Shots Fired

All Elite Wrestling recently announced that it will air a two hour television show every Wednesday on TNT. While not the start of a new Monday Night War, it is definitely the beginning of a new battle for wrestling viewership. 

World Wrestling Entertainment has long dominated the wrestling indusrtry ever since World Championship Wrestling closed its doors in 2001. Total Nonstop

Action Wrestling was once seen as a potential competitor but has since fallen into near obscurity and airs on Twitch. Ring of Honor is on television via syndication, and New Japan Pro Wrestling is on tape delay on Axs TV. What has truly halted these promotions from becoming legitimate WWE competitors is exposure. That is what separates AEW from the rest of the pack.

The promotion made headlines with its signings and first ever pay-per-view, and has seemingly shaken the wrestling industry to its core with it newly announced television deal. Starting on October 2, 2019, AEW will air love on TNT from 8-10pm from the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. This is massive. AEW's roster depth, which features stats such as the Young Bucks, Cody, Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, and Jon Moxley, was already considered to be a massive strength of the new Wrestling promotion. A live weekly television deal on a nationally broadcasted cable network will only bolster its popularity and attract more fans.

For the first time since 2001, WWE has real competition and that is fantastic for wrestling fans. Competition brings out the best in people. The Monday Night Wars featured the highest ratings for wrestling television shows in history. With AEW set to make its television debut in October, WWE will be forced to step up their game. A few shots have been fired by AEW in this new wrestling television war. Let's see how WWE responds.

Return of the King

Every wrestling fans knows about WWE’s “big four” pay-per-views. Wrestlemania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble are WWE’s four crown jewels in terms of pay-per-view programming as they generally have the biggest buildup and a plethora of marquee matches. However, the “big four” used to be the “big five” as the King of the Ring pay-per-view was once viewed as another of WWE’s signature events. With WWE using the WWE Network to increase the amount of pay-per-views it produces, why not bring back the King of the Ring? In this post, I will explain what the King of the Ring is, why they should bring it back, and how I would organize the new tournament.

The King of the Ring was a single elimination tournament in which wrestlers competed for the prestigious title of “King of the Ring.” Tournament matches were held on Raw and SmackDown with the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals taking place at the King of the Ring pay-per-view. The winner of the tournament was perceived to be the next big breakout star in the WWE, and history backs up that perception. Previous winners included Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Edge, and Kurt Angle. All these wrestlers went on to hold world championship gold and became staples in the main even scene. The tournament was kind of like a summer version of the Royal Rumble match and was easily one of the most anticipated wrestling events of the year.

Despite the event having such a rich history, the King of the Ring pay-per-view was last held in 2002. The King of the Ring tournament has been held sporadically since 2002 having taken place in 2006, 2008, 2010, and most recently in 2015. The tournament matches were usually held on Raw or SmackDown with the finals being held at a pay-per-view. The lone exception is the 2015 edition that had its finals take place on a Tuesday night WWE Network special.

It has been 15 years since WWE last held a King of the Ring pay-per-view, and I think that it is time that WWE brought it back. With WWE reviving the brand split to try and create new stars, the King of the Ring tournament and pay-per-view could be a tremendous boost to WWE’s efforts. Rivalries could stem from tournament matches allowing for more airtime for wrestlers as well as intriguing storylines that would have a logical beginning. It would also enable WWE to load its programming with less filler content. WWE fans generally complain about the amount of filler that is featured on SmackDown and especially Raw. The King of the Ring tournament would easily give WWE more content to air on Raw and SmackDown in place of filler.

So how would the new King of the Ring tournament work? If I were in charge, I would have the tournament take place in the summer and split the tournament bracket into a Raw division and a SmackDown division with 8 wrestlers per division. There would then be qualifying matches to determine what wrestlers would participate in the tournament. Once the qualification process is complete, the tournament matches would take place on Raw and SmackDown until the semifinal round. The semifinals and finals would take place at the King of the Ring pay-per-view with the finals consisting of the winner of the Raw division taking on the winner of the SmackDown division with the King of the Ring crown on the line. The victor of the match will not only be the new “King of the Ring” but also earn either a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match or a WWE Universal Championship match at SummerSlam depending on their brand.

In conclusion, the King of the Ring was a fun wrestling tournament that generally saw the elevation of wrestlers from the mid card to the main event scene. Bringing it back would be beneficial for both the participating wrestlers and the WWE as a whole as it would allow for more ample storytelling from the WWE and more screen time for wrestlers on the roster. My format would allow both brands to have competing wrestlers as well as grant the winner a world title bout in addition to being crowned as the new King of the Ring. Hopefully WWE brings the tournament back and utilizes the overabundance of talent it currently has on its roster.