Bring Back the King of the Ring?

[Attitude]

I was thinking about this during the week. It seemed like every two years they were going to bring back the King of the Ring. They did it 2006 when Booker T(King Booker) won. Then in 2008 when William Regal did it. Both times they did it the King of the Ring took place around the draft. So a little while after the 2010 draft took place we didn't see the King of the Ring. I was disappointed to say the least. I've been pumped for this and couldn't wait for this years King of the Ring and who was going to win. But we never got it.

I was thinking the King of the Ring would be a great Pay-Per-View event to bring back. Especially since the WWE is hooked on themed Pay-Per-Views the King of the Ring would be a perfect fit. They could do what they did before and have the winner of the King of the Ring go on to Main Event Summerslam like they did in 2002 and supposedly other King of the Rings.

Also since the WWE now seems to be interested in building superstars all of a sudden the King of the Ring would be perfect again for that. It could help guys like Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston, and John Morrison get over.

So what do you guys think? Should the WWE bring back the King of the Ring?

 

[Tenta]

So what do you guys think? Should the WWE bring back the King of the Ring?

What purpose does it serve anymore?

Look, the main point, at least by 1997, of what the King of the Ring tournament was to elevate a mid card name into superstardom, and have them habitually fighting in the main event. Some names like Steve Austin, Triple H, and the like worked to perfection. Hell, even Mabel was given a chance in the main event, until fucking up Undertaker's nose, and forcing him into that god-awful mask. The point being, at this time, there's already something for that, and it's called Money in the Bank. It's an overall more entertaining match, it leaves more room on the PPV to advertise other matches, and it instantly boosts the credibility of any name that wins it. Jack Swagger used to be an after thought, now at least he's a main event fixture on Smackdown. The same can be said for every other name so far who has won the Briefcase.

King of the Ring was nice for a while, but it has outlived it's usefulness. Now the kids all want ladders and all those new gizmos. Because of that, the Money in the Bank match has outlived its usefulness

 

[The Whole F'N Show]

I would like to see KOTR return but like Tenta said, we have MITB now. Although, I think it could be used in todays WWE as a way to either re-brand a superstar or to give him a solid main event push without the MITB. This would make whoever won KOTR seem more dominate and not won by a fluke victory, as questioned in MITB. But with near main event superstars like Ziggler, Christian, Miz, JoMo, Kofi who would benefit more from MITB imo, I think people like Ezekiel Jackson, Swagger or Wade Barret would benefit more from KOTR to say they dominated the compitition and prove they are the best.

I just hope if WWE do have a KOTR, they don't do the stupid gimmick e.g. King Booker, Mabel.
__________________________
Woo Woo Woo You Know It!

 

[Attitude]

What purpose does it serve anymore?

King of the Ring was nice for a while, but it has outlived it's usefulness. Now the kids all want ladders and all those new gizmos. Because of that, the Money in the Bank match has outlived its usefulness

I agree about the Money in the Bank. I was going to bring that up in my thread. I personally think they should scrap the Money in the Bank Pay Per View. Just my opinion. If you have the Money in the Bank at WM the Superstar can go to any brand and challenge for any championship. At the Money in Bank Pay Per View each superstar as far as I know has to stay on their brand you know it's only a matter of time before the Champion gets screwed somehow out of the title. Plus with it's own pay per view the Money in the Bank will eventually be overexposed IMO.

You said the King of the Ring outlived it's usefullness but it hasn't. We both agree that the King of the Ring is meant to build superstars. With WWE obiviously wanting and NEEDING to build superstars what a perfect way to do it. No their aren't as many gimmick matches and their won't be as many personal fueds on the card but even the Kiddos can understand the Prestige of winning the King of the Ring and seeing their favorite superstars face each to become the King of the Ring and Ultimately winning a World Championship match at Summerslam.

 

[Tenta]

You said the King of the Ring outlived it's usefullness but it hasn't. We both agree that the King of the Ring is meant to build superstars. With WWE obiviously wanting and NEEDING to build superstars what a perfect way to do it.

