Tag: Wwe King & Queen Of The Ring

Three wrestlers advance to WWE Queen of the Ring quarterfinals

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Three SmackDown wrestlers have punched their tickets to the quarterfinals round of the WWE Queen of the Ring tournament.

Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Nia Jax won their first round bouts on Friday’s SmackDown show to advance to the second round of the Queen of the Ring tournament.

Belair defeated Candice LeRae to advance, Cargill defeated Piper Niven to move on, plus Jax defeated Naomi to advance to the quarterfinals with victories on Friday’s show.

A fourth first round match on the SmackDown side of the Queen of the Ring bracket will take place on this weekend’s WWE house shows, with Tiffany Stratton set to face Michin in the remaining first round battle.

Belair will face the Stratton/Michin winner on next Friday’s SmackDown, plus Cargill will take on Jax in the quarterfinals on next week’s episode.

One first round bout remains on the Raw side of the bracket, with Shayna Baszler vs. Zelina Vega also set for this weekend’s house shows. The winner of that contest will face IYO SKY on Monday’s Raw, with Lyra Valkyria vs. Zoey Stark the other Raw quarterfinal set for Monday’s episode.

The King and Queen of the Ring PLE on Saturday, May 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia will host the finals of both the men’s and women’s tournaments.

Logan Paul to challenge Cody Rhodes at WWE King & Queen of the Ring

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Logan Paul is next in line for a shot at Cody Rhodes.

Friday’s SmackDown opened with the announcement that Paul will challenge Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at King & Queen of the Ring in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, May 25. It was indicated that Paul’s United States title will be on the line as well, but that has not been confirmed.

After dethroning Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, Rhodes made his first title defense at Backlash last weekend, defeating AJ Styles. General manager Nick Aldis then kicked off SmackDown tonight and introduced Paul as Rhodes’ next challenger.

Paul said he’s the person who has fueled the success of WWE’s new era, not Rhodes. He vowed to knock Rhodes out at King & Queen of the Ring and walk out of Saudi Arabia as Undisputed WWE Champion.

Rhodes praised Paul as a wrestler, but he also called Paul disrespectful, self-centered, delusional, and said Paul can’t go a single match without cheating.

“And you are out here taking credit for something that doesn’t belong to you, doesn’t belong to me,” Rhodes said. “This right here is a team. And at the Queen & King of the ring in Saudi Arabia, you are going to find out where you stand on that team.”

Rhodes pointed out that winning the United States title from Paul would make him a Grand Slam champion. The segment ended with Rhodes and Paul going face-to-face and posing with their respective belts.

Rhodes tweeted:

A contract signing for Rhodes vs. Paul will take place on SmackDown next Friday.

Paul has been United States Champion since winning the title in Saudi Arabia last November.

Rhodes is signed to a sponsorship deal with Paul’s Prime Hydration company.

King & Queen of the Ring streams live on Peacock/WWE Network starting at 1 p.m. Eastern time on May 25. Here’s the updated card:

  • Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against United States Champion Logan Paul
  • King of the Ring tournament finals
  • Queen of the Ring tournament finals
  • Women’s World Champion Becky Lynch defends against Liv Morgan
  • Triple threat match: Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn defends against Chad Gable and Bronson Reed

Fight Game: Willow Nightingale’s glow up

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

It’s a brand new episode of The Fight Game Podcast which is also available for free on YouTube by clicking above.

Paul Fontaine, who is filling in for John LaRocca this week, and I are back with a new episode of The Fight Game Podcast. For one week, we brought back Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down in the first segment.

We then got to the rest of our topics which included:

  • WWE news about RAW and SmackDown on their new networks
  • Other WWE business notes
  • King & Queen of the Ring
  • Anarchy in the Arena
  • The Double or Nothing card so far
  • Jon Moxley’s current IWGP title run so far
  • Rating the current season of Dark Side of the Ring

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

Three wrestlers advance in WWE King of the Ring tournament

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Three wrestlers have advanced to the second round of the WWE King of the Ring tournament. 

The tournament began on Monday’s Raw episode with three first round bouts. It was also revealed on Raw that the fourth first round match on the Raw side of the bracket will take place on house shows this weekend. 

In Monday’s first round action, Jey Uso defeated Finn Balor in the tournament’s first bout. Uso was announced as a surprise injury replacement for Drew McIntyre, who is suffering from a hyperextended elbow.

In Monday’s second first round matchup, Ilja Dragunov defeated Ricochet to advance.

In the Raw main event, Gunther defeated Sheamus with a half-crab submission to advance to round two.

Kofi Kingston will face Rey Mysterio in the other Raw brand first round match on a house show this weekend.

Gunther will take on the Kingston/Mysterio winner on next week’s Raw, while Uso will face Dragunov on next Monday’s show.

First round bouts on the SmackDown side of the bracket will begin on this Friday’s SmackDown episode. 

