The King of the Ring is set for a return this Friday night on SmackDown, accompanied by a first-ever women's tournament dubbed the Queen's Crown.

WWE has yet to release any information regarding these tournaments beyond that, but it can be assumed the finals will take place at Crown Jewel on October 21.

Keeping in mind which names already have matches in Saudi Arabia and how most people are presented in WWE, there are some standout options for who might become royalty in the coming weeks.

Let's toss out some predictions for which Superstars are in the running to be crowned King and Queen.

A Historical Reminder of Previous Winners

When going into predictions for something like this, it's important to look at how WWE has booked similar tournaments in the past.

Just as previous Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank winners have fit certain molds, the King of the Ring tournament has had primarily the same few tropes the company tends to stick to. We can assume both that and the Queen's Crown will follow these familiar patterns.

Winners are often heels (or about to turn heel) who can adopt the regal gimmick in full, making it the biggest aspect of their characters. Examples of this are Booker T, Mabel, Baron Corbin, Sheamus and Wade Barrett.

Essentially the other 50 percent are people WWE gives the win to and promptly doesn't follow up on it in any significant way other than a general push. This is what happened to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar, Ken Shamrock and Billy Gunn.

It's a toss-up whether WWE has someone in mind to go with the gimmick or if this is simply a means to put a stamp on a Superstar as a big deal at this particular moment.

Most Likely Options for King of the Ring

Several Superstars have the potential to be great Kings, but now doesn't seem to be their time. Keith Lee has just revamped his character, Drew McIntyre is already fighting Big E for the WWE Championship, Damian Priest has the United States title, and Austin Theory is brand new to Raw so switching his gimmick already would be jarring.

Cesaro would be a bold choice. While he's a supremely likable guy, he doesn't have much of a bombastic character on screen. Perhaps this will be WWE's attempt to inject some new life into him and force a more over-the-top gimmick onto him to see how that works out.

Finn Balor already calls himself The Prince and his alter ego is The Demon King. Ditching the leather jacket for a more regal garment, possibly with a dark, gothic vibe to fit the demonic persona would be one of the most interesting ways to go about this. There hasn't been a King of the Ring like that in the past, and it would offset his recent loss to Roman Reigns to give him momentum on Raw.

If this event does culminate in Saudi Arabia, Mansoor should not be discounted. He's undefeated there and has the accolade of winning the largest Battle Royal in WWE history at Super ShowDown in 2019. Being in a tag team with Mustafa Ali might make him less likely to win than others, but it won't be the most shocking thing in the world if he did win.

King Ricochet is a name The One and Only has used himself in the past and has kept as his Twitter username despite never doing anything king-related yet in WWE. But he has worn a crown before, and the company may be willing to revisit that to freshen him up.

If WWE wants to put the crown on someone eccentric, Sami Zayn is the best choice. He's ran out of some steam now with his conspiracy-theory character, so what if King of the Ring is the next gimmick for him to put his spin on?

Last, but certainly not least, is Xavier Woods. For years, he has campaigned that being King of the Ring is on his career goals list. Since he's the only member of The New Day to not be a world champion, this could be WWE's way of compensating him with his own equivalent honor.

If Monday's Raw is any indication, Woods shouting "crown me" at the top of his lungs into the camera means he's not lost his passion or drive to win this tournament. It would be a crime if he weren't at least in the running to win.

Most Likely Options for Queen's Crown

The Queen's Crown tournament may be a bit more straightforward than the King of the Ring. The biggest deciding factor will be whether Charlotte Flair has another match on this card.

If the Raw Women's Championship is being defended, the woman who has called herself The Queen for years will be out of the running, which opens up the field for any number of Superstars to take the honor.

Since no clear No. 1 contenders have been established and the draft results don't come into effect until after Crown Jewel, it's starting to look as though she may enter this tournament. If so, she instantly becomes the favorite.

Carmella could win it and use that as an extension of her "most beautiful woman in WWE" gimmick, but it would be a bit of a waste. It's too similar. She'd do the same thing, but with a change in her attire, which is part of her allure to begin with.

Someone like Liv Morgan could win to spice things up, but if she's a plucky underdog babyface, being the queen may offset that in the wrong way. The same goes for Naomi and how she's struggling to get her proper dues on SmackDown, but her struggle won't feel so real if she is the Queen here.

Zelina Vega would certainly make for a stunning Queen, but it's doubtful WWE will be giving her that strong of a push. She has more of a chance to win than many others, but it's still a long shot.

Natalya (The Queen of Harts) and Shayna Baszler (The Queen of Spades) have the nicknames to make them strong contenders, especially with the latter's recent streak of domination.

Who Will Win the Tournaments?

If Flair is involved, she's going to win the Queen's Crown. WWE has given her nearly every possible accolade.

Not only does she already have the nickname The Queen, but she's also the top priority for the company.

Natalya is the next likely woman to win, with Baszler rounding out the top three.

For King of the Ring, Woods should be given the crown if WWE wants to go with the feel-good story and reward him with something he's wanted his whole life. However, Balor might narrowly beat him out for this, as he's overall a bigger player in the main event scene.

Place your bets on Flair and Balor, but Natalya and Woods winning would yield the bigger payoff overall.

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.