WWE SmackDown took over Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania’s Mohegan Sun Arena with a sold-out show this week. Those fans witnessed some incredible King and Queen of the Ring Tournament matches take place.

The 2024 King and Queen of the Ring tournaments have begun in WWE, featuring matches on Raw and SmackDown. The finals will go down at a live event in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, May 25. Thirty-two competitors from the roster are vying for the crown, a title previously held by many notable wrestlers.

On WWE SmackDown this week, they continued their road to King & Queen of the Ring. In the first match of the night, Nia Jax defeated Naomi to advance in the tournament.

Carmelo Hayes, the former NXT Champion, won his match against Baron Corbin to advance in the tournament. Hayes secured the victory with a roll-up pin, which didn’t significantly hurt Corbin’s standing, as he was just call-up from NXT during the 2024 WWE Draft along with Hayes.

Additionally, the match featured sponsorship from “The Iron Claw” on Max, with MAX graphics on the barricades and entrance as Corey Graves mentioned the Von Erich Family biopic post-match.

Baron Corbin vs Carmelo Hayes
Brought to you by The Iron Claw. #KOTR #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/kMXHI63Wkl

— Balor Club Guy (@TheBalorClubGuy) May 11, 2024

Jade Cargill also advanced toward the 2024 Queen of the Ring crown as she defeated Piper Niven. It’s hard not to see the former TBS Champion as a favorite in the tournament. Cargill impressed throughout the match, executing a blue thunder bomb on Niven, along with perfect splashes in the corner.

Chelsea Green tried to interfere, but there was no stopping the Storm from coming as she won with a Jaded. This win for Cargill also set up a match against Nia Jax next, and that will be another incredible test for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion.

JADED! 🤯#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/TMXmn0OQ4X

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) May 11, 2024

Bianca Belair made her entrance as her tag team partner, Cargill, was leaving. This gave them a chance to pose as WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions before the match kicked off. After a back-and-forth contest, Belair won the match to advance in the tournament.

Tama Tonga picked up the win over Angelo Dawkins to advance this week. Dawkins replaced Bobby Lashley, who had to pull out. Tonga is coming off his brother, Tanga Loa, debuting at WWE Backlash in France, so he wanted to keep that momentum going. Tonga also got to show off his new entrance on SmackDown.

Tama Tonga's Entrance 😮‍💨#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/GwxXxrq2SG

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) May 11, 2024

AJ Styles and Randy Orton brought the third and final King of the Ring match of the night. The two veterans continued as Orton developed a leg injury during the match, one he sold to enhance the drama. Orton fought to keep from getting trapped in a Calf Crusher from the Phenomenal One as fans chanted The Viper on.

They fought on, and Orton delivered his signature suspended DDT, but he was unable to capitalize. The Apex Predator was able to kick out of a Phenomenal Forearm and then he hit an RKO outta nowhere to secure the win.

ring awareness pic.twitter.com/cxzfFzEuOn

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) May 11, 2024

The King and Queen of the Ring tournaments will culminate on May 25 at the Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where the finals for both tournaments will take place.

You may find the results for this year’s tournament (so far) in the space below. We have also listed the announced quarterfinal matches.

King of the Ring:

First Round Results:

• Gunther defeated Sheamus
• Ilja Dragunov defeated Ricochet
• Jey Uso defeated Finn Balor
• Kofi Kingston defeated Rey Mysterio
• Randy Orton defeated AJ Styles
• Tama Tonga defeated Angelo Dawkins
• Carmelo Hayes defeated Baron Corbin
• LA Knight defeated Santos Escobar

Quarterfinals Scheduled:

• Gunther vs. Kofi Kingston
• Jey Uso vs. Ilja Dragunov
• Tama Tonga vs LA Knight
• Carmelo Hayes vs Randy Orton

Queen of the Ring:

First Round Results:

• Iyo Sky defeated Natalya
• Lyra Valkyria defeated Dakota Kai
• Zoey Stark defeated Ivy Nile
• Shayna Baszler defeated Maxxine Dupri
• Bianca Belair defeated Candice LeRae
• Jade Cargill defeated Piper Niven
• Nia Jax defeated Naomi
• Tiffany Stratton defeated Michin

Quarterfinals Scheduled:

• Iyo Sky vs. Shayna Baszler
• Lyra Valkyria vs. Zoey Stark
• Jade Cargill vs Nia Jax
• Bianca Belair vs Tiffany Stratton

WWE King & Queen of the Ring Card:

• King of the Ring Tournament Final
  • Raw bracket winner vs. SmackDown bracket winner
• Queen of the Ring Tournament Final
  • Raw bracket winner vs. SmackDown bracket winner
• Women’s World Championship Match
  • Becky Lynch (c) vs. Liv Morgan (Singles match)
• WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
  • Sami Zayn (c) vs. Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed (Triple threat match)
• Undisputed WWE Championship Match
  • Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Logan Paul (Singles match)

World Wrestling Entertainment is set to crown a new King & Queen. WWE King & Queen Of The Ring will take place Saturday, May 25 from Saudi Arabia, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer.

A King & Queen of the Ring Premium Live Event was initially scheduled for May 2023. That show was ultimately changed to Night Of Champions to reflect Roman Reigns reaching 1,000 days as WWE Universal Champion. 

Night of Champion 2023 also saw the re-introduction of the World Heavyweight Championship that was won at the event by Seth Rollins. The Architect defeated AJ Styles in the finals of a 12-man tournament at the event. 

King & Queen of the Ring

The upcoming Premium Live Event will be WWE’s first King of the Ring event since 2002 and the first ever to feature a Queen of the Ring in its name. The most recent King of the Ring is Xavier Woods who won the tournament in 2021 by last defeating Finn Balor in the finals. 

2021 also saw Zelina Vega defeat Piper Niven (Doudrop at the time) to win the Queen’s Crown Tournament. WWE opted not to refer to Vega as ‘Queen of the Ring’ following her victory. At this time, no names have been confirmed for either tournament that will host its finals at the May Premium Live Event. 

WWE will be adding some new royalty to their history books with the crowning of a new King and Queen of the Ring later this year.

It has been confirmed that the King and Queen of the Ring event will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, May 27.

WWE’s most recent coronation also happened in Saudi Arabia, at the Crown Jewel 2021 event.

At that show, Xavier Woods (who had rallied for the return of the KOTR tournament) was crowned King.

Zelina Vega, mere months after her return to WWE, bested Doudrop to win the ‘Queen’s Crown Tournament’ as WWE opted against calling her Queen of the Ring.

Unhappy

For the video package aired on Raw, WWE featured several Superstars, but two notable exceptions were Vega and Woods.

On Twitter, Vega expressed her displeasure at the fact that the most recent King and Queen of WWE were nowhere to be seen.

Woods also shared an edited clip of the video promo, which featured only himself and Vega.

Good to Be the King

The first King of the Ring tournament took place back in 1985, when Don ‘The Rock’ Muraco captured the crown, besting the Iron Sheik in the finals.

In the following years, Harley Race, Randy Savage, Ted DiBiase, Tito Santana, and Bret Hart would all be crowned King.

In 1993, WWE introduced the King of the Ring event to Television, with Bret once again winning, becoming the only two-time King of the Ring winner in history.

Today, Brock Lesnar is both one of the most famous and most credible wrestlers in the world. Yes, he’s an eleven-time world champion and two-time WWE Royal Rumble winner, but his combat credentials go much deeper for a successful career in amateur wrestling that included an NCAA Division I Heavyweight Championship, as well as his past as a UFC Heavyweight Champion.

After main eventing WrestleManias, ending The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania, and so much more, it can be difficult to remember a time when Lesnar was a relative unknown. In 2002, the WWE machine got behind Lesnar like no talent before or since as he enjoyed a monster rookie year.

For most wrestlers winning the King of the Ring tournament marks a career highlight. For The Beast, it was just one milestone, often forgotten because he accomplished several bigger things in his first year in the business, not to mention his storied career to follow.

Brock Lesnar Defeated Four Established Stars To Win WWE King Of The Ring

Before the King of the Ring tournament, Brock Lesnar had already established himself as a force in WWE. His first appearances saw him decimate mid-card talents like Spike Dudley, Maven, and Al Snow in impromptu run ins, and his first major feud saw him single-handedly dispose of The Hardy Boyz. Winning the King of the Ring, however, marked Lesnar’s first formal accolade of his WWE career.

