Welcome back to another Monday Morning Q&A where I toss out some questions to get a feel of how you guys and gals are feeling about certain topics.
Normally, I present to you 5 questions. This week, I want to keep it simple and focus on just the King and Queen of the Ring, but with a look backward.
I’ll still give my answers, too, but the same thing applies: I still want to know YOUR answers, to drop a comment!
1) If someone says “King of the Ring”, who is it that you first imagine? Which WWE Superstar is the most synonymous with that moniker in your mind? Is it because you think they were the best with the gimmick? Were they the one that you were watching as a child and it stuck in your memory the most?
I’m a product of the New Generation. I started watching wrestling around 93, so I was in the thick of New Gen into Attitude Era with going to Blockbuster and renting Hogan-era tapes to get my historical fix. That’s for context here.
With that in mind, I think it makes sense most people in my generation think of Stone Cold Steve Austin when they think of KOTR. Austin 3:16 was a phenomenon and I remember that full well. However, I’ll say that beyond just having that visual of Austin cutting the promo, I do actually think of other people more so than Austin as KOTR, since Austin didn’t wear the crown or anything.
I actually tend to think more Owen Hart, of all people. Even he didn’t wear it as much as King Booker did, for instance, but I equate a lot of KOTR to Bret Hart’s two years winning it, the 93 pay-per-view, and the feud with Owen that followed where Owen became The King of Harts.
I’ve always loved that nickname for Owen, and I tend to picture him holding up two Slammy Awards while calling himself The King of Harts, more than I even think of Macho King Randy Savage or a more modern answer like King Corbin or Sheamus.
2) If you could go back in time and give a Queen of the Ring moniker to some other women in WWE’s past, who do you think would have made out to be some great options?
One of my favorite topics to continually revisit is looking at past rosters and trying to determine that if things were the way they are now, how those wrestlers would have fared better/worse. For instance, if there were always 2 world champions, would people like Razor Ramon have won the title? Or if there was always a Money in the Bank to win, who else might have won that?
So in regards to the women’s division, we have to reframe how the approach to wrestling was different. For many years, there was no division. There just were a few women who were managers and valets and such. In other years, nearly all the female talent were just models who couldn’t actually wrestle, so that has to be taken into consideration, too.
But a few people who stand out to me that would have potentially made great Queen of the Ring winners in the past—either in a comedic sense (like a King Booker), in a “cements me as a top talent” sense (like a Brock Lesnar) or in a “gave me the edge to turn heel and be a focal point character” sense (like a Mabel)—would be as follows.
- AJ Lee was such a big focal point as an on-screen character in many different roles as an authority figure, manager, valet, etc, that she would have relished in this.
- Mickie James would have had a blast being a heel who could actually wrestle, wearing a crown.
- Michelle McCool absolutely would have killed it as queen. Again, she could wrestle better than most and had a similar gimmick when partnered up with Layla (in the sense of a heel character; not the crown idea).
- This would have suited Melina very well. I don’t know how she would have done her split with the crown on, though.
- I don’t think it would’ve worked out in the long run, considering her lack of in-ring talent, but Eva Marie would’ve gotten some serious heat with this gimmick.
- Paige would have sent people into a tizzy with a goth queen gimmick. That would have sold crazy merch.
- Taryn Terrell probably would have just done what she did on the indies, but I think she’d have had a better run as Queen Tiffany rather than an authority figure.
- Maybe Alicia Fox would have been a fun comedic queen. I couldn’t picture her in any serious capacity.
- On the still current roster, but going back in time a bit, Alexa Bliss would’ve been a perfect fit, Charlotte Flair naturally would have been chosen, Carmella could’ve worked well, too.
I’m on the fence about who would have been better between Chyna and Sable. Part of me says Sable’s the obvious answer, but that Chyna would’ve been a more fun character to play around with and WWE would’ve experimented more with her as Queen of the Ring.
And of course, I doubt there would have been any hesitation putting the crown on someone like Stacy Keibler, Torrie Wilson or Dawn Marie in their eras, even if they’d have done nothing with them but still have beauty pageant contests and such.
But if I had to say one person above all else who I think would’ve made the best Queen of the Ring, I think Beth Phoenix would be my answer. She could’ve had a wide range of options to play with by being a serious wrestler booked strong, but also with some comedic chops. It would have worked well with her traditional pose and ring attire, too.
Let us know your thoughts about these questions by answering them in the comments!
