Late to the Party Review: KOTR, Queen’s Crown, and G1 Climax Finals.

Welcome to our late to the party review of the G1 Climax, Queen’s Crown, and King of the Ring finals. One tournament finale triumphed while another one ended in disaster. Then, there was one that was just, meh.

QUEEN’S CROWN: Zelina Vega defeated Doudrop to become the inaugural Queen’s Crown winner. It was a slow and plotting match that failed to resonate on an engaging level. I’m not sure if it was the massive size discrepancy between the two.

Perhaps their ability to move around the ring comfortably was hindered by the long sleeve shirt and pants they wore instead of their wrestling gear per Saudi law? While Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, and Bianca Belair didn’t have that problem in their Triple Threat Match, it’s different strokes for different folks.

Vega’s Queen’s Crown coronation on Raw and rematch with Doudrop was her longest televised segment in over a year. Vega looks the part and is good on the microphone. If WWE sticks with booking her as a serious character long-term, they will get a good return on the investment. I would have bet the farm she would lose to Doudrop due to WWE’s 50/50 booking. Surprisingly, she did not, which is promising.

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G1 Climax, Queens’s Crown & King of the Ring Predictions

Three tournaments culminate tomorrow as WWE and NJPW hold one of the biggest events on their respective calendars. New Japan Pro Wrestling will hold the finals of the G-1 Climax, a grueling month-long, round-robin tournament. WWE will head to Saudi Arabia with a loaded card to crown a new King of the Ring, and one woman will win the inaugural Queen’s Crown.

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King of the Ring & Queen’s Crown Update: 4 Remain

WWE revealed the King of the Ring and Queen’s Crown brackets last Friday as all first-round matches are in the books. The right-hand side of the semifinal bracket will occur on SmackDown with the other half on Raw.

King of the Ring saw Sami Zayn beat Rey Mysterio and Finn Balor topple Cesaro. On Raw, Xavier Woods defeated Ricochet in a fun matchup, and Jinder Mahal pinned Kofi Kingston.

In the Queen’s Crown, Carmella beat Liv Morgan while Zelina Vega pinned Toni Storm. Shanya Baszler made quick work of Dana Brooke and Doudrop over Natalya in somewhat of an upset.

The finals of both tournaments will occur at Crown Jewel.

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King of the Ring & Queen’s Crown Preview

WWE dusts off King of the Ring, which coincides with the inaugural Queen’s Crown beginning tonight on SmackDown and continues Monday on Raw. Both tournaments conclude at Crown Jewel on October 21, one day before the new draft rosters go into effect.

The brackets haven’t been released. However, we can still preview the tournaments by looking back at how WWE fulfilled their past needs.

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KOTR Subverted Expectations

After the dust settled last Monday on Raw, Baron Corbin became the 2019 King of the Ring (KOTR).

Yes, the same Baron Corbin who was blamed for the show’s record-low ratings over the summer.

Yes, the same Baron Corbin who diehard fans believe is absolutely atrocious in the ring.

Yes, the same Baron Corbin who reportedly only Vince McMahon sees as a star.

The criticism is fair, but I don’t agree with a lot of it. Corbin’s win capped off a KOTR that was highly entertaining while subverting expectations.

Baron Corbin and Chad Gable were the last two people anyone expected to make it to the KOTR finals, much less, win the whole thing.

Gable was brought up from 205 Live and saddled with a sympathetic babyface character who people look down on because he’s short.

Corbin returned for the tournament after being off of television for the first six weeks of the Paul Heyman booking regime, which reportedly didn’t plan on using Corbin much going forward.

When KOTR began, Ricochet, Ali, and Buddy Murphy were each in the midst of a newly minted push. Meanwhile, Samoa Joe, Drew McIntyre, and to a lesser extent, The Miz are always in the mix for a significant win.

Elias had some momentum due to his alliance with Shane McMahon. While Kevin Owens would have been a popular choice to win, everyone expected him to be screwed out of the tournament via Elias/McMahon, which is precisely what happened.

Corbin and Gable put on strong performances through the tournament, and their match in the finals was highly entertaining. Corbin got the win with a beautiful finishing sequence where Gable spun into Corbin’s End of Days finishing maneuver.

Last night, on Raw, Corbin, and Gable had a rematch that expanded their story and made for another fun outting. Corbin debuted a Game of Thrones-inspired crown, robe, and specter after Gable destroyed the chintzy looking crown and royal garb WWE had reserved for the winner.

WWE has received a lot of slack over the past year for their monotonous storytelling and homogenized presentation of the product. Creatively, KOTR served as a big win for the company. They were able to subvert expectations with the tournament while keeping it interesting throughout with excellent matches and several twists and turns along the way.

Now, Chad Gable is a prominent character on television, and Baron Corbin proved he doesn’t suck as a wrestler while his character has a fresh coat of paint, now dubbed King Corbin. The Kansas City native is the seventh consecutive heel to win KOTR. While it would be nice to see an up and coming babyface win the crown, bad guys always make for a better king.

Ricochet Busted My Bracket

I believed my King of the Ring bracket should have been etched in stone. Well, Ricochet changed that when he defeated the tournament favorite, Drew McIntyre on Raw. Not only did they put on a really good match, but Ricochet went over clean. Baron Corbin toppled The Miz to ensure half of my Raw bracket was still intact.

