Jordan MendozaUSA TODAY
It’s time to crown a king and queen of WWE.
The next set of royalty in wrestling will be determined Saturday with the 2024 King and Queen of the Ring. The premium live event in Saudi Arabia will culminate with one male and one female superstar placing a crown on their heads and earning a championship opportunity at SummerSlam.
King and Queen won’t be the only titles up for grabs on Saturday. Cody Rhodes will put his Undisputed WWE Championship on the line against Logan Paul; the fierce rivalry for the Women’s World Championship continues; a triple threat match takes place for the Intercontinental Championship and the women's tag team titles will be defended.
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Triple threat match for Intercontinental Championship: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed
It's always a feel-good moment seeing Sami Zayn perform in Saudi Arabia, and the crowd was amped to see the champion in the ring in what felt like a semblance of the Backlash France crowd. Zayn isn't from the country, but he had the home-field advantage that was going wild with everything he did, including launching himself over the top rope onto the challengers.
The first threat of Zayn losing was when Gable got an ankle lock on the champion, but when he shifted the focus to Reed, Zayn recovered and not only did his own ankle lock, he picked up Reed for a wild blue thunder power bomb.
Gable brought out Otis to be a disrupter, but he couldn't pull off an attack on Zayn. Gable belittled him for not doing it, and when Otis actually went for it, Zayn moved and the Alpha Academy member clotheslined his leader. While Otis realized his mistake, Zayn got in the ring, delivered a helluva kick to Reed and got the pin. The Intercontinental title stays with the champion, and even more questions are raised for Alpha Academy.
Women’s World Championship match: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Liv Morgan
The Liv Morgan revenge tour is raging on.
The two stars traded blows in the first half of the match, and despite the minor botches in some moves, they each kept the pace of the match flowing. It was pretty much a shootout with a plethora of pin attempts happening within seconds of each other from Lynch and Morgan. Lynch was the first one to get a finisher in with a dis-arm-her, but Morgan got out of it and sequence of roll ups ensued.
Things took a turn when Dominik Mysterio, who swore he'd make sure Morgan didn't win the title, appeared ringside. However, it distracted Lynch more than the challenger and Morgan got enough time to recover to land a codebreaker. But it wouldn't secure the win.
Mysterio tried to give a chair to Lynch, but Morgan capitalized by executing a DDT on Lynch on the chair while the referee was distracted. Morgan got the champion frazzled, and she landed an obLIVion to get the pin and complete the next step in her revenge tour. It was not only was her first singles victory over Lynch, she now the new Women's World Champion, and somewhere out there, Rhea Ripley cannot be happy with what her "Dom Dom" did.
Women's Tag Team Championship match: Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair (c) vs. Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae
On paper, this shouldn't have been much of a contest for the champions, but a change in direction from Hartwell and LeRae was not only needed, it made it a competitive match.
LeRae had taken pride in the damage she put on Belair's left knee and it was a heavy emphasis of the challengers' attack, and Hartwell's taunts of "The EST" added heat. Belair was eventually able to get the hot tag to Cargill and she displayed the power with a hard-hitting powerbomb on Hartwell.
Belair would then get her revenge. Cargill got Belair in on the tag, and the champion had a great sequence where Belair delivered a DDT to LeRae before Cargill launched her with an ocean cyclone suplex. Belair got the pin to secure the win.
It was hard to imagine the tag titles changing given the dominance Belair and Cargill are showing in the division, but LeRae and Hartwell displayed a solid performance that prevented it from being a squash.
When is King and Queen of the Ring 2024?
The 2024 King and Queen of the Ring is Saturday, May 25 at 1 p.m. ET. The event will take place at 8 p.m. local time in Jeddah.
Where is King and Queen of the Ring 2024?
The 2024 King and Queen of the Ring will be at Jeddah SuperDome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
How to watch King and Queen of the Ring 2024
The event can be streamed on Peaco*ck, but you must have their premium or premium-plus subscription to watch. Internationally, it will be available on WWE Network.
King and Queen of the Ring 2024 match card
Matches not in order
- King of the Ring final: Gunther vs. Randy Orton.
- Queen of the Ring final: Lyra Valkyria vs. Nia Jax.
- Undisputed WWE Championship match: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Logan Paul.
- Women’s World Championship match: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Liv Morgan.
- Triple threat match for Intercontinental Championship: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed.
- Women's Tag Team Championship match: Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair (c) vs. Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae.
King and Queen of the Ring 2024 predictions
- King of the Ring final: Gunther def. Randy Orton.
- Queen of the Ring final: Nia Jax def.Lyra Valkyria.
- Undisputed WWE Championship match: Cody Rhodes def. Logan Paul.
- Women’s World Championship match: Liv Morgan def. Becky Lynch.
- Triple threat match for Intercontinental Championship: Chad Gable def. Sami Zayn and Bronson Reed.
- Women's Tag Team Championship match: Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair def. Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae.
King and Queen of the Ring winners get championship match
Winning the King or Queen of the Ring tournament has been a career-defying achievement for several stars in the past, like being the springboard for championships.
Now, the winners of each tournament will be guaranteed a championship opportunity. WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque said on Thursday the winners of the two matches will get a championship match at SummerSlam on Aug. 3.
King of the Ring bracket
First Round
- Gunther def. Sheamus
- Ilja Dragunov def. Richochet
- Jey Uso def. Finn Balor
- Randy Orton def. AJ Styles
- Tama Tonga def. Angelo Dawkins
- Carmelo Hayes def. Baron Corbin
- LA Knight def. Santos Escobar
- Kofi Kingston def. Rey Mysterio
Quarterfinals
- Gunther def. Kofi Kingston
- Jey Uso def. Ilja Dragunov
- Randy Orton def. Carmelo Hayes
- Tama Tonga def. LA Knight
Semifinals
- Gunther def. Jey Uso
- Randy Orton def. Tama Tonga
Finals
- Gunther vs. Randy Orton
Queen of the Ring bracket
First round
- Iyo Sky def. Natalya
- Lyra Valkyria def. Dakota Kai
- Zoey Stark def. Ivy Nile
- Bianca Belair def. Candice LeRae
- Jade Cargill def. Piper Niven
- Nia Jax def. Naomi
- Tiffany Stratton def. Michin
- Shayna Baszler def. Maxxine Dupri
Quarterfinals
- Iyo Sky def. Shayna Baszler
- Lyra Valkyria def. Zoey Stark
- Nia Jax def. Jade Cargill
- Bianca Belair def. Tiffany Stratton
Semifinals
- Lyra Valkyria def. Iyo Sky
- Nia Jax vs. Bianca Belair
Finals
- Lyra Valkyria vs. Nia Jax
King of the Ring history
The 23rd King of the Ring will be crowned Saturday, as the tournament first took place in 1985. Here are all the stars that won King of the Ring:
- 1985: Don Muraco
- 1986: Harley Race
- 1987: Randy Savage
- 1988: Ted DiBiase
- 1989: Tito Santana
- 1991: Bret Hart
- 1993: Bret Hart
- 1994: Owen Hart
- 1995: Mabel
- 1996: Stone Cold Steve Austin
- 1997: Triple H
- 1998: Ken Shamrock
- 1999: Billy Gunn
- 2000: Kurt Angle
- 2001: Edge
- 2002: Brock Lesnar
- 2006: Booker T
- 2008: William Regal
- 2010: Sheamus
- 2015: Bad News Barrett
- 2019: Baron Corbin
- 2021: Xavier Woods
Queen of the Ring history
This is the second Queen of the Ring tournament after it debuted in 2021. Zelina Vega won the first ever Queen of the Ring.
