Missed Opportunity

BY Mike Rifkin

The King Of The Ring tournament used to be about establishing new stars or elevating someone to the main event scene.Remember it was at the King Of The Ring where “Stone Cold” Steve Austin cut his famous Austin 3:16 promo. King Of The Ring even elevated the career of Triple H. This year feels like a missed opportunity for the WWE. As we prepare for the King Of The Ring Final which will take place Saturday at Night Of Champions, the match will be between a legend and the current face of the company. 

Now a lot of stories can be told when Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes face off. But with the winner receiving a title shot at SummerSlam, it feels WWE sacrificed a good tournament to tell a story. The winner of this match will face John Cena, who has a story with both men. Cena and Orton had a majestic rivalry, and they battled each other at Backlash, which was billed as the last time they’d face. And then there is Rhodes, the man Cena defeated at WrestleMania to capture his record breaking seventeenth World Championship. Using King Of The Ring to give Rhodes his rematch in my opinion is stupid. Rhodes could’ve used his rematch clause at Money In The Bank or even SummerSlam to get revenge on Cena. So, if Orton or Rhodes shouldn’t be the King Of The Ring, who should’ve been?

That answer is simple Sami Zayn. Zayn, who lost in the semi-finals to Orton should’ve won the tournament. In fact Zayn was the only semi finalist who has never been a World Champion. Every week Zayn will cut a passionate promo about wanting to be a World Champion. Quite frankly there are a few stories you can tell with Zayn going for the World title, whether he goes against Gunther, who Zayn has a history with or Cena. If they had Zayn with the title, they could have Seth Rollins cash in his Money In The Bank briefcase on Zayn and continue their feud. Instead what we are going to get is Cody Rhodes (spoiler) vs Cena, to get back the title. The point of the matter is that Rhodes shouldn’t have needed King Of The Ring to get his rematch, and Zayn winning King Of The Ring could’ve been the moment he’s been waiting for his entire career.