Everybody get ready for WWE’s first ever Queen of the Ring tournament!
That’s right, the first ever, this is the first one they’ve done, you don’t have to look anything up, you can trust your buddy Ryan.
Okay fine: they already did this in 2021, and it kind of sucked because every match was 30 seconds long and Zelina Vega won (sorry Zelina, we’re still cool).
But this time there are two crucial differences: number one, former KotR winner Triple H is in charge of booking.
And number two, he’s dedicating an entire pay-per-view to the event (as opposed to a few random SmackDown segments that culminate in a final held in… checks notes… bastion of women’s equality Saudi Arabia).
What could that mean for this year’s tournament? Well, it might actually count for something, for starters.
And if the result is going to matter, that means the winner is going to matter. Which brings us to ask: who are some potential winners of Queen of the Ring 2023?
Charlotte Flair
I’m genuinely pretty shocked that the 2021 tournament wasn’t already built around crowning Charlotte Flair queen.
And not for the usual “CharlotteWinsLOL” reasons.
It’s just that, like… she’s already the queen, right? That’s already a core part of her entire deal?
Anyway, it’s such a perfect fit that I don’t care how many of you are crying in the comments about the idea of the mean blonde lady winning something else; Charlotte rules, give her a crown, fulfill the prophecy.
Shotzi
Shotzi hasn’t had the best time on the main roster since being called up to the main roster in 2021, which is weird, because she was great on NXT.
A lot of people try to reduce the former Blackheart to her entrance – which is admittedly incredible – and that’s exactly what we’ll be doing here today.
Shotzi needs a big win to regain some of the badass mystique that she courted on NXT, this is true.
Winning a major tournament against the rest of the Raw and SmackDown women’s midcard would certainly achieve that.
But what she needs even more is a solid gold tank and a long cape that trails behind her while she drives that tank into the arena. Oh! And a helmet/crown hybrid. And maybe a throne shaped like a tank?
Okay, enough playing dress up. All hail Queen Shotzi.
Lacey Evans
Way back in the days before Covid, Lacey Evans sort of ruled.
She had a clearly-defined character, she called the fans “nasties”. Solid midcard heel.
Sure, she’s expressed some pretty unusual views re: the veracity of established medical science since then. But who among us hasn’t?
In the past 18 months or so, though, Evans has fallen off a cliff, being repackaged as a face(?) and then a heel(??), with no real sense of what she wants or who she’s supposed to be.
Winning a tournament like this would be a great opportunity to reset her character, and bring her a little closer to where she was when she was somewhat bearable.
Alexa Bliss
Like others on this list, Alexa Bliss is somebody who historically has had a great run in the big dub, but has found herself faltering in recent years due to a combination of bad booking and clown magic.
Okay the clown magic thing is pretty unique to Alexa, but you know what I mean.
The great thing about an Alexa Bliss QotR win is that you can either treat it as a hard reset, or as a legitimisation of the character work she’s been doing since the Thunderdome era, giving her a big win that puts her back on track one way or the other.
Admittedly Goddess to Queen is kind of a downgrade, but not as big a downgrade as “discount Harley Quinn” was.
Hey, speaking of…
Liv Morgan
Remember last year when everybody got behind Liv, and willed her towards a big Daniel Bryan-style underdog push?
And then remember how she won Money In The Bank and we all got excited?
And then remember how she cashed in her Money In The Bank and we all immediately turned on her in seconds?
God, what is wrong with us?
It’s going to be a long time before Morgan is able to be built back up to the level she was prior to becoming WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion, but a good way to get her there is to have her win a tournament that is symbolic of her value to the company without having an accolade attached that drastically changes other people’s booking.
Queen Liv could be a great way to solidify Morgan’s character, which has felt a little adrift ever since WWE sent her down the “hardcore” route after losing her belt.
Valhalla
Ever since the former Sarah Logan came back to WWE it’s been kind of difficult to pin down exactly what her character is supposed to be.
She’s like a… Viking bride? Like a witch? Why did they call her “Valhalla” when they could have called her Valkyrie? Because of the Thor movies? Probably because of the Thor movies.
One thing they have established about Valhalla is that she’s supposed to be a certified badass; it’s just a shame that she doesn’t get a chance to showcase that very often, acting as she does in the capacity of glorified manager for a men’s tag team.
What better way to have to actually showcase those badass tendencies than by having her do literally anything, sorry I mean than by having her win the Queen of the Ring tournament?
It would be a great launch pad to establishing her as more of a singles competitor; something WWE’s women’s division could always use a little more of ever since it was decimated by talent cuts.
Think you’re a wrestling mastermind? Well you can prove it by taking quizzes in our brand new quiz section! Don’t forget to tweet us your results!
Comments.
Loading comments…