The Fink’s Payload 04.24.08: The King of the Ring That Could Have Been

Um…

…Hey, how about that King of the Ring tournament? “King William Regal,” and all that.

Hooray.

Yeah, I didn’t see that one coming. But without focusing too hard on the negative aspects of the tournament – What negative aspects, you ask? Don’t get me started! No, don’t get me started… alright! You got me started! Are you kidding me? It was an absolute disgr – WITHOUT focusing too hard on the negative aspects, let’s talk about what happened on Monday. In case you forgot, here’s what went down:

FIRST ROUND
Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho def. United States Champion Montel Vontavious Porter
“Mr. Money in the Bank” CM Punk def. Matt Hardy
Finlay def. The Great Khali
Raw General Manager William Regal def. Hornswoggle

Hey, sure started off damn strong, didn’t it? Really had a sense of importance. Champions fighting champions! Two fan-favorites going at it on a quest for the ultimate prize! And then… a manager versus a midget. And then…

SEMI-FINALS
CM Punk def. Chris Jericho
William Regal def. Finlay

FINALS
William Regal def. CM Punk

That was certainly something and it got me wondering how this year’s tourney will stack up historically speaking. I said last week that I wanted everyone to keep in mind I thought the purpose of the tournament was to propel a midcard superstar into the main event. Throughout the weekend (and again on Monday night) I was thinking about exactly how true that statement might be. After all, there have been quite a few obvious “busts” to come out of the tournament in its history.

In the pay-per-view era of the King of the Ring tournament (1993-present) there have been twelve men to claim the honorable distinction. Of those twelve winners, time has shown that four were actually losers, chumps, goose eggs, if you will. Well, I should be a little gentlier, considering… okay, time has shown that three of those eleven were losers, chumps, goose eggs, what have you, and one was just plain tragic. I present to you, in reverse chronological order, just because I like to switch it up like that…

Kings who have NOT won World Championships

Billy Gunn, named King of the Ring on June 27, 1999.
Ken Shamrock, named King of the Ring on June 28, 1998.
Mabel, named King of the Ring on June 25, 1995.
Owen Hart, named King of the Ring on June 19, 1994.

Yeah, some of those were really questionable choices. A few of them had runs as Intercontinental Champion – a step in the right direction – but c’mon, Mr. Ass? Who was sippin’ on the sizurp when they wrote that? I hate you, June 1999. I really, really do. Nothing good ever happened in June 1999. You were no good for nobody and you never will be. I hate you.

But hey, those guys are just like strange dark clouds on otherwise sunny, wonderful days. You might see them and think, damn, I hope it doesn’t rain. That would really suck because I am really enjoying this sunny, wonderful day we are having here. But, just like those flakes (well, three flakes, one just plain tragic) of the King of the Ring lineage, you have to ignore the clouds because they are totally not going to rain on you and you should just focus on the positives because life is too short, man. If you look at the Kings who did go on to become superstars, you might notice a couple very interesting things about their claim to the throne and subsequent success. For your viewing pleasure, in regular chronological order this time…

Kings who have won World Championships

Bret Hart, named King of the Ring on June 13, 1993.
WON WWF CHAMPIONSHIP (for the second time) on March 20, 1994 (281 days later).

Steve Austin, named King of the Ring on June 23, 1996.
WON WWF CHAMPIONSHIP on March 29, 1998 (645 days later)

Triple H, named King of the Ring on June 8, 1997.
WON WWF CHAMPIONSHIP on August 23, 1999 (806 days later).

Kurt Angle, named King of the Ring on June 25, 2000.
WON WWF CHAMPIONSHIP on October 22, 2000 (119 days later).

Edge, named King of the Ring on June 24, 2001.
WON WWE CHAMPIONSHIP on January 8, 2006 (1658 days later).

Brock Lesnar, named King of the Ring on June 23, 2002.
WON UNDISPUTED CHAMPIONSHIP on August 25, 2002 (63 days later).

Booker T, named King of the Ring on May 21, 2006.
WON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP on July 23, 2006 (63 days later).

I know it might make me the biggest dork this side of the St. John’s River, but I tend to notice trends within the fabric of professional wrestling. Here we can see that the KOTR tournament has worked towards propelling the careers of two of WWE’s current championship contenders (HHH and Edge), two of TNA’s current main eventers (Angle and Booker), and two of the legitimate icons who carried the WWF through the 1990’s (Hart and Austin). And one ex-wrestler, ex-football-player, wannabe-ultimate-fighter, future Dancing with the Stars contestant, or whatever (Lesnar). We can also see that, with one notable exception, the time span between KOTR success and championship success has noticeably shortened as the years progressed. I did some math, too. Check it out.

Average “Throne to Title” Time Span: 519 days.

Okay, that’s interesting. So if we were thinking ahead, the guy who wins the tournament this year will, on average, have to wait until Unforgiven 2009 before he finally wins a world title. WWE Champion William Regal? I’m still skeptical. The most current trend notwithstanding (we’ll get to that later), going into the tournament, I thought we would be seeing an exhibition of the eight toughest midcard competitors. And, well, you know what we actually got. But the plot thickens…

Average “Throne to Title” Time Span (not including Edge’s crazy long and injury-plagued journey to the top): 330 days.

Hmm… how about that? Regardless of how he got to the throne, I think we’re now looking at a much faster rocket strapped to Regal’s back. Is he world champion material, say, by next year’s Wrestlemania?

