WWE King and Queen of the Ring is officially in the books.
The Premium Live Event went down at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia Saturday, May 25. Becky Lynch, Cody Rhodes, Gunther, Randy Orton, and Logan Paul among others worked the show this past weekend.
Here’s what went down at WWE King and Queen of the Ring.
- Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill retained their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship against Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell on the pre-show. The champions are likely to collide with number one contenders Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark in the coming days.
Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan kicked off WWE King and Queen of the Ring
Becky Lynch put her Women’s World Championship on the line against challenger Liv Morgan in the opener. Both women wore Brittany Spears-inspired fit for the world title match. Michael Cole reminded viewers of Rhea Ripley’s injury at the hands of Liv Morgan. The challenger won the title after a bit of interference from Dominik Mysterio.
Analysis: Not the weakest match of the night, but not the best either. The submission exchange was good. Dominik Mysterio got a surprisingly huge pop when he showed up. His bit was probably the most interesting part of the match. Cole saying Dominik will get into trouble with Mami for handing Liv the win was hilarious.
RAW will be interesting.
Triple threat for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Sami Zayn defended his title against Bronson Reed and Chad Gable. Otis accompanied Master Gable to the ring. All three men went to war for nearly 13 minutes. Zayn pinned Reed to retain his WWE Intercontinental Championship.
Analysis: A solid triple threat that focused on each opponent’s individual strengths. Zayn fought as the resilient champion. Reed relied on his colossal strength and showcased his agility as well; that suicide dive nearly took Zayn and Gable’s head off. Chad Gable looked like an absolute beast with his double suplex on both Reed and Zayn.
Sami’s Blue Thunder Bomb on Reed popped a great reaction from the Saudi crowd. They love him. Otis showed no hesitation taking out Reed, but stopped in his tracks when Gable told him to clothesline Zayn. Otis missed his mark and took out his Alpha Academy mentor instead. I like how they protected Gable by using Otis as a major distraction.
The outcome planted the seeds for Zayn vs. Gable III. Both men are 1-1 in their current feud. Zayn won in Montreal. Gable won in North Carolina. All that is left is a rubber match between the two former friends.
Iron Man match, maybe?!
Lyra Valkyria vs. Nia Jax in the Queen of the Ring finals
RAW’s Lyra met SmackDown’s Nia in the Queen of the Ring tournament finals in Saudi Arabia. Lyra managed to avoid Nia’s brute force in the early goings of the match. She ultimately fell to The Annihilator after nearly 10 minutes of action.
Analysis: Arguably the weakest match of the night, given Nia’s limited move set. She did make the best out of her momentum against Lyra and looked like a legitimate threat in the process. Lyra immediately went for another strike every time she failed to put away Nia. The setup for the Annihilator was done brilliantly. Lyra tried to hit Nia with a turnbuckle-assisted powerbomb, but ultimately crumbled under all the weight.
Nia was my pick for the 2024 WWE Queen of the Ring. She got emotional when Triple H came to the ring to congratulate her and give her the crowd. Kayla Braxton tried to get a word, but Nia quickly interrupted her in pure heel fashion. The Queen will get her world title shot at WWE SummerSlam 2024.
Randy Orton vs. Gunther in the King of the Ring finals
SmackDown’s Randy Orton collided with RAW’s Gunther in a first-time match-up. Both men gave a great performance in front of the Jeddah crowd. Orton got one of the loudest pops of the night. Gunther beat Orton after nearly 22 minutes of action to become the 2024 WWE King of the Ring.
Analysis: Michael Cole, with a bit of trivia on King of the Ring, was great. Cole referenced Brock Lesnar’s KOTR 2002 win and his iconic world title match against The Rock at SummerSlam 2002. As loud as the fans were for Orton, they couldn’t come close to beating the French crowd. That crowd was on another level.
Gunther and Orton gave a textbook match from start to finish. The Viper may be the last of his generation to actually sell an offense throughout the match. This is what is missing from most matches today. There were some neat spots, like the dropkick on Orton’s leg right after the Viper hit the Ring General with two back-to-back backbreakers on the announce table.
The ending was a bit controversial, but I’m glad they addressed it on social media. Orton’s shoulders weren’t on the mat when Gunther pinned him out of nowhere. Triple H hinted a rematch between the two great competitors, but maintained the referee’s decision remains final.
Cody Rhodes vs. Logan Paul headlined WWE King and Queen of the Ring
Cody Rhodes put his Undisputed WWE Championship on the line against Logan Paul in the main event of WWE King and Queen of the Ring. The challenger tried to cheat his way to win, but ultimately fell to the champion.
Analysis: After putting on a MOTY contender with AJ Styles at Backlash France, Rhodes gave another spectacular PLE performance. The challenger, Logan Paul, continues to prove he belongs in a wrestling ring. The guy is a natural. Logan brought brass knuckles to the match despite promising not to use them. His shenanigans almost caused a brawl with Michael Cole.
The highlight of the match would be the camera shot of Logan taking out Cody with a frog splash through the announce table. I thought Ibrahim Al Hajjaj’s interference was unnecessary toward the end, but whatever it takes to make the Saudis happy. Cody retained his title. Logan is still the United States Champion.
Now give me Logan Paul vs. LA Knight at SummerSlam 2024!