The problem is Creative only has so much time to build stars, as well as keep the other, already created superstars within the company. What's good about the MiTB is that it focuses on the WWE's ability to promote that one star, and make him a main event name. Having them work towards building two stars just really detracts from the build they're trying to give to another star. And, unlike the MiTB, where they can give it to someone, and they can cash it in later that night (See; Kane), most of the time, they need that time to build up the superstar. See what they did to Edge, and to CM Punk. They made them wait a good couple months before they ever cashed it in. I don't think The Miz is going to cash it in for a while, because frankly, he needs to be built up to main event contention on a consistent basis. Though that's happening well, it still takes time and energy, in which will need to be put towards giving a slow push to the winner of the KOTR.

The WWE can only make so many stars a year. Having another Star Making match just seems a little bit much. Though I do agree, Money in the Bank, at least the PPV, should be scrapped

 

[CanadianCrippler12]

I agree with Atttitude, the MITB should only be at WrestleMania, that's one of the main reasons I ordered WrestleMania this year, to see who would be the next one to posibly beat the Champ in the whole year, plus you can't have the same guys like Kofi and McIntyre in the match because they were already in it at WrestleMania and ladder matches are the most dangerous in WWE.

Now, my thoughts on KOTR, if it were to come back it would elevate guys like Barrett or Swagger, and they could cut some pretty good heel promos, just imangined if Barrett said " he was the best British King since Henry the eighth or Jack Swagger saying " I'm your ALL-AMERICAN AMERICAN King of the Ring, with those types of promos and the personas they have it could elevate them into major main eventers just like it id for Kurt Angle

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

They should definitely bring back KOTR, but not as a ppv. Instead, as a 3-hour Raw like they did in 08 with Regal.

Why? Why the hell not? The 3-hour Raw episodes that are given a gimmick tend to do better in the ratings than those that are just advertised as being potentially tri-branded.

The Raw and Smackdown beforehand, you take some of the matches and make them the first round of the competition, with the 3HR being the semi-finals and finals. You don't need to be worried about not having the big names involved, as you can put them in other matches during the 3 hours. Hell, you can put most of them in a big tag match as one of the main events of the night and there you go, more room for the other guys. Or if you're obsessed with having them involved more, you take TWO midcarders that you want to elevate and throw them into the KOTR tournament with the main eventers, but have them come out on top.

There's literally NOTHING to lose and a good push for a midcarder into the upper midcard (or UM into the main event) to be gained. There's really no reason not to do it.

 

[Jmoss39]

Awesome post!

The King of the ring was probably my favorite of the discontinued PPVs, I love the idea of the tournament and I think its far more exciting than 3 hours of gimmick matches. Also imagine all the talent that gets left of PPV cards now that you can put in the show (e.g. the Zigglers, Rhodes, and bournes) that get left off on most sundays. But on the flip side of that coin I agree that a majority of the winners ruined they're gimmicks when they became the king, and the MITB has really taken its place.

On a side note best king of the ring ever:
Edge (the trophy was way cooler than the crown)

 

[Tenta]

They should definitely bring back KOTR, but not as a ppv. Instead, as a 3-hour Raw like they did in 08 with Regal.

Why? Why the hell not? The 3-hour Raw episodes that are given a gimmick tend to do better in the ratings than those that are just advertised as being potentially tri-branded.

The Raw and Smackdown beforehand, you take some of the matches and make them the first round of the competition, with the 3HR being the semi-finals and finals. You don't need to be worried about not having the big names involved, as you can put them in other matches during the 3 hours. Hell, you can put most of them in a big tag match as one of the main events of the night and there you go, more room for the other guys. Or if you're obsessed with having them involved more, you take TWO midcarders that you want to elevate and throw them into the KOTR tournament with the main eventers, but have them come out on top.

There's literally NOTHING to lose and a good push for a midcarder into the upper midcard (or UM into the main event) to be gained. There's really no reason not to do it.

I'd be for what NoFate says, under one condition, and one condition only. Should there be a MITB winner on a program, I would say you have to keep the winner of the KOTR on the opposite show. That way, you can have the two superstars built up somewhat equally, and make superstars out of both names. Again, creative only has so much time for everyone, but if they can do a slow push for two wrestlers on different shows, more power to them.

