This is a thing, happening tonight apparently.

I'm guessing lolreignswins?

They havent exactly built anything up for this. The first I heard about it was last night where they advertised the finals on a live show for the Network. I assume they will have the prelims tonight for tomorrow's finale. This was either the worst build ever or something they decided to throw together last minute. Either way its lolWWE.

This is so indefensibly bad I don't even know where to start.

13 PPVs per year and this one starts and finishes within 24 hours without being part of a PPV. WTF.



So no on Reigns. If they're using it to hotshot Neville then that's cool, basically any other option is just boring and pointless.

They should have had Ambrose-Harper just not finish last night and have that be the first round matchup. Cliffhanger!

Looking forward to that R-Truth/Stardust matchup though...

Can't imagine anyone other than Neville or Barrett winning. My guess is Barrett since heels tend to win kotr and he could play the gimmick well.

I'm counting out Ambrose because I don't think Sheamus loses two matches in a row and Ambrose vs Neville isn't something wwe would typically do.

Ziggler and Sheamus probably interfere in each other's matches or something.

Stardust winning would be so ****ing awesome but it will never happen.

^ Exactly right. Neville-Barrett finals is a lock.

They only ever give out the king gimmick if the winner is a heel. Faces still win the tourney at times; they just don't call themselves King ______.

I think Neville wins and just goes forward having "the 2015 King of the Ring" attached to his entrance announcements.

Fine with anybody winning but Sheamus. I want to see the winner start wearing a plastic mask with the crown, and feud with Sheamus, who goes back to his old look. Then it is a simulation of the real life struggle between Ronald McDonald and Burger King.

I think this is basically just Wade Barrett needs a new gimmick right?

(not that he does, but that's what's happening)

I actually think Sheamus will win it again. Not that it will matter.

You'd want Ziggler in the finals if you want someone to job to Sheamus though. You can't put R-Truth in the finals and jobbing Barrett to Sheamus makes no sense. Only Sheamus > Ziggler or Neville > Barrett ever made sense for this tournament so it was basically decided in the first match.

Just stupid what they're doing with this "title" though. The tournament is basically over one day after it's announced, and most of the roster doesn't even care they aren't being given the opportunity at the "crown". Why are Ryback, Rusev, Cena, Show, Kane, Reigns, Big E, Kofi, Bray, Cesaro, Slater, Swagger, and Tyson not in this tournament? Some because you already have something for them? Some because you forgot they were on the roster? Just stupid. A tournament gives you the opportunity to showcase a wide variety of talent, unusual matchups, and advance tons of storylines and rivalries. Instead they just cut it down to nothing.

No justifying the tourny being slapped together overnight but as far as the competitors themselves kotr has always been a midcarder thing

This year the KOTR featured two former world champions in Sheamus/Ziggler. Over the previous six tournaments they averaged six former world champions.

2010 had Sheamus/Swagger/Mysterio/ADR/Show/Bryan for 6.
2008 had Jericho/Punk/Khali for 3.
2006 had Angle/Orton/Booker/Benoit/Henry for 5.
2002 had Lesnar/Booker/Jericho/Edge/Christian/Eddie/RVD for 7.
2001 had Angle/Hardy/Christian/Kane/Show/Edge for 6.
2000 had Angle/JBL/Jericho/Edge/Benoit/Hardy/Christian/Eddie for 8.

You seem to be including a lot of guys who later won world titles as if they had held them at the time that the tournament actually happened.

Disko is right that it's usually been an midcard/upper midcard thing that was originally used to elevate people up the card.

Pretty sure everyone but Stardust will be champion at some point in the 8 that started this one.

That's fair, but there's usually at least a few guys legitimately in the world title picture competing. The last time any of these guys was in a PPV world title match with fewer than six participants was Ziggler vs ADR at MITB 2013. For the real title it was Ziggler at Royal Rumble 2012.

During the last KOTR, Sheamus, Mysterio, Show, and Swagger had numerous title matches and a few reigns that year. ADR wouldn't get his first PPV title match until a full three weeks after the tournament, and Daniel Bryan was still a midcarder.

Barrett and Ambrose seem like good bets, but Neville and Harper would need to find another level, and R-Truth is drawing dead.

Yeah, much of this all basically comes back to the fact that there are no midcard accomplishments available ever since they made an active choice to break the US Title and the IC Title. KOTR is supposed to be like at least the IC Title, something to use as a stepping stone to the next level, but they just don't do any of that anymore so it's meaningless.

Apparently Barrett did ship this. Glad they're continuing to find stuff for him instead of losing him in the shuffle anyway.

Gavel and podium BNB never should have been dropped after his injury but he should do well with this.

billy gunn won a more compelling kotr than this ffs. Payback is entirely rematches and crap so they could've done something with this over the timeframe and used this to build up the final match on the ppv and tried to put something interesting on the card but nope all in two days with the second on the network is completely pointless all this does is give bnb some king related jokes and that's it.

still more prestigious than the IC title atm amazingly enough