestler on the WWE roster in my opinion. He had all the momentum in the world in 2014, only to have the carpet pulled out from under him.

2. The Miz: King of the Ring always works best when won by a heel, and Miz is becoming one of the best heels in WWE. Once he and Mizdow split up as a tag team, Miz should be in line for a midcard push - maybe even more.

3. Cody Rhodes: Cody is also in a tag team whose days are numbered. The Stardust act got old pretty quick. I always liked Cody as a singles competitor and think his best days could still be ahead of him. Afterall, for as long as he's been in WWE, he still hasn't reached the age of 30 yet.

My tournament (winners in bold):

1st Round

Erick Rowan vs. Rusev
Ryback vs. Luke Harper
Dean Ambrose vs. Bo Dallas
Kofi Kingston vs. Cody Rhodes
Sheamus vs. Bad News Barrett *DOUBLE DQ*
Jack Swagger vs. Cesaro
Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyson Kidd
Damien Sandow vs. The Miz

Quarterfinals

Ryback vs. Rusev
Dean Ambrose vs. Cody Rhodes
Cesaro *BYE*
Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz

Semifinals

Ryback vs. Cody Rhodes
Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro

Final

Ryback vs. Cesaro

 

[L@RISANO]

I would have a tournament, but not so rigid as to put it as strictly King of the Ring each year, and the format itself would be done differently each year.


Given that the Elimination Chamber PPV has been done away with, or it looks that way at least. My ideal way is to have the Chamber match as the 'finals' of the tournament and book the tournament either before SummerSlam, which would establish a No.1 Contender for SummerSlam itself, or in the 'slow' period after SummerSlam, possibly between NoC and Survivor Series, where having such a tournament with perhaps the initial rounds on the RAW and SD! shows preceding the PPV which would host the finals, and perhaps even the Last Qualifiers before the finals itself.


Thus, having multiple guys in a Chamber Match Final, means that there is a possibility of the entire roster getting into such a tournament which would leave the Finals and 'Semis' as a possible 7 matches at the PPV when it is completed.


Obviously, in such a format, it would have to be done on its own as a PPV, but if Only the finals are put on PPV, then it could just be fitted on an existing PPV.
The obvious key, however, is to have an incentive of the No.1 Contendership for the Main title. if that isn't done, it would be a waste,lMO.
Ntm, other feuds that can be born from such a tournament.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Since the fall is usually a slow period, I'd have it during that time, with the finals at Hell In A Cell, and the winner facing the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at Survivor Series.

Winners in bold:

First Round:

1: Curtis Axel vs. Sin Cara

2: Fandango vs. Kevin Owens (wins a mini-tournament on NXT to gain entry)

3: Bad News Barrett vs. Kofi Kingston

4: Tyson Kidd vs. R-Truth

5: Luke Harper vs. Sheamus

6: Erick Rowan vs. Roman Reigns

7: The Miz vs. Zack Ryder

8: Jack Swagger vs. Antonio Cesaro


Quarter Finals:

9: Curtis Axel vs. Kevin Owens - double DQ

10: Bad News Barrett vs. R-Truth

11: Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns

12: The Miz vs. Jack Swagger


Semi Finals:

13: Bad News Barrett *BYE*

14: Roman Reigns vs. The Miz - DQ due to Bad News' Barrett's interference, leading to...


Finals:

15: Bad News Barrett vs. Roman Reigns vs. The Miz

The Miz goes on to Survivor Series to wrestle the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and wins the title, beginning his second reign as champion, then loses it to a babyface Rumble winner in the main event of WrestleMania 32.

 

[kadroan]

I'd do it like they've done, have it as it's own PPV, first round and quarterfinals on TV, semifinals and finals at the PPV.

I think it'll definitely help the quality of WWE programming during the build up. My winner would be Cesaro.

 

[NotoriousMEAT]

While it would be ideal for King of the Ring to get it's own PPV again, I'd be willing to bet it would wind up as it's own special on WWE Network. Imagine a month long event that's featured exclusively on Main Event. That would also prevent spoilers from getting out because I'm pretty sure Main Event is live. If not then it's only on an hour delay.

Have two weeks for the qualifying round. Four matches on each show that take us from 16 superstars to 8. Week three we have our quarter-finals and finally on the last show of the month we start with the semi-final matches then crown the King of the Ring in the main event. With it being on the Network, WWE wouldn't be restricted by time and I could see each show going about 90 minutes.

Tournament restrictions
1. NO current champions are allowed to compete for KOTR
2. NO former World Champions are allowed to compete for KOTR
3. Any physical contact outside of a scheduled match between KOTR competitors on RAW or SmackDown will result in disqualification from the tournament.

