WWE took its first steps towards crowning a new King and Queen of the Ring this week with a total of six first-round matches on the May 6, episode of Raw.
Both tournaments will culminate at the WWE King and Queen of the Ring PLE later this month which will take place in Saudi Arabia. WWE had initially planned on hosting the event last year but nixed the idea in favor of WWE Night of Champions. That event saw Roman Reigns reach 1,000 days as Universal Champion and Seth Rollins crowned World Heavyweight Champion.
King of the Ring Results
On Raw, the recently called-up Ilja Dragunov defeated new WWE Speed Champion Ricochet to advance to the next round. Meanwhile, Jey Uso got payback on The Judgment Day with a tournament victory over 2021 runner-up Finn Balor. Originally, Drew McIntyre was supposed to be in Jey’s spot but his injury forced changes to be made. Dragunov and Jey will face each other in the quarter-finals next week.
Queen Of The Ring Results
Raw also saw Zoey Stark advance with a win over Ivy Nile, while Lyra Valkyria defeated Dakota Kai. Like Jey Uso, Kai was a last-minute replacement for Asuka, who Damage CTRL confirmed is out with an injury. Stark and Valkyria will face each other in the next round on the May 13, episode of Raw.
What’s To Come?
While WWE promoted four matches from each tournament for Raw, only three took place. At a WWE live event this week, Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio will face off in a first-round match. This was supposed to be Rey Vs. Xavier Woods but the latter has been replaced due to not being medically cleared. The winner will face GUNTHER next week.
Shayna Baszler and Zelina Vega will also do battle at a WWE live event, despite being previously promoted for the Raw taping. The winner will face IYO SKY on next week’s Raw with a spot in the semi-finals on the line.
First-round matches will continue on the May 10, episode of WWE SmackDown. Carmelo Hayes, LA Knight, and Santos Escobar have all announced their participation.