The first rounds of the King & Queen of the Ring tournaments have been announced.
Back in April, WWE announced that the King & Queen of the Ring tournaments are returning for the first time since 2021. This year, the new King and Queen will be crowned in Saudi Arabia when the finals take place on May 26th at the eponymous event.
While the current reigning monarchs are Xavier Woods and Zelina Vega, only Vega is set to defend her crown in the field of eight competitors. Challengers to the thrones include Gunther, Drew McIntyre, Asuka, and Shayna Baszler as well as newcomers to the main roster in Ilja Dragunov and Lyra Valkyria.
During Backlash on May 4th, it was revealed that the opening rounds of the tournaments will begin on the May 6th edition of Raw. Big matches in the first round will see McIntyre facing Balor, Gunther clashing with Sheamus, and Baszler attempting to knock out Vega early.
“Who will seize their destiny and becoming the 2024 KING and QUEEN of the RING in WWE?
We’ve got some huge news on the first round matches taking place on #WWERaw!”
Who will seize their destiny and becoming the 2024 KING and QUEEN of the RING in WWE?
We've got some huge news on the first round matches taking place on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/PYzhlKS7Di
— WWE (@WWE) May 4, 2024
WWE King & Queen Of The Ring First-Round Line-Up
The full first-round line-up can be seen below:
King of the Ring:
- Drew McIntyre vs. Finn Balor
- Kofi Kingston vs. Rey Mysterio
- Gunther vs. Sheamus
- Ricochet vs. Ilja Dragunov
Queen of the Ring:
- Zoey Stark vs. Ivy Nile
- Shayna Baszler vs. Zelina Vega
- Asuka vs. Lyra Valkyria
- IYO SKY vs. Natalya