These rules will GUARANTEE the win goes to someone who needs it and can build on it and also keeps the attention on the tournament. But if there were ever a special situation where current champs or former World champs were allowed, it'd be a big deal and not just guys thrown together. With the current roster and champions, here's how I would do it.

Week 1

Luke Harper def Big E
Dean Ambrose def Fandango
Ryback def Bo Dallas
Bray Wyatt def Damien Sandow


Week 2

Cesaro def Erick Rowan
Stardust vs Xavier Woods
Kofi Kingston vs Goldust
Roman Reigns vs Tyson Kidd


Week 3

Luke Harper def Kofi Kingston
Dean Ambrose def Stardust
Roman Reigns def Cesaro
Bray Wyatt def Ryback


Week 4

Luke Harper def Roman Reigns
Dean Ambrose def Bray Wyatt

King of the Ring
Luke Harper def Dean Ambrose


I'd say with the sixteen guys available, Luke Harper could benefit the most AT THIS TIME by becoming King of the Ring. He could have a brief feud with Ambrose then move right on to a program with a Daniel Bryan or John Cena. Imagine him creepily carrying the trophy with him EVERYWHERE.

 

[TDFG]

Whilst I would like it togo back to it original 8 man x 1 night Tournament, it's not going to happen.

The semi-finals & final on it's own PPV, with the winner getting a title shot the next night on Raw or if they stack it with upper card guys, make the winner No. 1 contender at SummerSlam.

 

[WhiplashUnited]

Put it back to the way it was in the late 90s, PPV In June.

16 men initially wrestle from RAW after May PPV and 8 men by the time you get to King of the Ring PPV. 8 men down to 4 down to the final - 7 matches plus say a Tag team title match and WWE title match.

King of the Ring faces winner of WWE Title match at SummerSlam

For it to work easier you might have to put KOTR in July unless July is used as the last battle between the Champions feud and the feud that the new KOTR is in.

Move Money in the Bank until after SummerSlam.

 

[chuckmdubya]

It would almost be worth it to bring KOTR back just so Cesaro could win it and get a new gimmick of being King Cesaro.
WWE can't get him over, he can't get himself over. He enjoyed some support from fans after the "brass ring" comment, but that seems to be fading already.

I'd be happy with them bringing it back for just this reason. I'd like to see someone who is actually a really good in ring talent get over with fans so he'll be around for a while.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

By "most of us" I hope by that you mean no one who is a paying customer.


They have done it in every distribution format there is, and it just hasn't worked out. Low ratings on tv, low buyrates on PPV.

Fuck if I can be bothered with why. I love King of The Ring.

 

[chicagokmc]

I'm not that thrilled about KOTR in today's WWE. Titles like "King" with no championship to back it up, just don't seem to carry weight in today's wrestling. Especially given that, more likely than not, that KOTR tournament didn't include any main eventers and that the person calling himself "king" is some upper mid carder who would most likely never be world champion. That said, if you were going to bring it back it should mean more than just a name. They should place it between survivor series and royal rumble and the winner should not only get the title of king but then be able to pick their own number in the royal rumble match. This makes it different than MITB and logically could suggest that wrestlers beyond mid card participate.

 

[TheICChampion]

I'm not that thrilled about KOTR in today's WWE. Titles like "King" with no championship to back it up, just don't seem to carry weight in today's wrestling. Especially given that, more likely than not, that KOTR tournament didn't include any main eventers and that the person calling himself "king" is some upper mid carder who would most likely never be world champion. That said, if you were going to bring it back it should mean more than just a name. They should place it between survivor series and royal rumble and the winner should not only get the title of king but then be able to pick their own number in the royal rumble match. This makes it different than MITB and logically could suggest that wrestlers beyond mid card participate.

First of all, 2 of the last 3 King of the Ring winners (Booker T and Sheamus) were former champions before winning KotR, and went on to win World Championships afterward. I agree, with WWE's inconsistent booking nowadays that winning King of the Ring probably won't mean a whole lot, but I still think they should try it one more time. As far as the winner picking their spot in the Royal Rumble, I don't see how that could work, as far as shock value goes, because anyone in their right mind would always pick #30 unless forced to do otherwise (Like Vince McMahon in 1999). As for the prize for winning the tournament, the winner should get a free favour of their choosing, called a "Royal Proclamation", which could be a title match, or a match of their choice against an opponent of their choice, or to run RAW for a week, etc.

 

[chicagokmc]

As far as the winner picking their spot in the Royal Rumble, I don't see how that could work, as far as shock value goes, because anyone in their right mind would always pick #30 unless forced to do otherwise (Like Vince McMahon in 1999). As for the prize for winning the tournament, the winner should get a free favour of their choosing, called a "Royal Proclamation", which could be a title match, or a match of their choice against an opponent of their choice, or to run RAW for a week, etc.

