On Saturday, WWE will crown a new King and Queen of the Ring. The finals in 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 final matches in the tournaments, though Gunther and Lyra Valkyria have claimed spots on the Raw side. On Friday’s episode of SmackDown, Randy Orton will face Tama Tonga and Nia Jax will battle 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 politic his way around having to also put his belt on the line in this champion vs. champion clash.
Two more title matches round out 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 feel will emerge victorious. The event streams live on Peacock at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday with a kickoff show beginning one hour before.
2024 WWE King and Queen of the Ring predictions
Undisputed WWE Championship — Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Logan Paul
The outcome of this match was never in doubt, particularly once Paul refused to stake his United States champion. Rhodes is in a holding pattern as a heroic babyface champion. Paul is the second in a revolving door of challengers for the undisputed WWE champion. It should be a fun match but there’s no risk of Rhodes losing the title until he gets embroiled in a feud built on more than title shots. Cody Rhodes retains the title — Shakiel Mahjouri (also Connor Casey and Brent Brookhouse)
King of the Ring Finals — Gunther vs. Randy Orton or Tama Tonga
It feels like Orton has to beat Tonga on SmackDown to advance to the finals. Tonga vs. Gunther makes no real sense from a booking standpoint, even if this means an exceedingly rare situation with no Bloodline presence on a major show. Orton doesn’t need to win the tournament at 44 years old, though it would add another accomplishment to an already legendary resume. Having dropped the intercontinental championship after a 666-day reign, Gunther winning King of the Ring would give him an extra bit of juice to move forward while the world heavyweight championship picture is clogged up with others. The most interesting aspect of the match will be how Gunther and Orton mesh in the ring. Gunther defeats Randy Orton to win King of the Ring — Brookhouse
The crown had Gunther’s name written on it the moment he announced he’d be participating in the tournament. It’ll be another addition to his impressive resume and, depending on whether or not Orton is willing to cut loose, it’ll give us the best match of the show. Gunther defeats Randy Orton to win King of the Ring — Casey
It seems WWE hopes to repair the King of the Ring’s image with a main event-worthy final. Gunther is the longest-reigning intercontinental champion ever. Orton is a 14-time world champ. Whatever the outcome, it’s a huge upgrade from the last 15 years that produced Xavier Woods, Baron Corbin, Bad News Barrett and Sheamus as kings. The King of the Ring used to propel superstars to the main event. “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Bret Hart, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Triple H are a handful of superstars who became WWE champion within two years of winning the tournament. To that effect, Gunther is the only choice. He’s cooled off since Zayn ended his historic reign and a crown is exactly what he needs to put him on track to a world title. Gunther defeats Randy Orton to win 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 fresh out the gate, but her character needs a bit more than “is friends with Becky Lynch.” Getting handed the “royalty” gimmick doesn’t always work for wrestlers — it did nothing for Zelina Vega when she won the inaugural tournament a few years back — but maybe Valkyria can run with it. Lyra Valkyria defeats Nia Jax to win Queen of the Ring — Casey
Tournaments can be useful devices to advance careers. That’s exactly what WWE did by driving Valkyria to the finals. She made it further than most expected and is immediately a player in the Raw women’s division. But this is where Valkyria’s wings get clipped. Multi-time world champion Belair was a surprising No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WWE Draft. That status requires follow-through. The promotion did well to immediately put the women’s WWE tag team title on her. Becoming the second Queen of the Ring would be another feather in Belair’s cap and help boost the tournament’s short history. Bianca Belair defeats Lyra Valkyria to win Queen of the Ring — Mahjouri
I’m trying to think of what the most entertaining option would be out of the three remaining competitors and I can’t shake how fun Jax running around as Queen Nia could be. As Connor mentioned, Valkyria isn’t quite connecting with the fans yet, largely because her presentation has been scrappy underdog who is pals with Becky Lynch. She needs to come into her own more and it feels like putting the crown on her would fizzle. As for Belair, she’s got plenty going on as a women’s tag team champion and it just doesn’t feel like she needs to win the tournament. Give it to Jax in hopes of a fun ride over Valkyria for a short “nice moment” that wouldn’t have the steam to continue forward meaningfully. Nia Jax defeats Lyra Valkyria to win Queen of the Ring — Brookhouse
Women’s World Championship — Becky Lynch (c) vs. Liv Morgan
I expect Morgan’s “Revenge Tour” gimmick will eventually result in her winning the women’s title before Rhea Ripley is back from injury, but I also believe they’ll stretch out this program with Lynch a while longer before finally doing the title swap. Plus, WWE tends to avoid having championships change hands during Saudi shows. Becky Lynch retains the title — Casey (also Brookhouse and Mahjouri)
Intercontinental Championship — Sami Zayn (c) vs. Chad Gable vs. 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 drops the Alpha Academy in favor of the Creed Brothers. Reed is here to take the pin so the Zayn-Gable program can continue. Sami Zayn retains the title — Casey
To expand on what Connor said, Gable is going to eventually link up with the Creeds, which will be a magical pairing. What will likely drive that union is Otis, feeling the shame of his actions in attacking Zayn this past Monday, finally turning his back on Gable. That moment likely comes on Saturday, leading to Zayn retaining the title and the situation between Zayn and Gable advancing to the next stage. Sami Zayn retains the title — Brookhouse
Let’s go against the grain. Zayn is an awesome underdog champion. His performance against Gunther at WrestleMania 40 and intercontinental title defense against Gable in Montreal called to mind Rocky Balboa in the best ways. But don’t forget 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 run without Zayn taking a clean loss. It also gives Gable and Zayn a new lease on their feud. The match’s no disqualification stipulation also benefits Gable, allowing Otis’ new mean streak to shine through or introducing new bodies to Gable’s faction, perhaps The Creed Brothers. Chad Gable wins the title — Mahjouri
