Fantasy Booking: King of the Ring Tournament Winners 1996-2002
August 22, 2014
We're now into Part III of this fantasy booking. Once again, the rules are the same. I choose who I would have win the tournament if the winners in real life got injured. I can't use injured wrestlers or anyone outside the WWF/E.
The 1996 King of the Ring tournament was held from May 26 – June 23, 1996 which featured “Stone Cold” Steve Austin winning the tournament. With Austin out and not able to preach Austin 3:16, it would time. It would be time. It would be....Vader Time! That's right, my choice would be the obvious and safe pick in Vader. At the time, Vader was six months into his WWF run and was being built as a new monster villain. Similar to Owen Hart and King Mabel, this would allow Vader to become the #1 contender to the WWF Championship at Summerslam. I don't think I need to explain why Vader is the best because his talents are well-known. In case you don't know, Vader is one of the best big men in wrestling history with great agility for a big man along with great strength. The win would add even more momentum and steam to his WWF run as he'll come off as a huge threat by Summerslam. Sadly, there's not many other choices for '96. This was a year where you either had wrestlers who didn't need it or wrestlers given bad gimmicks. Triple H could be a consideration since he was supposed to win anyway but got punished for breaking kayfabe at the Farewell to the Clique at MSG. Also he wasn't very impressive that year anyway. “Wildman” Marc Mero is another consideration but he joined the WWF less than three months earlier. My finals would be Vader vs. “Wildman” Marc Mero. This should be a solid match as Vader was a great talent and Mero was underrated. This would be one of those finals where I would hope to make two stars. Vader would look great as he would win and look like a beast. Mero would also look good since he got to the finals and gave everything he had against Vader before losing.
The 1997 King of the Ring tournament was held from May 12 – June 8, 1997 and was won by Triple H. With Triple not able to compete, my choice to win would be Ahmed Johnson. By the time the King of the Ring took place, Johnson had been rudderless. After showing a lot of potential in 1996, his career stalled due to a kidney problem and a feud with Faarooq that never ended. By giving Johnson the tournament, it could potentially revitalize his career and get it back on track. Johnson did lack mic skills but was good every where else. He was solid and underrated in the ring as he not only had great power moves but also did high flying moves from time to time. He was also very charismatic and over with the people. He was also marketable and had a good look. While Johnson did suffer a knee injury a week after this event, I wouldn't know that at the time of the event and things could've changed. Once again, there's not many other great choices for this year with the company in a transitional period. Faarooq was another good choice. While he was getting up there in age since he just turned 39, he had many great qualities. He was a great athlete, a very good wrestler, good talker, and had a good look. He definitely could've went far. There's also Ken Shamrock. Shamrock had came into the WWF a few months earlier and the WWF clearly saw something in him. He had the skills and the legit background in MMA. Ultimately, I believe Ahmed needed it more since his career was going nowhere and needed a spark. Shamrock only came in a few months earlier while Faarooq debuted less than a year earlier. Neither man's career was struggling. My finals would be Ahmed vs. Mankind. Like real life, Mankind would reach the finals but not be able to pull out the win. I want a fan favorite vs. fan favorite match because Ahmed was scheduled to become a villain soon. As a result, I would want this final to have Ahmed show a vicious side to him which would sow the seeds for his turn.
The following years KOTR tournament was held from June 1 – June 28, 1998 with Ken Shamrock emerging as the winner. With the World's Most Dangerous Man unable to participate, my choice would be another safe one in the Rock. Yes, the Rock was the ruler of the Nation (as he used to put it) and was seven months into his second intercontinental title reign, but he was a big star in the making. By giving him the King of the Ring, it would continue his rocket ride to the top. The problem for 1998 is there were some great talent but no one was in the right position. Jeff Jarrett was a good choice but he was still stuck with his lame Double J gimmick and wouldn't ditch it for another two months. X-Pac not only just came back to the WWF but to wrestling overall as he was coming off a neck injury. I would like to consider Bart Gunn if this was after the Brawl For All tournament since I think he was a good talent and a potential new enforcer for Vince. However, since this was before and he was still in the New Midnight Express then that's out. My first pick would be “Dr. Death” Steve Williams. Williams had just came into the WWF and there been rumors that the WWF wanted to push him as a rival for “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and enforcer for Vince. The KOTR would be perfect for him as it would show Williams bulldoze through three opponents and look like a beast. This was also before the Brawl for All so he would be healthy and would yet to be knocked out. Unfortunately, Williams had yet to make his televised debut so that wouldn't be possible. My finals would be Rock vs. X-Pac which could not only be a good match but it would continue the D-Generation X vs. Nation feud. I would take the finish the WWF did with Rock and Severn and use it here. D-Lo would interfere and cost X-Pac the match. That could lead to D-Lo defeating Triple H for the European Title thanks to the Rock which would allow a Rock/Triple H feud to begin but also start a X-Pac/D-Lo one.
