Ranking the win chances of every WWE KOTR participant, why the tournament is returning

WWE has announced that the King of the Ring tournament will be returning to television on Raw this week. The classic tournament will boast the following names from Raw and Smackdown: The Miz, Ricochet, Cedric Alexander, Drew McIntyre, Cesaro, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe will represent Raw, while Elias, Kevin Owens, Chad Gable, Andrade, Shelton Benjamin, Buddy Murphy, Ali and Apollo Crews will represent SmackDown Live.

Additionally, the most recent edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that WWE has decided to bring back the KOTR tournament in order to push one specific Superstar, however, that name has yet to be revealed.

Given the above, let's rank the winning chances of every King of the Ring competitor in this year's tournament.

#16 Apollo Crews

Unfortunately, despite the on-and-off-again mini-pushes given to Apollo Crews, his place in this year's King of the Ring tournament feels mostly like filler, and it's likely he will be eliminated in the first round of the tourney on SmackDown next week.

While some fans might wish to see Crews better utilized on the main roster, his chances of winning this year's tournament seem close to zero, given the amount of talent competing this year.

#15 Sami Zayn

Sami Zayn is a consistent mid-card talent in WWE, and outside of names such as Samoa Joe, cuts one of the best promos on main roster television.

However, despite Zayn's abilities, both on the mic and in the ring, since returning to the ring from injury he has been used as mostly a whining heel who is quickly dispatched by his opponents.

Most recently, Zayn was quickly defeated by Samoa Joe on this week's episode of WWE Raw, and it appears likely he will advance very far in the King of the Ring tournament.

#14 Chad Gable

Chad Gable is often described as one of the most gifted athletes in all of WWE, bringing a technique to the ring similar to that of WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle.

Despite his abilities, however, Chad Gable is a talent who often finds himself lost in the shuffle in WWE, having no real place on television.

His tag team with Bobby Roode was short-lived, and he has been used sparingly as a singles star on main roster TV.

With Gable possibly set to feud with his former tag team partner Shelton Benjamin, his chances of winning this year's King of the Ring tournament look to be very slim.

#13 Cesaro

Cesaro is officially the workhorse of WWE, and has earned the respect of fans and fellow WWE stars for his incredible strength and in-ring abilities.

However, despite his talents, Cesaro has always lacked the type of mic skills desired in WWE, and that hindrance has prevented him from reaching the top of the company.

Given Cesaro's recent role on WWE TV, it would seem as if The Swiss Cyborg is being used in the tournament to offer a solid showing, however, it remains doubtful he will win, or even make it to the tournament finals.

#12 The Miz

The Miz is a very consistent hand in WWE, but it feels like his days at the top might either be numbered, or not a plausible possibility.

The King of the Ring tournament is generally reserved for a winner the company intends on pushing as the next top star, and it doesn't feel like The Miz fits into that criteria.

The Miz is always someone who WWE will keep in the upper mid-card as long as he can continue wrestling at a consistent rate, but with The Miz's hand in many WWE fires, and the filming of a movie on the horizon, a King of the Ring win does not appear to be in the cards for the Awesome one.

#11 Baron Corbin

Baron Corbin might be returning to WWE TV following a hiatus after his loss at Extreme Rules, but it doesn't benefit him much to win the King of the Ring tournament.

Yes, Corbin could make for an extremely irritating heel "King", but WWE already views Corbin as a top heel, and a King of the Ring win would feel unnecessary, and could even draw a ton of "go away" heat from the WWE Universe.

#10 Andrade

Andrade has been on somewhat of a roll on WWE TV in recent weeks, defeating Rey Mysterio in a series of televised matches that were among the best of the night.

It is for the above reasons that many fans might consider Andrade to be a favorite to win the KOTR tournament this year, however, it doesn't feel in the works as of this writing.

Andrade certainly has the potential to be a breakout star in WWE, and with Zelina Vega as his mouthpiece, could benefit greatly from a KOTR win. However, his pushes seem to die down after they heat up, and it remains to be seen if WWE is really behind Andrade as a top hand.

#9 Cedric Alexander

Cedric Alexander is coming on the heels of a higher profile feud with Drew McIntyre, another competitor in this year's KOTR tournament, and could be poised to make it far in this year's tournament.

With Paul Heyman wanting to freshen WWE Raw with newer faces, Alexander would be a good pick to win this year's tournament, but in the end, it feels like WWE will look elsewhere for this year's winner and relegate the former Cruiserweight Champion to the mid-card for the time being.