Time Span between KOTR 2008 and Wrestlemania XXV: 350 days.

Ooooh. Can you buy into that? Based on the numbers, it’s totally reasonable to think that this year’s King of the Ring will use the platform to propel himself into the upper tier and win a world title by or at next year’s Wrestlemania event.

However, like I said earlier, the most current trend calls for an even more dramatic boost into wrestling’s stratosphere. The past two winners, Lesnar and Booker, both took home gold a mere 63 days after winning their respective tournaments. Is William Regal ready to win a world title at this year’s “Night of Champions”? It will be held 69 days after his ascension on Monday night. I know, it’s just a crazy prediction based solely off historical data… but it’s pretty damn interesting to think about.

With all this information in mind, let’s get into your predictions. Then I’ll try to come up with some kind of entertaining and crowd-pleasing scenario to tickle your fancy. Never had your fancy tickled before? Well, you’re in for a real treat.

Here’s what I was looking for:
1. Which eight men will participate in the tournament?
2. Who will win the tournament?
3. How will this superstar use the “King of the Ring” to propel them into the main event?

And here’s what you thought!

Opinion #1: Jasper Gerretsen
“United States… King?”

Representing RAW: Snitsky, Mr. Kennedy, Hardcore Holly
Representing SmackDown!: MVP, Batista, Finlay
Representing ECW: Shelton Benjamin, Tommy Dreamer

RAW opens with general manager William Regal in the ring, welcoming everybody to the King of the Ring tournament. He begins running down the history of the King of the Ring tournament, how it’s a showcase of the best WWE has to offer and how it has always produced the main event stars of tomorrow. However, in the middle of his speech, he is cut off by music – Matt Hardy walks down the aisle with a microphone in hand, demanding to know why he wasn’t included in the bracket.

At first Regal verbally lashes out at him, demanding to know who the hell he thinks he is, and who he has beaten lately to earn a spot in such a prestigious tournament. Just as Hardy opens his mouth to respond Regal cuts him off, seeming much calmer this time. In fact there was one member of the RAW roster he had been having his doubts about, and if Hardy is that eager to join in on the fun, he can earn his place the old-fashioned way, in the ring. Regal clears out, and Snitsky’s music hits.

Snitsky slaps Hardy around for a few minutes, and after a short comeback sequence he ends up hitting the Pumphandle Slam – only for Hardy to kick out at two, to the delight of the crowd and the frustration of Snitsky, who retrieves a steel chair and wallops Hardy in the back for the DQ. Hardy has earned his spot in the tournament, but at a cost.

Quarterfinal match: MVP defeats Hardcore Holly (with Cody Rhodes)
Quarterfinal match: Tommy Dreamer defeats Mr. Kennedy
Quarterfinal match: Batista defeats Finlay (with Hornswaggle)
Quarterfinal match: Matt Hardy (with taped ribs) defeats Shelton Benjamin

As MVP warms up for his semifinal match against Tommy Dreamer, general manager Regal visits him him in the locker room. He mentions that Matt Hardy had a word with him earlier, and MVP congratulates the general manager on using his authority to have Hardy steamrolled by Snitsky. Regal asks him if he was listening to what he said before, and before MVP can answer Regal tells him that the purpose of this tournament is to showcase the best the WWE has to offer, and MVP’s semifinal opponent is Tommy Dreamer, the next semifinal is going to be wrestled under extreme rules. As MVP protests his music hits, and Regal tells him to get out there and wrestle or forfeit the match.

Semifinal match: MVP defeats Tommy Dreamer (with shopping cart full of goodies). A competitive match, with the crowd genuinely believing Dreamer has a shot at winning it until MVP manages to hit him with a kendo stick-assisted Playmaker.

Semifinal match: Matt Hardy defeats Batista. Matt Hardy plays keep-away, trying to avoid further damage to his ribs. He seems to be succeeding until Batista reverses an Irish whip and catches him on the rebound with a Spinebuster. Smelling blood, Batista hauls Matt Hardy’s limp body up for the Batista Bomb, only for MVP to run out and chop block Batista. He pulls back to hit Matt with a few chair shots for good measure, only to have the chair grabbed by an irate Batista, who Batista Bombs him onto it.

The show goes on with backstage vignettes of medics checking up on Matt Hardy and MVP. MVP is bruised from the extreme rules match and the Batista Bomb, but the doctors let him go out. Matt Hardy seems to be in worse shape, but he struggles free from the medics and limps down the aisle. He tries to fight valiantly, but his injuries take their toll and he falls victim to the Playmaker within a few minutes.

Matt Hardy is helped to the back, MVP’s coronation takes place, and he cuts a promo on how he overcame the odds to become the conquering hero claiming his rightful throne.

The next SmackDown!, King MVP (with crown-shaped pendant to match the MVP one) is standing in general manager Guerrero’s office, gladly accepting the praise showered upon him for representing SmackDown! in such a fantastic way. It seems however, that she has received a memo from William Regal. While MVP is a SmackDown! wrestler defending a SmackDown! title against another SmackDown! wrestler at Backlash, he does have something that falls under RAW jurisdiction – the world title shot that comes with the crown. Because of MVP’s shenanigans after the semifinals, he will have to defend that title shot along with his United States Championship at Backlash. Matt Hardy remains off SmackDown! until Backlash to sell his injuries, appearing only to cut a promo or two.

