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WWE has revived King of the Ring tournament, a storied part of the company's history. Generally, the winner of the classic goes on to bigger and better things. 16 men have been entered in the tournament, which starts next week on Raw next week. There will be eight competitors from the Raw brand, and eight from Smackdown.
Let's take a look at the chances that each man has, along with some commentary.
The Favorites
Obviously, this category contains the odds on favorites to win the tournament.
Drew McIntyre. Drew is a clear favorite. Big, strong, great look, fantastic wrestler, he would be the perfect choice to win the tournament and become royalty. Drew has the best odds of being the King according to Sugarhouse online sportsbook.
Kevin Owens. KO is taking on Shane McMahon which puts him in the top tier and will probably be the reason he doesn't win. Shane has made it clear he will do what he can to hurt Owens, so that will probably continue in the tournament.
The Miz. He most probably will not win, but he has a USA TV show and it wouldn't surprise me to see WWE want footage of King Miz to be a part of that show.
Samoa Joe. Joe's push of late has been strong. He is finally being booked as the killer we have all seen him as for years now. What better way to cement what a monster Joe is than to have him run through the tournament?
The 1-A List
These are talents that while not favorites wouldn't surprise anyone if they came out of the tournament with the Crown.
Andrade. After beating Rey Mysterio in two straight falls on Raw, Andrade is on a roll. WWE could decide to continue that by having him come out the winner. Zelina Vega at his side is a big asset, especially in a tournament setting.
Buddy Murphy. Had I written this before Smackdown aired, he would have been in the next group. But after an amazing match with Roman Reigns, where he was this close to winning, there's a small chance WWE could get behind him here. Will it happen? Probably not, but he has a chance.
Baron Corbin. Corbin was in the Title picture for a while but hasn't done anything since Brock Lesnar cashed in Money in The Bank, so it wouldn't surprise me if WWE put this gimmick on him to get him back on TV in a prominent position.
Cedric Alexander. He has been getting a good push on Raw of late. If WWE decided to really ramp that up, putting the Crown on him would be a great way to do it.
Elias. The odds of him winning aren't great but he has to be in this category since he is aligned with Shane McMahon. Anyone that has ties to the family has to be given a chance.
Ricochet. He has been booked in the upper card of late and has been playing the underdog character well. WWE could book him to overcome all of the odds and go to the next level here.
The Long Shots
These men have almost no chance of winning, and, probably don't even have that.
Ali. They have continually said a new Ali was coming and he would show the world how great he was. This would be a great place to do it, but the odds are heavily against that happening.
Apollo Crews. Crews has gotten no push of late. He's clearly in the tournament to lose to someone, most probably in the first round.
Cesaro. He deserves so much better but ever since The Bar broke up, he has been on the outside looking in.
Chad Gable. He is another talent that hasn't been used much of late.
Sami Zayn. Sami has been nothing more than someone that talks big, then loses bigger.
Shelton Benjamin. I hate to put Shelton in this category because he is a great wrestler. But WWE hasn't pushed him at all lately so there doesn't seem to be any chance of him coming out of nowhere and winning.
Lots of eyes will be on the matches.
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