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Post by Zeke on Dec 3, 2012 8:44:41 GMT -5
Which King of the Ring winners do you consider as a success story, or a flop?
1985: Don Muraco 1986: Harley Race 1987: Randy Savege 1988: Ted DiBiase 1989: Tito Santana 1991: Bret Hart 1993: Bret Hart 1994: Owen Hart 1995: Mabel 1996: Steve Austin 1997: Hunter Hearst Helmsley 1998: Ken Shamrock 1999: Billy Gunn 2000: Kurt Angle 2001: Edge 2002: Brock Lesnar 2006: Booker T 2008: William Regal 1010: Sheamus
I'm unsure before 2001's, but I consider Brock Lesnar's and Booker T's as success story, as it lead to them becoming WWE/World Champion respectfully, when Edge. Regal & Sheamus were left in the midcard, up to a at least a year afterwards.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2012 9:09:38 GMT -5
Savage, Bret, Owen, Austin, Hunter, Angle, Edge, Lesnar, Sheamus = success.
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NameRedacted™
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Post by NameRedacted™ on Dec 3, 2012 9:10:53 GMT -5
I think its a WAAAAY shorter list of KOTR's who DIDN'T use it as a platform to gain more success.
Regal should have been pushed to the damn sky years before he was KOTR.
Mabel as KOTR was a huge flop. Pun intended.
Billy Gunn as KOTR was a great idea on paper. It's just too bad he didn't go anywhere with it after he won.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2012 9:14:29 GMT -5
Some of these people didn't need the KOTR, Booker was already a multi time champ, and Regal was way out of his prime.
Most of the successful ones would have been successful with or without the KOTR.
Had Billy not had his drug problems and been put back with Road Dogg after he won he would have been much more successful.
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Post by MrPerfect25 on Dec 3, 2012 9:19:20 GMT -5
the rock should've won in '98. Shamrock was such a disppointment
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Post by punksnotdead on Dec 3, 2012 11:18:39 GMT -5
Wasn't Regal supposed to get pushed to the moon though after his KotR win but he ed it up? Mabel and Shamrock were a disappointment. They had the right idea with Billy Gunn, just didn't pan out. Sheamus as the actual King of the Ring winner was terrible imo. He looked like a character from Lord of the Rings and was really in the wheel spinning point of his career at that time. He was actually catapulted by the Rumble imo. The King of the Ring gimmick they strapped him with was a failure if you ask me. I liked when guys were able to use the win with their gimmick, Owen being the obvious one and Booker of course. Austin and Triple H both used their moments in the spotlight to make statements, and guys like Bret, Brock and Edge all used it to grab brass rings. It was a great PPV and concept and another way to potentially make a new star. They should do it every year imo.
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Post by LeighD on Dec 3, 2012 11:24:49 GMT -5
I'll only use 1993 and onward as WWF only really pushed the KOTR as career altering at this point. So...
1993: Bret Hart = Success 1994: Owen Hart = Success 1995: Mabel = Flop 1996: Steve Austin = Success 1997: Hunter Hearst Helmsley = Success 1998: Ken Shamrock = Flop (Rock really should have won) 1999: Billy Gunn = Flop (Not a bad idea, just nothing ever happened afterward) 2000: Kurt Angle = Success 2001: Edge = Success 2002: Brock Lesnar = Success 2006: Booker T = Not really sure why he won. Maybe Lashley needed more 2008: William Regal = Had more become of Regal afterward, maybe a success, but he was in the same boat as Booker. Punk would have been a better choice. 2010: Sheamus = I'm still undecided about Sheamus.
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Post by alexgg on Dec 3, 2012 11:43:52 GMT -5
I didn't realize there were so many winners.
I'd say Stone Cold was the most successful.
As well as Brock Lesnar and Booker T as far as becoming champion afterwards.
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mrassbillygunn
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Post by mrassbillygunn on Dec 3, 2012 11:43:55 GMT -5
Like many have said, Billy winning the KOTR did sound great at the time, i mean look at the guy he was the Brad Pitt of the WWE but he went nowhere with it. In fact from what i recall that KOTR was going to be X-Pacs but something happened and they changed it at the last minute. Billy says so in his 2005 shoot with RF.
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Post by Scott! on Dec 3, 2012 11:50:24 GMT -5
I'd say billy gunn wasn't as bad as everyone makes out. He atleast got a Summerslam match with the rock out of it.
Shamrock sucked, but I never liked him. Found him boring as hell.
