King of The Ring review

The King and Queen of The Ring pay-per-view, or "Premium Live Event" is in the books, and as mentioned in the article I wrote about the current KOTR tournament a few days ago, this show had a level of importance, despite only five matches on the main card, because of the implications it had on Summer Slam in a few months. It should be noted that going along with the trend of very solid live attendance figures, the ticket prices for the stadium show in Cleveland, at least right now, are astronomical. With the advancement of technology, particularly with tickets being completely digital, Ticket Master and many other ticket outlets adopted scaled-pricing so that the cost of seats will fluctuate based on demand at any given time. Sure, tickets just days before the event might be cheaper, but a lot of that depends on how many tickets are sold in advance, and with the level of fan satisfaction that the company has right now, those that want to be in the building won't take a chance of what might or might not be left days before the show.

However, even though the name value of Summer Slam will move a portion of tickets, the marquee match-ups are what will pack the stadium for the organization.

The Saudi Arabia show kicked off with the Women's championship bout. I understand that the women have to wear different attire based on the location, but I will still say that it's unfair for them and somewhat of a reminder that these events are still oil money propaganda. The reason for it is that the usual outfits aren't vulgar or lewd, but yet the female athletes have to wear full bodysuits for the Saudi government. The men wrestling at the show still wear their usual gear so until the women are allowed to do the same, this event is about propaganda, not progress. The match itself was okay, but nothing too spectacular. There were some clunky moments and it looked as though Becky Lynch and Liv Morgan just weren't on the same page throughout most of the contest. That's not a criticism of either of their work, just that they didn't gel for this segment. The match went over 15 minutes, but they could've trimmed about five minutes off of it and accomplished the same goal with a better pace. The biggest point of the segment was Dominik Mysterio's involvement and that it allowed for Liv Morgan to win the championship. In truth, Becky Lynch doesn't need the belt, as she's going to be just as over without it, but on the flip side, perhaps this can elevate Liv Morgan's status, depending on the direction of the angle. It still seems to be a little odd that the decision was made for this storyline now since Rhea Ripley will be on the sidelines for several months with a shoulder injury, and Dominik's involvement will be limited with an arm injury as well. I'm not exactly sure how management will keep the Liv/Ripley aspect relevant for several months before she can return, but as mentioned, it's an opportunity for Morgan to boost her profile in the company.

 The Intercontinental title match was an entertaining segment that had a lot of action. It used the triple threat aspect well, which isn't always the case for three way matches. It was very nice to see Sami Zayn get a chance to celebrate his background, especially because he reportedly wasn't scheduled for the original Saudi events since there was some type of perceived disagreement with different religious affiliations from the Saudi organizers. As much as the females on the card should get the equal presentation that they have for WWE events held anywhere else, at least there's some measure of progress with Sami being involved at the show now. I'm not a religious person so I have no stake in the game, but with an objective perspective, I can say that no specific religion is better than another so Sami shouldn't have been prevented from being on the Saudi shows previously for his religious beliefs, the same way nobody else should either regardless of their choice of faith or lack thereof. Sami retained the belt, but arguably, the bigger story, which is a credit to how solid of a performer that Zayn is because there's an assurance of quality for his title reign, was that Chad Gable and Otis are building toward a confrontation. Otis might be a comedy character, but he's over with the audience, and at the very least, his involvement allows Gable to get more heat. It was extremely disappointing that someone as talented as Gable was either not used or regulated to the "Shorty G" character for several years. The guy is a stellar athlete and the office is really only beginning to scratch the surface, as far as what he brings to the table, especially as a heel.

Nia Jax defeated Lyra Valkyria to become the Queen of the Ring, and the match was fine, but nothing too memorable. The segment went less than 10 minutes so it was necessarily given enough time to go off the rails either. If anything, I'd suggest that this booking decision is based on one of the perks of being related to The Rock. Not only was Nia brought back to the company, but was put in a featured spot since The Rock signed on as a member of the board. Nepotism is nothing new in professional wrestling, but I'm very skeptical that Nia challenging for a championship is going to be considered a major match for Summer Slam. The reason I mentioned the family tree being a factor is that despite the hiatus from the company, Nia hasn't improved in the ring or on the mic so there wasn't really anything different from her prior run when she was released from the company. It should also be noted that her getting emotional and hugging the baby face authority figure diluted her heel persona. It's understandable if she's thankful to Triple H for the renewed opportunity in the company, but it doesn't do anything for her villainous persona.

As expected Gunther beat Randy Orton to win the King of The Ring tournament to earn a shot at the title. I know that theoretically he gets a shot at the Raw title, but taking into account that Damien Priest and Drew McIntyre are both heels, I'm still guessing that somehow it will become Gunther vs. Cody for the championship at Summer Slam. As far as the match itself, this was a clinic in the "work" of professional wrestling, as far as making everything count and getting the most from each maneuver. Orton has made a career from that concept, and with how talented Gunther is, it was no surprise that this was a quality contest. Gunther and Orton made the exchanges look like there was a struggle to get the advantage, and despite how simple that this, it's often overlooked in the modern era. Orton made the former IC champion look great, which adds more to his eventual chance at the championship, regardless of the opponent at Summer Slam.

The main event was booked to basically give the Saudis what they paid for, some level of perceived American pop culture, and when they are paying an estimated $40 million per show, there's nothing wrong with that. The majority of this match was designed to help put Logan Paul in the best situation possible, which is fine since it minimized his level of inexperience. That's not a knock on Logan, he's done very well during this run in WWE, but it goes without saying that he should be paired with someone that can help led the match. I'm not sure anyone believed that Logan Paul was going to win the championship, but this match was based on the sizzle, not the substance so it was mission accomplished. Cody retained and it should be interesting to see how his title reign progresses during the next few months.