WWE: Pledging loyalty to our possible Kings of the Ring

With the WWE King of the Ring tournament set to start this week, there’s naturally a lot of speculation on who will win.

I’m not above that at all, but rather than discuss athletic prowess, popularity or the smarky “who WWE seems primed to push,” I decided to look at the real factor here.

That is, if each competitor continues with a “King” character after winning the competition, what would they look like? And of course, along with that, what kind of crown should they be wearing going forward.

So here, in no particular order, are your potential 2019 Kings of the Ring.

Shelton Benjamin

It’s hard to judge quite what a “King Shelton” character would entail, but there’s an argument to be made that it would at least be a departure from whatever they’ve been doing with him for the past several weeks. I have no doubt Shelton could pull it off, and the back and forth between him and Mia Yim on Twitter would be entertaining, but I can’t really say what the gimmick would feature.

The crown: like the character, hard to say.  Likely just the default crown, whatever that ends up looking like this year.

Samoa Joe

“King Samoa Joe” is a mouthful. Frankly, I don’t think much changes if Joe wins the tournament, he doesn’t need to be informed he’s King of the Ring, he already knew it and has basically been telling the rest of us that fact since he arrived. I think Joe could do great things with the concept of being King of the Ring, but an actual “King” character feels out of place for him.

The crown: He never wore one before, why would he start now?

Cesaro

There’s reason to fear that a “King Cesaro” character could fall into stupid humor very easily, especially given how WWE has handled just regular Cesaro in the past. But there’s also an upside to the idea: during his indie days, Cesaro was in a team known as the Kings of Wrestling alongside Kassius Ohno. You could call back to it with just Cesaro calling himself the King of Wrestling or build to the duo reuniting as part of the WWE or NXT tag divisions.

The crown: no matter what it looks like, let’s agree we need Cesaro to recreate his brass ring photoshoot with the crown in place of the ring.

Cedric Alexander

We’re already living in the Age of Alexander. The Age of King Alexander would be a next step. The question is how that works without turning Cedric heel. Which is a challenge for just about all of the faces on this list. With very few exceptions, an ongoing “King of the Ring” gimmick works much better with a bad guy, and with Cedric just gaining momentum on the main roster a heel turn doesn’t seem necessary.

The crown: Given how Cedric has a tendency towards cosplay-inspired gear, I’d hope any custom crown made for him would be similarly comics or movie inspired. Even if it’s done subtly.

Sami Zayn

Imagine this: Sami Zayn is brought to the prop throne and they place the crown on his head. Then he stands up, throws the crown to the ground and destroys the set while the announcers lament “How could he do this to a proud WWE tradition?” Sami demands a mic and declares that he won’t be King over the toxic WWE Universe, he doesn’t want to rule an ungrateful mob. Maybe a shot at the concept of monarchy in general. He refuses to be called “King of the Ring” and actively gets angry if you mention it.

The crown: Sami Zayn doesn’t want to be your king and he sure as heck doesn’t want your crown.

The Miz

On last week’s Miz and Mrs. we almost seemed to get a preview of what “King Miz” would be when Mike and Maryse attended a Renaissance festival together. The Miz eagerly dressed up and cut what may essentially be his first promo as King Miz. Sadly, though, with Maryse on maternity leave, she won’t be around to be crowned at his side.

The crown: he already has one, and it’s, predictably, awesome.

Ali

Ali has already given us an idea of what King Ali would be like, with promos on his Twitter. Ali’s entire gimmick seems primed for kingship, he is about responsible use of power, defending what is right and of course “being the light.” “King Ali” feels like a chance to spin a King Arthur-like character for the young man who went by “Prince Mustafa Ali” in the indies…but hopefully without the tragic ending.

The crown: How do you work a crown into Mustafa’s LED-laden entrance gear without it being too much? Either the crown cannot have lights, which seems unfortunate, or he would have to lose the face mask, which could be a good idea with NXT star Joaquin Wilde (fka DJZ) bringing along something similar.

Chad Gable

Chad Gable is a better and funnier talker than the main roster has given him credit for, and giving him time as “King Chad” would remedy that. Even if “King Chad” sounds like a particularly stupid sort of internet insult. But I imagine him coming to the ring flanked by attendants carrying standards reading “PARATUS. VOLENS. GABLE.” Or, if the Latin there isn’t too badly translated “Ready. Willing. Gable.”

