WWE King & Queen of the Ring grades: Logan Paul steals the show
X — Official Logan PaulLogan Paul, Nia Jax, and Sami Zayn all had impressive showings at the King and Queen of the Ring PLE, but which match received the best rating?
As the event drew near, WWE narrowed the King of the Ring field to former record-breaking champion Gunther and future Hall of Famer Randy Orton.
The Queen of the Ring tournament was equally as competitive, as Jax played into her heel persona to secure a spot in the finals, while Lyra Valkyria pulled off three upsets to clinch her place.
Then, there were four championships on the line in Saudi Arabia, including the Women’s Tag Team Championship, held by Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill.
Sami Zayn, the reigning Intercontinental champion, dealt with two challengers at the premium live event, while Becky Lynch put her Women’s World title up for grabs vs Liv Morgan.
It all culminated in a spectacular match between Cody Rhodes and Logan Paul in the main event, with Rhodes’ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on the line.
The card had a little bit of everything for fans, so let’s review each match and give it a grade out of five stars — with one star being a total dud and five being an instant classic.
Women’s Tag Team Championship match
Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill started the King and Queen of the Ring PLE by defending their Women Tag Team titles against Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae.
With Belair and Cargill both coming off disappointing losses to Nia Jax in the Queen of the Ring tournament, Hartwell and LeRae never stood a chance.
From the opening bell until the stunning finishing move, Belair and Cargill thoroughly decimated the two former NXT standouts.
Their belts were never in any real jeopardy of changing hands, and it appears that this is merely the beginning of a lengthy title run for the pair.
The match served its purpose as a kickstarter for the event, but given that the outcome was never in question, it garners a lower rating overall.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Women’s World Championship match
Becky Lynch came down the entrance ramp in a unique attire, looking similar to Tommy Shelby from Peaky Blinders, ‘The Man’ was all about business.
Liv Morgan approached the ring decked out in red, hoping to get a win against Lynch for the first time in her WWE career. She entered the championship bout with a 0-4 record vs Becky.
Lynch, with the backing of the crowd, tormented Morgan early and often. But Liv fought back, eventually gaining the upper hand on the grizzled veteran.
Late in the match, in an attempt to aid Lynch, Dominik Mysterio slid a steel chair into the ring. However, Morgan brilliantly used it to her advantage instead.
It opened the door for Morgan to hit a DDT onto the chair before smashing her opponent with an ‘Oblivion’ finisher, ending Lynch’s time as champion.
All in all, it was an impressive showing from Morgan, and the added wrinkle of Mysterio costing Lynch the belt was fun.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Queen of the Ring final round
Lyra Valkyria was a massive underdog on paper, standing a foot shorter and giving up more than 100 pounds to the physically imposing Nia Jax.
And that mismatch proved to be a problem for Valkyria, as Jax squashed the rising star for much of the first five minutes of the fight.
Then, when Jax tried to hit her ‘Annihilator’ finisher, Lyra moved out of the way and began to mount a comeback. She kept building momentum with a savvy DDT off the top rope.
Alas, the power of Jax was too much for Valkyria to overcome. She hit an ‘Annihilator’ moments later, and the upset attempt came to a screeching halt for Lyra.
The new Queen of the Ring received her crown to a chorus of boos. Now, the villainous Jax will turn her attention to WWE Women’s champion, Bayley.
I enjoyed this match, even though I was rooting for Valkyria to pull off another shocking upset. Nonetheless, Jax winning is an excellent decision.
We need more heels to match the bevy of babyface stars in the women’s division, and I can’t think of a better pairing than Jax vs Bayley.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Intercontinental Championship match
Sami Zayn faced an uphill challenge by defending his Intercontinental title against two worthy competitors — Bronson Reed and Chad Gable.
Reed completely dominated the early portion of the match with some help from an awkward collision between Zayn and Gable that left both men writhing in pain.
But, as Zayn so often does, he found a second life, even nailing Reed and Gable with an absurd aerial attack outside the ring.
The crowd, clearly rooting for the champion to retain, thought Zayn had clinched the win, but Gable would turn the tides by locking in an ‘Ankle Lock.’
Somehow, Zayn reversed it and punished Gable’s ankle before hitting a ‘Blue Thunder Bomb’ on the 330-pound Reed — drawing yet another two-count from the ref.
