|
|
|
Stylin' Profilin' #3: All Hail King Regal! |
» Reported by Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
» On Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 7:41 PM EST
Stylin' & Proflin' #3: All Hail King Regal!
April 27, 2008
By: Mike Klubnik of WrestleView.com
This past week the King of The Ring tournament was resurrected, seemingly out of the blue, on Monday Night RAW. Initially I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about seeing the tournament come back on an episode of RAW. In my mind, the tournament has been cheapened since the WWE stopped using it as a Pay Per View in 2002. Pay Per Views are designed to give wrestling fans a pay-off, and the Pay Per View’s are why we watch RAW, Smackdown, and ECW on a weekly basis. Some of us even risk brain damage by watching TNA on a weekly basis so that we can enjoy the pay-off at their monthly Pay Per View’s (likely to include about 12 gimmick matches, and 234 run-ins before the main event). Ultimately, what I’m getting at here, is that as wrestling fans, we shouldn’t be watching the King of The Ring tournament from this past Monday with the same mindset we would if watching it as a Pay Per View. The matches we get are likely to be shorter then they would be if this were a Pay Per View, and this tournament hasn’t been designed for a pay-off. What it has been designed for is a shot in the arm for someone on the WWE roster – much in the same way the 2006 King of The Ring tournament was for Booker T.
At the end of Monday night, there was a new King of The Ring. His name is William Regal. Regal isn’t flashy, and he’s not for everyone. His in-ring style is very unique. There’s no wasted motion, and he’s very rough and very stiff. He’s not in there doing the traditional punches, chops, and armbars we see from the likes of Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Finlay, and Matt Hardy. Instead Regal gives us throws, takedowns, uppercuts, knees to the face, and chain wrestling very few can emulate. Every move, facial expression, moment of rest, break in action means something. His style is hard to watch, and quite frankly it’s probably more technical than the average fan cares to see on an everyday basis. He’s the type of wrestler smarks and indy fans love. That alone is reason enough to think that Regal SHOULN’T have made it with the WWE. So why has he been so successful and lasted so long in the WWE? That’s an interesting question. For one, he’s great at cutting promo’s. His delivery is great, and he’s developed various catchphrases over the course of his career that catch on. I mean seriously, who doesn’t like saying “You-Manga”? He also connects with the crowd through his facial expressions. He uses his face to tell a story during his promo’s and during his matches, and the crowd takes note. I’ll also argue that even though his in-ring style is unorthodox, it’s not so unorthodox that it handicaps him with the crowd.
As one might expect, Regal’s victory and ascension to King of The Ring, has been met with a bit of resistance. Some fans were hoping to see someone “break through” and use the King of The Ring as a stepping stone or a way to elevate an up and comer. To those fans, I pose a question: Who? I searched the entire WWE roster and can confidently say that there are few, if any, that would benefit more from being King of The Ring than William Regal. Let’s take a quick look at some of the obvious candidates.
Chris Jericho – Six weeks ago I would have agreed. Jericho was putting on good matches, but he wasn’t seeming to catch on after his dramatic SAVE_US.X29 campaign. Since winning the Intercontinental Title and injecting himself into the feud with Batista and Shawn Michaels he’s seemingly put himself on the map again and found his way back into the upper mid-card/pseudo main event spot on RAW. He’s playing a tweener now, which in my opinion is perfect for his character. Jericho is going in the right direction and simply put, doesn’t need the help.
Matt Hardy – I’m willing to concede that you can make a case for Matt Hardy benefiting from the King of The Ring. Personally, I don’t think it fits his character, and there’s not much room for him to expand or grow as King of The Ring. But perhaps more importantly, winning King of The Ring could end up overshadowing his inevitable run as United States Champion.
CM Punk – As this year’s Mr. Money In The Bank, what more do you want for Punk? King of The Ring would be a nice title to add to his collection, but it doesn’t really do anything for him, so why waste it?
MVP – You could make a case for MVP winning King of The Ring, but again, I think he has done enough to elevate himself as United States Champion that being King Of The Ring isn’t necessary.
Ken Kennedy – Again, I can see the case for Mr. Kennedy. But in my mind, he’s a liability that the WWE brass is still not sure how to take. Plus he was out making a movie.
John Morrison – In my opinion, John Morrison is a year away from really breaking out as an upper mid-card or pseudo main event guy. A run as King of The Ring actually completely fits his character and could lead to an interesting feud between him and The Miz when they eventually lose the tag team titles. I just think he’s a year away. He’s being seasoned right now and being prepped to be the next Shawn Michaels of sorts.