I wouldn't be for a PPV, I would be for a 3 Hour Raw, a la 2008, but the winner better be on a different show than a guy holding the MITB Briefcase.

 

[Attitude]

The problem is Creative only has so much time to build stars, as well as keep the other, already created superstars within the company. What's good about the MiTB is that it focuses on the WWE's ability to promote that one star, and make him a main event name. Having them work towards building two stars just really detracts from the build they're trying to give to another star. And, unlike the MiTB, where they can give it to someone, and they can cash it in later that night (See; Kane), most of the time, they need that time to build up the superstar. See what they did to Edge, and to CM Punk. They made them wait a good couple months before they ever cashed it in. I don't think The Miz is going to cash it in for a while, because frankly, he needs to be built up to main event contention on a consistent basis. Though that's happening well, it still takes time and energy, in which will need to be put towards giving a slow push to the winner of the KOTR.

The WWE can only make so many stars a year. Having another Star Making match just seems a little bit much. Though I do agree, Money in the Bank, at least the PPV, should be scrapped

I'm not disagreeing with you. I think the MITB is a great match and a great victory fo anyone who wins it. I think with the King of the Ring you will have less of a problem with having to build the superstar. As you mentioned Miz has to now build himself up to be in the main event. The great thing about the King of the Ring is that won't really be a problem or at least not nearly to the extent of MITB. To win the King of the Ring you have to go through a laundrey list of superstars. For example I think the largest King of the Ring was 32 guys, 16 matches, and the winner had to defeat 8 opponents in one on one matches. You take that and build it up for a month and than have a pay per view. It's nearly impossible not to come off looking like gold after you win that tournement. And after the tournement you really don't have to worry about building a superstar as much.

With MITB it can be "great hopefully he cashes it in right away," or "oh he needs to keep it for a couple of months so he can build himself up in the Main Event Scene." I prefer KOTR because your building a star in the process and you don't have to worry about building him up afterwords.

I think I know the answer already but if you had the choice would you prefer MITB to KOTR?

 

[Zigglerfan227]

What purpose does it serve anymore?

Look, the main point, at least by 1997, of what the King of the Ring tournament was to elevate a mid card name into superstardom, and have them habitually fighting in the main event. Some names like Steve Austin, Triple H, and the like worked to perfection. Hell, even Mabel was given a chance in the main event, until fucking up Undertaker's nose, and forcing him into that god-awful mask. The point being, at this time, there's already something for that, and it's called Money in the Bank. It's an overall more entertaining match, it leaves more room on the PPV to advertise other matches, and it instantly boosts the credibility of any name that wins it. Jack Swagger used to be an after thought, now at least he's a main event fixture on Smackdown. The same can be said for every other name so far who has won the Briefcase.

King of the Ring was nice for a while, but it has outlived it's usefulness. Now the kids all want ladders and all those new gizmos. Because of that, the Money in the Bank match has outlived its usefulness

Who cares about what the kids like (besides Vince)? Crap on the kids! Plus, if they re-introduce the KOTR they will be fine with it. I'm sure they might like the MITB better but they will still watch it. I certainly would watch it. It would be a great thing to bring to today's WWE.

 

[Ming]

I agree with the idea of scrapping the Money In The Bank PPV because that way the match at Wrestlemania has more importance in my opinion. I loved the King Of The Ring as a kid but the Money In The Bank match is more entertaining, the King Of The Ring had more of a traditional and old-fashioned feel to it. So I don't think the WWE should bring back King Of The Ring because all these kids obviously would prefer Money In The Bank but for my preferance I would want to see King Of The Ring back simply because of what I said earlier in my post about it being traditional and stuff.

 

[Ultra Awesome]

King of the Ring would be awesome to return now that WWE, like you said, is going for themed ppv's. King of the Ring can definately help mid-carders just like Money in the Bank does.

