As Barrett, Sheamus and William Regal so eloquently put it on the most recent Table for 3 show on the WWE Network, the King of the Ring gimmick is terrible. Something that used to elevate mid-card talent to the main event level is now seen as a death sentence. When Sheamus won the King of the Ring tournament in 2010, he never won a single match after that, and only became United States Champion after the king gimmick was dropped. Barrett faces similar roadblocks to Sheamus. After winning the tournament, he quickly lost a Pay Per View match to Neville, and ended up in a feud with R-Truth, who was making fun of the king gimmick (and rightly so). Basically, its tough to get over as a king because there are no more kings in power. The monarchy in England is seen more as a tourist attraction, and the United States hasnt had a king as its ruler since before the Revolutionary War. Barrett has long been talked about being a main event level talent, and maybe WWE is gun shy about giving Barrett the big push because of his injury history, but as long as hes referred to as king, hell never make it to the next level.