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WWE has announced the first round matches for the 2019 King of the Ring tournament, kicking off on Raw and SmackDown Live next week.
Below are all the first round matches, and the tournament will culminate at WWE Clash of Champions in September.
WWE Raw first round matches:
- Cesaro vs Samoa Joe
- Ricochet vs Drew McIntyre
- Cedric Alexander vs Sami Zayn
- The Miz vs Baron Corbin
WWE SmackDown Live first round matches:
- Kevin Owens vs Elias
- Ali vs Buddy Murphy
- Chad Gable vs Shelton Benjamin
- Apollo Crews vs Andrade
Given the above, let's predict who will emerge victorious next week and advance to the second round of the tournament.
Cesaro vs Samoa Joe
Cesaro vs Samoa Joe is an interesting first round match pairing as both WWE Superstars cannot afford key losses on television at the moment.
Samoa Joe picked up some steam following his participation in the current Roman Reigns storyline, but he needs to pick up key wins in order for fans to take him seriously once again as a top contender in the company.
As for Cesaro, he is another consistently underutilized talent in WWE who needs to pick up a big match win, however, I don't think luck will be on his side come Monday, and I predict The Swiss Cyborg will be eliminated from the tournament in the first round.
As for Samoa Joe, I don't expect him to advance further than the second round in the tournament, where he will face the winner of the Drew McIntyre vs Ricochet match, but I do predict The Samoan Submission Machine will make it beyond the first round of the tournament.
At this point, Cesaro might be hoping Sheamus returns to TV soon so the two can reunite as The Bar.
Match winner prediction: Samoa Joe
Ricochet vs Drew McIntyre
Ricochet vs Drew McIntyre is another interesting match-up for the first round of this year's King of the Ring tournament, as both competitors have momentum on their side heading into Monday Night Raw next week.
Earlier today, the match favorites were revealed via Sky Bet, and Drew McIntyre is heavily favored to win the KOTR tournament, and I tend to agree with odds makers.
As I mentioned when I ranked the winning chances of every KOTR participant, Ricochet is on a roll in WWE right now, and while he could definitely benefit from a tournament win, his star is on the rise on Monday Night Raw, with or without a KOTR win.
Match winner prediction: Drew McIntyre
Cedric Alexander vs Sami Zayn
WWE star Sami Zayn is currently enjoying his role as the bitter, disgruntled Raw star, and he has come up on the losing end of the last few of his matches.
On the other hand, Cedric Alexander is coming off a momentum boost after briefly feuding with Drew McIntyre, another competitor in this year's King of the Ring tournament.
In terms of necessity, Cedric Alexander seems like the guy who could really benefit from going deep in the tournament this year, and he might be one of the tourney's dark horses this year.
Match winner prediction: Cedric Alexander
The Miz vs Baron Corbin
In yet another interesting first round match-up in this year's WWE King of the Ring tournament, The Miz will be facing Baron Corbin in Corbin's first match back in a WWE ring since losing in the main event of Extreme Rules this year.
With regards to The Miz, he is coming off a win against Dolph Ziggler on WWE Raw this week, but had his SummerSlam match scrapped in favor of a returning Bill Goldberg.
Consequently, both Miz and Corbin are in need of a big match win at the moment, but in the end, a returning Corbin might have the edge in this bout in order to reintroduce him as a top heel on the Raw brand.
Match winner prediction: Baron Corbin
Kevin Owens vs Elias
Kevin Owens and Elias have been wrapped up in the feud KO has had in recent months with Shane McMahon. Although it appeared as if Owens' SummerSlam match with Shane would result in Shane taking time off WWE TV, that does not appear to be the case.
In fact, following WWE TV this week, it looks like Shane vs Kevin Owens will be continuing in WWE, making KO vs Elias in the first round all the more interesting.
Expect some type of Shane McMahon interference in this early tournament match next week, allowing Elias a much needed WWE TV win.
Match winner prediction: Elias
Chad Gable vs Shelton Benjamin
Once tag team partners, Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin now find each other battling each other in the first round of the WWE King of the Ring tournament.
Over the past few weeks on SmackDown Live, WWE has been running odd vignettes promoting the return of Benjamin - however, he does not speak in any of the vignettes.
That all changed (sort of) this week, when Chad Gable interrupted one of Benjamin's videos, to which Benjamin called Gable "shorty." It has been rumored that Gable might be getting a name change in WWE to "Shorty G", and if so, he might be in line for a decent push on the blue brand. However, with WWE spending so much time on Benjamin in recent weeks with promo videos, it's hard to think he would be eliminated from the KOTR tournament in the first round.
Match winner prediction: Shelton Benjamin
Apollo Crews vs Andrade
On paper, this first round match seems to be the most lopsided in the tournament, with Andrade recently picking up key victories over Rey Mysterio, and Apollo Crews floundering on the main roster with no clear direction.
Given the above, this year's King of the Ring tournament looks like an excellent vehicle for Andrade to showcase his skills, and while I do not predict the Zelina Vega-flanked WWE star will win the tournament, he should advance beyond the first round.
Match winner prediction: Andrade
Ali vs Buddy Murphy
WWE stars Ali and Buddy Murphy are two talents who could go deep in this year's King of the Ring tournament, and it will be a shame to see one of the two men eliminated in the first round.
As for Buddy Murphy, he accidentally made a name for himself when he mistakenly appeared in the first Roman Reigns attacker video, which involved scaffolding falling on The Big Dog.
It was later revealed that Buddy Murphy was not supposed to be in the camera shot when the angle took place, but because fans picked up on Murphy's presence, WWE ran with the mistake and Murphy ended up having a great match with Reigns on SmackDown Live this week.
On the other side of Murphy's first round KOTR match, Ali is poised for big things in WWE after returning from injury and debuting several high quality videos hyping his TV return.
As a result, Ali is not only my pick to advance in the first round of the KOTR tournament, but he is also my pick to win the whole thing.
Ali's odds of winning the tournament currently rest at 9/1, and while he is not the favorite to win the tournament he is definitely liked by oddsmakers.
Match winner prediction: Ali
What are your match win predictions? Let us know in the comment section!
