The King of the Ring is upon us. Each year, the WWF crowns a new King in attempt to get a certain wrestler the recognition they need to get to the next level. Great wrestlers like Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin..to name a few, have used their win at the KOTR to climb the ladder of success. Then again, you get guys like Mabel, who left after receiving a title shot after winning the KOTR, or Ken Shamrock, who it did NOTHING for. Mr. Ass's win was just there. He won it, but nobody believed in him as a singles wrestler. Today, it's predictions time! On to the PDC.

WCW

From looking at the board, I see that the last edition of WCW Saturday Night in the evening has just happened. Next week, you get to see the THRILL of the recap show in the morning. I guess it's only fitting with the show in the morning, since it's now whored to highlights of the other shows during the week. WCW really hurt their opportunity with WCW Saturday Night. Sure, they were spending a little more for the Saturday Night set up, and sure the highlight show gets the same rating, but the future is what must be looked at. Saturday Night was a place for powerplant workers to showcase their talents. Now, it's JUST a highlight show.

0.2 is the early predicted Great American Bash buyrate, which is a HUGE improvement over the previous shows. Then again, this show was fueled on hype of a HUGE surprise that "Vince McMahon can't even stop". So I think many might have been disappointed, and thus we will see a much lower buyrate for Bash at the Beach. Besides, who would want to see Goldberg vs. Nash and Jeff Jarrett vs. Hulk Hogan again, after WCW let them fight on the Nitro after the Great American Bash? Hall will probably turn on Nash, and Hogan will win the World Title.

WWF

Alright, nothing like the King of the Ring. Especially for the tournament part this year. The final 8 are rather interesting...let's look at them: First, you have 3 former WCW wrestlers which WCW dropped the ball on....BIG TIME! They are Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Eddie Guerrero. WCW should take a long look at their careers in the WWF. Whether it's titles or merchandise sales, these 3 are red hot! Then you have Rikishi Phatu and Bull Buchanan. Two wrestlers with horrible WWF gimmicks in the past, and they are now excellent wrestlers. We have Val Venis, who the WWF keeps trying to show potential in, but I feel his gimmick limits him. Crash Holly....well, he's just there for the ride. He is one of the most loved superstars in the WWF though. Finally, Kurt Angle. Need I say more? Easily, the hottest prospect in the WWF right now. Great mic skills, great wrestling skills, and great heat from the crowd. Here are my predictions for this tournament:

First Round

Chris Jericho vs. Kurt Angle
Poor Chris Jericho. He's shoved in the first round against a man who is set for a high profile feud with Triple H. To get that feud with Triple H, Angle would have to win this tournament, right? Maybe Hardcore Holly will run down?
Tito's Pick: Kurt Angle

Crash Holly vs. Bull Buchanan
Yuck. Hard one to call here. I'll say that Bull will lose thanks to the Bossman or something. God, I don't know on this one. Angle wins the first match..so it would hopefully be a face vs. heel match?? I don't know...
Tito's Pick: Crash Holly

Chris Benoit vs. Rikishi
You mean to tell me the real reason for Rikishi winning the IC title was for Benoit to win this match? Argh! Benoit will win this just for the fact that anybody who faces Benoit and beats him in the finals just won a hell of a tournament!
Tito's Pick: Chris Benoit

Val Venis vs. Eddie Guerrero
I have a feeling that Val will ruin Rikishi's match, so Rikishi will ruin Val's match. Besides, do you remember the Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit wars back in the day? Oh my. Epic battles between the two, and reliving that experience would make this tournament look really good.
Tito's Pick Eddie Guerrero

Second Round

Kurt Angle vs. Crash Holly
I'm still not sure on the first round match between Bull and Crash. It doesn't matter here. Kurt Angle brakes for NOBODY! I bet he'll win this match cleanly actually.
Tito's Pick: Kurt Angle

Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero
Now this is a "wrestling" match folks. No sports entertainment, no angles, no nothing. Just two VERY TALENTED "wrestlers" squaring off in this awesome match. Chris Benoit should advance here, even if Val Venis somehow is here instead.
Tito's Pick: Chris Benoit

FINALS

Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle
If you've seen their matches before, then you should know that this one will be a good one. However, after 2 hard matches to the finals, they could be a bit sluggish. I have a feeling that Stephanie will make here way down to the ring and ruin the match for Benoit. Thus, giving Angle a celebrated victory, and allowing the seeds planted in the ground of the Triple H war to sprout.
Tito's Pick: Kurt Angle

Other matches......

Hardcore Evening Gown match: Pat Patterson vs. Gerald Brisco
This match will be either really funny....or really stupid. It shouldn't be too long for those who are blinded by fossils wrestling. I predict that Brisco will win just because he can perform now better than Pat Patterson..and Brisco will feud with Crash Holly...AGAIN!!!!
Tito's Pick: Gerald Brisco

X-Pac/Road Dogg vs. the Dudley Boys
Last pay per view....DX won their match vs. the Dudleys. Nuff said.
Tito's Pick: Dudley Boys

World Tag Title match: Edge/Christian vs. Too Cool
I predict that Edge/Christian will mow over these two guys, especially since they are still the hottest heel tag team around. Nothing else to say here.
Tito's Pick: Edge/Christian

World Title Match: Vince McMahon/Shane McMahon/Triple H vs. Rock/Kane/Undertaker
Many predict that since Rock got pinned on Smackdown, that he's the "chosen one" to win this match. I say NO. With Kurt Angle winning the King of the Ring, he should be getting a title shot. What better champ to fight than Triple H. My second pick is the Undertaker to win this.
Tito's Pick: Vince McMahon/Shane McMahon/Triple H

@That's all for today's PDC. I shall be back with the Wonderful Monday Night hype column, along with other goodies. Maybe thoughts on the winners of the King of the Ring, who knows? Just chill till the next episode.

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