Given the hit or miss nature of the King of the Ring tournament, it’s understandable why Vince McMahon only holds it every few years. In short, it’s meant as a vehicle to put over whomever he feels is going to be the next superstar.
But here’s the thing, does it really do its job if the tournament is spread over several weeks and the finals are held on Raw or Smackdown?
Not to take away from the two main WWE shows of the last twenty plus years, but it lacks the punch it’s intended to have with the fans. The WWE tried hard to remind us what happened previously, but waiting a week lacks the feel of the events and lets the adrenaline fade. Few things are better than watching our favorites compete in a night-long tournament to determine who is the next King of the Ring.
The benefits
Having it in a single night allows the superstars and creative team to feel how the fans reacting from match to match and where we’re leaning. It gives them a chance to ride the emotions the superstars have created to achieve the best possible outcome.
This, of course, means Vince and company can’t have their heads stuck up their collective… well, you know. They may have grander plans and all, and that’s great, but if the crowd isn’t reacting, what good is served by forcing someone down our throats?
It’d force them to pay attention to what we want and make adjustments.
It’s also ensure it was a big event that we’d be sure to know about instead of a handful of matches that lose their meaning week to week.
Why it was killed as a regular pay-per-view
This is a question no one seems to really know. The common rumor/perception/belief is that Vince McMahon was so furious with the lackluster reception after the 2002 King of the Ring that he pulled it from an annual event and replaced it in 2003 with Bad Blood.
This is definitely a possibility, of course, it could’ve also been in the plans for a while and holding it sporadically when Vince feels it best serves the current roster does make sense.
An annual event of this type would grow stale after a while, so bringing it back every so often does keep our interest piqued. But that doesn’t mean it needs to be relegated to some hype and casual mention on the network shows.
