Dylan jackson
On Saturday, WWE will crown a new King and Queen of the Ring. The finals of both tournaments will take place at the King and Queen of the Ring event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
We still don’t know the official finals of the tournaments, although Gunther and Lyra Valkyria have earned spots on the Raw side. On Friday’s episode of SmackDown, Randy Orton will face Tama Tonga and Nia Jax will face Bianca Belair to determine the other half of the finals.
Also at the event, Cody Rhodes will defend the undisputed WWE Championship against United States Champion Logan Paul. Paul managed to get around the politics by also having to put his belt on the line in this champion vs. champion match.
Two more title matches complete the card, with Becky Lynch putting the Women’s World Championship on the line against Liv Morgan and Sami Zayn defending his Intercontinental Championship in a Triple Threat match with Chad Gable and Bronson Reed.
It should be an exciting night of action. Let’s take a look at who the CBS Sports experts think will emerge victorious. The event streams live on Peacock at 1pm ET on Saturday, with a kickoff show beginning an hour before.
WWE King and Queen of the Ring predictions for 2024
WWE Undisputed Championship – Cody Rhodes (c) vs.
The outcome of this match was never in doubt, especially since Paul refused to bet on his United States champion. Rhodes is on hold as a heroic babyface champion. Paul is the second in a revolving door of challengers for the WWE Undisputed Champion. It should be a fun match, but there’s no risk of Rhodes losing the title until he engages in a rivalry based on more than title matches. Cody Rhodes retains title – Shakiel Mahjouri (also Connor Casey and Brent Brookhouse)
King of the Ring Finals – Gunther vs. Randy Orton or Tama Tonga
It looks like Orton needs to beat Tonga on SmackDown to advance to the finals. Tonga vs. Gunther doesn’t make sense from a booking standpoint, even if it means an extremely rare situation with no Bloodline presence at a major show. Orton doesn’t need to win the tournament at age 44, although that would add another achievement to an already legendary resume. Having relinquished the Intercontinental Championship after a 666-day reign, Gunther’s victory at King of the Ring would give him a little more energy to move forward while the world heavyweight championship picture is clogged with others. The most interesting aspect of the match will be how Gunther and Orton mesh in the ring. Gunther defeats Randy Orton and wins King of the Ring -Brookhouse
The crown had Gunther’s name written on it the moment he announced he would participate in the tournament. It’ll be another addition to his impressive resume, and depending on whether or not Orton is willing to let loose, he’ll give us the best match of the show. Gunther defeats Randy Orton and wins King of the Ring -Casey
It appears that WWE hopes to repair the King of the Ring’s image with a final worthy of the main event. Gunther is the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time. Orton is a 14-time world champion. Whatever the outcome, it’s a huge upgrade from the last 15 years that have produced Xavier Woods, Baron Corbin, Bad News Barrett and Sheamus as kings. The King of the Ring used to boost the stars into the main event. “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Bret Hart, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Triple H are some stars who became WWE champions two years after winning the tournament. For that purpose, Gunther is the only choice. He’s calmed down since Zayn ended his historic reign and a crown is exactly what he needs to put him on the fast track to a world title. Gunther defeats Randy Orton and wins King of the Ring – Mahjouri
Queen of the Ring Finals – Lyra Valkyria vs. Nia Jax or Bianca Belair
WWE seems intent on strapping the rocket to Valkyrie early on, but her character needs a little more than “being friends with Becky Lynch.” Getting the “royalty” gimmick doesn’t always work for fighters – it didn’t do anything for Zelina Vega when she won the inaugural tournament a few years ago – but maybe Valkyria can stick with it. Lyra Valkyria defeats Nia Jax and wins Queen of the Ring -Casey
Tournaments can be useful devices to advance your career. That’s exactly what WWE did by taking Valkyria to the finals. She went above and beyond what was expected and is immediately a player in the Raw women’s division. But this is where the Valkyrie’s wings are clipped. Multi-time world champion Belair was a surprising first overall pick in the 2024 WWE Draft. This status requires follow-up. The promotion did well to immediately put the WWE Women’s Tag Team Title on her. Becoming the second Queen of the Ring would be another tribute to Belair and help boost the tournament’s short history. Bianca Belair defeats Lyra Valkyria and wins Queen of the Ring – Mahjouri
I’m trying to think of what would be the most fun option out of the three remaining contestants and I can’t get over how much fun Jax could be running around as Queen Nia. As Connor mentioned, Valkyria still isn’t connecting with fans, mainly because her introduction has been a scrappy underdog who’s friends with Becky Lynch. She needs to develop more and it seems like putting the crown on her would fail. As for Belair, she has a lot going on as women’s tag team champion and it just doesn’t seem like she it needs to win the tournament. Give it to Jax in hopes of a fun ride over Valkyria for a short “good time” that wouldn’t have the strength to continue forward in any meaningful way. Nia Jax defeats Lyra Valkyria to win Queen of the Ring -Brookhouse
Women’s World Championship – Becky Lynch (c) x Liv Morgan
I hope Morgan’s “Revenge Tour” gimmick ends up resulting in her winning the Women’s Title before Rhea Ripley returns from injury, but I also believe they will extend this program with Lynch for a while longer before finally making the title change. Additionally, WWE tends to avoid championships changing hands during Saudi shows. Becky Lynch retains the title – Casey (also Brookhouse and Mahjouri)
Intercontinental Championship – Sami Zayn (c) x Chad Gable x Bronson Reed
Gable’s new heel run has become a weekly highlight on Raw, but I don’t expect him to finally win the IC title until he officially abandons Alpha Academy in favor of the Creed Brothers. Reed is here to receive the badge so the Zayn-Gable program can continue. Sami Zayn retains the title -Casey
To expand on what Connor said, Gable will eventually join the Creeds, which will be a magical pairing. What will likely drive this union is Otis, feeling the shame of his actions in attacking Zayn last Monday, finally turning his back on Gable. That moment will likely come on Saturday, leading to Zayn retaining the title and the situation between Zayn and Gable moving forward to the next round. Sami Zayn retains the title -Brookhouse
Let’s go against the grain. Zayn is an incredible underdog champion. His performance against Gunther at WrestleMania 40 and his Intercontinental Title defense against Gable in Montreal reminded him of Rocky Balboa in the best way. But don’t forget that fans originally wanted Gable to challenge Gunther at WrestleMania. The Alpha Academy leader is long overdue for a singles title reign. A triple threat match is the perfect way to give Gable a short title shot without Zayn suffering a clean loss. It also gives Gable and Zayn a new opportunity for their rivalry. The match’s no-disqualification stipulation also benefits Gable, allowing Otis’ new mean streak to shine or introducing new bodies to Gable’s faction, perhaps The Creed Brothers. Chad Gable wins the title – Mahjouri