#8 Kevin Owens

While he might be one of the hottest acts in all of WWE at the moment, Kevin Owens feels like a long shot to win this year's KOTR tournament simply because of his current status.

As mentioned, the KOTR tournament is usually reserved for talents in need of a big time main event level push, and Kevin Owens is already arguably the top babyface on the WWE SmackDown Live brand.

While it might be fun for KO to win the tournament this year, it cannot possibly push him to greater heights than he is currently enjoying in WWE.

#7 Elias

Elias feels like a major afterthought in WWE at the moment, and it seems as if the once promising young talent might be destined for the life of a "drifter" on WWE TV.

In recent months, Elias has been relegated to playing a foolish heel who is bested by the top babyfaces at every turn. He has had limited success in the ring and also on the mic, where he typically excels.

While a KOTR tournament win would certainly be great for him, WWE's resident singer/songwriter has had his melody silenced before he had the opportunity to achieve great things in WWE.

#6 Ricochet

The One and Only Ricochet is one of WWE's hottest rising stars, having won the United States title shortly after he arrived on the main roster.

Most recently, after losing the title to AJ Styles, Ricochet had a great feud with Styles which culminated in an exciting match at WWE SummerSlam.

Ricochet is said to be one of Paul Heyman's special projects on Raw, with The One and Only expected to be pushed heading into the fall, but a King of the Ring win might not be in the works for Ricochet.

Given Ricochet is well on his way to becoming a top player on WWE Monday Night Raw, it might be wise to reserve the KOTR win for another talent in need of the big WWE TV push.

#5 Samoa Joe

Ever on the losing end in WWE, Samoa Joe is a tremendously talented Superstar who cannot win the big match.

While Joe might make it far into the tournament, and could even appear in the tournament finals taking place at WWE Clash of Champions, it's unlikely WWE will offer the KOTR win to a heel like Joe, especially when one considers his booking in recent months.

#4 Shelton Benjamin

Shelton Benjamin is one of the most underutilized WWE Superstars on the entire roster, having made little impact in the company since returning.

Having said the above, Benjamin is currently in the midst of a gimmick change in WWE, and has been appearing in bizarre vignettes in recent weeks on WWE SmackDown Live.

In the vignettes, Benjamin remains silent and refuses to speak, leading fans to wonder where Benjamin's character is headed.

One thing seems likely, and that is while Benjamin might be in line for a small push with a new gimmick, he is likely not in line for a King of the Ring tournament win. Given his age and past booking, it appears as if his place in the tournament will likely be to put over other talents.

#3 Buddy Murphy

Buddy Murphy is no longer WWE's "best kept secret", having had a tremendous showing in the ring against Roman Reigns on SmackDown Live this week.

As it turns out, Murphy's involvement in the Roman Reigns "whodunnit" storyline was a complete accident, as he appeared in the background of the scaffolding collapse angle by mistake. Consequently, Murphy was given a match against Roman Reigns on SmackDown this week after fans spotted him in the Reigns video, but it was not the original plan in WWE.

Given the above information, it remains unknown whether or not WWE had actual plans to push Buddy Murphy on TV, so a King of the Ring win might not be in the works for the former Cruiserweight Champion.

#2 Drew McIntyre

After being fired from WWE years ago, Drew McIntyre made a triumphant return to the company and has been a valuable heel hand since returning to main roster TV.

However, McIntyre's place on the WWE main roster has been somewhat anti-climactic, and while he appears to be on the brink of a main event level push each and every week, he has yet to receive a career-defining feud since returning to WWE.

McIntyre is my number two pick to win the KOTR tournament this year, as he boasts great potential, and WWE kept him off SummerSlam in order to protect his value. Having said that, a finals appearance seems likely for The Scottish Psychopath.

#1 Ali

Kofi Kingston owes much of his current success to the untimely injury suffered by Ali prior to WrestleMania 35.

Original plans in WWE called for Ali to receive a massive push in the company, with rumors indicating Ali vs Daniel Bryan was the original match plan for WrestleMania 35.

Since healing up from injury, Ali has been producing top notch vignettes hyping his future in WWE, and all the hype could very well be leading up to a tournament win for the former 205 Live star.

Who is your pick to win the King of the Ring tournament? Let us know in the comment section!

Edited by Kevin Christopher Sullivan