But that's the problem, MitB is the "new, hip, young" while KotR is "old, crumpled, outdated". And I bet this is what Vince's thoughts are...and we all know, if the chairman doesn't want it, it will not happen (thanks to his thick headedness). As much as I love to see tournaments, I don't think KitR will be returning anytime soon.

Hopefully I'm wrong, I think King of the Ring would be a much better ppv than Fatal 4 Way was. The numbers (money ppv gathered) don't lie...

SIDENOTE: Yea MitB should have stayed in Wrestlemania and not been a ppv. It gave Wrestlemania a more unique feel IMO

 

[The Death Rattle]

I am totally in favor of bringing back King of the Ring. I would like to counter a couple of points made earlier. I agree a MITB PPV is too much, but its Wrestlemania spot is ideal. I read a couple things about "what the kids like" or it not being "trendy". That is so easy to take care of. You just push it as important on TV. If you promote it as a big deal, like MITB at Wrestlemania for example, fans will buy it as such. Part of the past appeal of the tournament was that it came with a title shot for the winner. Having something meaningful attached to it adds importance to the event.

I also read about MITB already serving a purpose for elevating guys to the main event. Obviously, this is true. What it doesn't do is allow a face to truly make that leap, at least logically. Let's be honest, the concept of cashing in a title match "anytime" is a heel tactic. The contract gets cashed in after a beatdown or match, every time. When C.M. Punk cashed in as a face, it was a great moment. However, the problem comes from him being a supposed "good guy" doing such a underhanded thing. Instead of beating a guy in the ring to win a title, he stole it from him after Batista beat up Edge. Punk was now supposed to be a big star, but he never beat anyone to get that. He was never considered at that elite level (Granted, the booking was a factor). That's where I think King of the Ring pays off. A face going through multiple opponents in actual wrestling matches immediately lends credibility to that wrestler. A wrestler has to prove it in the ring to have fans truly believe in him.

The WWE seems to be in favor of theme PPVs in their current reshuffling. The issue seems to be the randomness of them. The PPV title suggests what type of match or matches you'll get, but outside of who is in them there seems to be no importance. If you are excited to see a particular type of match, it works well. For example, I like Hell in a Cell. That means I may order on the match type alone. But what if I don't? If the main event is Cena vs. Orton and I don't want to see that match, putting them in the cell isn't going to help. However, a PPV like Royal Rumble sells itself. The match is the drawing card. I believe a King of the Ring tournament could serve the same function. Royal Rumble leads into Wrestlemania. King of the Ring could lead to Summerslam or Survivor Series.

 

[KKKKwe]

I would love to see King Of The Ring, reason why it is a main attraction to the WWE and to just let it go with no explanation sucks. Booker T's last reign as King was awesome in my opinion and he gained more popularity hatred from the fans. What I say is put Money in The Bank back on Wrestlemania to give more Mid Carders a chance because everybody wants a chance to headline WM and give King of The Ring its PPV back having the winner go to Summerslam and face the champion or something like that or give him a mega push like Kurt Angle got.

So does anybody agree with that???

 

[red ass skull muhfukkah]

King of the Ring was one of my favorite events in wrestling. All the way back to Austin winning it. It was a great and credible way to push guys into the main event scene. Just look what it did for Lesnar several years ago. He was destroying people left and right but his matches Test and mostly RVD are what believably threw him into the main event with The Rock where he belonged.

I do agree it is less necessary now that there is MITB but I don't see the problem with having a 3 Hour King of the Ring on Raw like No Fate referred to. Although it did nothing for Regal, it could do a lot for others like Dibiase Jr. or Mcintyre. Imagine how smug a heel like Drew or Ted would be if they won the KOTR.

