WWE Raw: 5 reasons Ricochet defeated Drew McIntyre to progress in the King of the Ring Tournament

Raw this week saw the remaining two round matches from the King of the Ring (KoTR) tournament from the flagship brand. While Baron Corbin managed to take the victory over The Miz, fans were surprised to watch Ricochet defeat Drew McIntyre to secure the last spot in the quarterfinals for Raw.

With such a huge victory over such a huge superstar, WWE must have been planning something to make sure the follow-up goes as well as what has already happened and make things more interesting for the fans.

With WWE trying to boost their ratings, it makes sense that Ricochet, who was a fan favorite, went on to take the victory home. However, that may not be the only reason why he came out on top on Raw this week. In this article, we will look at the 5 possible reasons why Ricochet defeated Drew McIntyre in the KoTR round match.

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#5 To give the fans a surprise

Fans love to be surprised every now and then

Since WrestleMania 35, we have seen quite a few interesting booking decisions come out of WWE to keep the fans guessing. At WrestleMania 35, The Major Brothers surprised everyone by becoming the Raw Tag Team Champions. At Money in the Bank 2019, fans expected Becky Lynch to lose at least one of her two championships, but no one expected Bayley to walk out of the event at the SmackDown Women’s Champion.

By keeping the booking more unpredictable, fans seem to get more engaged in the action on screen and talk about it on social media. This is the buzz WWE needs to generate more of, keeping in mind that their competition is growing.

Before the King of the Ring tournament began, Kevin Owens and Drew McIntyre were top favorites to win the tournament. Just like the creative had Owens lose to Elias on SmackDown last week, they’ve eliminated one of the biggest threats in WWE from the tournament this week, which now brings in a host of new predictions from the fans for the coming matches.

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#4 To allow McIntyre a chance to grow

McIntyre needs to grow back into a ruthless monster

When the Scottish Psychopath arrived on Raw last year during the Superstar Shakeup, he was seen as the meanest force on the red brand. McIntyre was built up as extremely strong and invincible, with a lot of that work coming from Dolph Ziggler.

McIntyre continued his dominant run for a long time and was thought to be invincible until he locked horns with Roman Reigns and started slipping. In the past few months, McIntyre has lost almost as many matches as he has won, and WWE needs to get back to the drawing board to immediately build back McIntyre’s dominance before he becomes just another enhancement talent.

Staying in the King of the Ring tournament could have restricted him, keeping in mind that he has recently lost matches to Reigns, Cedric Alexander, and Kevin Owens. He now needs to head in a separate direction with a new story, either with Sami Zayn as his mouthpiece, or a more aggressive and ruthless approach.

The King of the Ring title is not one that McIntyre needs at the moment. He should be in contention for a real championship soon.

#3 To give Samoa Joe a babyface to work with

Samoa Joe really shines against babyfaces

Samoa Joe is one of the greatest heels we have seen on Raw in some time and he has the knack for working extremely well off his opponents’ size and strength.

Joe progressed in the KoTR tournament by defeating Cesaro in a heel vs heel affair where both men put on an incredible performance that we hope to one day witness at a pay-per-view event.

Going into the quarterfinals, it makes more sense to put more story into the matches which will take place, and Joe can work extremely well off a babyface and show his real character during a fight.

As one of the current favorites to emerge as the King, Joe will want to put his heelwork the test against one of the biggest babyfaces Raw has got today to give us a memorable match.

#2 To bring back the underdog storylines

Underdog storylines work well with the fans

During the battle for the United States Championship, it was Rey Mysterio who gave Joe a run for his money during a clash between a heavyweight and an underdog. Fans love to see matches where underdogs give the heels a run for their money, and this is what has given Cedric Alexander a push in recent weeks too.

With Mysterio aging, WWE needed a new smaller superstar with incredible wrestling skills, and they have found all that in Ricochet. He can provide a great fan-favorite babyface character that the fans have been buying since his NXT run, and WWE can cash in on that on the main roster too.

Pairing up an underdog with a heavyweight heel is a classic combination that seldom goes wrong, and therefore it feels like the right mix heading into the quarterfinals of the KoTR tournament.

#1 To make his progress seem realistic

Ricochet was the United States Champion not too long ago

Ricochet has had a level of success only a few could have dreamed of heading into the main roster. Coming out as the North American Champion, Ricochet was moved to the main roster and enjoyed quite a bit of success with Aleister Black before carrying on as a singles competitor.

Ricochet went on to become the United States Champion and had a good rivalry with AJ Styles, which has allowed him to rub shoulders with the biggest wrestling stars.

To make his progress on the main roster seem more realistic, and carry on the momentum, it’s right for WWE to book him to go one-up over McIntyre and reach the quarterfinals.

At Stomping Grounds on June 23, Ricochet defeated Samoa Joe to win the United States Championship, and this could prove to be a great factor in Joe and Ricochet’s clash next week. Joe will surely try to exact revenge from the man who took the title away from him while Ricochet will try his best to stay on his winning ways.

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