At Backlash, Matt Hardy is fully recovered from his injuries and able to have a competetive match again. They work for a solid 20 minutes, with Hardy working over MVP’s legs to eliminate the Playmaker and MVP working over Hardy’s arms to eliminate the Twist of Fate. In MVP’s arrogance he forgets that Matt Hardy used to have another finisher, and he ends up eating a top rope legdrop for the threecount, costing him his title and his title shot.

For the next month MVP feuds with Hardy, trying to get his title back. The feud culminates in some sort of gimmick match (probably a ladder match) at Judgment Day, with Hardy winning again to move on to feud with World Heavyweight Champion Edge.

WHAT DO I THINK?: King MVP has a great ring to it and I doubt that you’ll be the only person this week to think that he should carry the gold. The “king” moniker has proven to work with arrogant heelish characters like his. My only problem is that your final match, Matt vs. MVP, is basically a free giveaway of the Backlash match that we’ve been waiting months and months to see. However, you do a fantastic job of working the KOTR into the fabric of their rivalry and giving credibility to both in the process.

Opinion #2: Steven Lavender
“Half-King, Half-Amazing”

My 8 participants:
Shawn Michaels
Chris Jericho
Umaga
MVP
Matt Hardy
John Morrison
CM Punk
Colin Delaney!

Shawn Michaels vs John Morrison
Fast Paced Match. Should really show that Morrison is HBK 15 Years Ago. HBK hits the sweet chin music for the pinfall.

Umaga vs Colin Delaney
Colin should get his ass kicked for about five minutes (he can handle that right?) Colin wins with a rollup and celebrates. Umaga takes him out with a samoan drop and the samoan spike (i wonder if he just calls them the drop and the spike)

Matt Hardy vs Chris Jericho
Gets a good 10 minutes. Hardy wins after Jericho misses the lionsault and gets hit by a leg drop.

MVP vs CM Punk
The ref gets bumped and it seems like MVP is going to take Punk’s MITB Case. Punk stops him and MVP goes to clock him. Punk grabs it and clocks MVP. MVP wins by DQ.

MVP vs Colin Delaney
Colin is unable to compete. MVP gets a by.

Matt Hardy vs Shawn Michaels
MOTY Candidate. Gets 18 minutes or so. HBK goes for the Sweet Chin Music, Matt grabs his leg and sweeps HBK to the ground. HBK reverses it into a small package, Matt does the same and gets the three count. HBK raises Hardy’s hand after the match.

Finals: MVP vs Matt Hardy
Another Good Match. MVP tries to capitalize on Hardy’s fatigue. Gets real cocky. Hardy reverses the Playmaker and gets the twist of fate! Not enough strength to keep him down though. MVP gets back up and nails his big boot in the corner. It’s academic….no it’s not 2 3/4. Finish comes when Hardy hits a crossbody and MVP rolls through for the heelish three count!!!

How MVP uses it: Come on. How couldn’t MVP use it? King of the Ring would play into his character perfectly. He would eventually drop the US Title to Hardy right before getting drafted to Raw. He would then have a lengthy run with the Intercontinental Title and win the MITB match at next years Wrestlemania. He would have a considerable amount of title shots. Hey, a KOTR win doesn’t spell major gold everytime. Look at what happened to Edge.

Let me say it for you. The best part about this is that nobody looks bad.

WHAT DO I THINK?: Hey, I’m one-for-one on predictions tonight. Is it because I read all the entries before I write the responses? As far as you’re concerned, no. Moving on. By the way, I like how nobody looked bad in your booking pattern. That was, quite possibly, the best part about it. Also, see what I wrote about Opinion #1.

Opinion #3: Stephanie
“The New King of Rock ‘N Roll”

The King of the Ring tournament, not fought since 2006, is back again so we can forget the last King of the Ring, Booker T. (Much like why the ’06 edition was fought, so that Brock wouldn’t be the last King.)

The participants in this year’s event (as I see it) are:
Cody Rhodes
Shelton Benjamin
Jimmy Wang Yang
John Morrison
Jamie Noble
Lance Cade
Kofi Kingston
Along with everybody’s favourite, a “surprise” entrant~!

To explain why these people, Armando Estrada, Vickie Guerrero and William Regal begin the show before the “credits.”

Estrada: “All competitors for the King of the Ring tournament have been selected at random last night. They were contacted and are all hear to fulfill the bracket…ha ha!”

Guerrero: “Tonight, we’ll see some hungry young competitors come together to prove who is the best young star on our entire roster.”

Regal: “As agreed by all of us in the General Manager position, the winner of the King of the Ring tournament shall receive not only the title of King of the Ring, but a championship shot next week against the champion of their brand. So, without further ado, RAW, SmackDown! and ECW present…”

All Three: “THE KING OF THE RING!”

The credits run and the King & JR welcome us to Greenville, SC and for the first time show off the competitors in the middle of the ring. Well, seven at least, one’s missing!

From Monday Night RAW: Cody Rhodes and Lance Cade

From E–sorry, the Tuesday Night Wrestling Show (it’s no longer those three letters since Joey Styles was taken out): Shelton Benjamin, John Morrison & Kofi Kingston.

From Friday Night SmackDown!: Jimmy Wang Yang, Jamie Noble and a returning superstar that makes his big re-debut…

THE HURRICANE!
(Hey, it *is* fantasy booking, let me have some fun.)

The GM’s now come out, including Teddy Long, and the brackets are revealed.

