If you’re looking for a simple way to sum up WWE’s latest
PLE offering, King and Queen of the Ring, it could best be described as “workmanlike,
with a bunch of pyro.”
WWE’s six-match card featured four title matches and the
finals of the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments. While there were certainly
a few great moments in some of the matches, none of them are going to make
anyone’s end-of-year lists.
The two tournament finals were solid, with clean finishes
putting over deserving winners and giving the losers some direction going
forward. Lyra Valkyria came close to a major upset over Nia Jax as the newcomer
in the Queen tourney, while King finalist Randy Orton has a legit gripe to fuel a rematch with
Gunther down the line.
Cody Rhodes and Logan Paul provided a fun World Title match
that featured a simple but effective story and an eye-popping spot that will
get replayed a dozen times on WWE programming during the next few days. The Intercontinental
Championship triple threat was entertaining and delivered the right outcome to
set up the next chapter of this story. However, the Women’s World Championship match fell short of
expectations, despite there being shenanigans and a title change. That level of
ga-ga couldn’t overcome what seemed like two wrestlers failing to get on the
same page.
Overall, the show was very much in line with several other PLEs from the Triple H Era, delivering what it promised but not leaving you salivating. That’s not a bad thing, but sometimes you want a show to blow your mind rather than mildly satisfy.
Let’s get to it…