WWE Debate: Should WWE Bring Back the King of the Ring PPV?

The WWE has made a habit out of altering its 2012 pay-per-view schedule, but one PPV that it keeps forgetting about is King of the Ring.

Between 1985 and 2002, the King of the Ring tournament was held once per year (excluding 1990 and 1992), and from 1993 to 2002, it even took place on pay-per-view.

However, the WWE discontinued the KOTR of as an annual tournament in 2003, and it didn’t return until 2006, when it was a Smackdown-exclusive tournament.

The only match from the 2006 King of the Ring Tournament that aired on pay-per-view was the final match, which featured Bobby Lashley taking on eventual champion Booker T at Judgment Day.

After that tournament, the KOTR would go on another hiatus, returning again in 2008 (won by William Regal in a one-night tournament on Raw) and last taking place in 2010 (won by Sheamus, also on a special edition of Raw).

It’s time to bring the King of the Ring back. For good.

While the most recent installments of the tournament haven’t been very good or led to any substantial pushes for the winning superstars, there was once a time when it actually meant something.

From its inception in 1985 to its last great run in 2002, the King of the Ring tournament was a means of elevating new talent.

It helped the likes of “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Ted DiBiase in the 1980s, Bret Hart, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Triple H in the 1990s and guys like Kurt Angle, Edge and Brock Lesnar in the early 2000s.

Would those guys have been the stars they became without King of the Ring? Their talent says yes, but there’s no doubt that the KOTR tournament helped them along the way.

Some say that the King of the Ring PPV in 1996 was where Austin—who coined his “Austin 3:16” phrase here—became a star. Other says that Hart and Edge broke out because of their victories at that very same pay-per-view.

Yet, the WWE has taken King of the Ring, packed it away and forgotten about all the good times they had together: the new stars that were created, the unforgettable matches, the memorable promos, etc. But the company now needs King of the Ring more than ever.

We constantly hear complaints about the WWE’s inability to create new stars, and that’s exactly what the King of the Ring PPV can do. As pointed out, it’s served as the catalyst for the pushes of many great superstars, Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers.

It was, in fact, once considered to be one of the WWE’s biggest pay-per-views of the year. Today, we know it as the “Big Four,” but back then, it was known as “The Big Five.”

The King of the Ring pay-per-view was on par with SummerSlam, Survivor Series and even the Royal Rumble. It was something that everyone looked forward to because it was such a huge honor to win the tournament.

Why can’t the WWE bring it back in 2012 and use it now like it was used back then? Though we have the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank as matches that can give up-and-coming superstars an opportunity to rise up the card, it never hurts to give them another one.

That’s what King of the Ring would be: an opportunity, a chance to make it to the top.

The WWE has such a difficult time booking anyone who isn’t a top star, but King of the Ring would make things much easier on the creative team. You have a superstar run through the tournament, win it and then get the push that comes along with it.

A great way to make this work would be to throw eight rising stars and eight established stars into a 16-man tournament, with the first round (first four matches) airing on Raw and/or Smackdown and the remainder of the bouts taking place at the King of the Ring pay-per-view.

The ideal situation would be to include a mix of veterans and up-and-comers to generate more interest in the pay-per-view, but to let a young gun win it and then benefit from that win by getting the push of a lifetime.

Imagine what beating CM Punk in the finals could do for Wade Barrett or what beating John Cena in the finals could do for Cody Rhodes. Instantly, you’d see an up-and-comer become a main eventer and someone everyone takes notice of.

Not only would this solve the problem of figuring out how to push young stars in a major way, but it would also make the WWE a lot more interesting if it took place, let’s say, during the summer months between WrestleMania and SummerSlam.

The summer is always a down time for WWE—in terms of ratings and overall interest in the product—so having something like King of the Ring happen at a time like this would give fans a reason to tune into WWE at a time when interest in the product is down.

The WWE would be accomplishing so many things here (generating more interest in its product, helping a young star get over, putting on good matches, etc.), and it can use the talent it already has to do.

The company is searching for a solution to its problem of building up new stars, but it doesn’t have to look too far to do that.

The solution is already there, and it’s called King of the Ring.

Note: I'm looking for someone to write a rebuttal to my article and explain why King of the Ring should NOT be brought back as a pay-per-view in an article similar to mine. Let me know if you're interested, and I'll post it right here on the WWE blog. I will need that done within the next day or two, though. 

 Also, as part of the new WWE blog, I'll be asking all of the B/R wrestling readers for questions for a new mailbag that I will post on Fridays. It will be a slideshow featuring 10-20 questions and answers on a wide range of topics. You can submit questions either through Formspring orTwitter, and the best ones will be answered in the B/R mailbag.