WWE King & Queen Of The Ring 2024: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved
WWE's 2024 installment of the King & Queen of the Ring premium live event came to us on a Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. Eastern, 10 a.m. Pacific and 8 p.m. local time in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In addition to the conclusions of the event's namesake tournaments, King & Queen of the Ring 2024 saw three titles defended: Becky Lynch defended her Women's World Championship against the vengeful Liv Morgan; Sami Zayn put his Intercontinental Championship on the line in a Triple Threat match against big Bronson Reed and Chad Gable; and Cody Rhodes faced off against Logan Paul with his Undisputed WWE Championship on the line. Of course, the WWE women's tag champs Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill defended their titles on the pre-show as well.
Some champions were successful in defending their titles but at least one changed hands in the Jeddah Superdome over the course of a PLE that saw outside interference factor into more than one outcome and other bending of the rules.
Here are three things we hated and three things we loved about WWE King & Queen of the Ring 2024.
Hated: No Uncle Howdy appearance
Despite the various QR codes and hidden messages throughout WWE's programming for several weeks leading up to "WWE King and Queen of the Ring," there was once again no appearance from Uncle Howdy.
Ahead of the Intercontinental match between Sami Zayn, Chad Gable and Bronson Reed, WWE flashed another QR code across the screen, leading to another new cryptic video which shows a connection being made and somebody playing WWE 2K24 in a match between Bianca Belair and Bayley, specifically at Extreme Rules. The person playing then hears a noise at the door, approaches it and says "hello" before focusing his camera towards a figure standing in the window. The feed then loses connection.
Although the new video was intriguing and continues to leave more questions than answers about Uncle Howdy, fans have been waiting for him to appear since WWE started teasing his return before WrestleMania 40 and I'm starting to question how much longer the WWE audience will continue to be patient before starting to lose interest.
It's possible WWE looked at their PLE schedule from May to August and realized they had five major events in four months and felt that they could wait until possibly Money In The Bank or Summerslam to have Uncle Howdy return on screen. However another 2-3 months of QR codes and cryptic messages that will most likely be similar to what we've already seen could become not only repetitive but also lead fans to lose curiosity.
I'm not questioning WWE's effort into this new presentation of Uncle Howdy or whoever else might be involved in this story; it's been a very creative approach, and I appreciate the work they've done over last few months. I just hope they don't wait too long, creating a better chance for Uncle Howdy's return to feel underwhelming if it isn't executed properly.
Written by Julien D'Alessandro
Hated: Women's tag title match on the pre-show
While it's understandable that choices must be made regarding how any pro wrestling live event is produced, there's no arguing that relegating a title match of any kind to the pre-show takes a bit of shine off the championship being defended. In the case of WWE King & Queen of the Ring 2024, the match in question was contested for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships held by Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill. This match seems to have been made at the last second, having been announced during last night's "WWE SmackDown" broadcast by chief content officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque.
At first thought, awesome! Fans get a bonus title match on a card that already had three championships on the line and two tournaments being concluded, the winners of which would get title shots of their own. Literally every match on this card had title implications. So why complain? Remember when I said it seems to have been made at the last second? That's because the event poster Triple H tweeted out on May 6, two days after Belair and Cargill won the titles at WWE Backlash, featured the newly-crowned women's tag champs, suggesting they were always meant to be a part of the event.
An opportunity for Superstars take their thrones, defend championship gold, and deliver a massive spectacle in Jeddah.#WWEKingAndQueen of the Ring streams live on May 25 at a special start time of 12pm ET @peacock pic.twitter.com/LChkfmzkIf
— Triple H (@TripleH) May 6, 2024
So, what's the solution? Given the prominence of the other titles on the line, yes, the women's tag title match seems like the right one to bump to the pre-show, if need be. But that's the point WWE could have produced the rest of the event in a way that the match could have fit on the main card, like trimming down the overly long main event, for example. Another option: condense Randy Orton's slow and deliberate entrance to free up more time. There are multiple ways they could have made the women's tag title defense fit on the main card to avoid relegating it to a virtual afterthought.
Written by Kevin Tall
Loved: Dominik Mysterio costs Becky Lynch the title
I'll admit, Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan for the Women's World Championship was one of the matches on this card where I had no idea who would come out victorious. I thought maybe Lynch would retain, since Morgan's "Revenge Tour" focuses more on Rhea Ripley, who is still out for a good amount of time, but when I saw Morgan and Dominik Mysterio awkwardly face-off backstage on the pre-show before the event started, I thought something might be up. There have been many internet rumors and conspiracy theories (for lack of a better term) about Morgan and Mysterio, with fans thinking Morgan is not only trying to take the title Ripley had to relinquish, but taking her little boyfriend away from her, as well. It's even gone as far as the internet believing they saw Morgan get out of the Judgment Day's vehicle in the background of one shot on "WWE Raw."
So when Mysterio interfered in the match this afternoon, I actually really loved it. It seemed like he was interfering on behalf of Lynch to help her score the victory and keep the belt away from Morgan, but knowing what I know from these theories on the internet, I don't believe that was the case. I really believe Mysterio was trying to help out Morgan, because he's got the hots for her now that Mami is off TV. Mysterio slid a chair to Lynch when the referee was distracted with Morgan in the opposite corner, but Lynch was very confused as to what he was doing.
In the end, it was Morgan who was able to utilize the chair and slam Lynch's face off of it and get rid of it from inside the ring, before hitting the ObLIVion for the victory. While Mysterio looked distraught that Morgan won the championship, I think for once, his acting is actually paying off in the spot. Maybe I'm giving WWE too much credit in this story that they're weaving something more intricate, but now that Triple H is in charge, I feel more confident in thinking that way. Maybe this is the catalyst that put's Morgan's plan more in motion to steal Mysterio from Ripley, or maybe it was the case that he was in Saudi Arabia to help her out to begin with, but either way, I loved it.