John Morrison will take on Jimmy Wang Yang

The winner will face the victor from…
Jamie Noble versus the Hurricane

In the other bracket:
Cody Rhodes takes on Kofi Kingston

And will take on in the next round the winner of…
Shelton Benjamin versus Lance Cade

FIRST ROUND:

Morrison/Yang: The Shaman goes low, Yang tries to fly. Miz is at ringside, as is Shannon Moore, however it’s Miz’ interference that works out best as the tag champs connect with a modified ‘well-known’ double team finisher just before the referee sees. MORRISON advances.

Noble/Hurricane: Hurricane’s first match back and these two have history going back to Jamie’s first stint with WWE. He tries to go for the Gibson Driver but is reversed before Hurricane gets in the SHINING WIZARD~! (/Dave Prazak) HURRICANE advances.

Rhodes/Kingston: Cody gets some coaching in the corner from Holly but it’s no help against the face version of Carlito. Afterwards, Holly says that Cody has to toughen up if they’re going to actually defend the tag belts ever again. KINGSTON advances.

Benjamin/Cade: Murdoch’s at ring side but early on, Lance banishes him out for “doing something stupid” in his opinion. It isn’t long before the gold standard of the Tuesday Night Wrestling Show has it in control and all of the gifts Shelton has are on display as he gets the pinfall. BENJAMIN advances.

The semi-finals are Morrison/Hurricane & Kingston/Benjamin.

Morrison/Hurricane: The Shaman of Sexy runs over Hurricane with a few crazy finishing moves after the superhero does too much showboating after he takes care of the Mizard of Oz. MORRISON advances. (Hurricane also gets a built-in return story to challenge for the tag belts when he finds a partner.)

Kingston/Benjamin: I’d pray they’d give these guys a good length of time to just go for it, to see what Kofi’s really made of. In the end, Shelton cracks off the T-Bone Suplex off the top rope to get the 3-count and hand the Jamaican his first loss. BENJAMIN advances.

The finals are Morrison/Benjamin. (I booked it this way simply because the Tuesday Night Wrestling Show is the lowest rated show of all three and because these two just don’t get enough TV time.)

Considering it’s a Tuesday Night affair, Estrada exercises his right to make it an Extreme Rules final, but the plunder doesn’t come into play until the very end.

Benjamin and Morrison fight back and forth, hold for hold to try to keep the outcome as close to the vest as possible. Finally, after the commercial, we’re back to the height of the match where we have both guys brawl at ringside, trying to keep the other from getting their weapon of choice.

Estrada’s there with the crown and the scepter to present but just as he’s about to move out of the way of Morrison, he thinks better of what he’s trying to grab. He sees the GM there and gets the royal scepter, gets Benjamin over the head with it and rolls him in to get his finisher (which needs a real name!) and the three-count.

Your winner and 2008 King of the Ring: King John Morrison, the First.

Next week, after Kane picks up the victory at Backlash, Morrison gets his aforementioned title shot and gets the ECW championship. Now he is one half of the tag champions *and* the ECW champion.

Considering he likes gold, he looks ‘across the aisle’ and sees the Undertaker there, still as World Heavyweight Champion. Morrison decides he’d like to go & challenge the Deadman, saying a King such as himself as a realm “that’s vast and wide, and it includes the underworld that you CLAIM to reign!” While Morrison may not get all the gold he desires, he’d make a believer out of most by keeping up with the Deadman and almost claiming his second Heavyweight Championship.

What about his tag team partner? Miz turns from a champion, after they lose them to the Hurricane & his partner, Kane (throwback to 2002/2003!), into more of a manager type, looking out for anything else his king needs. He becomes Morrison’s “loyal page, court jester and chick wrangler.” As the Chick Magnet, it makes sense he’d know where to find them. 😉

King Morrison, baby. It would have been groovy!

WHAT DO I THINK?:Whoa, anything that gets the Hurricane and Kane back together can’t be bad! With the current inflation in superhero popularity, I see absolutely no reason why that guy shouldn’t make his return when Helms’ neck is all healed up. And he totally should use the chokeslam as his finisher if he makes a team with Kane. Every time he sets a bigger guy up for that move, I can’t help cracking up. If Morrison wins this and then takes the title from Kane and pursues a feud with ‘Taker, he’ll be in for the push of his career, and that’s exactly what the KOTR tends to do to a guy. Nicely done.

Opinion #4: Steve Ivanovski
“Mister? That’s King, to You”

Here are the 8 men that will participate:

1. Big Show
2. Umaga
3. CM Punk
4. Kennedy
5. Matt Hardy
6. MVP
7. Shawn Michaels
8. Colin Delaney

1st Rd Matchups- Colin Delaney beats The Big Show—Its been over 15 years since 1,2,3 Kid beat Razor Ramone. Lets have that “anything can happen moment right now” Of course it will happen when Big Show just destroys Delaney and throws him out of the ring. While the ref is counting to ten Great Khali comes down and puts the vice grip on Show, this allows Delaney to get the pin

MVP over CM Punk- This is a great back and forth match. Punk finally tries one too high risk too many and MVP gets the quick pin

Shawn Michaels over Umaga- They can tout all the things Michaels has done except win the KOR tourney. Michaels gets the clean win here with the SuperKick.

Kennedy over Matt Hardy– I hate for another run-in but I feel both of these guys can’t afford a clean loss so early in the tournament. MVP runs down during the match and nails Matt with the belt for the win.