Umaga – Umaga is already established and sitting at the cusp of the main event. A run as King of The Ring would certainly be a nice “feather in the cap” so to speak, but its hardly needed at this point. Moving him to Smackdown, or putting him in a high profile feud with someone on RAW would have the same effect as a win in the King of The Ring tournament.
So after reviewing the usual suspects we come to Lord William Regal. It’s easy to forget that Regal has been an integral part of the WWE mid-card for years, dating back to his days as Intercontinental Champion and WWE Commissioner. His feud with Chris Jericho in 2001 was fantastic, and he always seems to entertain in his own way. But in recent years Regal has wallowed, despite his fantastic talent. First he was branded as Eugene’s handler on RAW for several months before eventually being shipped to Smackdown where he teamed with Dave Taylor, wore a dress for Paul Burchill, and repeated the phrase, “All Hail, King Booker!” time and time again after Booker T’s 2006 win in the King of The Ring tournament. That’s not exactly an outstanding resume for someone as talented as Regal is – especially if he’s about to return to the ring on a near full time basis.
It also has a striking resemblance to a former winner of the King of The Ring tournament who’s career was re-vitalized by winning said tournament in 2006. That’s right. The infamous, and aforementioned “King Bookah”! Booker T had spent three years doing essentially nothing on RAW and Smackdown before winning the 2006 King of The Ring. Initially people were a bit surprised and irritated that he beat Bobby Lashley in the finals. After all, Booker didn’t need to be “elevated”. It was Lashley who was going to benefit from winning King of The Ring. Even though neither man is with the company, there’s no doubt in my mind that Booker T was the right choice to win the 2006 tournament. To be fair, I was skeptical of the decision at the time, but Booker proved me wrong. He created the “King Bookah” gimmick that caught on despite being insanely over the top, and found himself a World Champion for the sixth time. He was booked as the guy you had to go through to get to the main event on RAW (or as we say on the forums “a gatekeeper”). Before winning King of The Ring, a large number of wrestling fans wouldn’t have viewed Booker leaving the WWE as a huge loss. Instead, his departure was an enormous deal, and left a gaping hole on RAW. Booker T’s win at the King of The Ring was literally a career renaissance. Having said that, take note – the 2008 King of The Ring will be the re-launching of William Regal’s in-ring career. In three hours we saw virtually every aspect of his character that makes him successful. He was cowardly and cunning in using his powers as RAW General Manager to book himself in a match with Hornswoggle. (on a personal note, it was also quite funny watching him beat up a midget). What I think got lost in the shuffle of the tournament was how Finlay was booked. It would be very easy to play up the angle that Regal booked Finlay against Khali after striking a deal with Khali in which Khali would get disqualified, and injure Finlay, in return for some sort of title shot on RAW (say against Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Title?). He was an in-ring tactician taking advantage of circumstance against Finlay. And against CM Punk, Regal won cleanly. No questions asked. He outwrestled Punk. In three hours William Regal was devious, cowardly, malicious, and King of the Ring. But he was also credible. He beat Punk and Finlay clean. He beat them with a hold the majority of wrestling fans either didn’t know about, or had simply forgotten about. Not only did William Regal become one of the most credible wrestler’s on the RAW roster in three hours, he also had one of the most devastating submissions in the WWE: The Regal Stretch.
William Regal isn’t as decorated as Booker T was, but he’s arguably more talented, and in my opinion there’s no comparison between the two. Regal may not have a run as WWE Champion in his future, but he is as a good a candidate as any to become the “gatekeeper” on RAW. That’s nothing to be upset about either. People easily get caught up in title’s, and who’s champion and who’s not. I’ve tried to move past that and just enjoy character work and good matches. Sure, I’d love to see Chris Jericho, CM Punk, and Matt Hardy as WWE Champion. Maybe one day it will happen. But in the interim, I’m going to enjoy what they are doing now, because they are doing it well. I’m also going to enjoy William Regal as King of The Ring. If he ends up working matches with wrestler’s on the cusp of the main event, or in the main event, I’m a happy camper. Seriously, who wouldn’t enjoy a Triple H/William Regal feud? Regal has the charisma, the in-ring ability, and now he has the attention of the fans. Let’s take a step back and remember that King of The Ring may not be what it was when it was a yearly Pay Per View. It doesn’t need to be used to “elevate” someone to the next level. It can just as easily be used to re-vitalize a floundering career and give someone the shot in the arm they need. This year a new King was crowned, and he wasn’t necessarily elevated, but he was certainly given a shot in the arm. Sit back, relax, and enjoy.
All Hail King Regal.
Back To WrestleView.com
|
|
|