I'm all for Morgan having the title, and I assumed Lynch was a transitional champion to begin with, especially since she won it during a battle royal. There's also the pesky aspect that Lynch allegedly hasn't re-signed a WWE contract yet, but even that aside, I love Morgan as champion on this "Revenge Tour." I think it will lead to some pretty spicy angles, and I love that it was Mysterio to help her get the gold.
Written by Daisy Ruth
Loved: Otis costs Gable the title
For several weeks leading up to WWE King and Queen of the Ring, Otis has hesitated to pull the trigger on his long-time mentor Chad Gable despite having multiple opportunities to turn on him for continuously tormenting the Alpha Academy on "WWE Raw." However, on Saturday night, Otis was able to get some revenge on his Alpha Academy teacher, even if it was an accident. Although Gable had seemingly had lost trust in both Maxxine Dupri and Akira Tozawa, he still wanted his "Number One Guy" at ringside to try and help him defeat both Sami Zayn and Bronson Reed in a triple threat for the Intercontinental Championship.
Before the match started, Gable shouted at Otis to "remember the plan" which would eventually be to take out Bronson Reed at ringside, eliminating the largest physical threat in the match. Gable then instructed Otis to also take out Zayn, however this time Otis hesitated as he continuously became conflicted with hitting the Intercontinental champion. This led Gable to become visibly upset with Otis, belittling him at ringside, slapping him in the face and then demanding he takes out Zayn.
Otis was a superstar here, with his facial expressions helping the emotion of the story being told as you can tell how conflicted he was between helping his mentor win, or finally breaking free from his abuse. This resulted in one of the loudest pops of the night, as Gable propped up Zayn for Otis to attack but at the very last second the Intercontinental champion ducked out of the way, causing Otis to take out Gable instead. Zayn then returned to the ring, delivered the Helluva kick on Reed and retained his title.
Although Otis didn't directly turn on his mentor during this match, it possibly leaves the door open for Gable to officially part ways with Otis and replace the current members of the Alpha Academy. The Creed Brothers could be viable candidates to team with Gable as they were seen speaking with him on "WWE Raw," possibly teasing a future partnership.
A fantastic ending to an electric Intercontinental championship match as the relationship between Gable and Otis continues to be one of the most compelling stories on WWE television and possibly escalated even further on Saturday night with the future of the Alpha Academy being uncertain.
Written by Julien D'Alessandro
Loved: Bow down to Queen Nia!
We all know that in professional wrestling, sometimes the wrong competitor is the one who emerges victorious, and WWE has certainly been guilty of this over the years. That being said, that certainly did not apply to the Queen Of The Ring Tournament — having Nia Jax go over Lyra Valkyria in the finals was absolutely the right choice.
WWE has been pushing Jax as a dominant force in the women's division over the past few weeks, which was made especially clear when she defeated the "Big Three" of "SmackDown" (Naomi and Women's Tag Team Champions Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair) in the first round, quarterfinals, and semifinals. Giving her the win only helps to further cement that point, and makes it abundantly clear to fans that such is the case.
Aside from that, Valkyria is a very new edition to the main roster. She's only been on "Raw" for a month and a half, give or take, and fans who may not watch "NXT" are likely unfamiliar with who she is. Yes, it would've been a strong statement to have Valkyria to win, but it also quite possibly would have created a much more divisive reaction.
It'll be interesting to see where WWE goes with Jax next now that she's secured a WWE Women's Championship match at SummerSlam, but one that will surely do Jax some good as she continues to live up to her nickname of "The Irresistible Force."
Written by Olivia Quinlan
Hated: Botched King of the Ring finish
Whether GUNTHER was supposed to walk out of Saudi Arabia King of the Ring or not, the finish was botched to a cringe-worthy extent. Randy Orton's shoulder was blatantly up, and as someone who is usually somehow looking away, or writing, or just misses things like this regularly because of who I am as a person (just staring in to space, etc) it really irked me. I had GUNTHER picked to win, despite my love for Orton, but this isn't the way I wanted the match to end. I wouldn't go as far as to say this makes GUNTHER look weak in any way, thankfully, but it certainly leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
I don't know if WWE were in semi-crisis mode at the time or what, but they even replayed GUNTHER's victory. It was from another angle, but even from another view, Orton's shoulder is still so very blatantly up while the referee counts to three. I went on WWE's X account to try and find the video of GUNTHER's pin reversal for the victory, but of course, nothing. Paul "Triple H" Levesque getting in to the ring to crown GUNTHER the winner also felt a bit awkward to me following what I had just seen, and I absolutely hate that for GUNTHER, who is so deserving after all the work he has put in over the years, especially with his historic Intercontinental Championship reign. When the broadcast cut backstage to Kayla Braxton and Triple H, I was thinking the instance might have been addressed, but nope. I'm assuming WWE just lets this one go, in hopes everyone is so excited that it falls out of everyone's memories.
I'm hoping this is something that will just blow over, not just in my own brain, but in WWE as well, and GUNTHER can go on and have a great reign as King of the Ring. I think King GUNTHER is a perfect gimmick for him moving forward, because I think he needed something different and cool to do following the loss of the Intercontinental Championship, and this is great for him. He also really deserves that shot at SummerSlam. So, while I'm extremely happy for him, and I think Orton did a great job in the match, this was a black spot on the otherwise excellent King & Queen of the Ring event for me.
Written by Daisy Ruth