The first full-length trailer of Queen Of The Ring has been released, giving fans their closest look yet at the Mildred Burke biopic and the wrestling stars involved.

An official synopsis for Queen of the Ring reads:

“In a time when pro wrestling for women was illegal across the country, a small-town single mother embraces the danger to change culture as she dominates America’s most masculine sport, becoming the first million-dollar female athlete in history.”

Emily Bett Rickards (Arrow) stars as Mildred Burke, arguably the most prominent figure in women’s wrestling from the 1930s to the 1950s. Rickards isn’t the only notable name involved, with several prominent wrestling stars of the era being portrayed by modern-day talent, including:

• June Byers (Played by AEW star Kamille): One of Burke’s most famed rivals. She became a three-time Women’s World Champion.
• Debbie Nichols (Played by AEW star Britt Baker): A wrestling star of the era.
• Clara Mortensen (Played by AEW star Toni Storm): A wrestler who later became an actor in Hollywoood.
• Ethel Johnson (Played by WWE Superstar Trinity “Naomi” Fatu): A trailblazer of the era who became the first African-American women’s champion.

Review: ‘The Iron Claw’ Makes You Thankful For Family & The Von Erich Legacy

Queen of the Ring premiered at the Buffalo International Film Festival in October and is set to hit theaters in March 2025. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest on Queen of the Ring as the film aims to replicate the success of A24’s The Iron Claw.

A new trailer for Queen of the Ring, a biopic chronicling the life and career of wrestling legend Mildred Burke, debuted this week.

An official synopsis reads:

“In a time when pro wrestling for women was illegal across the country, a small-town single mother embraces the danger to change culture as she dominates America’s most masculine sport, becoming the first million-dollar female athlete in history.”

Emily Bett Rickards (Arrow) stars as Mildred Burke, arguably the most prominent figure in women’s wrestling from the 1930s to the 1950s. Wrestling fans will recognize AEW’s Kamille portraying June Byers, one of Burke’s longtime rivals. The cast also features Britt Baker as Debbie Nichols, Toni Storm as Clara Mortensen, and WWE’s Trinity “Naomi” Fatu as Ethel Johnson.

Queen of the Ring premiered at the Buffalo International Film Festival in October and is set to hit theaters in March of next year. The production team hopes to replicate the critical success of The Iron Claw, A24’s biopic on the Von Erich family, which earned widespread acclaim upon its release last year.

Review: ‘The Iron Claw’ Makes You Thankful For Family & The Von Erich Legacy

Burke’s influence in wrestling remains unparalleled. The NWA World Women’s Championship is also referred to as “The Burke” in honor of its first-ever champion. Stay tuned to SEScoops for more updates on Queen of the Ring ahead of its theatrical release.

It’s a new era for women’s wrestling in WWE and a ‘fun fact’ about this year’s Queen of the Ring tournament shows exactly how far we’ve come: one match from this year’s tournament lasted longer than the sum of all of the matches in the entire 2021 competition.

Since taking over WWE from Vince McMahon, Triple H has made significant strides in advancing the company, particularly the women’s division. While McMahon’s era initiated the Women’s Revolution, Triple H has amplified its momentum. The 2024 Queen & King of the Ring tournament exemplifies this progress, capturing fans’ attention.

This week on WWE RAW, fans witnessed an intense match where IYO Sky faced Lyra Valkyria. The bout was a highlight, as Lyra emerged victorious, setting her up to face the winner of Bianca Belair and Nia Jax on SmackDown for the Queen of the Ring crown.

The match between IYO Sky and Lyra Valkyria captivated audiences and achieved a significant milestone. It was longer than all the matches from the 2021 Queen of the Ring tournament combined. The IYO Sky vs. Lyra Valkyria match lasted approximately 19 minutes, surpassing the 18 minutes total of the 2021 tournament matches.

2021 Queen of the Ring

In the 2021 Queen of the Ring tournament, Zelina Vega emerged victorious over Doudrop, celebrating her win after a 5:55 match with a crown and scepter. She also briefly adopted a British accent. Unfortunately, Vega couldn’t participate in the 2024 tournament due to injury. However, the current tournament reflects a renewed focus on the women’s division, providing more time and spotlight than ever before.

This renewed emphasis on the women’s division under Triple H’s leadership is evident. The 2024 Queen & King of the Ring tournament showcases the talent and potential within the division, promising an exciting future for WWE’s female Superstars.

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)

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.

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 new trademark application filing indicates WWE will be launching a new event in the coming months. Last Friday, October 28, World Wrestling Entertainment applied to trademark the term QUEEN OF THE RING.

According to the United States Patent & Trademark Office database, the usage for the phrase will cover “Wrestling exhibitions and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer rendered through broadcast media including television” as well as merchandise and other related uses.

We’re already in November and WWE’s premium live events calendar is set for the remainder of the year, but WWE fans can expect to see the crown a King and Queen of the Ring in 2023.

Searching for a Queen

WWE has crowned many ‘Kings of the Ring’ over the years, but never a Queen of the Ring. We’ve had Sensational Queen Sherri and Queen Sharmell, but they were crowned by association to their royal male counterparts.