Kennedy over Colin Delaney- This is pretty much a standard Delaney squash.

Shawn Michaels over MVP- This match never even gets started ( they will not give this away for the first time for free). As MVP is strutting to the ring. Hardy jumps him from the crowd. Beats the living hell out of him. Since the bell never rings he just gets counted out. After the match while Shawn is celebrating Batista gets in the ring and gives Shawn the Batista bomb.

FINALS- Kennedy over Michaels—Shawn is feeling the effects of the Batista bomb. Both guys really only worked one match since the second rd matchups were pretty easy victories. They can go about 15 minutes when Kennedy hits Michaels with the mic check and pins him with a fist full of tights and feet on the ropes.

After the tournament. Kennedy starts a mini fued with CM Punk over the MITB briefcase. Even though Kennedy doesn’t get it. He reigns supreme and takes the whole “king” to a different level. He will get a title shot sometime on RAW during the year but I just feel he isn’t ready to wear gold quite yet.

WHAT DO I THINK?:Mr. K is another guy that seems to perfectly fit the mold for a KOTR winner. Cocky, obsessed with himself, ready and willing to wear a crown and not feel like a jackass. It’s like some of these guys are just tailor-made for this tournament. While I’m not a huge fan of two run-ins and a non-match, I think you accomplish your task by using a battle-weary veteran face (HBK) against a hungry, got-there-on-luck heel. It’s a tried-and-true method for sure (see T, Booker and Regal, William for recent examples).

Opinion #5: Stephen Straka
“The Rise of Prince Pepsi Plunger”

The King of the Ring tournament should be the same as the Money in the Bank match in that it should take a midcarder and say “This is who we want as a world champion by next year.” For this reason, I am completely 100% eliminating all former world champions from consideration as the winner. I’m also eliminating all current title holders from the tournament completely as, quite frankly, I’m tired of guys with titles trying to compete for a shot at a “better” title, thus devaluing the title they currently have. CM Punk was a tough choice as he doesn’t need the win due to MitB and should stay strong but a win here would go a long way in making him look very strong. So I came up with the following:

Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Kennedy
Typical match. Kennedy gets the upper hand fairly quickly, Shawn fights back until the obvious Batista run-in costs him the match. Kennedy gets his finisher (whatever they decided on now) before pinning to look stronger, even if HBK gets a chairshot beforehand.

CM Punk vs. the returning Jeff Hardy
Jeff exhibits a couple pissed-off mannerisms but otherwise the match is fairly standard. Jeff comes close several times but Punk ends up winning cleanly after dodging the Swanton and hitting the G2S.

Umaga vs. Finlay
Despite Hornswoggle shenanigens and a behind-the-ref’s-back shackalacki shot, Umaga catches Finlay and, for lack of a better term, demolishes him. Not trying to bury Finlay or anything but he’s not doing anything and Umaga should look strong for his next match.

Batista vs. Triple H
Obvious HBK shenanigens show up as, after a hard-fought match, Batista has Trips between his legs (!) to set up for the Batista Bomb when HBK comes out and just stares at him. This lets Trips backdrop him, hit a spinebuster, Pedigree, goodnight.

Second Round
Mr. Kennedy vs. CM Punk
Again, both look strong but Punk wins clean.

Umaga vs. Triple H
See the Umaga/Trips feud from late last year. Trips eventually goes over.

Final match
CM Punk vs. Triple H
See the Jeff Hardy/Trips match from last year. Punk counters out of a Pedigree and gets the rollup for a clean win.

Fallout: Punk’s briefcase gets a crown above the Chicago flag. Jeff Hardy turns heel and feuds with Punk, saying that he should have won Money in the Bank and he should’ve won King of the Ring. Punk responds with the power of STRAIGHT-EDGE. Punk eventually goes over in the feud, gets drafted to Raw, feuds with Jericho, continue from there. As for everyone else, business as usual.

WHAT DO I THINK?:Wow. I don’t think anybody has ever been pushed this hard. CM Punk wins the MITB, defeats a hugely popular superstar in his match coming back from two months’ off, and pins Triple H within thirty days? I think that you must be trying address the fact that some people still doubt his credibility because of his size and experience on the ‘C’ show. If so, this will do it.

Opinion #6: Abo Henry
“The Last King of Ireland”

All matches in the tournament will be subject to a 15-minute time limit with the final being 30 minutes.

First Round
Chris Jericho vs MVP
Champion vs Champion. Both would do some mike work before the match, both trying to put over their title as the more important (note: they big up their own titles, they do NOT put down their opponents). Match starts and Jericho gets on top early, working MVP’s back. MVP responds with some stiff kicks and takes over the next portion of the match until just after the 10min mark where they both spill to the outside. MVP gets his title and tries to hit Jericho but misses and Jericho hits the codebreaker. Jericho returns to ring to beat the count but MVP doesn’t.
Winner: Chris Jericho by count-out

John Morrison (w/The Miz) vs Matt Hardy
Jericho joins the commentary booth to study his next opponent. He comments on how obviously the IC champ is better than the US Champ. Morrison hits some quick-fire offense early and looks to be in control. The Miz helps with some cheap shots whilst Morrison distracts the ref. Jericho comments that this is smart wrestling from Morrison. Eventually the double-teaming backfires as Morrison collides with The Miz and Matt Hardy hits twist of fate for the win. As Hardy celebrates Jericho jumps in the ring and lays him out with the belt.
Winner: Matt Hardy by pinfall

