The Tournament The WWE Universe Wanted Back is Finally Back!
After a 4 year hiatus, the King of the Ring returns tonight. The tournament will feature 8 guys on Raw and 8 guys on Smackdown. The winner can establish a star in the making or solidify a mid-card talent to the main title picture. So who will win the 2019 King of the Ring? Ralph and Michael Valente of the Squared Circle Psychobabble make their picks.
Ralph’s Pick: Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre has everything you think Vince McMahon looks for in a top guy of the company. He has the look, the mic skills and the ability to work in the ring. But for some strange reason, they haven’t quite pulled the trigger on McIntyre to put him in a Universal Title storyline since he returned to WWE in 2018. A King of the Ring victory can easily make him a number 1 contender for the Universal Championship that is missing now that Seth Rollins dethroned Brock Lesnar at Summerslam. Raw has the stronger bracket of the two so a win will make him look even stronger. Especially with his first-round opponent, Ricochet.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjXpeIIh9R0?wmode=transparent&rel=0&feature=oembed&w=1170&h=658]
Michael’s Pick: Buddy Murphy
The secret’s out. After his breakthrough match on Smackdown this past week with Roman Reigns, WWE needs to take the ball and run with Murphy. He’s WWE’s version of Shingo Tagaki. Technically he is a Cruiserweight bordering the 205 lbs mark but does not look it. He can hang with the heavyweights like Reigns and have great matches as we saw. People might remember he and Cedric Alexander stole the show last year at Super Showdown where he won the Cruiserweight Championship in his hometown of Melbourne Australia. A King of the Ring victory might not put him in the WWE Championship picture just yet, but it will instantly give him credibility that WWE can build towards that.
The only problem is that he faces Mustafa Ali in the first round. A guy who was allegedly was supposed to be in Kofi Kingston’s position before an injury prevented him from competing in the Elimination Chamber earlier this year. If he wins, Murphy would face the winner of Kevin Owens vs. Elias. Many are picking Owens to win as people are comparing him to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. A KOTR win would just add to that. However, a first-round exit is highly possible to further the storyline with him and Shane McMahon.
WWE Raw Bracket
Samoa Joe vs Cesaro
Drew McIntyre vs Ricochet
Cedric Alexander vs Sami Zayn
The Miz vs Baron Corbin
WWE Smackdown Bracket
Kevin Owens vs Elias
Buddy Murphy vs Ali
Chad Gable vs Shelton Benjamin
Andrade vs Apollo Crews
Article source: http://www.bodyslam.net