WWE held the inaugural Queen’s Crown tournament last year. Zelina Vega was crowned the winner at Crown Jewel in October 2021. She reigned as Queen Zelina until May 2022, when she was forced out of action due to an injury that required surgery. Vega recently returned to WWE television (without the Queen gimmick) and now leads the Legado Del Fantasma faction on the SmackDown brand.

The King and Queen honors have helped breathe life into various mid-card acts over the years. The news of a Queen of the Ring tournament comes amid buzz that WWE is looking to hold another all-women’s Evolution premium live event next year as well.

WWE is slated to hold its upcoming Queen Of The Ring tournament and a new trademark filing has seemingly confirmed the name of it. 

The company filed for the phrase “Queens Crown Tournament” with The United States Patent and Trademark Office last week. The description notes that it’s for entertainment services.

WWE is returning to Saudi Arabia on October 21st for its next pay-per-view event in the country that will be called Crown Jewel, which has been used for past shows. 

WWE has plans to present the King of the Ring and Queen of the Ring tournament starting on the October 8th edition of SmackDown and continuing on the October 11th episode of Raw. 

The finals are expected to take place at Crown Jewel. It appears one name may not be in the women’s tournament and that’s Charlotte Flair, who made it clear in a recent interview that she doesn’t think she should be in it. 

“Being that I’m already The Queen, if it was to happen, I believe whoever wins it has to face me, since I am The Queen of Queens, right?” asked Charlotte. “Like I don’t think I have to be in it. I already have the title. I think they should have the opportunity to face me if they win.”

It’s been reported that only talent from Raw and SmackDown will be part of both tournaments, so it’s very likely that no talent from NXT will participate. As always, anything in WWE can change. 

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.

Recent reports have suggested that WWE is planning a single-elimination Queen of the Ring tournament in October. According to a recent report from Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men podcast, the current plan is for the finals of the tournament to take place in Saudi Arabia.

“Hearing that the current plan is to hold the Queen of the Ring finals in Saudi Arabia in October,” Zarian Tweeted.

The tournament is scheduled to begin on the October 8th edition of Smackdown and the October 11th edition of RAW. The next Saudi Arabia show is planned for October 21st, although this has yet to be officially announced.

There have only ever been two women’s matches on WWE shows from Saudia Arabia. The first was at Crown Jewel in 2019 when Natalya and Lacey Evans wrestled. The second came at Super ShowDown on February 27th, 2020 when Bayley wrestled Naomi.

Provided the event in October takes place as planned, it will be the 6th event WWE has run in Saudi Arabia as part of its agreement with the Saudi Sports Authority. 2 SuperShowdowns, 2 Crown Jewels, and 1 Greatest Royal Rumble event have taken place. WWE’s deal with the Saudi Sports Authority runs until 2027.

Last week, reports came out that WWE was looking at holding a single-elimination tournament dubbed The Queen of the Ring.

In an update to this story, Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men podcast is reporting that the current plan is to start the tournament in October. The October 8th edition of Smackdown and the October 11th edition of RAW is when the tournament is currently scheduled to begin.

Queen of the Ring Tournament

Multiple female Superstars have expressed an interest in WWE holding a Queen of the Ring tournament.

Sasha Banks said a Queen of the Ring tournament would be “really freaking cool” during a 2020 interview with ProSieben MAXX. commented on WWE possibly hosting a Queen of the Ring tournament during an interview last year.

“A Queen of the Ring tournament on a whole PPV for itself would be really freaking cool,” said Banks. “But I’ve been waiting for Evolution 2 for a very long time. So maybe we can do that first, and maybe we can start off little bit [with] matches at Evolution for the Queen of the Ring Tournament. Maybe something like that can happen. But that’s up to you guys, you have to tweet Vince [McMahon]. Make sure you keep on tweeting him so we can have that in 2021.”

In 2019, Bayley also spoke publicly about hoping for such a tournament. 

“We kinda want a Queen of the Ring,” Bayley said on the KSFY Morning Show. “If you guys could make that happen, I would love that.”

WWE has toyed with the idea of running a single-elimination women’s tournament dubbed the Queen of the Ring for a few years now but it has never come to fruition. According to WrestlingInc, however, plans are in place for the company to run such a tournament by the end of the year.

In December, Sasha Banks spoke about wanting the company to run an annual Queen of the Ring tournament.

Queen of the Ring

“A Queen of the Ring tournament on a whole PPV for itself would be really freaking cool,” Banks said during an interview with ProSieben MAXX. “But I’ve been waiting for Evolution 2 for a very long time. So maybe we can do that first, and maybe we can start off little bit [with] matches at Evolution for the Queen of the Ring Tournament. Maybe something like that can happen. But that’s up to you guys, you have to tweet Vince [McMahon]. Make sure you keep on tweeting him so we can have that in 2021.”

In 2019, Bayley also spoke publicly about hoping for such a tournament.

“We kinda want a Queen of the Ring,” Bayley said on the KSFY Morning Show. “If you guys could make that happen, I would love that.”