The entire concept of the King of the Ring tournament is a big ol’ loser this week, for a variety of reasons. Of course, the biggest is the fact the winner of the tournament, Oba Femi, seemingly relinquished, or at least put his title opportunity on the backburner and won’t get it at SummerSlam.
Instead of facing off against World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns or Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn (or whoever may be holding that title at the time), Femi will face Brock Lesnar in the pair’s rubber match, a Hell in a Cell match in Lesnar’s native Minnesota. Sure, it’ll be one heck of a bout, and one that Femi should certainly win, but it’s no SummerSlam title match for “The Ruler,” which is what the entire King of the Ring crown was for.
For the last week, fans online have been very upset with WWE’s booking. Many thought that Femi would work both nights of “The Biggest Party of the Summer,” facing Lesnar on one, and Reigns on the other. The idea for the second match comes after Femi called out Reigns after Femi’s victory over “The Beast Incarnate” at WrestleMania 42, where Reigns won the title.
Instead, and in another example of how the tournament didn’t seem necessary this year, Reigns will be taking on career-long rival, and former friend and Shield stablemate, Seth Rollins for the title. Rollins was also in the King of the Ring tournament, but lost in the first round, due in part to The Vision and Bron Breakker interference. He defeated Breakker in a cage match, ending their feud, at Night of Champions, then confronted Reigns on the episode of “Raw” after the event.
Reigns told Rollins that he hadn’t done anything lately, outside of beating Breakker, which is true. Their SummerSlam title match isn’t as egregious as Femi foregoing his title shot, since the pair have lengthy history, but it’s still a good example of why the tournament didn’t need to happen this year. Especially because Femi’s opponent in the final, Jey Uso, also got a shot at becoming number one contender to a title not even a week later, on “WWE SmackDown,” where he was defeated by Cody Rhodes. So, even the loser of King of the Ring gets a second shot at a title match, though this one won’t be happening at SummerSlam.
WWE’s booking of the follow-up to King of the Ring was so poor, it made the entire tournament feel pointless. The entire concept is one for the “L” column, and it’s sure to make fans question whether or not it even needs to be held next year.
Written by Daisy Ruth
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