So, this King of the Ring 2024 bracket thing. Decided to properly sit down and map one out myself. Not just guessing who’d win, but really trying to lay out the whole darn tournament as I see it, or as I’d want to see it.
I started off pretty straightforward. Got myself a big piece of paper, a decent pen. Felt like one of those old-school promoters in a smoke-filled room, plotting out the territories. Thought it’d be simple enough.
But man, that simplicity didn’t last long. You start putting names down, and then the headaches begin. It’s never just about who’s the better wrestler, is it? Suddenly, you’re juggling all this other stuff:
- You got your main event guys who probably shouldn’t be in it but might for a story.
- You got your workhorses who deserve a shot but never seem to get the big one.
- Then there are the newer faces they’re trying to build up – stick ‘em in too deep and they get exposed, don’t push ‘em enough and what’s the point?
- And don’t even get me started on trying to factor in who’s got ‘backstage pull’ or whose merchandise is selling. It’s a complete maze.
It quickly turns into a proper mess. Like trying to make sense of a badly booked show, but you’re the one doing the booking! You think you’ve got a path for one guy, then you realize it screws up three other potential matches you wanted to see. Frustrating, to say the least.
I even looked at some of those online bracket generator tools. Click here, drag name there. Felt so sterile, you know? No soul to it. Took all the fun out of the fantasy of it all. Where’s the passion in that?
You might be thinking, why get so worked up over a wrestling tournament bracket? Fair enough. But then I was trying to explain the whole appeal of this stuff to my kid brother the other week. He’s new to it all. I had my chart, all my ‘logical’ progressions, trying to show him the ‘art’ of it. He just kinda stared, then pointed at some guy with cool face paint and said, ‘He’ll win. He looks tough.’ And for a minute there, I thought, this kid’s probably got a clearer view than I do after hours of scribbling.
It kinda clicked then. This whole thing, this practice of mine, it stopped being about outsmarting the real bookers or predicting every swerve. I just leaned into what would be the most fun to watch. Who cares if it’s ‘realistic’ by company standards? My bracket, my rules. I wanted big moments, unexpected clashes, and a winner that felt earned, at least in my version of the story.
So, What’s the Final Word on My Bracket?
Look, the bracket I ended up with? It’s probably pure fantasy. I’d be shocked if even a quarter of it plays out like I drew it up. But that wasn’t the point of this whole exercise, not really.
The real deal was just diving in, playing around with the possibilities, and remembering what makes this whole wrestling thing enjoyable in the first place. Trying to craft those perfect moments, even if only on paper. And honestly, spending a few hours lost in that, away from everything else? That felt pretty good. That was the win for me.
