WWE King of The Ring: Your Early Preview

Recently, it was announced that the King of the Ring tournament will be returning to the WWE in a three hour made-for-TV special on USA.  Why it is not on pay-per-view given the wasteland that business has turned into is beyond me, but I digress.

With the youth movement in full swing, now is the perfect time for another proverbial rocket to be attached to an individual who the WWE wants you to care about right now.

Many intriguing names come to mind with the almost legendary tournament, and each would make for an interesting choice as the WWE's 19th King of the Ring.  Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Edge, Billy Gunn, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mabel and Brock Lesnar all saw their careers take off to new heights after monumental King of the Ring victories, and in the case of the next generation of WWE talent, the King of the Ring will basically equate to a career on steroids.  Okay, bad example.  

There should be much excitement surrounding the King of the Ring tournament given the circumstances, and the field seems to be wide open this year.  There may be no telling who is going to be your 2010 King of the Ring.  But I'll tell you whose not going to be King of the Ring:  Dave Meltzer.  He'll never be King of the Ring.

Big Nasty is a blogger and a tweeter.  Support his social revolution or perish under his impending online monarchy.

Alberto Del Rio

Del Rio should be the odds on favorite heading into the King of the Ring tournament and he is my pick to win it all.  Del Rio was one of two WWE talents (the other talent being Wade Barrett) who was specifically addressed in the WWE's most recent excuse session conference call as a wrestler who they look to manufacture into a big time star in a short period of time.

Alberto Del Rio is one of the few superstars in this tournament whose character would take a significant step back if he weren't to win the tournament.

A King of the Ring crown is an honor more fine tuned for a heel to win, due to the countless opportunities for boisterous self-praise following the win, and Del Rio is no exception.  

Just picture it, Del Rio rides in on a chariot lead by Burros (because he's of proud Mexican heritage) with that big, beaming smile on his face while wearing a crown made of pure gold.  The possibilities would be endless.  

Chances to be King:  Muy Bueno.

Drew McIntyre

Had this tournament been announced one week after Vince McMahon personally anointed McIntyre as "The Chosen One," sure.  I'd be down with Drew.  But the fall from grace for Drew McIntyre has been rougher than some Supermodel fails that I occasionally check out on youtube for a cheap thrill.

Bottom line, in terms of being the next major main eventing star that the WWE told you Drew McIntrye was, it just hasn't happened yet and I'm starting to doubt that it ever will.

Chances to be King:  How do you say no friggin' way in Scottish? 

"Dashing" Cody Rhodes

Here's the type of superstar who could be a fun King of the Ring.   Dashing and King rhyme, so I'm sure creative could just go crazy with that one until somebody has a seizure from those furiously flowing creative juices.

Rhodes, while progressing nicely as one of the more fun to watch cocky heels on WWE TV, just isn't quite at that level to where he's ready to carry a major program.  This is certainly not for a lack of effort as Cody Rhodes has done his part to get the "Dashing" character over with stellar promos and wildly entertaining vignettes.  

Cody Rhodes just has not been booked to go over a big time talent the way an Alberto Del Rio or even a Wade Barrett has in recent months.  Rhodes could impress in the 2010 King of The Ring, but not to the point of actually winning it.

Chances to be King:  Not as dashing as they should be.

Sheamus

The King of the Ring tournament couldn't have come at a better time for Sheamus, who has been in midcard limbo since losing the title at WWE Night of Champions.  

My constituents and I at Big Nasty Securities downgraded Sheamus' value a month back, but even we are surprised at the headscratching fall from grace that this original beneficiary of the youth movement has seen.  

Losing to Santino aside, Sheamus will definitely make some noise in this tournament, and any impending losses should be protected with a nonfinish (sorry Internet guy, that's just the way things work when the sport is fixed and walking pay-per-view buys are at stake).

Chances to be King:  Sorry fella, you're about a month late to this party.

The Miz

The Miz is the face of the WWE in waiting, and he already has the WWE Money in the Bank briefcase as a heat prop.  The Miz winning the King of the Ring would be quite greedy and unproductive of the WWE, but he would easily do the most with it.  Just seeing that unlikable jerk in a crown would send children and their families into fits of rage.  

The Miz would be a great pick to win the King of the Ring, and he still may be.  But his title as Mr. Money in the Bank makes it hard for me to believe that the WWE would put two rockets on his back.  Only Iron man could have that many rockets attached to him because he's rich.

