WWE King of the Ring 2010
WWE Monday Night Raw returns to my hometown of Philadelphia tonight and in a surprise move brings the King of the Ring Tournament with it. Well, it was a surprise to me at least as I didn’t find out about it until watching last week’s show (to be fair, I’m also slightly surprised every time that I see that the Wachovia Center is now the Wells Fargo Center). This will be another 3-hour broadcast and the second this month in Pennsylvania after “WWE Old School Night” two weeks ago in Hershey.
While it was once an annual event, there hasn’t been a King of the Ring tournament since William Regal won in 2008. I seriously considered going tonight, but as you’ll see the bad outweighed the good.
As with all things, I had to consult with my tag team partner Angie (we also have an as yet unnamed manager that makes decisions about our night, much like the laptop on Raw). While this was a last minute decision and a guaranteed late night, it was the tickets and the card that ultimately made the decision. I’d have to get to the box office sometime today in order to avoid a $13 service charge on a $30 ticket, and when I realized I couldn’t even correctly name all of the participants in the tournament that was enough for me to decide to watch from home.
The brackets have not been announced, but qualifying matches on last week’s Raw and Smackdown had the following superstars in the mix: John Morrison, Daniel Bryan, Ezekiel Jackson, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes, and Alberto del Rio. The two I’m forgetting: Sheamus and Drew McIntyre.
These guys are pretty much automatic FFs for me at this point. I never watch those jabronies in real time just like Vicky Guerrero. Sheamus I’ll at least watch if he’s in the ring with someone interesting (like his current feud with Santino Marella), so he gets a break there. Drew McIntyre… it might not even matter who he’s fighting. I FFed through one of his matches with Matt Hardy (who I’m a big fan of) and that’s when I knew he was the worst. The thought of possibly having to watch either of these guys work three times in a night only helps to keep me away. I might be able to sit through Randy Orton’s eight-minute-ring-entrance without skipping ahead, but those guys? No way.
Looking at the line up, there’s a good chance any of these guys could be the next King of the Ring. The Detroit Examiner and The Bleacher Report are both picking Sheamus, while Fighter Hayabusa‘s money is on the sensational Alberto del Rio. I’d prefer Alberto del Rio between those two, but I’m going with Ezekiel Jackson. He most needs something to distinguish him in this pack and has been getting a lot of positive attention on Raw in the past few weeks.
I’ll see the results tonight from the comfort of my home. As an added bonus, I’ll get to hear CM Punk’s commentary throughout the night which I wouldn’t get if I went to the show. I’m sure it will be epic.
WWE Monday Raw – King of the Ring 2010 airs live from Philadelphia beginning at a special start time of 8PM on USA Network.
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Great Puma said,
Good points all around. Woah…I thought I was the only person who FF’ed through Drew McIntyre matches.
It’s a shame the WWE isn’t giving us the brackets ahead of time. It would have added a ‘real sports’ or even a puroresu feeling to it all. Perhaps we’ll have to wait until the opening of the show to see who’s facing who.
King Alberto is a total mark out choice for me. Your choice of Ezekial makes a lot of sense but I won’t be looking forward to the finals if he’s not wrestling Bryan, Morrison or Del Rio.
BTW – Thanks for the mention!
ptb said,
Puma, great to hear from you. Thanks for the kind words.
Just saw that you posted the first round matches on your site. It’s great that they’re not bracketed to guarantee a Raw vs. Smackdown final. Honestly, that would have made for the least interesting matchups.
I’m a big fan of Alberto del Rio as well, but I’m afraid his night is going to end with a Rey Mysterio run-in regardless of how far he goes in the tournament. We’re guaranteed to see him against Daniel Bryan though. A final with Ezekiel Jackson and either of those guys would be the best case scenario for him.
WWE King of the Ring 2010 – Round 1:
John Morrison vs. Cody Rhodes
United States Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Alberto Del Rio
Ezekiel Jackson vs. Drew McIntyre
Sheamus vs. Kofi Kingston
Josh B. said,
Pete-
Mostly agree with you on McIntyre & Sheamus, although I must say I’m the other way around – will stick and watch a match with McIntyre and somebody whose in-ring work I like, but Sheamus is an automatic FF for me under any circumstances. Bad mic work, small move set, looks like a photo negative of Manute Bol. At least McIntyre’s finisher is fun to watch, even if he did steal it.
That said, I think it’s Sheamus in a walk tonite – the whole thing smacks of a setup for a returning HHH. Sheamus walks around for a few weeks talking about how he’s “The King”, the announcers do their best to remind us all that one of Hunter’s nicknames (marry the boss’s daughter, get an extra nickname! SWEET!!) is “The King of Kings”, and sure enough, in a month or so…here comes Hunter, everybody marks out, and 15 minutes later, we all remember that The Game stopped caring a kid ago.
Of course, that’s incredibly hastily put-together and unbelievably lazy booking…
…which sadly, is why I’m sure it’ll happen.
Cheers-
-j-
ptb said,
Josh,
You really nailed the booking for the tournament. Sheamus even got a bye in Round 2 after the unfair elimination of my pick! I hated to see him win, at least he only worked twice.
You’re probably right about where this is heading too. Sometimes I try to think something unexpected will happen, like Jerry Lawler becoming WWE Champion. Rarely seems to go that way though.
Josh B. said,
The double count-out was super lame, but it is at least promising that they didn’t want to job Ezekiel out to McIntyre or Sheamus. He’s still very stiff for my taste, but I think there’s a TON of potential there.