King and Queen of the Ring (2024)
| King and Queen of the Ring | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuring Logan Paul, Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Becky Lynch, Jade Cargill, and Bianca Belair, stylized similarly to the movie poster for Black Panther | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown | ||
| Date | May 25, 2024 | ||
| City | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | ||
| Venue | Jeddah Super Dome | ||
| WWE Network event chronology | |||
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| King of the Ring chronology | |||
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| King of the Ring tournament chronology | |||
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| Queen of the Ring tournament chronology | |||
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| WWE in Saudi Arabia chronology | |||
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The 2024 King and Queen of the Ring is an upcoming professional wrestling event produced by the American company WWE. It will be the 12th King of the Ring event, but under a new name, and will take place on Saturday, May 25, 2024, at the Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It will air via pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming and feature wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event will host the finals of both the 23rd King of the Ring tournament and the second Queen of the Ring tournament, with the last tournaments for each held in 2021.
This will be the 11th event that WWE will hold in Saudi Arabia under a 10-year partnership in support of Saudi Vision 2030, thus marking the first King of the Ring event held outside of the United States. The event was originally scheduled to be held at the same location in May 2023, but plans were changed and it was replaced by Night of Champions. This will be the first King of the Ring event since 2015, which was livestreamed exclusively on the WWE Network, the first to livestream on Peacock in the United States, the first to air on traditional PPV since 2002, and the first dedicated event for the Queen of the Ring tournament, which was originally established in 2021 as the Queen's Crown tournament.
Production[edit]
Background[edit]
In early 2018, the American professional wrestling promotion WWE began a 10-year strategic multiplatform partnership with the Ministry of Sport (formerly General Sports Authority) in support of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's social and economic reform program.[1][2] In March 2023, WWE scheduled a Saudi Arabian event titled King and Queen of the Ring for the Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, which would have revived the King of the Ring event series but with a rebranding; however, on April 13, it was revealed that these plans were scrapped with the event replaced by Night of Champions.[3] Fightful later reported that WWE did not have plans to reschedule King and Queen of the Ring for later that year, but that the event could possibly be used for a future Saudi Arabian show.[4]
On April 7, 2024, during night two of WrestleMania XL, WWE announced plans to go ahead with the King and Queen of the Ring event in Saudi Arabia at the Jeddah Super Dome, thus marking the 12th King of the Ring and 11th overall event in the Saudi Arabian partnership. It is scheduled to be held on May 25, 2024. This marks the first King of the Ring event since 2015, which was livestreamed exclusively on the WWE Network, the first to livestream on Peacock in the United States, the first to air on traditional PPV since 2002, and the first King of the Ring event held outside of the United States. It was also confirmed that the May 24 episode of Friday Night SmackDown would take place in Saudi Arabia for the first time.[5]
The King of the Ring event was originally primarily based around the King of the Ring tournament, a men's single-elimination tournament that was established by WWE in 1985 with the winner being crowned "King of the Ring". It was held annually until 1991, with the exception of 1990. These early tournaments were special non-televised house shows.[6] In 1993, the promotion began to produce the King of the Ring tournament as a self-titled PPV.[7] It continued as the annual June PPV until the 2002 event, which was the final King of the Ring produced as a PPV.[8] Following the conclusion of the PPV chronology, the tournament began to be held periodically every few years at other PPVs or on WWE's weekly television programs. WWE then revived the event in 2015, but it was again discontinued with the tournament again being periodically held on WWE's other programs.[9][10] With the event's revival and rebranding as King and Queen of the Ring in 2024, it will see the finals of the 23rd King of the Ring tournament and the second Queen of the Ring tournament (originally known as Queen's Crown), which had been established as the female counterpart in 2021 with the winner crowned "Queen of the Ring", thus being the first dedicated event for the Queen of the Ring. The last King of the Ring tournament was also held in 2021.[5]
Storylines[edit]
The event will include matches that result from scripted storylines. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,[11][12] while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.[13]
