Fantasy Booking: King of the Ring Tournament Winners 2006, 2008, and 2010

Fantasy Booking: King of the Ring Tournament Winners 2006, 2008, and 2010

August 31, 2014

By Ryan Porzl

All good things must come to an end as we're now into Part IV 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.

I don't own the picture

After a four year hiatus, the King of the Ring returned in 2006 and was held between April 14 – May 21, 2006. The winner was Booker T. With Booker out, my choice for a winner would be Bobby Lashley. Lashley is probably the safest pick but still the best one. It was clear the WWE saw something in him and wanted to push him as a main event superstar. By giving him the King of the Ring tournament, it would be a great way to take him to that next level. While Lashley lacked mic skills and charisma, he was a great athlete and wrestler. The plus side is that if he was given a manager then his weaknesses wouldn't be a problem. There isn't a lot of other choices. Neither Kurt Angle or Chris Benoit needed it. Benoit was about to take a hiatus for four/five months while Angle was heading to ECW. Orton was about to enter a two month suspension due to unprofessional conduct. Matt Hardy could be considered but the ship sailed for him when the WWE botched his feud with Edge. If you count RAW wrestlers then there's no one better in my opinion. Johnny Nitro just ended his MNM team with Joey Mercury so there wasn't any need for him to get the KOTR so quickly. Shelton Benjamin was Intercontinental Champion and he didn't need it. Carlito could be a second choice since he just become a fan favorite and prior to that, lost a lot of momentum with a Ric Flair feud. My finals would be Lashley vs. Kurt Angle. This would be a great match and it would really establish Lashley by winning the tournament by defeating an established talent like Angle. I would also pick it because I would guess both men would have great chemistry since both are great athletes with wrestling backgrounds.

The 2008 King of the Ring was held on April 21, 2008 and was won by William Regal. With Regal out of action, my choice would be Elijah Burke. Burke was such an underrated performer. He was a very good wrestler who was capable of having great matches, he was also very charismatic and he can cut great promos. Overall, he had the whole package to be a top WWE superstar. I know a lot of people would've went with CM Punk as he seems like the obvious choice but Punk didn't need it. He was already a former ECW Champion, was holding the Money in the Bank briefcase, and would win the World Heavyweight Championship a month later. John Morrison and the Miz were teaming up at the time so it wouldn't make sense to give one of the them a singles tournament. My finals would be Burke vs. Kane. The first reason would be because I want Burke to beat a star and Kane is someone that's a name for Burke to beat but he's not one of the biggest names so I wouldn't be sacrificing one of the WWE's big draws to establish a new star. Second was that Kane held the ECW Title at the time while Burke was part of the ECW roster. This could lead to a feud with Burke eventually defeating Kane down the line for the title to continue his growth.

The following King of the Ring tournament took place from November 22 – 29, 2010 and was won by Sheamus. With Sheamus unavailable, my choice would be Drew McIntyre. McIntyre was a guy that had it all. Very good ring skills, good mic skills, charisma, great look, and superstar potential. He was a guy that had the tools to be a future WWE or World Heavyweight Champion. Another reason is he also just broke up his brief team with Cody Rhodes and his stock was about to plummet. By giving McIntyre the King of the Ring, I could reintroduce him to the singles ranks and keep his momentum going. There were a lot of choices that year. I would also suggest Cody Rhodes, Ted Dibiase Jr., Ezekiel Jackson, Daniel Bryan, and John Morrison. However, I feel McIntyre needs it more. At the same time, Rhodes and Dibiase were also still stuck with lousy gimmicks with Rhodes still using his “Dashing” gimmick while Dibiase was imitating his father. Morrison would've been good but I don't think he needed it either. Jackson is a good big man and the WWE needed new big men but he didn't need it either. He was the last ECW Champion earlier in the year and would go on to win the intercontinental title the following year. Bryan would be another great choice but he didn't need it. He hadn't been in the WWE for a year, already main evented Summerslam, and was the united states Champion at the time. My finals would be McIntyre vs. Bryan. I would hope for a great match here which both can do, reestablish McIntyre, and possibly start a feud over the united states title.