My thought is not to have shock value in what number you pick (although most would probably pick 30 you could have someone want to prove how bad ass they are by picking 1 and trying to last all the way) the shock is in who wins the KOTR. I was also trying to stay away from winner automatically getting a title shot because now you have MITB 2. Going thru Royal Rumble still means you have to earn it and as they reminded us Monday night, #30 rarely results in a rumble win. With this, I think you'd see a tournament with Roman Reins and Rusev and Bray Wyatt and I just think that's more meaningful than a KOTR with Dolph, Jack Swagger and Miz.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Daniel Bryan suggested in a recent interview that the King of the Ring be brought back and held exclusively on SmackDown! with a few matches happening on ppv. I think it's a good idea as a way to sort of jack up more of a "must see" feel to the show, give it something to set it apart from Raw in matches and a tournament that won't be held on Raw. I was also thinking that the tournament takes place beginning sometime in May or June and culminates with the final bout at SummerSlam. As far as the winner goes, I was thinking the two finalists then face off in a best of five series of matches to determine the new King of the Ring. I was also thinking that the winner gets a championship belt that he carries until the time he announces he wants to trade it in for a title shot. Now, unlike MITB, he can't just cash in anywhere or at any given time, rather he has to inform the champ at least 24 hours to prepare and can name any special stipulations for the match or a gimmick match.

First Round
Ryback vs. Luke Harper: Winner - Ryback
Kofi Kingston vs. Cesaro : Winner - Cesaro
Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyson Kidd: Winner - Dolph Ziggler
Dean Ambrose vs. Big Show: Winner - Dean Ambrose
Big E vs. Rusev: Winner - Rusev
Erick Rowan vs. Seth Rollins: Winner - Seth Rollins
Randy Orton vs. Bad News Barrett: Winner - Randy Orton
Sheamus vs. Bray Wyatt: Winner - Bray Wyatt
Roman Reigns vs. Chris Jericho: Winner - Roman Reigns
John Cena vs. Rob Van Dam: Winner - John Cena

Quarterfinals
Ryback vs. Cesaro: Winner - Ryback
Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose: Winner - Dean Ambrose
Seth Rollins vs. Rusev: Winner - Seth Rollins via DQ
Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt: Winner - Bray Wyatt
John Cena vs. Roman Reigns: Winner - No contest due to outside interference via The Authority on both men

Semifinals
Ryback vs. Bray Wyatt: Winner - Bray Wyatt
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins: Winner - Dean Ambrose via assistance from Roman Reigns & John Cena

Finals
Match 1: Falls Count Anywhere - Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt: Winner - Dean Ambrose
Match 2: Street Fight - Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt: Winner - Bray Wyatt
Match 3: Steel Cage - Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt: Winner - Bray Wyatt
Match 4. Last Man Standing - Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt: Winner - Dean Ambrose
Match 5. TLC - Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt: Winner & King of the Ring - Dean Ambrose​

 

[hatehabsforever]

I wouldn't be opposed to seeing a return to the King of the Ring concept, as there are merits to the tournament, provided it doesn't involve the existing upper tier talent, who don't require the bump to their career that the KOTR could potentially give them. I would like to see a King of the Ring tournament, dedicated solely to the NXT roster. This could occur over a period of several weeks on NXT programming on the Network, or it could be a one night thing, similar to REvolution.

Adrian Neville. Baron Corbin. Finn Balor. Hideo Itami. Kalisto. Kevin Owens. Sami Zayn. And Tyler Breeze. Throw these guys into a single elimination KOTR tournament. The winner gets an automatic call up to the main roster, with a "guaranteed contract" for one year. The other seven return to NXT. Sure, the winner gets saddled with a sometimes ridiculous king gimmick but hey, it's probably better than being a bunny, a bull, or a Mighty Mouse. And plus, there's no need to go overboard with the whole king schtick. Maybe someone like Kevin Owens wins it all, then aggressively throws down his crown and his cape and says that he's not interested in being a King, but he is interested in being an ass kicker. That would definitely work for me.

 

[StonewallBrigade]

By "most of us" I hope by that you mean no one who is a paying customer.


They have done it in every distribution format there is, and it just hasn't worked out. Low ratings on tv, low buyrates on PPV.

Fuck if I can be bothered with why. I love King of The Ring.