The crown: imprint the Latin on a crown for him. Let the world know once more.

Andrade

I don’t know if WWE is planning to continue feuding Andrade with Rey Mysterio, but it did seem like there was unfinished business after their last match. This can get pushed further if El Idolo becomes, literally, El Rey, and insists that since there is a new king in WWE, Rey can feel free to leave. Even after that has ended, Andrade is the sort who will spend the next year and maybe more reminding people that he is King of the Ring. Or Zelina will do for him.

The crown: whatever his crown looks like, whether he keeps wearing one or not, you know Zelina Vega is going to have at least a matching tiara to wear at ringside.

Apollo Crews

“King Apollo” is another hard one to pin down. Mostly because Crews is someone who doesn’t have a defined “character” and really, when allowed to just go in the ring, doesn’t necessarily need one. A win for Apollo in the tournament might bring on a new aesthetic, but probably not a major character change.

The crown: With his build and a chance to play off the ancient roots of the name “Apollo,” give the man a golden crown of laurels.

Buddy Murphy

The worst part of this is that “King Buddy” sounds far too ridiculous for someone who carries himself like Murphy, and would almost inevitably be used in a promo against him. But the positive points here are that Buddy going from “Best Kept Secret” to “King of the Ring” would be a good story and letting him get to the end of the tournament lets the audience get a much stronger idea of just how good he is coming off of his great showing against Roman Reigns.

The crown: it sounds ridiculous, but hear me out, try to work the unique “ripped and torn” look of Buddy’s trunks into a crown for him. With the right designer and crafter it could be something really cool and different looking.

Ricochet

Unfortunately, Velveteen Dream is the only one in the WWE Universe allowed to reference how Ricochet used to be a Prince, so you can’t really do something about him ascending rightfully to the role of King. So “King Ricochet” probably wouldn’t be much different from what we see now, and like a lot of the other faces on this list there’s the issue that the King gimmick works better with a heel most of the time.

The crown: Ricochet has that awesome entrance robe with the wing pattern on it, so a custom crown would need to work that motif in as well. Also, the bigger challenge,  it needs to be made of a material that will stay in place while he does his flip off the ropes during his entrance.

Elias

I can already hear Elias informing the crowd at his very special crowning concert that now, not only is he the true King of Rock and Roll, but he is also King of the Ring. Insert guitar strum here. And this king isn’t going to bother with a minstrel because why would you want to listen to anyone else when Elias is already here? “King Elias” is magic waiting to happen.

The crown: probably nothing custom, as Elias with a chunky gold would be great, but look at that man’s kimonos and scarves and tell me you don’t need to see him at least once with a flower crown on his head?

Kevin Owens

Face Kevin as King the Ring would work if WWE is determined to continue his feud with Shane McMahon. Potentially, Kevin could even put his title of King of the Ring up against Shane’s claim to The Best in the World, win them both and finally end that boast for good. Then, mad with power and because it’s Kevin Owens, he turns heel again. And Heel Kevin as King of the Ring is promo gold.

The crown: Face Kevin doesn’t wear the crown and he definitely doesn’t have a custom one made. Heel Kevin might wear it backstage and might carry it around but would be just as likely to make references to how stupid it is. No matter what, it’s entertaining.

Baron Corbin

Here is my most unpopular opinion: Baron Corbin can be really great as a heel. There is no one in the WWE who seems to genuinely enjoy getting boo’d by the crowd the way he does and I salute him for it. Corbin’s booking has been bad, and he’s one of the most over-scripted stars in the company. Which is a shame, because when he really shines are weird little improv’d moments, comments and gestures you can tell are all his.

But as much as I’d like to hear him insist on “King of the Ring” being included in his already lengthy list of accomplishments and as great as I think he could be here, I don’t trust WWE to do it justice at this point.

The crown: work in that wolf imagery that’s still in his entrance video and used to be more prominent before the corporate make-over. And bring back the leather pants while you’re at it.

Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre already talks and carries himself like royalty, and the accent doesn’t exactly hurt that. He’s someone you can easily see bragging about being descended from Kings of Scotland, about being a Warrior King in his own right. For crying out loud, his finisher is the Claymore. This may be the most perfect application of a King character.

The crown: a simple silver band across his head, or something made to look like iron even, so it blends and works with the chains on his entrance coat.