Ranking Who Should Win The WWE King Of The Ring Tournament

WWE announced the return of the King of the Ring tournament last night to much excitement.

Starting on Raw next week, eight participants from Raw and eight from SmackDown will compete in a 16-man tournament to determine who is the King of the Ring.

The full field of 16 has been revealed, and it’s a very exciting lineup indeed, so we’ve decided to rank everyone in order of who should win.

For the record, out of the 16, I’d actually be really happy to see any of them win, so please don’t view a low ranking as me saying they shouldn’t win, just that I see more benefits in the higher-placed ones.

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16. The Miz

The Miz is the most decorated of all 15 participants in the tournament.

As an established competitor for over 10 years, a former WWE Champion, a Grand Slam Champion, former Money in the Bank winner, Miz simply doesn’t need this at this stage in his career.

It would certainly add to his already Hall of Fame worthy list of accolades, but it would be far more beneficial to crown someone else King than Miz.

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15. Apollo Crews

Crews has been around for some time now and has never seemed to be able to break through to his full potential.

Unfortunately, it seems like he’ll be stuck in the same position forever and a day as WWE continues to be reluctant to propel him towards the top end of the roster.

Winning King of the Ring could certainly do wonders for Apollo’s career, but he just seems one of the least inspiring picks out of the 16 participants.

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14. Shelton Benjamin

Much in the same vein as Miz, Benjamin has been around for long enough now to be perceived as a veteran, and it would probably be more beneficial to put the crown on someone who is young in their career to give them a platform to launch themselves up from.

That said, Benjamin has never reached his peak in WWE. Winning the King of the Ring tournament could very well give him that edge to break through the ceiling he’s been stuck under for oh so long.

Much like Apollo though, given his current position on the roster, Benjamin seems unlikely to break through here.

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13. Baron Corbin

Despite being a massive Baron Corbin fan myself, I know for a fact I am very much in the minority when it comes to praising Corbin.

Fans had grown tired of him being so heavily featured towards the top of the card, but he has been off the radar since losing at Extreme Rules.

Corbin would be a really good heel king, but the majority of fans wouldn’t want to see him add another accolade to his career, especially given some of the exciting names in the tournament.

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12. Cedric Alexander

Perhaps alongside Buddy Murphy, Alexander is probably the guy in the tournament that the majority of WWE fans are least accustomed to given he only debuted on Raw fairly recently.

Since then, he’s been involved with Drew McIntyre, who only last night, decisively beat him.

While Cedric is absolutely an exciting prospect for the future, it feels like winning here would seem a little too out the of the blue and he could do with a little more of a build before winning something like King of the Ring.

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11. Sami Zayn

Zayn’s low ranking here may surprise you, but it’s just an example of the field being so impressive and promising that he had to be placed so low.

The fact is, Sami has been repeatedly beaten decisively, and I actually did a bit of research a few nights ago and the last time he decisively won a one-on-one match (i.e. no rollups or interference) was Backlash 2017.

Winning King of the Ring would certainly revitalize his career and he’d be a great king, but I simply can’t see it happening given the way he’s been used recently.

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10. Chad Gable

So this list is becoming really hard now.

Gable places at 10 because a little bit like Zayn, if we’re being realistic I just can’t see WWE giving him the win here considering he hasn’t had a match on TV (besides 205 Live) since April.

That said, I still think he would be an excellent choice, and would only grow the comparisons to the legendary Kurt Angle.

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9. Samoa Joe

When people think of a King of the Ring, they think of a fella walking round in a robe and crown.

If Joe were to win, that absolutely should not be the case. Nor does it have to be, look at Brock Lesnar in 2003 for example.

Joe has that badass aura about him, yet has never won that big match on the main roster, and winning the King of the Ring tournament would certainly restore some credibility and restore him as a viable challenger for the top titles.

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8. Ali

Ali was seemingly headed towards the top of the card until an injury put him out of action in February and he was pulled from the Elimination Chamber.

Winning King of the Ring would be a good way to get him back on track, but it’s a question of whether there are other guys in the tournament who would benefit more from this particular accolade.

And, clearly, I think there are.

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7. Elias

Just imagine how good Elias would be as a king. That alone is enough to rank him pretty highly here.

He also has top-of-the-card potential, and was set to become Intercontinental Champion last year, but unfortunately a series of events led to that not being the case.

Since then, he’s been billed as the biggest draft pick in SmackDown history, but hasn’t actually done anything other than stand next to Shane McMahon.

Winning King of the Ring would be a great way to revitalize Elias and continue his road to almost certain success.

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6. Cesaro

As soon as WWE announced the King of the Ring was returning and before the field was even announced, all I saw on Twitter was people saying Cesaro should win.

And if WWE is willing to propel him to that next level, I absolutely agree. King Cesaro would be brilliant and not only give him a new achievement to boast, but also something to play off character-wise.

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5. Buddy Murphy

If used to his true potential, Murphy could absolutely be a World Champion in the future.

He has absolutely everything needed, and a win here would cement him as a top guy in his young WWE career.

He could perhaps do with a little bit of buildup first, a la Cedric Alexander, but the difference is Murphy hasn’t been beaten yet.

The Aussie could come in and make an immediate impact by winning and set him on the right road for the future.

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4. Drew McIntyre

Take what I said about Joe and apply it here.

McIntrye was seemingly destined for success but ended up getting wrapped around Shane McMahon and sort of fell down the proverbial ladder.

He still has the credibility to believably beat anyone though, and winning King of the Ring would just add to that.

I’ll mention the Lesnar thing again. Drew doesn’t have to walk around in a crown and gown after he wins. Just the knowledge that he’s won the tournament.

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3. Ricochet

We all know how good Ricochet is, and he undoubtedly should be near the top of the roster.

At the moment however, since losing his US Title feud with AJ Styles, his immediate future direction seems uncertain, which could risk him falling down the card unless something is thought of for him.

King of the Ring could be just that, and winning a tournament that includes the likes of Miz, Joe McIntyre etc. would instantly present him as a top force on the roster.

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2. Andrade

Andrade seems destined for big things and what better way to set him on his way to the top than winning King of the Ring?

With Vega by his side, Andrade is very nearly the complete package, but is yet to win anything major on the main roster.

Winning here would change that.

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1. Kevin Owens

King Kevin. It just sounds right.

Coming off a win against Shane McMahon at SummerSlam, what better way to cement Owens as the top babyface in the company than becoming king.

His impeccable work on the microphone would lead to many a great segment and put him in the history books as the 20th King of the Ring winner.

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