10 Pay-Per-View Concepts WWE Needs To Bring Back

6. King Of The Ring

Taboo Tuesday John Cena Kurt Angle
WWE.com

WWE has had an on-and-off relationship with King of the Ring, a concept which dates back to 1985. The premise is simple: a one night single elimination tournament in which finalists compete in two or three matches, with a ‘King’ crowned at the end of it. The winner then gets a nice little gold crown, a sceptre, and a purple cape to walk around in, which is embraced by some (Booker T, Bad News Barrett) and ignored by others (Brock Lesnar, Ken Shamrock).

The company held the event annually, untelevised each year up until 1989, inexplicably skipped 1990, then brought it back in 1991. After ignoring the tournament in 1992, the WWF added King of the Ring to their pay-per-view calendar in 1993, where it ran annually until getting canned in 2002 for pulling poor buy rates. That wasn’t the end though. WWE revived the idea in 2006, 2008, and 2010 on free television, then most recently in 2015 as a Network special.

Rumours continue to swirl that the event will be brought back on the Network in 2017, which would be a good thing if true. While KOTR has never really ‘made’ a star in its own right (no, Steve Austin was not made at King of the Ring, don’t believe the retcon rhetoric), it has certainly helped push people up the card. The likes of Bret Hart, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle were all given a massive career boost by winning the tournament.

It could do be an excellent vehicle for giving someone in the current WWE midcard the rub they need to move up to the next level. With buy rates no longer a factor, there seems to be no reason not to bring it back.

Contributor
Contributor

The author of the highly acclaimed 'Titan' book series, James Dixon has been involved in the wrestling business for 25 years as a fan, wrestler, promoter, agent, and writer. James spent several years wrestling on the British independent circuit, but now prefers to write about the bumps and bruises rather than take any of them. His past in-ring experience does however give a uniquely more "insider" perspective on things, though he readily admits to still being a "mark" at heart. James is the Chief Editor and writer at historyofwrestling.co.uk and is responsible for the best-selling titles Titan Sinking, Titan Shattered, and Titan Screwed, as well as the Complete WWF Video Guide series, and the Raw Files series.