Liv Morgan was among the big winners at WWE King and Queen of the Ring – but not everyone was happy about it.
Morgan claimed the Women’s World Championship at the expense of Becky Lynch in Saudi Arabia, albeit with an assist from an ‘unexpected’ source.
There was plenty of action besides as Logan Paul fell to defeat in his quest to dethrone WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes, threatening to ‘decapitate’ Michael Cole along the way in a furious exchange.
While The Maverick fell, there were major wins for Nia Jax and new King of the Ring Gunther, plus Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque appeared and confirmed the main event of next month’s Clash at the Castle: Scotland as being a World Heavyweight Championship bout between Damian Priest and Scot Drew McIntyre.
It was a busy night, so with King and Queen of the Ring now consigned to the history books, talkSPORT.com runs down five key takeaways from WWE’s latest Saudi show.
Queen Nia Jax finds some redemption
Nia Jax was crowned Queen of the Ring in Saudi Arabia by overcoming starlet Lyra Valkyria in the final of the women’s tournament in Saudi.
Valkyria’s performance will rightly get the plaudits it deserves (and more on that below), but the result was almost certainly the right one. The crown isn’t something the Irish star needs right now, but you could argue Nia certainly will benefit from it.
She’s been on a roll since her return to WWE and, in the past, had been a somewhat maligned figure among fans.
Many criticised what they perceived as a stiff or reckless in-ring style and often unfairly attributing that to injuries to fellow performers.
Jax has had her ups and downs – even being released by WWE in 2021 before returning last year – but her form this year has to be commended, and it has been duly rewarded.
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Randy Orton is here for a long time AND a fun time
Forget sticking around in WWE to either enjoy yourself or to extend your tenure – Randy Orton is doing both.
The veteran Viper looks completely reborn in Triple H’s version of WWE – readily admitting that things have changed for the better – and he’s rolling back the years with his efforts in the ring.
More so than that, though, Orton looks like he’s loving life, the fact he’s already racked up decades in the ring now seemingly irrelevant.
At King and Queen of the Ring he came up short against Gunther in the men’s tournament final, but sold to the hilt along the way and made you feel every one of his winces.
He once again looked well and truly in the grove, and that can only mean good things for wrestling fans.
A notable mention here, too, for Gunther, who proved he can more than hang with WWE’s top level talent, even if there was a tantalising moment of controversy at the climax of the match, with Orton seemingly pinned despite having his shoulder up – Triple H admitting the moment might be enough to trigger a rematch down the line.
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Missed Tag Team Champions’ momentum
We crooned after the Backlash: France Premium Live Event earlier this month at the job WWE has done in adding greater depth to its women’s roster when Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill won the women’s tag team titles.
What’s important now is that their momentum isn’t wasted.
Granted, giving a star of the future in Lyra Valkyria was given a major stage on which to shine in a great match against Jax on Saturday night is huge, and there was a women’s title bout, too, but could WWE have done even more at King and Queen of the Ring?
Under Triple H’s stewardship, less has meant more in terms of actual matches on PLE cards, but having Belair and Cargill toil on the Countdown show in successfully defending their tag team titles felt like a shame.
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The Head of Creative will, and fairly enough, counter that stars can’t perform in the same spots every week and variation is important.
But since the duo won their gold in Lyon, they’ve spent more time wrestling singles matches, and this tag defence felt a little like an afterthought.
WWE crowds are on fire, and Saudi did its bit
Over the last couple of years – but particularly in the last five months or so following the departure of Vince McMahon and Triple H assuming WWE’s creative hot-seat – crowds have been on fire.
WWE sold out London’s O2 for a non-televised house show not long after a record-setting WrestleMania, which was duly followed by a loud and boisterous Backlash in France.
Over the last six years or so, WWE events in Saudi Arabia have been, by comparison, more tepid affairs – but King and Queen of the Ring seemed to buck that trend.
From the Countdown show match through to the end of the main event, they stayed lively and engaged, with duelling chants and singalongs proving that this revival of sorts for WWE has a very wide reach indeed.
Fans divided over Liv Morgan and Becky Lynch result
Liv Morgan unseated Becky Lynch to win the Women’s World Championship at King and Queen of the Ring, thanks to an assist by Dominik Mysterio.
It was classic storyline stuff – eagle-eyed fans have known for a while that there’s something afoot with Morgan and Mysterio – who might not be the enemies they’re being portrayed as, and it was a huge win for Liv.
The discourse online after the bout was divided, however, with opinions falling between a range of joy and disbelief.
One fan posted on X: “All of the teenagers aren’t gonna like this but the match was damn near unwatchable. Too long and no chemistry,” while more than one fan simply blasted: “WTF??”
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Conversely, one very happy fan threw in: “Really solid match and great finish, and another praised: “Perfect from start to finish, top-quality booking.”
This fan then posted: “Solid match and didn’t see that ending. Becky to now take a break and we finally get that grudge match between Liv and Rhea at SummerSlam.”
As an aside, there seems to be a constant back and forth where Lynch is concerned, perhaps because it’s widely reported her WWE contract is almost up and concern is that she may be looking to take a hiatus.
The Man doesn’t seem to be as revered as she once was with a section of WWE fans and, given her record as a seven-time world champion and a hugely popular performer, that feels like a mistake.
