WWE King Of The Ring Tournament Report, 5/6/2024

The first three matches of the first round of the King of the Ring tournament took place on "WWE Raw," and out of six men, three move on in the 23rd anniversary of the tournament, including "Main Event" Jey Uso, Ilja Dragunov, and GUNTHER. Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio will face off during a live event this weekend, in a match that was seemingly pulled from Monday's show.

It was revealed before "Raw" went on the air that Drew McIntyre was not medically cleared to compete in the tournament, and was replaced in his match against Finn Balor by "Main Event" Jey Uso. McIntyre attempted to distract Uso at the end of the match by storming down to the ring, but Uso was able to hit the spear on Balor for the win.

In the second men's tournament match of the night, Ricochet went up against former NXT Champion Dragunov. "The Mad Dragon" was called up to "Raw" during the WWE Draft last week, but made his main roster debut on the Monday following WrestleMania 40. After a hard-hitting, high-flying bout, it was Dragunov to score the victory with an H-bomb. The two men shook hands in the middle of the ring following their clash. Dragunov moves on to face Uso in the next round.

Former Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER faced a newly-returned Sheamus in the main event of "Raw." GUNTHER targeted Sheamus' knee throughout the match, and the "Celtic Warrior" battled through on one leg, with a bloodied chest from "The Ring General's" vicious chops. In the end, Sheamus tapped out to a Boston Crab that the former champion locked in, and GUNTHER moves on to the quarter finals in the King of the Ring tournament.