I know the low buyrates are why they canned it but I would have to imagine, especially if booked well, it would be a more popular PPV than the Fast Lane, Over The Limit, Payback, and Battleground PPVs.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

Opening Round:
- Dean Ambrose def. Bad News Barrett via Pinfall
- Luke Harper def. Erick Rowan via Count Out
- Cesaro def. Damien Mizdow via Count Out
- Ryback def. The Miz via Pinfall
- Sheamus def. Goldust via Pinfall
- Rusev w/Lana def. Big E w/Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods via Submission
- Bray Wyatt def. Jack Swagger w/Zeb Colter via Pinfall
- Dolph Ziggler def. Stardust via Pinfall

Quarter Finals:
- Bray Wyatt def. Sheamus via Pinfall
- Ryback def. Cesaro via DQ
- Dean Ambrose def. Luke Harper via Pinfall
- Rusev w/Lana def. Dolph Ziggler via Submission

Semi Finals:
- Bray Wyatt def. Ryback via Pinall
- Dean Ambrose def. Rusev w/Lana via DQ

Finals:
- Dean Ambrose def. Bray Wyatt via Pinfall

 

[BillAlfonsos_Whistle]

I would have a traditional style KOTR pay per view. Have a WWE Championship match to bolster the card. A few under card matches and qualifiers all month on RAW/Smackdown for the actual tournament that would be traditional 8 men. 3 wins in one night to be KOTR.


Qualifiers:

Luke Harper defeats Jimmy Uso
Eric Rowan defeats Jay Uso
Wade Barrett defeats Justin Gabrielle
Dolph Ziggler defeats Sin Cara
Rusev defeats Swagger
Ambrose defeats Kane
Reigns defeats Cesaro
Big Show defeats Tyson Kidd

At PPV

Reigns over Barrett
Ambrose over Rowan
Ziggler over Harper
Rusev over Big Show


Reigns over Ambrose
Rusev over Ziggler

Reigns wins KOTR and gets first pinfall over Rusev.

 

[brochester8]

I enjoyed the king of the ring & the build up and matches leading into the finals.

 

[XXJJ]

I thought KOTR lost its luster. Vince did the right thing retiring it imo.

 

[dave-cee]

i used to love KOTR but that was back when there was 3-4 top guys. you knew one would win but the other 3 had that chance that could change the way the next few months went.

in a modern day KOTR you would still have 3-4 top guys but its 100% less likely for any other to reach the final then cena and the "the next face"

KOTR would of been the perfect build for reigns imo, have him come close to a royal rumble win and then build him back up bit by bit in a KOTR style. as much as a bore to the IWC it would of been in sense of moves but it would of also been the "passing of the torch" type of thing if cena and Reigns got to the final and Reigns won.

Qual matches
Ziggler v Tyson kidd - Ziggler win
Big e v Ambrose - Ambrose win
Ryback v Cesaro - Cesaro win
Reigns v big show - Reigns win
Kane v Daniel Bryan - Bryan win
Cena v Bray Wyatt - Cena
Shamus v Barrett - Barrett win
Harper v Rowen - Rowen win

next round

ziggler v Cesaro - ziggler win
Cena v Barrett - Cena win
Reigns v Rowen - Reigns
Ambrose v Bryan (50/50 on this)

final 4

Cena v Bryan/Ambrose - Cena win
Reigns v ziggler - reigns win

Final

Cena v reigns - reigns win

 

[Navi]

I thought the KOTR was great, but hated that stupid cape and purple crown that Sheamus wore. It was God awful and made him look like an idiot. Booker T was even worse with his King Booker and the way he walked around sticking his pinkie finger up all the time.

At least Booker T did something with the gimmick, he actually acted like a king with Queen Sharmell. But Jesus if they have it again, let's not have anymore of that bullshit.

Oh I have no idea who would go against who, I just watch and try not to put that much thought into it.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I would bring back the King Of The Ring PPV brand to replace Battleground (seriously, why is that STILL on the calendar!?). The single elimination tournament matches would take place on Raw other than the semi-finals and the final, which would take place on the PPV. The two semi-final matches would open the show, followed by a couple of midcard title matches, a filler match or two, a World Heavyweight Championship match, and the one to close the show is the King Of The Ring final, where the winner gets a World Heavyweight Championship match at Summerslam. It's a tradition that's missed, would set up Summerslam main events nicely each year, and would be much better than keeping that useless Battleground brand around.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

If you're gonna do KOTR it needs to be its own PPV and self contained on one night. No "prelims" or just the semis and final... the whole 8-man tourney in one night... I'd go as far as to make it 16 on the night as you inevitably get the double DQ's somewhere along the line.

The problem KOTR had is what the Rumble and MITB now has, the concept itself gets overshadowed by other stuff and it being this "vehicle" to push a newcomer... For the first one I'd make it exclusively former WWE champions... not WHC/Smackdown champions... so no Ziggler etc...

I'd have it be:-

Miz
Orton
Cena
Brock
Chris Jericho
Sheamus
The Rock
Triple H

If Brock is gone then you look at throwing in someone like RVD in there.

But the idea being whoever wins KOTR is the true "Best Of The Best". Have the tournament held every 2 years minimum, so it's like a "World Cup" type event and... why NOT make it part of Wrestlemania?