CM Punk vs Paul Burchill(w/Katie Lea)
The match starts with Katie distracting Punk and Burchill going on the offensive, hitting some power moves. Punk turns the tide quickly enough and they start trading blows with Punks kicks gaining him the advantage. He goes for GTS but Katie jumps on apron to distract the ref, who goes over to admonish her and recieves a kiss. Meanwhile Punk has turned his back on Burchill who gets the MITB briefcase and lays Punk out behind ref’s back. Katie points for the ref to count which he does and Burchill gets the 3.
Winner: Paul Burchill by pinfall

Shelton Benjamin vs Finlay(w/Hornswoggle)
Short match. Benjamin hits some high-flying offense keeping Finlay off balance and every time Finlay seems to have grounded him, he hits some speedy counter to regain the upper hand. Hornswoggle tries to interfere but Benjamin just laughs him off and turns his back on him, only to be soaked with a bucket of water. Finlay then hits the Celtic Cross for the win.
Winner: Finlay by pinfall

Semi-Final
Chris Jericho vs Matt Hardy
Hardy charges to the ring and attacks Jericho before the bell rings. Jericho bails and regroups on the outside. He looks at Hardy like he might have made a mistake with his ambush earlier on. Inside again and the two have a few minutes of brawling that gradually turns into more technical wrestling. As it nears the 15-minute time limit, Hardy looks to have the advantage, setting up the Twist of Fate but MVP runs down to ringside. Hardy immediately goes for MVP but he jumps back to the floor. Hardy sees Jericho coming and dodges an attempted forearm to the back of the head. MVP then jumps up and clocks Jericho with the belt causing a DQ.
Winner: Chris Jericho by DQ

Paul Burchill(w/Katie Lea) vs Finlay(w/Hornswoggle)
Jericho commentates again. There would be two distinct parts to this match. Finlay and Burchill beating the hell out of each other on the inside and Katie Lea being menaced by Hornswoggle on the outside. This should make Burchill look strong as he is able to hang with Finlay but eventually he is distracted as Katie runs up the ramp to get away from Horny. His distraction will prove fatal as Finlay hits Celtic Cross for another victory. Jericho goes for another cheap shot, this time on Finlay but Finlay sees him coming and Jericho pulls up short and simply shrugs and smiles before leaving the ring.
Winner: Finlay by pinfall

Final
Chris Jericho vs Finlay
Jericho and Finlay are given 20 minutes to put on a wrestling clinic with mat wrestling, counters and brawling. Lots of near falls from both men and this should keep the fans gripped. This should be free of interference as Jericho convinced Regal to ban Horny from ringside. Eventually a weary Jericho has Finlay down and goes to the top rope in the hopes of hitting one final high impact move to finally prevail. Finlay recovers quicker than Jericho expects though and he catches him with a Celtic Cross from the top rope for the victory.

….your King of the Ring is Finlay.

The Aftermath
At Smackdown, King Finlay comes out with Prince Hornswoggle to celebrate his victory but they are attacked by Mr.Kennedy. Kennedy is furious that he was not involved in the KOTR tournament and calls Finlay an imposter because he didn’t beat Kennedy. Kennedy says that if he wants to prove that he is worthy of the title “King” then he should put the title on the line at Backlash. Finlay lays Kennedy out with the shilelaigh and then accepts the challenge. At Backlash, they have a short brutal match where Kennedy takes out Horny early with Horny’s own mini-sceptre and eventually defeating Finlay with the help of his feet on the ropes. Kennedy fueds with Finlay for a while ending with victory at Judgement Day before going on to fued with CM Punk as “King” vs. “Mr. Money in the Bank” at One Night Stand.

The Long Term
This will elevate Kennedy into at least Upper Midcard again and maybe if handled properly into the Main Event by the end of the year. Finlay won the actual tournament so regains some credibility after losing to JBL at Mania. Jericho’s slow heel turn is moved up another notch by using underhand tactics to soften up opponents before a match. Finally, another factor has been added to the MVP/Hardy fued to heat up their match at Backlash.

WHAT DO I THINK?:You know, I hadn’t much thought of Finlay as a “King” before but when I think Ireland, I think castles, sometimes. I don’t know why. So for that reason alone I can get behind a Finlay For King scenario like this one. The Jericho heel turn is a nice addition as well. If we’re going to have to keep Hornswoggle around we might as well see him dressed up as a jester for his king. That could be priceless.

Opinion #7: Joe
“Don’t Make Me Repeat Myself… Myself”

Like King of the Ring tournaments from the past, the 2008 version should showcase the “next generation” of WWE Superstars. I feel that the 8 men that they choose will be around the upper-mid-card/main event level for the next 5-10 years.

This years tournament being on a 3-hour RAW will make it feel like a PPV so they need to incorporate other angles into the tournament itself. The three world championship matches for Backlash should be kept out, but other feuds like Y2J’s involvement in the HBK-Batista match and MVP vs. Matt Hardy should be some of the main focuses and set up another match for Backlash.

First Round
First up is The Miz vs. Matt Hardy, who receives a huge pop. Academic match with Hardy working to wear Miz down, both get in offense, but Matt catches a Twist of Fate to pick up the win.