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Post by Chip on Dec 3, 2012 12:16:37 GMT -5
Anyone besides Austin has been a flop
Lesnar was already skyrocketing towards the WWE title, KOTR was just a stepping stone. Owen never got anywhere near the main event after his Bret was already recognized as the best when he won HHH didn't get huge until DX, KOTR did nothing for him in the bigger picture
Austin was the only one. Had they not booked him to win, had he not taken the mic and cut that promo we may not have been watching the WWE today.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2012 12:23:03 GMT -5
Anyone besides Austin has been a flop Lesnar was already skyrocketing towards the WWE title, KOTR was just a stepping stone. Owen never got anywhere near the main event after his Bret was already recognized as the best when he won HHH didn't get huge until DX, KOTR did nothing for him in the bigger picture Austin was the only one. Had they not booked him to win, had he not taken the mic and cut that promo we may not have been watching the WWE today. I disagree with Owen. He main evented Summerslam the year he won the KOTR, and he ended up feuding with Shawn in 96.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2012 14:44:39 GMT -5
1985: Don Muraco = Flop 1986: Harley Race 1987: Randy Savege 1988: Ted DiBiase 1989: Tito Santana 1991: Bret Hart 1993: Bret Hart 1994: Owen Hart 1995: Mabel = Flop 1996: Steve Austin 1997: Hunter Hearst Helmsley 1998: Ken Shamrock = Flop 1999: Billy Gunn = Flop 2000: Kurt Angle 2001: Edge 2002: Brock Lesnar 2006: Booker T 2008: William Regal 1010: Sheamus
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Post by punksnotdead on Dec 3, 2012 14:48:03 GMT -5
Anyone besides Austin has been a flop Lesnar was already skyrocketing towards the WWE title, KOTR was just a stepping stone. Owen never got anywhere near the main event after his Bret was already recognized as the best when he won HHH didn't get huge until DX, KOTR did nothing for him in the bigger picture Austin was the only one. Had they not booked him to win, had he not taken the mic and cut that promo we may not have been watching the WWE today. - Owen was having the feud of his career when he won KotR in 94. That led to his WWF Title match against Bret at SummerSlam. Had Owen won the title at SummerSlam, or Survivor Series instead of Backlund like he should have, then we wouldn't be having this conversation. Not to mention, the King of Harts gimmick was awesome and he was the best heel in the company in 94 with it. - The argument could be made that Bret wasn't really "made" as the top guy until WMX. In fact, KOTR 93 was the true closing of Hogan's door and really the opening of Bret's imo because there was only one real guy at that point. Bret should have main evented SummerSlam that year had it not been for the failed experiment that was Lex Luger as well. It's the equivalent of saying Austin didn't need to win the Rumble in 1998 because he was already the man so it didn't matter. - Brock's KotR win entitled him to the match at SummerSlam. How is that not the perfect example of why his KotR win was so important? Totally disagree, on every level imaginable on this one. He became Undisputed Champion because he won KotR. Would it still have happened? Yes, but it's no different than the Royal Rumble being a stepping stone to Main Eventing WrestleMania. - And the original DX formed out of the Mankind vs Triple H feud. That's really when you saw pompous Hunter Hearst Helmsley become HHH. That KotR win eventually turned into him joining Shawn at ringside in that Mankind match on Raw two months down the road. That inevitably led to the tag match with DX vs Mankind and Taker. - If you want to get technical, Austin didn't even Main Event a PPV until like 7 months after when he won the Royal Rumble and then main evented at Final Four. So other than the speech where he coined Austin 3:16, I can make the argument that Austin's actual win wasn't as big of a step as other's because he really was launched at the Rumble. So does that mean KotR didn't matter for him either?
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Butchers
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Post by Butchers on Dec 3, 2012 16:16:50 GMT -5
Like many have said, Billy winning the KOTR did sound great at the time, i mean look at the guy he was the Brad Pitt of the WWE but he went nowhere with it. In fact from what i recall that KOTR was going to be X-Pacs but something happened and they changed it at the last minute. Billy says so in his 2005 shoot with RF. Really? It always looked to me that Billy was the favourite to win that King of the Ring. X-Pac was really good around that period though, so him winning it would've been cool.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2012 17:44:22 GMT -5
Muraco, Mabel, Shamrock, Gunn, and Regal were the only forgettable ones, imo. It helped put Booker T into the main event, even if he didn't need to win the tournament to be a legitimate main eventer.
I'd say Brock was the most successful. He won the WWE Title not too long after winning the tournament.
I'd have to say my favorite winner though is Edge. I was really rooting for him to win it that year and was so glad when he did as I was and still am a huge fan of his.
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Post by aggressiveperfectpoor on Dec 3, 2012 18:07:21 GMT -5
Everyone is bringing up Shamrock as a flop, but I disagree TO AN EXTENT. True, a year later he was on his way out. But in mid 1998 he was in the upper mid-card scene and in a feud with the Rock that they were wrapping up so Rock and the rest of the nation could enter a feud with HHH and DX. So it served as an attempt to push Shamrock's stock higher, and it furthered the Triple H/Rock feud.
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Post by King Clayton of the MidWest on Dec 3, 2012 18:59:33 GMT -5
Savage, Bret, Owen, Austin, Hunter, Angle, Edge, Lesnar, Sheamus = success. Pretty much this...
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Post by jaymieandrogyny on Dec 3, 2012 19:23:15 GMT -5
I'll only use 1993 and onward as WWF only really pushed the KOTR as career altering at this point. So... 1993: Bret Hart = Success 1994: Owen Hart = Success 1995: Mabel = Flop 1996: Steve Austin = Success 1997: Hunter Hearst Helmsley = Success 1998: Ken Shamrock = Flop (Rock really should have won) 1999: Billy Gunn = Flop (Not a bad idea, just nothing ever happened afterward) 2000: Kurt Angle = Success 2001: Edge = Success 2002: Brock Lesnar = Success 2006: Booker T = Not really sure why he won. Maybe Lashley needed more 2008: William Regal = Had more become of Regal afterward, maybe a success, but he was in the same boat as Booker. Punk would have been a better choice. 2010: Sheamus = I'm still undecided about Sheamus. This exactly. I really wish they'd bring it back already.
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Post by Word™ on Dec 3, 2012 20:26:51 GMT -5
Shamrock and Billy Gunn.
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