Chances to be King:  Drop the briefcase and we'll talk.

Jack Swagger

Here's an interesting choice.  Swagger looked quite comfortable in the Homecoming King outfit he wore on Smackdown a few weeks back, and he has built momentum on the strength of a one-sided program with Kaval.  

But everybody beats Kaval, and Jack Swagger isn't quite the caliber of heel who would be able to carry a King of the Ring program and make you care on a week to week basis.  King Swagger sounds good on paper, but the WWE still has a long way to go in rebuilding this former World Champion's credibility.

Chances to be King.  Not Sthooo good.

John Morrison

Suffering from start-stop syndrome, the leading cause of sinking pay-per-view buys in the WWE, John Morrison seems to be on the uptick.  But what goes up, must come down and I have a feeling that his current program with Sheamus will end in JoMo being but a casualty to a Sheamus character who desperately needs to be rehabilitated.  

I expect JoMo to pull off some neat moves, maybe do a couple of pull ups on the top rope from the outside, but then job to the Miz.  Like he always does.

Chances to be King:  He's about 10 million pull ups away from prosperity here.  So give him about a month and a half.

Daniel Bryan

Every year, or at least when a heel wins the King of the Ring, there seems to be a babyface who plays the role of the valiant warrior.  You know, the guy who the announcers talk up as having to compete through a gauntlet of matches (despite the fact that the heel had to go through similar hardships, but come on, he's the heel)?  

Daniel Bryan would be a perfect example of a guy who the WWE could promote despite not winning this tournament.  Internet bias aside, Bryan's string of strong wrestling matches in this tournament would easily translate into the crowd getting behind him throughout the night, and once the WWE has established that they have a true wrestling star in Daniel Bryan, the supposed best in the world wouldn't need your silly crown.  After all, Bryan is already King of the Internet message boards, so what business would he want with the King of the Ring?

Daniel Bryan should be this year's 'close, but no cigar' candidate, the way (babyface) CM Punk and Bobby Lashley were for the past two King of the Ring tournaments.

Chances to be King:  www.maybenextyear.com. 

Dolph Ziggler

Had Dolph not be in the midst of a split with Vickie Guerrero, I'd like his chances a whole lot better.

I've actually like Dolph's work as Intercontinental champion, namely his series of matches with Daniel Bryan.  Expect to see these two cross paths at this tournament, and if that happens, history tells us Dolph Ziggler is screwed.

Chances to be King: Well, Billy Gunn was King so maybe Version 2.0 could see the same success.  

Wade Barrett

Earlier in this column, I mentioned that Alberto Del Rio was my odds on favorite to win the King of the Ring tournament.  Wade Barrett deserves to be mentioned in that same breath.  Also mentioned in the WWE's latest conference calls with investors as a star of the future, Wade Barrett will likely be bringing plenty of momentum going into this tournament.

We all know Wade Barrett can talk, and being crowned as King as a member of a group threatening a hostile takeover of the WWE would be a nice touch.  The problem that may arise here is that Wade Barrett may be going into this King of the Ring tournament as WWE Champion following a possible (likely) win over Randy Orton at Survivor Series, which would have taken place the prior week.  

Like Miz as Mr. Money in the Bank, Barrett winning the King of the Ring tournament would be unproductive, however it could be the final touch in making this guy into a bona fide star as he is much earlier in his career than Miz at this point and may need the backing.  

Had it not been for his probable WWE Championship win at Survivor Series (a win that may even disallow him from competing in King of the Ring), I would love Wade Barrett to go all the way.  But contingencies have kind of muddied the picture.

Chances to be King:  Lose to Randy Orton at Survivor Series and you're golden.

John Cena

Calm down, don't riot.  With a show long angle on RAW, it is almost impossible to think that John Cena, who will be freed of his obligations to the Nexus by this time, will not be involved in it.  For all intents and purposes, John Cena should not win this tournament.  

But maybe, just maybe, if the plan is to slowly turn him heel, John Cena could use a dirty tactic to become king after possibly screwing Orton out of the WWE Championship just a week prior.  Think about that.  

Chances to be King:  Despite Cena's catchphrase, I could see it.

Kaval

Hah.  Next.

Randy Orton

Orton would be a nice addition in the tournament, but hopefully Orton will play the role as established veteran who will make a tournament win mean more because he was defeated by the eventual King.  

Chances to be King:  The voices in my head tell me they are not so good.   

Now go visit the Big Nasty Athletic Dept. and get some!