ChrisMWaters 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2003 This year...2003...marks the first time in my tenure of being a wrestling fan that one PPV event will not happen...The King of the Ring. It's kinda dis-heartening to know that there won't be a new King of the Ring crowned this year...as the tournament holds a special place in my heart. The first Pay Per View event I ever saw was the 1994 King of the Ring, where Owen Hart (God rest his soul) won. Sure, there were some crappy moments in it...like the 95 event and the Lawler/Warrior match from 1996...but for 10 years, King of the Ring was a staple to the WWF/E. So my question is...why scrap it this year? Did they not want to have the rosters fight each other again, to make it seem more special when the Royal Rumble came around? Did they feel that King of the Ring was painted into a corner and would become TOO predictable, since they added the "winner gets a title shot at Summerslam" stipulation? Or...is HHH to blame again...as he would feel that the King of the RIng tournament would take attention off of himself? What do you good people think? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Raven_Effect01 Report post Posted May 27, 2003 The problems with King of the Ring tournaments were things like Mabel and Billy Gunn winning them, good wrestlers getting eliminated early(2000 KOTR with Jericho, Benoit, and Guerrero) just so people like Rikishi would advance to the finals, etc. Even though it was one of WWE's Big 5 PPV's, I still don't think it would have ever improved if it still existed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest papacita Report post Posted May 27, 2003 I think it was done mainly to keep an even amount of PPVs between the two brands, although I still think they could've easily dropped one of the bullshit PPVs like No Way Out or Armageddon. Also, the tourney itself hasn't meant shit since 96, and has basically been an after thought over the last couple of years, so I guess they just felt they could do without it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisMWaters 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2003 Also, the tourney itself hasn't meant shit since 96, Except for last year, when the title shot was on the line. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jimmy Beard Report post Posted May 27, 2003 KOTR was a waste of time they used it to give wrestlers a push but we know that you have been pushed when you have got gold around your waist or your feuding with the main man at that time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest papacita Report post Posted May 27, 2003 Also, the tourney itself hasn't meant shit since 96, Except for last year, when the title shot was on the line. Not really. The tourney still took a backseat to HHH/Taker and the return of the Rock. And when you think of Brock's accomplishments, 2002 KOTR isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisMWaters 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2003 Also, the tourney itself hasn't meant shit since 96, Except for last year, when the title shot was on the line. Not really. The tourney still took a backseat to HHH/Taker and the return of the Rock. And when you think of Brock's accomplishments, 2002 KOTR isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind. ...hehe...that's right, I forgot about those matches. ...that's when they WERE planning on giving the Undisputed Title to HHH, but he got injured too badly. True...Lesnar did have better days. But without that tournament, he wouldn't have been in the Summerslam main event...or maybe...I dunno. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kahran Ramsus Report post Posted May 27, 2003 Good potential, but the WWF never knew what to do with it. The only really well booked one was 1994. I would expect it to return someday anyways. Probably next year. I think they should just give it to Smackdown, and let them do the tournament at Vengeance. It is an easy way to fill up the card, and there are plenty of guys (Benoit, Guerrero, Angle, Rey Rey, Cena, Matt, Rhyno) that could conceivably win it. Of course, that means it will be Nathan Jones vs. A-Train in the finals. It again comes down to far and away the #1 problem with WWE, pushing the wrong people. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LooseCannon25 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2003 The KOR was great in 93 and94'.....the tournament was stacked with great performers. ehhhhh......then 95 came, and since then its been downhill. They should have using it to establish the #1 contender and a serious threat instead of trying to build someone up. It worked in 94 with Owen and 96 with Austin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Dynamite Kido Report post Posted May 27, 2003 I guess they scrapped the PPV because they realized how much of a kick ass idea it would have been to have a 4 man RAW roster and 4 man SMACKDOWN roster, to join both rosters in the 8 man KOTR tournament to crown the king of both brands and say that the winner is the #1 contender for their brands main title. yea....that would have sucked <-----insert sarcasm here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adam 0 Report post Posted May 28, 2003 I always enjoyed the Tournament, because most of the time you were guessing who would win. In 2000 with guys like Angle, Jericho and Benoit in the final 8, you were guessing before the Pay Per View. It certainly did help guys like Austin, Angle and even Edge get over in singles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Dangerous A Report post Posted May 28, 2003 Fuck KOTR. It sucked most of the time. As Kahran said, there was a ton of potential, but WWE doesn't know what the fuck to do with it. Might as well let it die. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Coffey Report post Posted May 28, 2003 If the King of the Ring PPV was run the same way that Wrestlemania IV was ran, I think that it would've been better. Having "Qualifying Matches" on RAW was fine...but then having the first couple of brackets take place on RAW was bad. Besides, only the top tier people should've been in the tournament in my opinion. You could have the PPV be the King of the Ring tournament in it's entirety followed up with a Championship match. Then, the winner of the KotR tournament would get a shot for the title at SummerSlam. Kind of like they did with Brock. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adam 0 Report post Posted May 28, 2003 Yeah, they should have done that stip every year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest godthedog Report post Posted May 28, 2003 If the King of the Ring PPV was run the same way that Wrestlemania IV was ran, I think that it would've been better. Having "Qualifying Matches" on RAW was fine...but then having the first couple of brackets take place on RAW was bad. Besides, only the top tier people should've been in the tournament in my opinion. You could have the PPV be the King of the Ring tournament in it's entirety followed up with a Championship match. Then, the winner of the KotR tournament would get a shot for the title at SummerSlam. Kind of like they did with Brock. they only did the first round on tv because angle was already fighting shane, & wrestling 4 matches in one night obviously would've spread him too thin. i'm ambivalent about the whole thing. on the one hand, KoR was never one of their better ppv's. on the other hand, it's a good bone to throw to the undercard guys. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest RavishingRickRudo Report post Posted May 28, 2003 See, King of the Ring takes effort to be booked... you had to think beyond one match (and evidently, the WWE finds it hard to think for 2, let alone 3...) Tournaments rules. There are so many things a tournament can feature, so many match possiblities and stories made, all of which _with the WWE Talent_ could have made for a great card... sadly, WWE Talent happen to work for the WWE. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest godthedog Report post Posted May 28, 2003 See, King of the Ring took effort to be booked... you had to think beyond one match (and evidently, the WWE finds it hard to think for 2, let alone 3...) Tournaments rules. There are so many things a tournament can feature, so many match possiblities and stories made, all of which _with the WWE Talent_ could have made for a great card... sadly, WWE Talent happen to work for the WWE. the royal rumble requires a similar effort, & they manage to pull that off every year (in terms of tying multiple storylines together, not making a good match). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest RavishingRickRudo Report post Posted May 28, 2003 No it doesn't. For the Royal Rumble they have like 6 key guys, the first and second one, the winner, second place, the last guy, and Undertaker. The rest is just straws being drawn with little very little continuity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisMWaters 0 Report post Posted May 28, 2003 No it doesn't. For the Royal Rumble they have like 6 key guys, the first and second one, the winner, second place, the last guy, and Undertaker. The rest is just straws being drawn with little very little continuity. Well....sometimes they remember storylines... Like how one year, Savage came out, and Jake the Snake rolled out of the ring and hid (this was the 92 rumble, IIRC) THis past year...Jeff Hardy comes out...goes RIGHT after Matt... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adam 0 Report post Posted May 28, 2003 Yeah, Rumble starts storylines, and sometimes continues ones that have stopped for some unknown reason (brand extension) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest AndrewTS Report post Posted May 28, 2003 KotR = Great concept, fun to watch when it's doine right. The problem is the WWE can't do anything right, and a tournament just provides limitless opportunities to fuck up. KotR 95 anyone? Savio gets a mini-push than no one cares about, HBK and Kama go to a time limit draw, Mabel wins, the main event sucks, and so forth. Bad Blood is better than what they likely would do with KotR. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Austin3164life Report post Posted May 28, 2003 KOTR is a great concept, but the WWE flawed it in a lot of ways. I believe it shouldn't only be about elevating a fresh face. They should keep the World Title shot stip, and also use the event to help solidify an upper-card athlete (ex. Bret winning in 93. Didn't necessarily need it). Benoit would be a great choice to win it this year, since they hinted at a Benoit/Lesnar program before Backlash. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adam 0 Report post Posted May 28, 2003 But Benoit is already established, I would say that Hurricane or maybe even John Cena (main-evented, but still isn't too established) would win it if it still existed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Hogan Made Wrestling Report post Posted May 28, 2003 KOTR was a generally shitty PPV that was also caught at a short of crossroads. The gimmick itself isn't strong enough to sell the PPV on its own like Royal Rumble, where the title matches can be midcard stuff and the fans will still watch. So KOTR needed to have uppercard matches with which to market the show in addition to the tournament, and hence the tournament's value and meaningfulness were decreased. I think tournaments are overrated, by the intenet crowd in particular. Whenever some idiot like Tommy Fierro or whatnot does one of these grandiose "how I would save the WWE" columns, there's about a 50/50 chance that things start with a tournament for the title on the first PPV. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest AndrewTS Report post Posted May 28, 2003 That tag title tournament for the SD titles rocked. *shrug* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adam 0 Report post Posted May 28, 2003 *asks himself why the World Championship didn't have a tournament* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisMWaters 0 Report post Posted May 28, 2003 *asks himself why the World Championship didn't have a tournament* My theory at the time is this... Since HHH won the match he had with Undertaker to name the Number One Contender for Brock Lesnar's THEN Undisputed title, but Brock became a Smackdown only competitor with that title, they figured the fans would buy that since HHH won that match, he was the rightful person to hold Raw's World Title. Off camera reason: HHH wanted a way to boost his ego. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adam 0 Report post Posted May 28, 2003 Well, there you go. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Hogan Made Wrestling Report post Posted May 28, 2003 That tag title tournament for the SD titles rocked. *shrug* Difference being that the PPV featured a single final match. I am talking about tournaments where the winner wrestles 3 matches in one night. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adam 0 Report post Posted May 28, 2003 Yeah, all of Angle's matches were entertaining in 2000, and he had to work against Crash and Rikishi. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