Backstage Chris Jericho bumps into HBK on his way to the next match. They exchange glares and some choice words. Jericho is matched up against John Morrison. During the match HBK’s music hits and distracts Y2J long enough for The Shaman of Sexy to get in a rollup with the tights. Advancing Morrison has Matt Hardy facing both tag team champs in the same night.

Matt Hardy is shown backstage talking on his cell phone (presumably to Jeff, never says) when MVP walks up rubbing the US belt, and stating that he hopes Matt wins his next match so MVP can beat him to become the next King of the Ring, and then beat him at Backlash for the US championship. Matt says nothing as he turns and walks away.

MVP makes his entrance and his opponent….Money in the Bank C.M Punk. MVP gets in the offensive early but isn’t working too hard, because he thinks he is a sure lock for the crown. Very good back and forth match, but a few counters later Punk hits the GTS for the pin. MVP is holding his jaw, visibly upset that he is not going any further than first round.

Umaga is the next entrant into the tournament as he awaits his opponent, the returning MISSSSTEEEEER KENNEDYYYYY. KENNEDY. Umaga tries to run his typical beat down, but Kennedy seems always a step ahead and is focused on taking out the Samoan Bulldozer’s legs. The match spills onto the floor where the do the ‘Umaga charges a prone opponent ass first, but ends up taking out the guard wall’ routine. Kennedy slips back into the ring to beat the 10-count to pick up the count out win.

Y2J sees Batista backstage and the two lock eyes, Batista cracking a smile instigating that HBK should pay for that in the match at Backlash. Jericho just nods his had and smirks, going back to looking for HBK. Batista lowers his sunglasses and laughs as Jericho walks off, implying that he has been up to something.

Semi-Finals – John Morrison vs. Matt Hardy, C.M. Punk vs. Mr. Kennedy

The Miz accompanies Morrison to ringside. Matt and Morrison go back and forth with offense, but Matt has the upper hand most of the match. Towards the end Miz tries to distract the ref while Morrison grabs a tag belt but the ref sees him and takes it away, setting him up to walk right into a twist of fate, Hardy defeating both halves of the tag champions, putting him into the finals.

C.M. Punk vs. Mr. Kennedy sees a good, counter heavy grappling match. Kennedy uses his wits again while during a ref bump, he grabs the MITB briefcase and creams Punk, wakes the ref and gets a slow 3 count.

Finals: Matt Hardy vs. Mr. Kennedy

JR and King make implications that this match has potential to be a future World Title match down the road. The match opens up with both guys feeling each other out with some simple chain wrestling and working on wearing the other guy down, not so hard for their third matches of the night. Things start to pick up as each one gets momentum when MVP comes down to ring side and starts heckling Matt with claps and cheers. Matt gets confused by this and Kennedy takes over. Matt starts to fight back but MVP trips up Hardy and Kennedy hits a Mic-Check for the cover and the crown of King of the Ring 2008.

ECW the next night C.M Punk says that Kennedy doesn’t deserve to be King of the Ring as he had a count out victory, used a foreign object when the ref was down, and had to use outside interference. He challenged his manhood, saying that Kennedy was a coward and that even though he was King of the Ring, C.M Punk still held a guaranteed title shot. Kennedy came down to the ring, sporting his new robe and crown, and demanded that Punk put his “money” where his mouth is, and defend his briefcase at Backlash. This match turns into a double DQ and continues to Judgment Day. Chris Jericho becomes involved with Kennedy taking shot at the IC title as well, turning it into a 3-way feud between the IC champ, the MITB case holder, and the 2008 King of the Ring.

*Side Note*The fact that MVP cost Matt the chance at the title of King comes about on SmackDown the following Friday, with MVP bringing up the fact that Matt defeated both tag champs in one night, but can he defeat both in one match, and gets Vickie to sign the match for that night, in chance to wear down Matt before the PPV.

The fact that Kennedy wins the King of the Ring gets him a title shot where he picks the stipulation of the match at a summer PPV. He chooses One Night Stand, against the Undertaker in a Casket Match. The No-DQ aspect lets Kennedy be a little more violent and he comes close to winning, but ends up just another victim. He takes some time off due to “psychological” effects of being locked in a casket. It gives him a more of an edge when he comes back and becomes more focused, setting him up for a bigger role in 2008. The King of the Ring doesn’t always push its winner right away, 1996 Austin-didn’t gain main event status until a year later. Triple H 1997- didn’t get over until around early 1999. A switch to smackdown with against Jericho is a must, face, heel, or both, and a run against Punk would be good, and an eventual title match against Cena or Edge (revenge for money in the bank) could be money.

WHAT DO I THINK?:After returning from such a long time gone this does a lot to fan the flames of Matt Hardy fans but it definitely doesn’t make Kennedy look strong. But again, the heel who wins the tournament usually doesn’t have to look strong, he just has to win and then talk about it so much that we forget HOW he won and only care about the fact that he did. You’re right to say that some pushes don’t occur right off the bat and in Kennedy’s case, it might be a good idea to let him milk the “King” gimmick for a while. A run with the IC title is a must, I think, and a long one at that.

Opinion #8: Dan
“Honorable Guest Idea”

Hey man, I do the Re-Writing the Book column on 411, but I always used to contribute to Fink’s Payload over the years.

Ok, the 8-men would be Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Shelton Benjamin, Batista, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Triple H, & MVP (2 ECW, 4 Raw, and 2 SD).