Moments later, in the best spot of the match, Gable hit a suplex on Reed and Zayn simultaneously, lifting 500+ pounds over his head in an extraordinary showing of strength.
However, Gable’s faction mate, Otis, accidentally clotheslined the ‘Alpha Academy’ star at ringside, leaving Zayn with only one foe to conquer.
The champion immediately returned to the squared circle, hit a ‘Helluva Kick’ on Reed, and retained his Intercontinental title.
Zayn winning didn’t come as a surprise, but seeing Reed and Gable look strong throughout the match was a sight for sore eyes.
It could have been easy for one of the three to get lost in the shuffle of a crazy triple-threat bout, but they all shined equally.
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
King of the Ring final round
Randy Orton arrived at the May 25 PLE severely hobbled by an injury he suffered the previous night via Tama Tonga and the Bloodline.
Gunther, who held the Intercontinental Championship for a stunning 666 days, took note of the ailment and used it to his advantage.
For much of the match, Gunther picked Orton apart. ‘The Ring General’ mixed crafty submission attempts with brutal chops, showcasing his all-around skillset.
But Orton has never gone away quietly, which remained true during the King of the Ring finale. Midway through, ‘The Viper’ finally got his break.
He hit an ‘RKO’ out of nowhere, shifting the momentum in his favor. However, Gunther made a savvy move to roll out of the ring, avoiding Orton’s pin attempt.
Later, the 14-time world champion was successful with another ‘RKO,’ but Gunther somehow found a way to kick out.
The Austrian wrestling machine reversed Orton’s cover by rolling him up and securing a three-count from the referee.
Although replay showed Orton with a shoulder in the air, Triple H named Gunther the 2024 King of the Ring, setting up ‘The Ring General’ with a world title match at SummerSlam.
For all but five seconds, the match was phenomenal. Two of the best in-ring performers of all time spent twenty minutes putting on a show for the Saudi crowd.
Unfortunately, the botched ending really hurt the rating overall. It makes matters worse that the referee was looking directly at Orton’s shoulder while counting to three.
With a cleaner finish, this match could have easily been the highest-rated of the entire evening. But four stars isn’t anything to scoff at.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match
As Logan Paul entered the packed Jeddah Super Dome, the crowd showered him with boos, cementing his status as the most despised heel in the WWE.
In contrast, when Cody Rhodes’ music hit, the WWE Universe shouted the lyrics, nearly blowing out the speakers on many TV sets around the globe.
Once the bell rang, it was no secret who the audience wanted to see win. Anytime Rhodes would land a shot, a thunderous applause broke out.
When Paul would connect, fans met it with a hostile reception. But as we’ve come to realize, that is precisely what ‘The Maverick’ wants to hear from the crowd.
For much of the fight, it was a back-and-forth affair, with Rhodes and Paul consistently showing off their technical prowess in the ring.
Paul used his boxing background to punish Rhodes’ midsection while also flexing absurd athleticism on some gravity-defying moves.
His best moment of the match came when Rhodes was lying helplessly on the announcers’ table. Paul hit a mind-blowing ‘Frog Splash,’ much to the crowd’s amazement.
After promising not to, Paul used his brass knuckles and even hit a ‘Cross Rhodes’ against the champion. But, through every shot, Cody found a way to keep going.
With the match winding down and the crowd chanting “This is awesome” at the top of their lungs, Rhodes put Paul away with three consecutive ‘Cross Rhodes’ finishers.
While Rhodes deserves his fair share of credit for making this a memorable main event, the challenger put up most of the highlights in the match.
It makes for a second loss by Paul with the undisputed strap up for grabs. However, even his harshest critics must admit that Logan was the star of the show.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Final thoughts on King & Queen of the Ring
The King and Queen of the Ring event had its highs and lows, but for the most part, it was a middling card from start to finish.
Jax, Zayn, and Rhodes deserve flowers for putting on a show in their respective matches and coming away with some hard-fought victories as a result.
But Paul, even in defeat, showed that he’s a true main-event player in the WWE. He’ll stay busy with the United States Championship, but the time is coming for Logan to hold a world title.
(Credits: X — Official Logan Paul)Suppose he keeps performing like this and continues to gain steam as the most despised WWE heel since Adam ‘Edge’ Copeland. In that case, it’s just a matter of time until Paul puts a world title around his waist.
Show rating: 3.2 stars out of 5