 

[Hazardous]

Now, my thoughts on KOTR, if it were to come back it would elevate guys like Barrett or Swagger, and they could cut some pretty good heel promos, just imangined if Barrett said " he was the best British King since Henry the eighth or Jack Swagger saying " I'm your ALL-AMERICAN AMERICAN King of the Ring, with those types of promos and the personas they have it could elevate them into major main eventers just like it id for Kurt Angle

while it's true that it did help out some such as Austin, Angle, and HHH, the same argument can be made for the opposite, as nothing came out of it for Regal, Mable, and Shamrock. yes, with a few of them there was other stuff that resulted in them not getting their big push, but not EVERY KOTR winner became a main event guy, where as everyone who cashed in the MITB HAS become a main event player. (noticed i said CASHED it in) i mean, before the KOTR wasnt it like a battle royal they did to find the next contender or something? Tenta you'd know more about that one then i would, but it just seems each era has their own way to elevate the "next guy". i do agree with MITB being at 'mania only though.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

KOTR is still a great concept... the idea of a one night tournament, the winner having to go through 3 matches is far more appealing to older fans than the gimmicky MITB concept, which is basically a ladder match... sure the spots are there but there isn;t the tension associated with fighting for a final berth...

The problem is, in the PG, modern age the Tournament can seem slow to younger eyes... This was also a problem in 88 for Wrestlemania 4... when younger fans struggled to engage with the matches and the rules of the title tourney...

I think King Of The Ring should return, as a cable special instead of this pointless Wrestlemania special they just had a free, annual event where you are guaranteed to see the best going at it... no more using KOTR to elevate... Put Cena, Orton, Swagger, Rey, Jericho, Barrett, Seamus and Edge as the 8... make the King Of The Ring the elite event, like the Masters in tennis or the Ryder Cup... they could even use the Power 25 points for "qualification"... so each win means something... Storyline the title could be worth "a million dollars" or something...

 

[CyDeez]

I would like it to come back. Not for a gimmick win title shot. But, more for The TITLE of KOTR itself. They haven't hit it big with EVERY KOTR, but most of them moved on to stardom.

I like the tournament idea is what I think it is. A number of guys broken into brackets, and they battle in one on one matches until there is one winner and he is crowned the king!

I still think it is a good idea. Even if the winner himself, doesn't turn out to be an all time great, each time there is a tournament to be won, I think it is sort of exciting! No worse than diva matches and shit.

On a side note, I liked it when they wrestled all the matches in one night. Not a few matches here and there, leading up to the event.

 

[mrhexum]

I like the KOR concept. It seems though that the "King" stigma has generally been used as a heel gimmick. Which isn't a bad thing, it usually works pretty well. I also think that the tournament is good for giving mid card guys a push, but, it could also give a heel who's already over some extra heat,

Here's my pick for each brand:

RAW- Now, this goes against my heel theory,but, I think Santino lucking his way to the crown would be awesome....the jester becomes king. It would give him a little more face time and would just be hillarious.

Smackdown- Cody Rhodes would be a good fit. the "dashing king". I think he could pull it off nicely.

 

[The Crock]

There is no need for KOTR anymore. There are other opportunities now, MITB is one of them. Hell, even NXT somewhat serves that purpose, it elevates FCW guys to the main roster. I loved KOTR in it's initial run, it was totally fresh and new... I didn't like it in '06 or '08 at all so I'm happy it's gone. Maybe someday down the road if there is a perfect opportunity they could bring it back, but not now.

 

[A**hole]

As a long term tournament it could work to put someone over

Every "SupaStar" on the roster competes via their brand shows.
It gives reason for say Edge/Jericho to headline the RAW reguardless of what storyline they are involved in.
Each brand finds it's "prince" and they meet at WM to decide the KotR.
The story line then could lead to a feud.........
Or
Taker could win and retire as King of The Ring/streak
oops, wrong thread

 

[Viola Moonlight]

This is a concept in the company that is best left to random injections during broadcasts on RAW or SD to draw ratings. It seems quite unrealistic these days with the way booking is considered to have wrestlers go multiple times a night t determine a winner on a PPV. You aren't guaranteed what the main event matches are besides the World Title ones, and you can't sell a PPV based on only the title matches. You need something the fans can look forward too, and the KOTR is something that can prove to be unreliable. People will get doubts about which possible matches could occur... but it can entice some for the surprises.

Right now, WWE has the MITB concept running and comparing the two, a ladder match out-trumps multiple appearances by the one person any day of the week. No need for the KOTR anymore.