On the April 22 episode of Raw, Gunther announced he would take part in the King of the Ring tournament, making him the first official participant. Later that same night, 2021 tournament winner Xavier Woods and Drew McIntyre announced their participation.[14] On the May 3 episode of SmackDown, Carmelo Hayes, LA Knight, and Santos Escobar announced their participation.[15] Both tournaments would begin on the May 6 episode of Raw, with three first round matches for each tournament being held on both Raw and then SmackDown on May 10. The remaining four matches will be held during the WWE Live events on May 11 and 12, which are typically non-canon to the television product. In the tournament brackets, Woods was replaced by his New Day tag team partner Kofi Kingston due to a kayfabe leg injury inflicted by Gunther. McIntyre was also replaced by Jey Uso as he had suffered a legitimate injury and was not medically cleared in time. Asuka was also replaced by her Damage CTRL stablemate Dakota Kai due to injury.[16][17]
On the April 22 episode of Raw, Becky Lynch won a 14-woman Battle Royal by last eliminating Liv Morgan to win the vacant Women's World Championship.[14] The following week, as Lynch was celebrating her victory, she was interrupted by Morgan and Nia Jax—the latter's last night as part of the Raw roster as she was drafted to SmackDown in the 2024 WWE Draft. A match between Morgan and Jax was then scheduled for later that night, where Morgan won, prompting Lynch to give Morgan a title match.[18] The title match was subsequently scheduled for King and Queen of the Ring.[17]
On the March 11 episode of Raw, Sami Zayn won a gauntlet match by last eliminating Chad Gable to become the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania XL.[19] In the weeks leading up to event, Gable trained Zayn for his championship match, which he won.[20] Because of Gable's help, Zayn gave him a title match. Before the match, however, Bronson Reed warned that he would go after the winner. Zayn defeated Gable to retain the title, but ater the match, Gable attacked Zayn while celebrating with his family, turning heel in the process.[21] Later, Gable explained that the reason he attacked Zayn was because he felt disrespected by Zayn after he brought the title to him while he was down in the corner of the ring, and also after seeing Zayn celebrating his win with his family, something that Gable was not able to do after he lost an Intercontinental Championship match back in September 2023.[14] After being attacked by Reed, Zayn defended his title against him on the April 29 episode, which Zayn won by disqualification after Gable attacked him.[18] The following week, Zayn attacked Gable during his match with Reed, causing another disqualification. Later that night, Zayn announced that he would defend his title against Gable and Reed in a triple threat match at King and Queen of the Ring, which was later made official.[17]
Matches[edit]
| No. | Matches* | Stipulations | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raw bracket winner vs. SmackDown bracket winner | King of the Ring tournament final | ||||
| 2 | Raw bracket winner vs. SmackDown bracket winner | Queen of the Ring tournament final | ||||
| 3 | Becky Lynch (c) vs. Liv Morgan | Singles match for the Women's World Championship[22] | ||||
| 4 | Sami Zayn (c) vs. Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed | Triple threat match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship[23] | ||||
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King of the Ring tournament[edit]
| First round (Raw, May 6) (SmackDown, May 10) (WWE Live, May 11–12) | Quarterfinals (Raw, May 13) (SmackDown, May 17) | Semifinals (Raw, May 20) (SmackDown, May 24) | Final (King and Queen of the Ring, May 25) | ||||||||||||
| Gunther | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Sheamus | 21:05[17] | ||||||||||||||
| Gunther | |||||||||||||||
| Kofi Kingston[a] | |||||||||||||||
| Rey Mysterio | |||||||||||||||
| Raw | |||||||||||||||
| Ricochet | 14:00[17] | ||||||||||||||
| Ilja Dragunov | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Ilja Dragunov | |||||||||||||||
| Jey Uso | |||||||||||||||
| Jey Uso[b] | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Finn Bálor | 13:35[17] | ||||||||||||||
| AJ Styles | |||||||||||||||
| Randy Orton | |||||||||||||||
| Baron Corbin | |||||||||||||||
| Carmelo Hayes | |||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | |||||||||||||||
| LA Knight | |||||||||||||||
| Santos Escobar | |||||||||||||||
| Bobby Lashley | |||||||||||||||
| Tama Tonga | |||||||||||||||
Queen of the Ring tournament[edit]
| First round (Raw, May 6) (SmackDown, May 10) (WWE Live, May 11–12) | Quarterfinals (Raw, May 13) (SmackDown, May 17) | Semifinals (Raw, May 20) (SmackDown, May 24) | Final (King and Queen of the Ring, May 25) | ||||||||||||
| Shayna Baszler | |||||||||||||||
| Zelina Vega | |||||||||||||||
| Iyo Sky | |||||||||||||||
| Iyo Sky | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Natalya | 10:20[17] | ||||||||||||||
| Raw | |||||||||||||||
| Dakota Kai[c] | 8:50[17] | ||||||||||||||
| Lyra Valkyria | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Lyra Valkyria | |||||||||||||||
| Zoey Stark | |||||||||||||||
| Ivy Nile | 5:20[17] | ||||||||||||||
| Zoey Stark | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| SmackDown | |||||||||||||||
Notes[edit]
- ^ Originally scheduled to be Xavier Woods, though was pulled from the tournament due to not being medically cleared to compete.