The 1999 edition was held on June 27, 1999 and was won by Billy Gunn. With Gunn on the shelf, my choice would be the Big Boss Man. This one will probably be considered one of my weaker choices but hear me out. I personally still thought Boss Man had plenty of gas left in his tank. He was still a good wrestler, he was in the best shape of his life, and a good talker. He was also shining pretty good as a villain during this period. Say what you will about his feuds with Al Snow and the Big Show but they were entertaining and Boss Man was one of the big reasons why. The WWF also still had plans for him as he continued to big an upper mid card wrestler into the spring of 2000. While WWF didn't know it at the time, Boss Man went on to win three more Hardcore Titles with his last being the longest reign in the history of the title. He also went on to challenge the Big Show for the WWF Championship at Armageddon that December. My finals would be Boss Man vs. Ken Shamrock. These two are former partners and held the tag team titles together. The match could be good and have a good story given their past and with Shamrock being attacked by Steve Blackman and suffering internal injuries. Despite the injuries, Shamrock fights through it and makes it to the finals but Boss Man is too much to overcome and could even attack Shamrock's stomach during the match and then with the nightstick after the match. This gets Boss Man over as a smart and vicious veteran who sees weakness and exploits it as well as showing no mercy. It also continues to add fire to the Shamrock/Blackman rivalry.
The following year's edition was held from May 29 – June 25, 2000 and saw Kurt Angle win. With Angle out. My choice would be another rising star in Chris Jericho. Jericho is like the Rock in that nothing needs to be said. The guy had the whole package and the best chance to break out to that next level. Once again, there was a lot of choices including obvious picks like Chris Benoit & Eddie Guerrero as well as underrated ones like Perry Saturn. To be honest, Jericho wasn't my first pick. I would want Tazz to win. I thought Tazz was a great addition to the WWF but wasn't gaining the momentum that Jericho or the Radicalz were getting. It would've been a great way to give him a boost as well as give the WWF a new superstar. Unfortunately, Tazz was injured before the tournament began so he was unavailable. Jericho is my second pick due to his talents as well as potential to go places. Benoit could be good but was already a former intercontinental champion and lacked the same amount of charisma and mic skills that Jericho had. Eddie and Saturn were great but Eddie was already european champion and didn't need it. Meanwhile, both had drug issues and weren't very reliable. My finals would be Jericho vs. Test. At the time, Test was seen as someone with a lot of potential. I wouldn't give him the tournament since he was already in the T & A tag team with Albert which wouldn't break up till January 2001. As a result, I would be looking for a good match to not only give Jericho a good win but also have Test look important so the fans look at him as someone to keep their eyes on in the future.
The 2001 King of the Ring took place from June 4 – June 24, 2001 and was won by Edge. With Edge out of action, my choice would be another safe one and a good friend of Edge in Rhyno. Rhyno had only came in a few months ago but had so much potential especially as a talented monster. Rhyno had the talent, the mic skills, and the intensity to be a star. Though he was smaller than most monsters, he was still very effective in the role. Because of his size, he was something different. He wasn't the typical seven foot lumbering giant. He was five foot ten and 275 pounds but was a perfect mix of strength and speed. I didn't have many other choices. Test would've been a great second choice since they were pushing him pretty heavily that year. I would once again consider Perry Saturn but he was struggling with a drug addition. On top of that, he was still being punished after roughing up a preliminary wrestler by being saddled with a comedy gimmick. My finals would be Rhyno vs. Big Show. I believe both were villains at the time but I find the match necessary. It has one major purpose and that's establish Rhyno as a powerful, dangerous monster. I not only want to launch Rhyno to the next level but make him look like a beast. How do I that? Well, have him defeat the biggest beast. Rhyno pinning Big Show with the gore would be a good way to establish him.
The 2002 King of the Ring was held from June 3 – June 23, 2002 and saw Brock Lesnar come out as the winner. With Lesnar not able to become the next big thing, my choice would be Eddie Guerrero. Guerrero had just come back after a brief firing and was back in the saddle after overcoming his addictions. Guerrero is another one with all the tools besides size. He was phenomenal in the ring, on the mic, and in segments. He had a great look and charisma. There were plenty to choose from as I considered Christian, Booker T, and Rob Van Dam. However, Christian was coming off losing the European Title and was about to win the Tag Team Titles with Lance Storm and later Chris Jericho. Booker was in his popular tag team with Goldust and was kicked out of the nWo during the tournament thus going from villain to fan favorite. Since Christian and Booker were going into teams, I didn't think it was the best idea to give them a singles tournament. Van Dam already won a few hardcore titles and was in his second intercontinental title reign. He also got at least one WWF Championship shot back at No Mercy 2001. Along with his talents, I would also go with Guerrero to build him back up after his then recent IC title loss as well as his feud with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin going up in smoke after Austin walked out on WWE. Overall, Guerrero wasn't my first choice. My preferred choice was Mike Awesome. Awesome was an incredible talent. Despite being 6'6 and weighing 290 pounds, he was extremely agile and could fly like a wrestler half his size. He brought something different that's not seen a lot with big man wrestlers. Awesome was also a guy who could've been a future world champion for the WWE. However, he was still out with an injury so injuries spoiled my plans again. My finals would be Eddie vs. Rob Van Dam. Eddie was a hot villain and Van Dam was a hot fan favorite so the fans should be able to get into this match.
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