WWE will crown the 2024 Queen of the Ring. AEW presents Double or Nothing this weekend. Emma Diaz chats with WrestleZone, and more!
WWE To Crown The Next Queen Of The Ring
This weekend, WWE will head to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for their weekly episode of SmackDown, in addition to the 2024 King and Queen of the Ring premium live event. This SmackDown serves as significant precursor to the upcoming PLE, as the semifinals of the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments will conclude there.
In the Queen of the Ring tournament, “The Irresistible Force” Nia Jax will go one-on-one with WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Bianca Belair. Aside from being a semi-finals faceoff, this match also marks the first ever singles encounter between Belair and Jax. Belair cemented her semi-finals position with previous wins over Tiffany Stratton and Candice LeRae. Meanwhile, Jax defeated the likes of Naomi and Jade Cargill.
The winner of Belair vs. Jax will then move on to face Lyra Valkyria in the finals of Queen of the Ring at the titular premium live event on Saturday. Valkyria’s path to the finals saw her beat Dakota Kai, Zoey Stark, and most recently, IYO SKY.
2024 marks only the second ever WWE Queen of the Ring (formerly Queen’s crown) tournament, as Zelina Vega emerged victorious in the first iteration in 2021.
Liv Morgan vs. Becky Lynch
Elsewhere on the King and Queen of the Ring card, Liv Morgan will challenge Becky Lynch for the WWE Women’s World Championship. Morgan had been targeting Rhea Ripley, but after “The Eradicated” suffered an injury, the WWE Women’s World Championship was vacated, and subsequently claimed by Lynch. Since then, Morgan has pivoted her focus to Lynch, and vowed to unseat her the King and Queen of the Ring PLE.
Lynch and Morgan, of course, are no strangers to one another, having previously faced off in numerous singles, tag, and multi-woman matches. As Lynch repeatedly points out, though, Morgan has never defeated her in singles competition.
RELATED: Dominik Mysterio Comments On Rumors About Him And Liv Morgan
Serena Deeb To Challenge Toni Storm
One day after WWE hosts the King and Queen of the Ring, All Elite Wrestling will host a pay-per-view event of their own – Double or Nothing. Per tradition, Double or Nothing will emanate from the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada.
The AEW women’s division will be represented in two matches on this card, with the first seeing Serena Deeb challenge Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s World Championship. Deeb had previously been sidelined from action since late 2022, later revealing a series of unexpected seizures to be the cause for her in-ring absence.
In January 2024, Deeb returned to action, boasting wins over the likes of Robyn Renegade, Queen Aminata, Trish Adora, and Mariah May. Deeb’s victory over May earned her a shot at the AEW Women’s World Championship, which is currently held by Storm, at Double or Nothing. Storm and Deeb’s last singles encounter took form in a world title lumberjack match in September 2022. Storm ultimately emerged victorious in this affair to retain AEW Women’s World Championship during her then first reign.
Mercedes vs. Willow 2
While Storm and Deeb battle over the AEW Women’s World Championship, Willow Nightingale and Mercedes Mone will collide with the TBS Championship on the line. Ahead of AEW Dynasty, Mone proclaimed that whoever walked out with the title would then defend it ahead her at Double or Nothing.
Despite a valiant effort from Julia Hart, it was Willow Nightingale who walked out of Dynasty as the new TBS Champion. As such, Mone wasted little time to confront Nightingale after her win, leading the two to engage in an intense post-match staredown.
AEW Double or Nothing will mark Mone’s first in-ring appearance since May 2023, when Nightingale defeated her to win the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship at NJPW Resurgence. Unfortunately, that match also resulted in a serious ankle injury that rendered Mone unable to compete a year.
AEW confirmed that the TBS Championship match between Mone and Nightingale will be part of the “triple main event” at Double of Nothing. Other matches included under the banner are the Anarchy in the Arena match and Swerve Strickland’s AEW World Championship defense against Christian Cage.
RELATED: Willow Nightingale Wants To Top Last Year’s Win Over Mercedes Mone
INTERVIEWS
Free agent Emma Diaz spoke with WrestleZone’s Ella Jay about her previous pursuit of tackle football, her relationship with WWE PC coach Matt Bloom, the process of finding her character and voice in the wrestling space, her recent appearance at Reality of Wrestling, her post-WWE goals, and more.
Former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan sat down with Chris Van Vliet to talk about being a huge wrestling fan growing up in New Jersey, how she got discovered at a Hooters, her time in NXT, winning the WWE Women’s Championship, her role in on the CHUCKY series, and more!
The IIconics’ Cassie Lee appeared on Ring the Belle to discuss duo’s run in NXT, their memorable debut attacking Charlotte Flair, capturing the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania, the shocking breakup of the IIconics, Lee’s brief her solo run, and more.
Former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella chatted with The Nikki & Brie Show about motherhood, her ups and downs through her journey there, the first few months with her son Dimitri, and why that path to being a mom has inspired her to help others with her new project, Snatch For Her.
WWE NXT star Arianna Grace joined Casual Conversations with The Classic to discuss her influence in the NXT locker room as a role model, some of the potential of the girls in the locker room, her Twitch channel, Star Wars and more.
