The WWE King and Queen of the Ring tournaments are returning in 2024. This is the first time since 2021 that WWE has held the prestigious tournament. The 2024 edition will see the finals take place at a premium live event from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on May 25.
Many of WWE’s biggest superstars have won King of the Ring tournaments since the tournament’s inception in 1985. Notably, Steve Austin’s win in 1996 was one of the stepping stones to him becoming arguably the biggest star in WWE history. The 2021 winner and reigning King of the Ring is Xavier Woods, who is not participating in this year’s tournament.
WWE has only held one Queen of the Ring tournament, which was won by Zelina Vega in 2021.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque announced on Thursday that the winners of both tournaments will earn world championship matches at SummerSlam on Aug. 3.
Those are not the only matches set for the card, of course, and we are already aware of three championship bouts set for the event. Cody Rhodes and Logan Paul headline the card in a champion vs. champion showdown for Rhodes’ undisputed WWE title. Becky Lynch defends the women’s world championship against Liv Morgan and Sami Zayn putting the intercontinental championship on the line in a triple-threat match with Bronson Reed and Chad Gable.
There are still many more bouts to be announced, but let’s get to it and look at what we know — and what we think — will happen at King and Queen of the Ring, which streams live on Peacock on May 25 beginning at noon ET.
Viewing information
Date: May 25
Location: Jeddah Superdome — Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Start time: Noon ET (countdown show starting at 11 a.m. ET)
Watch live: Peacock
2024 King and Queen of the Ring matches
Undisputed WWE Championship — Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Logan Paul: It didn’t take long after Backlash for Rhodes to find a new title challenger. Six days after Rhodes defended the undisputed WWE title against AJ Styles, SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis revealed that Logan Paul was next at bat. Rhodes expressed interest in becoming a Grand Slam champion, suggesting both Rhodes’ world championship and Paul’s U.S. title will be at stake in Jeddah. That was the plan before Paul and his lawyers amended the contract so that only Rhodes’ title would be on the line.
Women’s World Championship — Becky Lynch (c) vs. Liv Morgan: Lynch won the title in a battle royal after Rhea Ripley was forced to vacate the title after suffering an injury. Morgan was directly responsible for that injury during a segment featuring Morgan assaulting Ripley backstage. That was part of the “Liv Morgan revenge tour,” as Morgan put it. Lynch last eliminated Morgan in the battle royal, but Morgan hasn’t taken her eyes off the prize — or Lynch — in looking to continue her comeback from injury and march to a world title.
Intercontinental Championship — Sami Zayn (c) vs. Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed: Reed feels like something of an unnecessary inclusion in the match given Zayn and Gable have a hot story already cooking. After coming up short in his own bid to win the title from Gunther, Gable trained Zayn for WrestleMania 40, where Zayn won the title and ended Gunther’s 666-day reign. Out of respect, Zayn gave Gable a shot at the title on Raw, successfully defending the title but causing Gable to snap and attack the champion after the match. Reed has been around both men and in singles matches featuring pairings of the three, there has been outside interference, leading to a triple-threat match.
King of the Ring finals — Gunther vs. Randy Orton: Gunther advanced to the tournament finals by defeating Sheamus, Kofi Kingston and Jey Uso. Orton secured his spot by overcoming AJ Styles, Carmelo Hayes and Tama Tonga. Gunther and Orton have never been King of the Ring as they look to add another achievement to their long resumes.
Queen of the Ring finals — Lyra Valkyria vs. Nia Jax: Recent main roster acquisition Valkyria made a surprising run to the finals by defeating Dakota Kai, Zoey Stark and former WWE women’s champion Iyo Sky. Jax defeated Naomi in Round 1 before dispatching WWE women’s tag team champions Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair in subsequent rounds. Saturday’s winner will be only the second Queen of the Ring in WWE history.
