Liv Morgan won the WWE Women’s World Championship in Saudi Arabia. (Credit: WWE/Getty Images)
WWE King and Queen of the Ring 2024 literally crowned two new stars, with Nia Jax winning the women’s tournament final and Gunther defeating Randy Orton to win the men’s team.
As a result, Jax and Gunther will receive world title matches at this year’s SummerSlam event, confirming two blockbuster fights more than two months away from WWE’s summer show. Additionally, Liv Morgan won her first women’s world title in five years while Cody Rhodes retained his Universal Championship and Sami Zayn left Saudi Arabia still with the Intercontinental Championship.
The full results of the show were as follows:
- Liv Morgan defeated Becky Lynch to win the Women’s World Championship
- Sami Zayn defeated Bronson Reed and Chad Gable to retain the Intercontinental title
- Nia Jax won the Queen of the Ring tournament by defeating Lyra Valkyria
- Gunther won the King of the Ring tournament by defeating Randy Orton
- Cody Rhodes defeated Logan Paul to retain the Universal Championship
On the heels of WWE’s incredible record-breaking Backlash event, WWE delivered another stellar performance in front of a raucous crowd. From the opening match between Morgan and Lynch to the headlining match between Rhodes and Paul, each match lived up to, if not exceeded, its lofty expectations, putting WWE on the right foot heading into SummerSlam.
But what exactly did WWE fans learn in Jeddah? Here are the key takeaways and highlights from the 2024 King and Queen of the Ring.
Liv Morgan likely to form heel tandem with Dominik Mysterio
Liv Morgan defeated Becky Lynch to win her first singles title, the Women’s World Championship, in about half a decade, but her victory was not without controversy.
Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio interfered in the fight, seemingly sliding a steel chair towards Lynch in an attempt to help “The Man” knock down Morgan. This certainly made sense considering Morgan sidelined Mysterio’s girlfriend Rhea Ripley last month, leading to Ripley dropping the Raw Women’s Title and sidelining her indefinitely.
But in recent weeks, there have been more than a few subtle teases that Morgan and Mysterio are actually in cahoots. Given that Morgan has shown heel tendencies as of late and has shown no apprehension about using underhanded tactics to defeat Lynch, all signs point to a future Morgan-Mysterio alliance.
This would be a logical way to officially cement Morgan as the hated heel champion, as Mysterio is arguably the most hated performer in all of WWE.
Chad Gable ready to join new team after another loss to Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn left Saudi Arabia still intercontinental champions after pinning Bronson Reed in a triple threat match. But perhaps the biggest story to come out of this match between WWE’s King and Queen of the Ring was that Otis, Gable’s Alpha Academy stablemate, finally – and accidentally – cost Gable his last chance at the title.
Gable failed several times in his quest to defeat Zayn, and this time it was an inadvertent clothesline from Otis that allowed Zayn to hit the Helluva Kick on Reed and retain his championship. It was the latest development in the gradual implosion of Gable’s current stable.
The next step? Gable is a virtual playground to compete with Otis, but recent reports suggest Gable is already ready to start another stable. Gable is expected to join forces with the rarely seen but incredibly talented Creed Brothers to form a new heel faction that could play a crucial role in Monday Night Raw.
And given what happened in Jeddah, WWE is clearly establishing the framework for Gable to finally move past his long-running feud with Zayn and embark on a new storyline with the Creed Brothers at his side.
Denied Jax Vs. Bayley likely for WWE SummerSlam
Naomi, Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair then Lyria Valkyria: this is an impressive list of WWE stars that Nia Jax defeated to win the second Queen of the Ring tournament.
Jax, literally, crushed Valkyria with a massive Annihilator to cap off an incredible winning streak and earn her crown as Queen of the Ring. This was a great way to re-establish Jax as a main eventer, and it also gives WWE a clear opportunity to give Bayley, the WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion, a tough challenger to topple.
Of course, there are still over two months until SummerSlam, but Jax has already punched her ticket to the event with a guaranteed world title match after becoming queen of the ring. Bayley likely still holds the Women’s Championship at this point, meaning this match can be expected on WWE’s summer show.
It’s the right match at the right time, with Bayley remaining popular but having a somewhat lackluster title reign. A rivalry with Jax should change that and potentially provide WWE with the opportunity to give Jax his first world title in several years.
Gunther wins the WWE SummerSlam title by defeating Randy Orton
Epic. Amazing. An instant classic. These all depict the final King of the Ring match between Randy Orton and Gunther, but ultimately it was a creative pinfall by Gunther that earned “The Ring General” the victory.
With this victory, of course, Gunther is now ready to face the Raw World Heavyweight Champion at SummerSlam. It also helps rejuvenate Gunther after his Intercontinental Title loss to Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 40 last month, essentially regaining Gunther’s magic while propelling him closer to the top of the card.
In just a few weeks, Gunther goes from being the most dominant midcard champion of the modern era to king of the ring and, potentially, world champion. But a lot of that will depend on what happens at next month’s Clash at the Castle event.
Triple H confirms Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest at WWE Clash at the Castle
Just before the main event of the show, Triple H appeared backstage and announced that Drew McIntyre had been cleared to wrestle again. Additionally, McIntyre will challenge Damian Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship at Clash at the Castle in Glasgow, Scotland on June 15.
Well, this can definitely be described as a blockbuster ad. Just weeks after re-signing with WWE, McIntyre now has the opportunity to win a world title in his native Scotland. WWE has built a nice pair of rivalries for McIntyre, a potential world title feud with Priest and a bitter rivalry with CM Punk.
Now, WWE is lucky to have the best of both worlds.
McIntyre vs. Priest could serve as a way to shift the title to McIntyre or foster a non-title feud between McIntyre and Punk. Regardless, McIntyre’s elimination is great news for the Raw brand, which has been hit very hard by the injury bug.
Cody Rhodes Vs. Logan Paul delivers on his promises, but what’s next for the Universal Champion?
Cody Rhodes defeated Logan Paul in his second straight Universal title match. This has become the norm for Paul and Rhodes, who consistently show up when the lights are brightest.
In a spot-filled main event that had Saudi fans on the edge of their seats, Rhodes finished Paul with a Cross Rhodes, capping a King and Queen of the Ring show that had some fantastic action on the ring from start to finish. finishing. With Rhodes picking up the decisive victory and with Paul already holding his own title, Rhodes should move on to his third title challenger in as many shows.
What is unclear, however, is who exactly it will be.
With Gunther winning the King of the Ring tournament and now set to challenge the Raw world champion at SummerSlam, WWE will need to develop new challengers for Rhodes on SmackDown. And truth be told, there aren’t many options for that.
Unless WWE decides to have Orton face Rhodes in a babyface vs. babyface battle, there is little choice on the blue brand, and the creative team must find a way to focus as much on the title reign of Rhodes than on The Bloodline saga. .