WWE Missed Opportunities: King of the Ring Should Be Higher Priority

This past week, WWE fans witnessed the crowning of a brand new King of the Ring. Bad News Barrett defeated Neville in the finals to join a list of winners that includes nine men who are members of the WWE Hall of Fame.

However, if you missed any of the action this past Monday or Tuesday, you completely missed it. Yes, it happened that fast.

WWE made little to no mention of this year's King of the Ring save for a short announcement during the Extreme Rules event. On Monday Night Raw, first-round matches took place.

King of the Ring hasn't been a regular pay-per-view event since 2002. But there's never been a logical reason as to why WWE made that decision. It's just one of the many puzzling moves it has made over the years.

Remember when "Stone Cold" Steve Austin won the 1996 King of the Ring? His post-match speech is just one of the many iconic moments from the event's history:

Since 2002, WWE has put on the King of the Ring tournament just four times, and each has seemed pretty random. In 2006, when Booker T defeated Bobby Lashley in the finals, the match at least took place on pay-per-view, getting a spot on the card for Judgment Day that year.

When the tournament was in the rotation of annual pay-per-view events, it rivaled Royal Rumble and even WrestleMania in terms of excitement and anticipation. Always taking place in the summer, it provided a great bridge from WrestleMania to SummerSlam.

The best thing about the tournament was that it always helped to elevate a midcard Superstar to the next level.

Credit: WWE.com

Winning the tournament was one of Owen Hart's greatest career achievements. Austin and Triple H weren't established in the main event until they were crowned. For Superstars like Kurt Angle, Edge and Brock Lesnar, it solidified the fact that they would be future legends in the business.

So why drop it? Why bring it back once every four or five years?

Under the old format, Superstars had to win a qualifying match just to get into the tournament. WWE then built the event on a grueling, one-night tournament in which conditioning would be a huge factor in making it through to the end.

That was interesting. This year's tournament saw an eight-man bracket with first-round matches on Monday. On Tuesday you had to tune into the WWE network to watch the semifinals and finals.

That was a good move on WWE's part. Anytime they can use the network as a tool to get viewers, it's a good business decision. But in the process, they took out the stipulation that a Superstar has to win three matches to become king. Why not do a qualifying round on Raw and then the full tournament on the network?

There is one positive note: Winning the tournament will be good for Barrett. He makes a perfect King of the Ring and should be able to run with the gimmick. In his case, he needs to, as it could be his last chance to fulfill his potential.

It was also good for the rising Neville, who looked strong in the tournament despite coming up just short.

These are the kinds of things the tournament was created for. It's just a shame that it all has to happen so quickly, without much build behind it.

Is there any chance WWE will ever move it back to pay-per-view? It doesn't seem like it, but there is absolutely no reason why it couldn't replace an event like Payback in May or Battleground in July.

WWE may feel that having it sporadically makes it more prestigious; at least fans are still treated to it now and then.

But most fans are probably hungry for more and don't want to wait until 2019 or 2020 to see a new King of the Ring.

They shouldn't have to, either.