- ^ Originally scheduled to be Drew McIntyre, though was pulled from the tournament due to not being medically cleared to compete.
- ^ Originally scheduled to be Asuka, though was pulled from the tournament due to not being medically cleared to compete.
References[edit]
- ^ WWE.com Staff (March 5, 2018). "Saudi Arabia to host the Greatest Royal Rumble". WWE. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
- ^ "National Transformation Program 2020" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 28, 2017.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (April 13, 2023). "WWE Changes 'WWE King & Queen Of The Ring' PLE To 'WWE Night Of Champions'". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- ^ Brennan, Corey (June 10, 2023). "WWE Keeping King And Queen Of The Ring For A Future Saudi Arabia Show". BodySlam.net. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
- ^ a b Tessier, Colin (April 7, 2024). "WWE To Hold 5/24 SmackDown And WWE King And Queen Of The Ring PLE In Saudi Arabia". Fightful. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
- ^ Beaston, Erik (August 18, 2019). "WWE King of the Ring: Everything You Need to Know About Historical Tournament". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on August 18, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ "King of the Ring 1993". Pro Wrestling History. Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved October 2, 2008.
- ^ "King of the Ring 2002 results". Online World of Wrestling. June 23, 2002. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
- ^ "Raw: The King of the Ring tournament Returns to Raw – This Monday". WWE. April 27, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
- ^ Caldwell, James (April 28, 2015). "Caldwell's WWE KOTR Special Report 4/28: Complete "virtual-time coverage" of King of the Ring finals on WWE Network". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on May 1, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
- ^ a b c Powell, Jason (April 22, 2024). "WWE Raw results (4/22): Powell's live review of the battle royal for the vacant Women's World Championship, R-Truth and The Miz vs. DIY for the World Tag Team Titles, Gunther's return". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
- ^ Powell, Jason (May 3, 2024). "WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (5/3): Powell's review of Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles, A-Town Down Under vs. Street Profits for the WWE Tag Titles, AOP vs. New Catch Republic, RKO Show". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
- ^ Powell, Jason (May 4, 2024). "WWE Backlash France results: Powell's live review of Cody Rhodes vs. AJ Styles for the WWE Championship, Damian Priest vs. Jey Uso for the World Hvt. Title, Bayley vs. Naomi vs. Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Powell, Jason (May 6, 2024). "WWE Raw results (5/6): Powell's live review of Gunther vs. Sheamus, Ricochet vs. Ilja Dragunov, Lyra Valkyria vs. Asuka, Iyo Sky vs. Natalya, and more King and Queen of the Ring matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ a b Powell, Jason (April 29, 2024). "WWE Raw results (4/29): Powell's live review of the WWE Draft night two, Sami Zayn vs. Bronson Reed for the Intercontinental Title, appearances by Women's World Champion Becky Lynch and U.S. Champion Logan Paul". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
- ^ Powell, Jason (March 11, 2024). "WWE Raw results (3/11): Powell's live review of Sami Zayn vs. Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bronson Reed vs. JD McDonagh vs. Chad Gable in a gauntlet match for a shot at the IC Title, Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
- ^ Powell, Jason (April 6, 2024). "WrestleMania XL results: Powell's live review of night one with The Rock and Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch for the Women's World Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- ^ Powell, Jason (April 15, 2024). "WWE Raw results (4/15): Powell's live review of Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable for the Intercontinental Title, Rhea Ripley appearance, Andrade vs. Dominik Mysterio, Sheamus returns, Jey Uso vs. Finn Balor". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ WWE.com Staff (May 6, 2024). "Women's World Champion Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan". WWE. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
- ^ WWE.com Staff (May 6, 2024). "Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed (Triple Threat Match)". WWE. Retrieved May 7, 2024.