WWE makes major changes to King and Queen of The Ring - Reports

The inaugural WWE King and Queen of The Ring Premium Live Event will take place later this month from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. New details on additional plans and changes to the tournaments have just leaked from backstage.

WWE began the 23rd King of the Ring tournament and the 2nd Queen of The Ring tournament (fka Queen's Crown) on Monday's post-Backlash RAW. However, two opening round planned matches were pulled - Rey Mysterio vs. Kofi Kingston and Shayna Baszler vs. Zelina Vega. Officials nixed these matches from WWE RAW because they will be held on non-televised live events this weekend. It was reportedly decided there was not enough time to hold the matches on TV.

A new backstage update from Fightful Select now indicates that full tournament plans are still up in the air. WWE was expected to air the pulled matches on next week's RAW, but word from within the company noted that now the plan is to air highlights from those matches on Monday, and likely on social media as well.

While officials reportedly have plans to extend the tournaments to non-televised live events, it was noted that the aforementioned plan as of today could still change or be adjusted. There's no word yet on if SmackDown will be impacted the same way. Mysterio vs. Kingston has been confirmed for Sunday's event in Macon, GA. Vega vs. Baszler is possible for Saturday in Chattanooga, TN.

Rey or Kofi will face Gunther in the quarterfinals on Monday. Jey Uso vs. Ilja Dragunov will also take place on RAW. This week's RAW saw Gunther defeat Sheamus, while Dragunov beat Ricochet, and Uso defeated Finn Balor. The SmackDown side of the KOTR bracket will begin this Friday with AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton, Baron Corbin vs. Carmelo Hayes, LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar, Bobby Lashley vs. Tama Tonga.

RAW will also feature Baszler or Vega vs. IYO SKY in the quarterfinals, as well as Lyra Valkyria vs. Zoey Stark. This week's show saw SKY beat Natalya, Valkyria defeat Dakota Kai, and Stark top Ivy Nile. QOTR opening round matches for SmackDown are Chelsea Green vs. Indi Hartwell, Naomi vs. Candice LeRae, Nia Jax vs. Piper Niven, Tiffany Stratton vs. Blair Davenport.

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WWE King and Queen of The Ring PLE card update

WWE will hold the inaugural King and Queen of the Ring PLE in less than three weeks, and the card will feature more than just the tournaments.

Two big title matches have been announced for King and Queen of The Ring coming out of RAW. Women's World Champion Becky Lynch will defend her title against Liv Morgan, while Sami Zayn will defend his Intercontinental Championship in a triple threat against Chad Gable and Bronson Reed.

The two tournament finals bouts will feature the RAW bracket winner vs. the SmackDown bracket winner. WWE will then likely hold the KOTR and QOTR coronation ceremonies on RAW and/or SmackDown the following week.

King and Queen of The Ring 2024 will air live on Saturday, May 25 from the Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It will begin streaming on Peacock at 12pm ET, unless there is a one-hour pre-show also planned.