To this day, I still have no idea why they got rid of King Of The Ring in the first place. It was a WWE staple for years, the unofficial member of the Big Five alongside Wrestlemania, Summerslam, Survivor Series and The Royal Rumble. The history associated with it is cemented into WWE history. The kings of the past include Edge, Booker T, Kurt Angle, Bret Hart, Randy Savage, Triple H and Brock Lesnar among others. It was at KOTR '96 when Stone Cold won the tournament and gave his legendary "Austin 3:16" promo. It was at KOTR '01 when Kurt Angle wrestled three times in one night, including his brutal street fight with Shane McMahon. And it was at KOTR '98 when the most infamous Hell In A Cell match in history took place between The Undertaker and Mankind. It was a show dedicated to showcasing the mid card talent in a tournament all to themselves, giving the young guns a chance to shine. And before the Intercontinental belt was a shiny piece of bling used to signify the next big thing, when WWE booked someone to be the King Of The Ring, you knew they were going places. So here's the idea: just bring it back. Set up the tournament in the weeks preceding it on Raw and Smackdown, have the semi finals and finals on the pay per view, and give the winner a shot at the Championship of their choosing the next month on Summerslam. This can be used to settle a lower card feud between the winner and a champion, or used for a mini Money In The Bank style pop. Can you imagine the underdog story if someone like Dolph Ziggler won the King Of The Ring, then the next night vowed to beat Batista for the WWEWH Title at Summerslam?
Stephen Maher has been a rock star, a bouncer, a banker and a busker on various streets in various countries. He's hung out with Robert Plant, he was at Nelson Mandela's birthday and he's swapped stories with prostitutes and crack addicts. He once performed at a Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras by accident. These days, he passes the time by writing about music, wrestling, games and other forms of nerdery. And he rarely drinks the blood of the innocent.