Lesnar won a tournament qualifying match on Raw, beating veteran Bubba Ray Dudley in under five minutes, and then handily defeated former WCW Champion Booker T in the quarterfinals to win his way onto the King of the Ring PPV. From there, Lesnar beat fellow big man Test and, most impressively at the time, Rob Van Dam in the tournament final. These victories shored up Lesnar as more than just another big guy who got an impressive debut, but rather someone WWE was positioning as a legit main eventer.

Brock Lesnar’s King Of The Ring Run Was Intended To Be Even More Epic

Three out of the four men Brock Lesnar beat in his King of the Ring run would go on to win world championships and wind up in the WWE Hall of Fame. That’s an impressive run for anyone. However, the plans were for Lesnar to pull off an even more shocking and noteworthy victory in his qualifying match.

Indeed, Lesnar’s first obstacle to qualify for the tournament was supposed to be Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin has discussed the matter at length, including on his podcast and WWE’s documentary Stone Cold Steve Austin: The Bottom Line on the Most Popular Superstar of All Time.

The match was presented an already discontented Rattlesnake at the relative last minute. He has consistently suggested he was fine with putting over Lesnar, but if he were to do so, it should have been in a heavily promoted PPV match, not a free TV bout that would damage Austin’s credibility without doing major business for WWE or even Lesnar himself.

Austin infamously walked out from WWE over this creative impasse—a choice that remains polarizing to this day. It’s nonetheless interesting imagine if Lesnar’s accomplishments in his first months had also included beating this additional all-time legend of the business.

Brock Lesnar’s King Of The Ring Run Was One Plot Point In A Sensational Summer

Though Brock Lesnar did not get to defeat Stone Cold Steve Austin on his road to becoming King of the Ring, The Beast did defeat two of the three other names that tend to come up most often in conversations of the biggest draws in WWE history. After winning the crown, it didn’t take long for Lesnar to be positioned as the number one contender to the WWE Championship.

Yes, The Next Big Thing officially lost to Rob Van Dam at the following month’s PPV, Vengeance, via disqualification. He bounced back, though, a couple weeks later when he not only defeated, but decimated Hulk Hogan in a match on SmackDown that saw Lesnar render him unconscious with a bear hug.

From there, Lesnar achieved new heights, becoming the youngest WWE Champion of all time—a record that still stands—when he beat The Rock in decisive fashion in the main event of SummerSlam.

WWE hardly ever pushes anyone the way they did Brock Lesnar over the summer of 2002. On one hand, one could read that as a knock on the company for not getting behind any stars like they did The Next Big Thing, but there’s also a legitimate case that Lesnar’s potential was truly unique and that he’s made good on it across two decades to follow.

WWE has filed another trademark that all-but-guarantees we’ll be seeing King of the Ring and Queen of the Ring tournaments in 2023.

WWE has owned the “King of the Ring” trademark for several years. In October, the company secured the rights to “Queen of the Ring” as well.

On December 8, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. applied to trademark, “WWE King and Queen of the Ring.”

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database, the Goods and Services usage description for the “LIVE” trademark includes:

• Entertainment services, namely, a show about professional wrestling;
• Entertainment services, namely, the production and exhibition of professional wrestling events rendered through broadcast media including television and distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media;
• Providing wrestling news and information through broadcast media including television and distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media;
• Providing information in the fields of sports and entertainment through broadcast media including television and distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media;
• Providing a website in the field of sports entertainment information;

It’s been rumored that WWE would be bringing back the King of the Ring tournament and holding the first-ever Queen of the Ring tournament since last year.

Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE’s Chief Content Officer, has spoken about his intention to reimagine the WWE’s approach to themed premium live events. While shows like Hell in a Cell are expected to be retired, it seems increasingly likely that King and Queen of the Ring will be added to the calendar next year.

• Charlotte Flair Not Interested In WWE Queen of the Ring Tournament

A member of WWE’s roster could join the likes of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, and Booker T as King of the Ring next year.

The King of the Ring tournament began in 1985 with Don Muraco becoming the first King, with the first televised event seeing Bret Hart claim the crown in 1993.

WWE’s most recent King is Xavier Woods, who defeated Finn Balor at Crown Jewel 2021.

Good to be the King

In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reports that WWE is considering bringing back the iconic tournament in 2023.

