WWE Announces Return of King of the Ring Tournament
The King of the Ring tournament is finally returning to the WWE.
On the August 12 episode of Monday Night RAW, the commentary made the announcement that the fan-favorite tournament will be featured on next week's episode of RAW.
This will be the first time the King of the Ring tournament has been seen on WWE television since 2015 when "Bad News" Barrett won it. The tournament was created in 1985 and was an annual event until 2002. There wasn't another tournament until 2006 when Booker T famously won and became King Booker. It was then an infrequent part of WWE television until 2015.
The winner of the King of the Ring tournament receives the title of "King" which has acted as a springboard into the championship scene. The title even has revitalized the careers of many WWE superstars like William Regal and the aforementioned King Booker.
UPDATE: WWE confirmed the King of the Ring competitors after Monday Night RAW.
While details on the return of the King of the Ring tournament weren't given - including who will participate - WWE superstars took to social media to voice their desire to compete.
Here are just a few:
King Ali.
— Mustafa Ali / Adeel Alam (@AliWWE) August 13, 2019
King of Swing... King of the Ring pic.twitter.com/wlgzneCLpM
— Cesaro (@WWECesaro) August 13, 2019
During Monday Night RAW, a commercial for King of the Ring was shown and it gave away potential tournament participants including Samoa Joe, Cedric Alexander, Elias, Drew McIntyre, Buddy Murphy, Ali, Shelton Benjamin, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, and Apollo Crews.
Later in the broadcast, the RAW commentary team confirms Alexander and McIntyre as participants. They also confirm that there will be 16 participants, eight from RAW and eight from SmackDown Live.
In the past, King of the Ring would get its own pay-per-view featuring the entire tournament. This time, it would seem that the tournament will at least begin on next week's Monday Night RAW and continue for weeks to come but we'll update as soon as we learn more.
What do you think of the return of the King of the Ring tournament? Who do you want to see win? Let us know in the comments section below.