Then, SmackDown happened. Ali defeated Buddy Murphy, which didn’t surprise me even though I picked Murphy to win. Chad Gable pinned Shelton Benjamin ensuring I ended the week 2-2. My tournament predictions had a back door of sorts since Murphy, in my mind, wasn’t a sure thing. Ricochet straight-up broke my bracket by beating the guy I picked to win the whole thing.

Now, I got to predict the rest of the tournament and pick a new winner…Thanks, Ricochet. 😡

This Monday on Raw will host the quarterfinal matchups. Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet is the hardest match to predict considering who’s involved. Samoa Joe is always a good bet to win a tournament or championship. However, Ricochet has been getting a push over the last few months. Samoa Joe is a strong enough performer to bounce back from a loss here. Ricochet has the spotlight on him right now and shouldn’t lose this soon in the tournament.

The second quarterfinal match on the Raw side features Baron Corbin taking on Cedric Alexander. If I had to bet, I’d pick Baron Corbin to win. While an Alexander vs. Ricochet semifinal would be fantastic, Vince McMahon likes newly featured babyfaces to conquer dastardly heels. Plus, Vince thinks Corbin is a star. However, since Paul Heyman is the booker, I believe he will produce an Alexander win to get the semifinal match everyone wants to see.

Elias tangos with Ali in the first SmackDown quaterfinal match. This is the easiest one to call. Elias has been making Kevin Owens’ life a living hell at the behest of Shane McMahon. Shane injected himself as the special guest referee; helping Elias beat Owens in the first round. It’s time for Owens to return the favor and cost Elias the match with Ali.

The second blue brand quarterfinal match will see Chad Gable taking on Andrade. Both wrestlers are super talented; however, WWE has done next to nothing with Gable. It’s s shame, too. Andrade seems to be someone the company has high hopes for. This should be a great match, but Andrade gets the W in this one.

Here we go. My new prediction bracket. I’m going all in on a Ricochet vs. Andrade final. Ricochet can afford a loss in the tournament finals. Andrade needs it more, and I think he’ll take the whole thing going forward. Still, though, no matter how it goes, the finals should make for a match of the year candidate!

Late to the Party King of the Ring Brackets

Welcome to my late to the party King of the Ring brackets. Since 1985, nineteen wrestlers have held the distinction of being King of the Ring. This year’s tournament will be the first in four years with sixteen wrestlers vying for the crown. The first, second, and third-round matches will occur on Raw and SmackDown. The finals will happen at Clash of Champions on September 15th.

As you can tell by the official bracket pictured above, I’m late to the game when it comes to predicting the field. Four matches have already taken place. I swear on my great grand pappy’s soul I predicted Samoa Joe and Cedric Alexander would win their first-round matches.

On the SmackDown side of the bracket, I predicted Elias and Andrade would advance to the second round. However, unlike the Raw matches, I have proof of my SmackDown picks I made before the show began.

King of the Ring has done a lot for wrestler’s careers. It helped launch Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H into superstardom, kept Bret Hart a hot commodity after losing his first WWF Title, and revitalized Booker T’s career as he became the most entertaining KOTR winner (All hail King Bookah!).

So, who will reign supreme in 2019? My complete bracket is posted below.

Buddy Murphy and Drew McIntyre are set to have a fantastic tournament. Murphy, representing SmackDown, got a massive win over Daniel Bryan last night. WWE is not going to squander all of the former cruiserweight champion’s momentum.

His first-round match with Ali will be a show-stealing affair. Kevin Owens will get his revenge on Elias and cost him the match against Murphy. Andrade and Murphy will tango in a SmackDown finale that will be nothing short of amazing.

Drew McIntyre will beat Ricochet in an explosive contest. In round two, “The Scottish Psychopath” will stop Samoa Joe in a hard-fought battle. McIntrye and Cedric Alexander will meet in the Raw finale in what will be a repeat performance of last week’s amazing match in Toronto.

Murphy is on fire right now; however, McIntyre has been the apple of WWE’s eye. He’s has everything going for him as a performer. Clash of Champions will be the time when they begin the main event ascension of Drew McIntyre by crowning him King of the Ring.

The Body Slam Podcast Ep 15: Wrestling Video Games, ECW in 2014 & Fantasy Tournament

Once again, The Body Slam Podcast takes a break from the biggest news items and discuss wrestling video games and how the business would look if the original ECW was around today. Plus, Todd Graham moderates a fantasy King of the Ring tournament where Shane Daly keeps it real while Atlee Greene…..not so much at all.

If you want to ask a question to be read on the air or you just want to tell us how awesome we are, hit us up at bodyslampodcast@gmail.com

Click here to listen to the podcast at Gerweck.net: Pro Wrestling Since 1997

Remember When Mick Foley Fell off The Cell?

Do you remember where you were when the Undertaker threw Mankind off the top of the Hell in a Cell? I do, and I’ll never forget it. It was the June of 1998 and I had just finished my junior year of high school. King of the Ring was moments away, and I had earned a little extra money with my summer job in order to purchase it on pay-per-view.

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