Rather than in recent years, when only the finals would be on a Premium Live Event, the reported plan is for there to be an official King of the Ring event.

WWE canceled the KOTR Pay-Per-View after 2002’s event reportedly due to drawing weak numbers.

Nowadays, Pay-Per-View buys are no longer the metric WWE uses to gauge a show’s success, as money is guaranteed by Peacock, allowing for more unique shows.

A Throne Fit for a Queen

In the report, it is also noted that WWE is looking to bring in a Queen of the Ring tournament as well.

In 2021, WWE held its first ‘Queen’s Crown Tournament,’ but avoided using the term ‘Queen of the Ring.’

At Crown Jewel that year, Zelina Vega, who’d returned to WWE months prior, defeated Doudrop to become the first Queen.

Vega defeated current AEW Interim Women’s World Champion Toni Storm in the quarter-finals and future tag-team partner Carmella in the semis to advance.

Xavier Woods has earned his biggest accomplishment to date as far as singles competition is concerned.

Woods has been a member of The New Day since the group debuted back in 2014. In fact, he started the trio on WWE TV by bringing Big E and Kofi Kingston together. While Woods is the mastermind behind The New Day, he hasn’t had the singles success that E and Kingston have enjoyed. Finally, Woods has gotten his due.

Xavier Woods made it to the finals of the King of the Ring tournament. The lone obstacle left to win the tournament was Finn Balor. The two collided at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. Woods picked up the win, realizing his dream of becoming the King of the Ring.

In a WWE backstage interview, Woods had trouble describing just how surreal this moment is for him.

“I don’t know, it’s just this weird new feeling. Which is weird because I’m 17 years in and I have a new feeling and that’s really cool. Almost 20 years in wrestling; since I was 17. This is the only real thing — this and tag team stuff. Love tag team wrestling. This is the only singles accolade that I’ve ever cared about. Titles are cool. Even that white leather IC title is so dope, but I only care about this. Like you know that you can do something, and you know that it’s possible but there’s something in your head that says, ‘This will never happen. This is a pipe dream. You’ve done well enough. Be happy with what you have.’ So, I don’t know, I guess I never actually really believed that would actually ever happen for me.”

In Woods’ mind, he has reached the mountain top in terms of singles matches. Big E and Kingston captured the WWE Championship, but for Woods, winning the King of the Ring is what he truly wanted.

H/T to Fightful for the transcribed quotes

Tonight’s episode of Raw featured 4 first-round King Of The Ring and Queen’s crown matches. The show saw a few interesting names advancing in the tournament.

The first match of the night saw New Day member Xavier Woods competing against Ricochet. Towards the ending of the bout, Woods got out of the ring to take a breather but Ricochet followed him outside.

The One and Only delivered a suicide dive sending Woods into the barriers. Though Woods managed to sidestep a second suicide dive attempt from his opponent, sending Ricochet into the barriers instead.

Xavier Woods then brought Ricochet back into the ring. He delivered a top rope elbow to his opponent and then pinned him to win and advance into the King Of The Ring.

The second qualifying match on Raw saw Shayna Baszler facing Dana Brooke. This match was once again not too long. It saw Baszler picking up a quick victory.

The second King Of The Ring tournament match of the night saw Jinder Mahal taking on Woods’ New Day partner Kofi Kingston. Mahal won this bout after some interference from Veer and Shanky.

The final first-round match of the night saw Doudrop facing Natalya. The ending of this bout saw Natalya trying to lock in the sharpshooter but Doudrop managed to fight it off. She then rolled Natalya for the win.

Xavier Woods and Jinder Mahal will now meet in the semi-finals of the King Of The Ring tournament. Doudrop on the other hand will face Shayna Baszler.

WWE has released the brackets for King of the Ring and the inaugural Queen’s Crown tournament. 

The finals of both royal competitions will take place at WWE Crown Jewel on Thursday, October 21st from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Fahd International Stadium.

King of the Ring Brackets

King of the Ring 2021 kicked off on Friday WWE SmackDown. Sami Zayn defeated Rey Mysterio in a first-round match. Zayn has advanced to face the winner of Cesaro vs. Finn Balor.

The remaining first-round matches include Kofi Kingston vs. Jinder Mahal, Xavier Woods vs.Ricochet and Cesaro vs. Finn Balor.

