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The King of the Ring tournament returned with a bang this year, with WWE announcing 16 Superstars who would be a part of the tournament.
While things were going smoothly, WWE decided to create some chaos by ending last night’s quarter-finals between Samoa Joe and Ricochet in a draw. The Samoan Submission Machine caught his opponent with a Coquina Clutch on the top rope, and the two fell to the mat with both shoulders down for three.
This now makes things more interesting, as the usual one-on-one semi-final will be a triple threat match between Joe, Ricochet, and the winner of the other quarter-final Baron, Corbin.
Keeping that in mind, we’ve come up with 4 reasons why the match between the two favorites for the tournament ended in a draw.
#1 To allow both men to come out strong
Currently, Samoa Joe is arguably Raw’s biggest and most lethal heel who has taken down the biggest threats even though he hasn’t been able to win a top championship in the process. In 2017, we saw him come very close to slaying The Beast Brock Lesnar which is a great achievement in itself.
Ricochet, on the other hand, is the new babyface everyone has been talking about on the main roster. The One and Only has been able to overcome the odds and even win the United States Championship in the process in such a short time.
WWE would have had a tough time while picking who to give the victory in the tournament, and therefore they must have decided with going with a draw instead.
This helps WWE protect both men at this point while adding Baron Corbin to the mix in the semi-finals. Both men currently have a lot of momentum and fans will be cheering for both men on Raw next week.
#2 To make things unpredictable
The King of the Ring tournament has been quite traditional as we have seen one-on-one matches between two Superstars determine who progresses in the tournament to ultimately crown one King.
Similarly, this year’s tournament started with eight one-on-one matches which were reduced to four in the quarter-finals with the victors of the initial round taking part in them.
Now that Samoa Joe and Ricochet have both progressed to the semi-finals, they will meet Baron Corbin and the three will battle it out in a triple threat match on Raw next week.
Not only will this be different from the usual one-on-one matches, but it will also add much more flavor as two of Raw’s biggest heels and one of their biggest babyfaces will be fighting for the semi-final spot.
Whoever wins the match will come out with much more value and leverage as they will either overcome a massive heel and a babyface, or the babyface will overcome to huge heels to move one step forward to being crowned King of the Ring.
#3 To keep three top mid-carders relevant
Ricochet was part of the United States Championship scene not too long ago and got a high-profile feud with AJ Styles. Samoa Joe, on the other hand, had a good feud with Rey Mysterio for the title not long ago and was also made part of the Roman Reigns mystery attacker storyline for a while. Baron Corbin was put in the Universal Championship scene for quite some time which concluded with the Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
All three men were doing something important till last month, and now needed a new direction which was provided by the King of the Ring tournament.
Even though all three won’t be able to be a part of the Clash of Champions pay-per-view, at least one of these men will be part of the mega event.
Keeping that in mind, WWE will want to keep these three top mid-carders in the mix for as long as possible and keep the fans guessing who will progress in the tournament and be part of the finals. Since all three had been favorites to win the tournament from Raw’s side since the beginning, WWE seems to have pulled off a good trick by keeping them part of it for longer.
#4 To please more fans
Wrestling entertainment is all about the fans, and that’s exactly what the company has to deliver more often than not.
With falling ratings, WWE pulled off as many tricks as possible to keep fans interested and engaged in their product, and this was one of the reasons the King of the Ring tournament returned.
With so many favorites for the tournament being thrown around on social media, WWE planned to keep some of them in the mix for as long as possible, and we have three of the most talked-about mid-carders in the semi-finals from Raw.
This will certainly please fans and keep them interested in next week’s semi-final which will definitely be a match to look out for and may even headline the night.
Samoa Joe and Baron Corbin are known to be natural heels, while Ricochet has managed to get the WWE Universe in his favor with his flawless wrestling skills and athleticism.