The finals of both the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments will be held at the King and Queen of the Ring PLE in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, May 25.

Our full coverage from Monday’s WWE Raw episode is here.

Three wrestlers advance in WWE Queen of the Ring tournament

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Three wrestlers have advanced to the second round of the WWE Queen of the Ring tournament. 

The tournament began on Monday’s Raw episode with three first round bouts, with the fourth first round match on the Raw side of the bracket to take place on house shows this coming weekend. 

In Monday’s first round action, IYO SKY defeated Natalya to advance to the next round, Zoey Stark defeated Ivy Nile to move on, plus Lyra Valkyria defeated Dakota Kai to advance to round two. 

Kai was an injury substitution for Damage CTRL stablemate Asuka who was originally announced as Valkyria’s opponent. 

The final first round match on the Raw side of the bracket will take place this weekend on a house show, with Shayna Baszler taking on Zelina Vega. 

SKY will face the winner of the Baszler vs. Vega match on next Monday’s Raw, while Valkyria will face Stark in the second round on next week’s episode.

The first round matches on the SmackDown side of the bracket will begin on this Friday’s SmackDown show. 

The finals of both the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments will be held at the King and Queen of the Ring PLE in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, May 25.

Our full coverage from Monday’s WWE Raw episode is here.

Three more wrestlers declare for WWE King of the Ring tournament

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Three more wrestlers have declared entry into the 2024 WWE King of the Ring tournament. 

LA Knight, Santos Escobar, and Carmelo Hayes all stated their intention to enter the tournament on Friday’s SmackDown. Those three join Drew McIntyre, Gunther, and 2021 tournament winner Xavier Woods as the six entrants confirmed thus far on WWE TV. 

Knight and Escobar announced their entries in a promo segment on Friday’s SmackDown after Knight defeated Escobar’s Legado Del Fantasma stablemate Angel. Hayes declared his entry in a backstage promo segment on SmackDown with GM Nick Aldis.

The King of the Ring tournament begins on the Monday, May 6 Raw, and will continue on the Friday, May 10 WWE SmackDown. The finals will be held at the WWE King and Queen of the Ring PLE set for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on May 25. 

No entrants have been announced for the Queen of the Ring tournament thus far, and brackets for both the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments have also yet to be revealed. 

King of the Ring entrants: 

  • Drew McIntyre
  • Gunther
  • Xavier Woods
  • LA Knight
  • Santos Escobar
  • Carmelo Hayes

Three wrestlers declare for WWE King of the Ring tournament

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The first three entrants have declared for the WWE King of the Ring tournament. 

On Monday’s Raw, Drew McIntyre, Gunther, and Xavier Woods declared their entry into the 2024 King of the Ring tournament. The tournament finals will be held at the King and Queen of the Ring PLE set for Saturday, May 27 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 

In a video vignette for the tournament on Raw, it was explained that tournament matches will take place on WWE television between now and May 27, with the finals to be held at the PLE. 

In his first Raw appearance since dropping the Intercontinental Championship to Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 40, Gunther declared his intention to win the tournament. 2021 winner Xavier Woods also declared for the tournament in a follow-up promo with Imperium and The New Day. 

In a promo later in the program, Drew McIntyre announced that he was also setting his sights on winning the King of the Ring. 

A full bracket for the tournament has yet to be revealed. 

No entrants have been announced to this point for the Queen of the Ring tournament.  

Saudi Arabia to host SmackDown, new WWE PLE on back-to-back nights

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Next month, WWE will be presenting shows from Saudi Arabia on back-to-back nights.

A video aired during WrestleMania 40 night two confirming that a WWE King & Queen of the Ring premium live event will be held in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, May 25. The video also included the announcement that SmackDown will emanate from Saudi Arabia on Friday, May 24.

The city of Jeddah is hosting both shows.

This marks a change for WWE. In the past, SmackDown aired episodes that were taped a week in advance before the Saudi PLEs.

King & Queen of the Ring is a new WWE PLE name. The first King & Queen of the Ring event was originally scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia in 2023 before WWE changed its plans.

The King of the Ring tournament is returning for the first time since 2021. This will be the first-ever Queen of the Ring, though a Queen’s Crown tournament did happen alongside King of the Ring in 2021. Xavier Woods and Zelina Vega were the winners of those tournaments.

Since 2018, WWE has regularly held events in Saudi Arabia as part of a deal with the Saudi government.

Here’s a look at WWE’s post-WrestleMania PLE schedule:

  • Saturday, May 4: Backlash (Lyon, France)
  • Saturday, May 25: King & Queen of the Ring (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
  • Saturday, June 15: Clash at the Castle (Glasgow, Scotland)
  • Saturday, July 6: Money in the Bank (Toronto, Canada)
  • Saturday, August 3: SummerSlam (Cleveland, Ohio)
  • Saturday, August 31: Bash in Berlin (Berlin, Germany)