Queen’s Crown Brackets

Queen’s Crown also kicked off on SmackDown. Zelina Vega defeated Toni Storm and Carmella defeated Liv Morgan in first-round matches.

The other first-round matches will take place on Raw with Doudrop vs. Natalya and Dana Brooke vs. Shayna Baszler. 

For SmackDown, Vega and Carmella will wrestle each other next while the winners of the Raw matches will square off. 

WWE will reportedly be bringing back the King of the Ring shortly. Previous reports have stated that WWE plans to bring back the tournament next month along with an inaugural women’s version. The plan is to begin the tournament in October and host the finals at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on October 21st.

According to a recent report from PW Insider, WWE has produced a special on the King of the Ring that will air on Fox to build anticipation for its return. The special will air on Fox the weekend of October 1st to 3rd with timeslots varying across local markets.

“The special will air in different timeslots depending on your local market and will be a preview of the return of the King of the Ring tournament,” wrote Mike Johnson.

King of the Ring Winner History

Don Muraco was the first person to be declared the King of the Ring in 1985 when he won the inaugural tournament. Below is the history of King of the Ring tournament winners. This list does not include wrestlers such as King Haku or King Nakamura, who won the crown by defeating a King in a non-tournament setting.

• 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- 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

WWE will hold King of the Ring and Queen of the Ring tournaments later this year.

Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men podcast has been all over this story the past few weeks. On Friday, Zarian provided more details on when the tournaments will take place.

According to AZ, the King of the Ring tournament is returning in October. WWE’s first Queen of the Ring tournament will also take place around that time.

The finals of both the King and Queen tournaments are scheduled to take place at WWE’s next live event from Saudi Arabia. Multiple sources have confirmed that WWE is currently eyeing October 21st for the next PPV from Saudi Arabia.

King of the Ring

WWE has held many King of the Ring tournaments throughout the years. The event started out in 1985 as a special attraction at live events. The first King of the Ring pay-per-view was held in June 1993, with Bret Hart winning the crown.

In total, WWE has held 21 King of the Ring tournaments. Aside from Bret Hart, winners have included Randy Savage, Ted Dibiase, Owen Hart, Steve Austin, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar and most recently, Baron Corbin (2019).

Queen of the Ring

History will be made this October when WWE crowns the first Queen of the Ring. Some of WWE’s top female competitors have expressed an interest in a QOTR tournament, including Sasha Banks and Bayley.

WWE has considered hosting a Queen of the Ring tournament dating back to 2018. Three years later, it’s finally coming to fruition.

Stay tuned for more details on the upcoming King of the Ring and Queen of the Ring tournaments.

The winner of this year’s WWE King of the Ring tournament has been determined. 

Baron Corbin beat Chad Gable in the finals of the tournament on Monday’s episode of RAW. 

There were 16 competitors in the tournament with eight from RAW and eight from SmackDown Live. The first round of matches started back in August on RAW from St. Paul, MN and SmackDown from Sioux Falls, SD. 

The semi-finals took place last week on RAW and SmackDown Live when Baron Corbin def. Ricochet and Samoa Joe in a Triple Threat Match while Chad Gable def. Shane McMahon in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match. 

• Baron Corbin Says Spite Motivated Him To Win King of the Ring

2019 King of the Ring Results

First-Round

RAW: Samoa Joe def. Cesaro, Ricochet def. Drew McIntyre, Cedric Alexander def. Sami Zayn, The Miz def. Baron Corbin

SmackDown: Elias def. Kevin Owens, Ali def. Buddy Murphy, Chad Gable def. Shelton Benjamin, Andrade def. Apollo Crews

Quarter-Finals

RAW: Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet, Baron Corbin def. Cedric Alexander

SmackDown: Chad Gable def. Andrade, Elias def. Ali

Semi-Finals

RAW: Baron Corbin def. Ricochet and Samoa Joe in a Triple Threat Match

SmackDown: Chad Gable def. Shane McMahon in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match

From 1993 to 2002, the tournament was produced as a pay-per-view event. Before the 2019 tournament, the previous King of the Ring took place in 2015 on an episode of RAW.

With WWE currently holding their King of the Ring tournament, many former Superstars have been reflecting on what the tournament has meant to them.

During an interview with SI.com, WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart reflected on his King of the Ring victory in 1993, calling it one of the greatest nights in his lucrative career.