The opening matches are:
– Shawn Michaels vs. MVP
– Triple H vs. John Cena
– CM Punk vs. Batista
– Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Jericho

MVP defeats Shawn when Flair’s music hits as the band is tuning up. The distraction allows MVP to get a roll up with the tights for the pin.

Triple H & John Cena battle to a Double CO when Randy Orton & JBL get involved outside. MVP gets a buy to the FINALS

CM Punk defeats Batista (responsible for Flair’s music) after a ref bump, when Shawn runs down and hits Sweet Chin Music mid Batista Bomb. Punk falls on top of Batista and scores the upset.

Jericho defeats Shelton with the Code Breaker in a good clean match.

Chris Jericho defeats CM Punk in the Semi-Finals by stealing the Edge/Shawn ending (using the MITB briefcase to counter a sunset flip)

CHRIS JERICHO DEFEATS MVP to become the new KING OF THE RING…Long 20 minute main event with a ref bump and MVP looking to use the US Title but getting distracted by Matt Hardy. He turns and gets caught in the Walls of Jericho and Matt pulls the ropes away so MVP cant reach them and he taps to give the Crown to Jericho.

Chris Jericho would eat this up ala KING Booker, wearing the crown and everything. He would begin issuing Royal Decrees, the first coming the next week on Raw when he changes the Batista/Shawn match to a Triple Threat with himself involved. After Backlash Jericho can either feud with Shawn again or go after the MITB case and get involved with Punk based off his two Raw victories over him. Jericho would drop the IC Title and take his royal crown to Smackdown where he could work tweener, face or heel and get a run feuding with either Taker or Edge.

WHAT DO I THINK?:Thanks for writing, buddy. Always love to hear from the other 411ers who appreciate the lush history of the Payload. Before the show aired I really thought that Jericho had a great shot of winning the damn thing but I couldn’t decide if he would cooler as a face or a heel. You kept him in the tweener role and hey, I can’t blame you because I feel like he’s always going to get people to cheer for him either way. He is always at his best when he is just over-the-top narcissistic and braggish (“the incredibly high-tech, ludicrously financially burdensome, astronomically-high resolution Jeritron 5000…”) and you hit all the key notes on his way to the top. Thanks for letting us know what you thought this week!

My Opinion
“The Royal Challenge”

Before the matches begin, Raw General Manager William Regal announces that the three GM’s have decided to give the winner of the tournament a title shot (at the champion of whichever brand he belongs to) at One Night Stand on June 1, 2008.

Cutting to the chase… the first round matches:

Chris Jericho def. John Morrison
Great, but short, first-time match between these two. The Miz tries to get involved, but Jericho throws him out of the ring and then hits him with a baseball slide to quiet the interference. Y2J wins with a lionsault and pin.

Umaga def. Matt Hardy
Hardy gets only a small amount of offense but eventually falls to a Samoan Spike. The beatings continue after the match until Hardy is bloodied.

M.V.P. def. Finlay
By-the-books match between these guys, who I believe have fought several times. The Playmaker gives M.V.P. the win and when Hornswoggle comes to the ring to check on his “dad”, M.V.P. makes his point clearer by peforming the move on him as well.

Mr. Kennedy def. Tommy Dreamer
Pretty standard type of squash for the heel but the announcers hype that “anything can happen” in a one-night tournament, trying to give Dreamer a chance. Mr. K moves on after the Mic Check.

Before the semifinal matches begin, M.V.P. walks up to where Matt Hardy is being treated in the backstage area. Umaga’s post-match beatdown caused “internal injuries” so he wants to know if Hardy will be able to compete at Backlash. Hardy says that nothing can keep him down.

Chris Jericho def. Umaga
A very competitive match because Umaga plays an unstoppable monster heel throughout. At one point, Jericho actually locks in the Walls of Jericho and even though it looks incredibly stupid, the big man almost taps. When Y2J tries for the same hold again, Umaga hits him with the Samoan Spike while lying on the mat. Jericho falls and Umaga goes for the pin but Jericho reverses, holding his tights for the three count.

Mr. Kennedy def. M.V.P.
I agree with the earlier statement that some first-time matchups should be saved. This is kind of like that. A damaged Hardy gets involved a few minutes into the match, disrupting M.V.P. in some manner to allow Kennedy to pin him and move on.

King of the Ring Finals: Mr. Kennedy def. Chris Jericho
Both men look to be at their peak. Jericho beat the monster known as Umaga and Kennedy, though he had an easier route, is well-rested. No interference, no nonsense, twenty-minute match that Mr. K wins clean.

King Kennedy faces Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship at Judgment Day, a match that he wins by disqualification when Y2J uses an illegal object. He challenges WWE Champion John Cena at One Night Stand and comes up just short, but the experience keeps him in the main event for years to come.

That’s all for this week! Next week, I’ve got a pretty interesting proposition for you all… get ready to have that fancy tickled.

Question Five: due at 11PM on Tuesday, April 29
In today’s wrestling landscape, there are basically two companies: the WWE and TNA. Each company is distinct from one another, but what if they were not? I hereby challenge the readers of the Payload to imagine a scenario where TNA superstars “invade” the WWE, or vice versa, in some kind of an inter-company storyline. Take as much liberty as you would like in deciding why they are appearing on the same shows together but please make sure to articulate the motivation for this “mingling” of talent. Is it a hostile takeover? Did one company purchase the other? Will Steve Austin play the guitar again this time? It’s up to you!

As always, send your ideas to [email protected]! I can’t wait to hear what you think!