If anything was a pleasant surprise lately, it has been the return of the acclaimed King Of The Ring tournament.

Considered a favorite among fans young and old, it has been the launching pad for many superstars past and present like Booker T, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Sheamus, Bret Hart, etc.

What the KOTR accolade does for somebody is it gives them a title to run with and put themselves over in the process.

This year’s tourney provided a necessary collision course between the tough Brit Bad News Barrett and young up-and-comer Neville in a rematch from Extreme Rules with the stakes higher. The result wasn’t what fans hoped for, but the same can’t be said about the match quality.

(Aired 4/28/15)

The Breakdown

– The opening video highlighted the KOTR tournament’s legacy, showcasing its winners’ success being put forth by the accolade. It hyped the four contenders pretty well.

– The Jerry Lawler promo was an appropriate way to set things up.

– Sheamus’ backstage promo had him shine in confidence about the tournament and pushed his initiative to make everyone “kiss his arse.” Is this arse talk going to be a regular thing now?

– Neville’s backstage promo put over his NXT success and how he defied expectations and gravity and pushed the match well. Good stuff for him.

– The Semifinals KOTR match between Sheamus and Neville was going pretty decently, with Neville getting the fans on his side, especially with the return to the ring to beat the Referee’s count. Dolph Ziggler coming out to distract Sheamus by showing a clip from Extreme Rules like Sheamus did to him leading to the Red Arrow made for an okay moment. The brawl between Ziggler-Sheamus was good before it barely got broken up by officials. Sheamus’ bloody eye had to be unintentional, but certainly sold the moment.

– Bad News Barrett’s backstage promo sold his confidence – making it clear he wasn’t scared of R-Truth and nobody would remember Neville. This was about what you’d expect from the humble Englishman.

– Truth’s backstage promo had him talk about facing his spider fears and having a plan to win KOTR to declare spiders banned by building a castle and a drawbridge where Barrett wouldn’t be invited. Sure –  it was funny, but we were really supposed to believe he could beat Barrett? Yeah right.

– The semifinals KOTR match between Barrett and Truth was decent for what it was, as we all knew Barrett would win this to set up the much anticipated Barrett-Neville match – an Extreme Rules rematch with higher stakes. Barrett won by using dirty tactics by way of a thumb to the eye, which was about right and looked good in victory.

– Ziggler’s backstage promo backed his reasons and clarified that he apologized to Dean Ambrose for costing his KOTR chance (great that they actually addressed the fact) and set the line of wanting to kick Sheamus’ arse.

– Barrett’s backstage promo put over his latest victory and mentioned he was “on a roll” as he’d look to take his seat on the throne later on.

– The Final KOTR match between Barrett and Neville didn’t get as much time as their Extreme Rules match but felt like a bigger deal this time around. The crowd would’ve gone crazy had Neville won this, as you saw with the set-up to the Red Arrow attempt leading to the Bull Hammer Elbow to give Barrett the honor of the throne. Barrett’s coronation promo was appropriate for the moment and now at least he has something under his belt this year.

Results

– King Of The Ring – Semifinals – Neville def. Sheamus via pinfall to advance 

– King Of The Ring – Semifinals – Bad News Barrett def. R-Truth via pinfall to advance 

– King Of The Ring – Final – Bad News Barrett def. Neville via pinfall