“I prided myself on working different styles with different guys, and I appreciated that every single one of my matches that night was different.”

Hart competed in three different matches that night on his way to claiming the crown. He faced Razor Ramon in the quarterfinals, Mr. Perfect in the semis, and then Bam Bam Bigelow in the final on the competition.

“There’s always a lot of pressure on you on a big pay-per-view, especially a pay-per-view like that since it was the first one,” said Hart. “But I was up for the challenge.”

He explained how he looked forward to every match he had that night. Hart called Bam Bam one of the best big men in the business before likening his matches with Curt Hennig with Mad Magazine’s Spy vs. Spy, saying how they had “great chemistry together” to the point where he feels they never had a bad match. When it came to Razor Ramon, Hart stated that theirs was “the best match we ever had together.”

“It was all different stuff, too. The match with Bam Bam was so different from the match with Curt, and the match with Curt was different from the match with Razor. That’s what I remember the most about that night.”

The finals of this year’s King of the Ring tournament will see Chad Gable take on Baron Corbin Monday night on RAW.

The finals of the 2019 WWE King of the Ring tournament are set. 

WWE held the semi-finals of the tournament on Monday’s episode of RAW and Tuesday’s SmackDown Live show New York City, NY at Madison Square Garden on the USA Network. 

On the RAW side, Baron Corbin beat Samoa Joe and Ricochet in a Triple Threat Match. This came after Ricochet vs. Joe ended in a DQ while Corbin beat Cedric Alexander in the quarter-finals. 

On SmackDown Live, Chad Gable beat Shane McMahon twice. This came after last week’s show where Elias beat Ali and Chad Gable beat Andrade. Elias was pulled from this match due to an ankle injury and replaced by McMahon. 

WWE SmackDown Live Results (9/10)

McMahon named Kevin Owens the special guest referee for this match that was later turned into a two-out-of-three falls match once Gable scored the first pinfall. After Gable beat McMahon for a second time, McMahon fired Kevin Owens in storyline. 

As a result, Corbin and Gable have advanced to the finals of this tournament that were supposed to take place at the Clash of Champions pay-per-view event this Sunday. 

However, that’s not the case as they will take place next Monday night on RAW. 

The semi-finals of the 2019 WWE King of the Ring tournament are set.

The quarter-finals took place on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live.  

Baron Corbin vs. Cedric Alexander and Ricochet vs. Samoa Joe took place on RAW. With Corbin advancing and Ricochet vs. Joe ending in a DQ, it’ll be a Triple Threat Match that will see Corbin vs. Ricochet vs. Joe with the winner to advance to the finals next week on RAW. 

On the SmackDown side, Elias beat Ali and Chad Gable beat Andrade. Now, next week on SmackDown Live it will be Gable vs. Elias with the winner to advance to the finals next week.

WWE is set to hold TV events for Monday Night RAW on Monday, September 9 and SmackDown Live on Tuesday, September 10 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 

The plan is for the finals will take place at the Clash of Champions pay-per-view event next weekend. 

WWE Returns to Madison Square Garden

Here are the updated lineups that will likely serve as the dark main events: 

Monday Night Raw

• WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin
• RAW Women’s Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans

SmackDown Live

• WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler
• Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe

Last night, Elias defeated Kevin Owens to advance in WWE’s King of the Ring tournament. His victory was assured thanks to the actions of his good friend, Shane McMahon. 

Speaking with WWE.com after his win, Elias kept a wary eye on his surroundings, ready to defend his 24/7 Championship if need be. 

Elias spoke about his new theme music, commenting on how he wrote, recorded, and brought it to WWE, sharing he was unsure whether he would release it or not. 

“Big week for Elias. In fact, every week is a big week for Elias, because any time Elias is on television it’s special. […] I’ve gotta believe you’re feeling incredible right now being in the presence of Elias.”

He then moved the interview to another part of the room, not wanting to be in a position to be trapped in case anybody attempted to win his 24/7 title.

“[…] then I advanced in the King of the Ring, can you believe it? And sure, Shane McMahon might have helped out. He’s a good guy. A real good guy. He’s always got my back; I’ve always got his. What’s the problem? All I can say, is long live Elias. Long live the King. Long live King Elias.”

