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Ex-World Champion Added To WWE King Of The Ring Tournament

By John Canton • Published Jun 13, 2025 16:32 EDT
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The final spot in the WWE King of the Ring tournament will be occupied by a former World Heavyweight Champion.

In the main event of WWE Monday Night Raw on June 9th, Jey Uso defended the World Heavyweight Title against Gunther, who Jey beat at WrestleMania 41.

While many people may have expected Jey to retain his title, as it was less than two months into his reign, he was unable to do so. Gunther was relentless in applying the Sleeper hold throughout the match.

The Sleeper hold was frequently used in the Jey-Gunther rivalry, as Jey utilized it to defeat Gunther at WrestleMania 41. This time, Gunther was able to wear down Jey with the Sleeper so that Jey passed out in the hold, and Gunther was declared the winner.

It has been reported that Gunther beat Jey Uso because WWE wants the Gunther-Goldberg match at Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 12th to be a World Title match.

There was also a King of the Ring first-round match on Raw that saw Sami Zayn pick up the win over Penta, Dominik Mysterio, and Bron Breakker.

For the second King of the Ring match featuring Raw wrestlers, the match was announced as Sheamus vs. Rusev vs. Bronson Reed vs. an unknown competitor, with the question mark indicating the identity of the fourth participant.

Raw GM Adam Pearce announced on social media on Friday that Jey Uso will fill that spot against Sheamus, Rusev, and Reed. Whoever wins that match will face Sami Zayn in the semifinals of the tournament.

WWE King And Queen Of The Ring Tournaments Continue On WWE SmackDown

There will be two King of the Ring tournament matches on the June 13th edition of WWE SmackDown, along with a Queen of the Ring tournament. The two King of the Ring first-round matches are:

  • Randy Orton vs. LA Knight vs. Aleister Black vs. Carmelo Hayes
  • Cody Rhodes vs. Damian Priest vs. Andrade vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

There will also be two Queen of the Ring four-way matches on SmackDown as well.

  • Jade Cargill vs. Michin vs. Nia Jax vs. Piper Niven
  • Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte Flair vs.Chelsea Green vs. Candice LeRae

The finalists in the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments will face off at the WWE Night of Champions PLE on June 28th. Whoever wins those tournaments will receive WWE or World Title matches against the champion of their respective brand.