On Monday Night Raw, WWE announced they will be bringing back the King of the Ring Tournament, and announced the competitors that will be involved. 8 from Raw and 8 from Smackdown.

The 8 competitors from Raw include Baron Corbin, Cesaro, Cedric Alexander, Drew McIntyre, Ricochet, Sami Zayn, Samoa Joe and The Miz.

The 8 competitors from Smackdown are Ali, Andrade, Apollo Crews, Buddy Murphy, Chad Gable, Elias, Shelton Benjamin, and of course, Kevin Owens.

Pro Wrestling Sheet

I’m pumped for the return of the King of the Ring, and when you look at all the competitors, it’s clear that WWE is going to be taking this very seriously. But when you look at the way the company has been booking Kevin Owens up to this point, this tournament is perfect for him.

First KO begins using the stunner, a move popularized by the one and only Stone Cold. Stone Cold even critiqued Owens when he first used it, seemingly giving him his blessing to use it.

After incorporating the stunner, Owens got into a program with Shane McMahon. The feud was one of the most talked about feuds on WWE programming. We all remember the incredible feud Stone Cold had with the owner of the company Vince McMahon.

Wrestling Media

That can’t be just a coincidence. WWE has to be trying to paint Owens as this generations Stone Cold, and what better way to do that then have KO win the KOTR….whoa…..I just realized that would make a great shirt.

Stone Cold competed in and won the 1996 King of the Ring. Austin defeated the legendary Jake the Snake in the finals and afterwards cut the iconic “Austin 3:16” promo, mocking Jake’s preacher gimmick. That tournament and promo really helped Austin take his career to another level.

Austin was 31 years old at the time, 4 years younger than KO, and saying that the KOTR skyrocketed Austin’s career is an understatement. Austin wasn’t even supposed to win the KOTR that year. It was scheduled to be Hunter Hearst Helmsley, however, due to the Curtain Call incident, Hunter would get “punished” and wouldn’t win the tournament.

After KOTR, we would see some of the most iconic moments in not only Austin’s history, but in wrestling history. “Pillman’s Got a Gun”. The submission match against Bret Hart. The aforementioned feud with Vince, and all the gold. That tournament strapped a rocket to Austin’s back that nothing could stop, and it could do the same for Kevin Owens.

Sportskeeda

If WWE wants to, they could recreate the same success the KOTR had for Austin. They can’t make it blatantly obvious, but it could be done. Owens is already over with the fans whether he’s a heel or face. Great matches in the tournament combined with an incredible moment that will be remembered, and you have yourself another megastar.

Shane McMahon could even play a role in it. Shane could try his hardest to stack the deck against Owens, just to have him defeat the odds and come out on top. I mean, this could be money if the WWE plays it right. Let’s just hope that they don’t try have KO cut a promo saying “Owens 3:16” or something stupid.

Genius.com

The 2019 King of the Ring is going to be awesome and is going to have amazing match ups. When you have guys like Ricochet, Ali, Drew McIntyre and Buddy Murphy in the same tournament, you’re bound to have some instant classics. But in my opinion, this is Kevin Owens tournament. This is his chance to have his career defining moment that he’s dreamed of since he was a child.

Featured photo source: WWE.com



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