The King of the Ring tournament continues next week. Elias will face off against the winner of Ali vs Murphy.

WWE has announced the full bracket for the King of the Ring tournament. 

There will be 16 competitors in the tournament with eight from RAW and eight from SmackDown Live. You can see the full list here: 

First Round

• Cesaro vs. Samoa Joe – RAW Match
• Ricochet vs. Drew McIntyre – RAW Match
• Cedric Alexander vs. Sami Zayn – RAW Match
• The Miz vs. Baron Corbin – RAW Match
• Kevin Owens vs. WWE 24/7 Champion Elias – SmackDown Match
• Ali vs. Buddy Murphy – SmackDown Match
• Chad Gable vs. Shelton Benjamin – SmackDown Match
• Apollo Crews vs. Andrade – SmackDown Match

The first round of matches will begin on Monday’s RAW from St. Paul, MN and Tuesday’s SmackDown from Sioux Falls, SD. 

Second Round

• Cesaro or Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet or Drew McIntyre – RAW Match
• Cedric Alexander or Sami Zayn vs. The Miz or Baron Corbin – RAW Match
• Kevin Owens or Elias vs. Ali or Buddy Murphy – SmackDown Match
• Chad Gable or Shelton Benjamin vs. Apollo Crews or Andrade – SmackDown Match

The second round will start on August 26 onRAW in New Orleans and SmackDown the next night in Baton Rouge, LA.

The semi-finals are set to take place on September 9 and September 10 at the RAW and SmackDown events from Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The finals of the tournament will take place at the Clash of Champions pay-per-view event on Sunday, September 15th from Charlotte, North Carolina at the Spectrum Center.

King of the Ring Brackts

The early betting odds are in for the WWE King of the Ring tournament is days away from taking place. 

WWE confirmed the return of the King of the Ring tournament and it starting next week on episodes of RAW and SmackDown Live. 

WWE has yet to confirm any of the matchups for the tournament but the competitors in it have been announced. Sky Bets via WWE Leaks have released the odds. 

Kevin Owens and Drew McIntyre are the top favorites while Ricochet & Samoa Joe are close behind. Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable are the least favorites to win at 40/1. 

The plan is for the finals will take place at the Clash of Champions pay-per-view event next month. You can see the full odds here: 

• Drew McIntyre 9/2
• Kevin Owens 9/2
• Ricochet 5/1
• Samoa Joe 5/1
• Elias 13/2
• The Miz 13/2
• Ali 9/1
• Andrade 10/1
• Sami Zayn 12/1
• Baron Corbin 16/1
• Buddy Murphy 16/1
• Cedric Alexander 20/1
• Cesaro 20/1
• Apollo Crews 33/1
• Chad Gable 40/1
• Shelton Benjamin 40/1

Once a wrestler wins a match in the bracket, he advances to take on another wrestler who has also won. The winner of the final match is crowned the King of the Ring. 

It’s been reported that WWE is bringing back the tournament to push a specific wrestler and give him a push coming out of it. That star is unknown at this time. 

More details have been revealed for this year’s WWE King of the Ring tournament. 

On Tuesday, Dave Meltzer of F4Wonline reported that the tournament will be a multi-week tournament on both RAW and SmackDown.

The plan is for the finals will take place at the Clash of Champions pay-per-view event next month . WWE confirmed the return of the King of the Ring tournament and it starting next week on episodes of RAW and SmackDown Live. 

WWE has yet to confirm any of the matchups for the tournament but the competitors in it have been announced. 

WWE Clash of Champions takes place Sunday, September 15th from Charlotte, North Carolina at the Spectrum Center.

King of the Ring Participants

There will be 16 participants in King of the Ring with eight wrestlers from RAW and eight stars from SmackDown. Here’s the full list of competitors: 

As of this writing, no bouts have been officially confirmed for the show. WWE will be announcing matches for Clash of Champions in the weeks ahead.

WWE announced the return of the King Of The Ring tournament during this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw. The company has now confirmed the 16 participants who will compete to be crowned king.

The announcement for the returning tournament was made through a tweet during the show and it was revealed that King Of The Ring will return to Raw next week.

It was later indicated during the broadcast of the show that the opening matches will take place on next week’s Raw but the tournament will continue over the next few weeks.

The promotion then confirmed which stars will be participating in the 16-men tournament and the announced names includes members from both Raw and SmackDown roster.

One interesting name to have been announced for it is Baron Corbin, who has been away from action since the July 15th episode of Raw.

Next week’s episode of Raw will take place from Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

King of the Ring Participants

WWE has confirmed the following 16 participants for the 2019 King of the Ring tournament. As seen below, the brackets will feature 8 Superstars from Raw and 8 Superstars from SmackDown Live.

Raw:

• Baron Corbin
• Cesaro
• Cedric Alexander
• Drew McIntyre
• Ricochet
• Sami Zayn
• Samoa Joe
• The Miz

SmackDown Live:

• Ali
• Andrade
• Apollo Crews
• Buddy Murphy
• Chad Gable
• WWE 24/7 Champion Elias
• Kevin Owens
• Shelton Benjamin

WWE has confirmed the return of the King of the Ring tournament and it will take place on their flagship show, Monday Night RAW, starting next week. 

During Monday’s episode, the news was made in a post on WWE’s Twitter account. In the announcement, it was just noted the return of the tournament that appears to be for just one night.

As of this writing, there’s not a lot of details on the tournament but WWE is expected to announce it in the coming days. There’s no word yet on participants for the tournament. 

WWE holds next Monday’s RAW from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The rules of the tournament are pretty straightforward as there are typically sixteen wrestlers in a one-on-one single elimination bracket.

Once a wrestler wins a match in the bracket, he advances to take on another wrestler who has also won. The winner of the final match is crowned the King of the Ring. From 1993 to 2002, the tournament was produced as a pay-per-view event. 

The latest King of the Ring took place in 2015 on an episode of RAW, with the finals taking place the next night on the WWE Network. Bad News Barrett defeated Neville in the final round.

On Prichard’s Something To Wrestle With podcast, he revealed why King of the Ring was cancelled. Prichard stated that Vince McMahon simply didn’t like it. Prichard also said that the summer months were the slowest time of the year for the WWF when it came to revenue. Vince simply wasn’t excited by the King of the Ring and decided to ax it and change things up. You can listen to the entire episode of the show by clicking here. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_7yoBuqkW8

The WWE released a new video today ranking the top 10 guest referees that attacked one of the Superstars in the match.

Finn Balor posted on Twitter his New Year’s Resolution. It is a photo of him dressed as the Demon King hovering around the Universal Championship. Balor became the first Universal Champion by defeating Seth Rollins at SummerSlam. Unfortunately, he was injured during that match and had to relinquish the title the following night on Raw. It is clear that Balor will be focused on recapturing the title he never lost when he makes his return.

#NewYearsResolution
Finn comes Back to Raw#FinnsBack pic.twitter.com/2puZlHev9e

— Finn Bálor (@FinnBalor) December 31, 2016

• New Show With Peter Rosenberg, JBL & Paul Heyman Airing Tonight On WWE Network

WWE applied for the trademark “King of the Ring” on July 28th, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

With WWE running brand-exclusive pay-per-views starting next month, it’s very possible we’ll see King of the Ring return in the near future.

The single-elimination tournament was held annually from 1985-1989 and 1993-2002. It returned in 2006 as a SmackDown-exclusive show and featured Superstars from both RAW and SmackDown in 2008, 2010 and 2015. Recent winners include Bad News Barrett, Sheamus, William Regal and Booker T.

KOTR helped launch the careers of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple H and Brock Lesnar and could be used as vehicle to push a rising star to the next level.

Discussion: Should WWE bring back King of the Ring? If so, which brand should host it?

Pre-Order WWE 2K16 Now & Get The Terminator As A Bonus Playable Character

WWE has posted several new clips from the WWE 2K16 video game, featuring video game versions of infamous moments in WWE history, such as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s iconic “Austin 3:16” speech at King of the Ring 1996, and current moments involving current WWE Superstars.

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The plan right now in WWE is for the company to present live quarterly specials on the WWE Network in 2016, such as the Elimination Chamber, King Of The Ring, or the upcoming live special from Japan on July 4th.

Another plan right now in the company is for WWE to make the Slammy Awards a standalone event as opposed to an episode of RAW. The idea would be to air the special on the WWE Network and have it be similar to the annual WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony, where WWE rents a small theater type building instead of a major arena.

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(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)