{"id":162920,"date":"2026-06-12T07:00:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T11:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=162920"},"modified":"2026-06-12T02:00:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T06:00:38","slug":"wwe-king-and-queen-of-the-ring-2026-predictions-who-will-vs-who-should-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/06\/12\/wwe-king-and-queen-of-the-ring-2026-predictions-who-will-vs-who-should-win\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE King and Queen of the Ring 2026 Predictions: Who Will vs. Who Should Win"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve officially hit the second week of this year\u2019s <\/span>King and Queen of the Ring 2026 tournament<\/span><\/a>, and things couldn\u2019t feel more unpredictable. Moving on isn’t just another notch on the belt; it’s about cementing a legacy and earning a ticket to the main event.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With a guaranteed championship match on the line, the stakes couldn\u2019t be higher. One wrong move right now means a shattered dream, while a victory guarantees a date with destiny.<\/span><\/p>\n

Winning the tournament guarantees two things for the King and Queen: a prestigious royal title crown and a guaranteed world championship match at SummerSlam.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the men\u2019s side, while many predicted the finals would feature a rubber match between Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker, both competitors were shockingly eliminated in their opening matches.<\/span><\/p>\n

Breakker <\/span>lost his opening qualifier match to Dominik Mysterio<\/span><\/a> without any interference from Rollins. Seth\u2019s loss, however, was the exact opposite; Breakker appeared toward the end of the contest just as Rollins was closing in on victory, wiping him out with a massive tornado spear.<\/span><\/p>\n

The most shocking part of that matchup wasn\u2019t just that Rollins lost, but that WWE chose to give the win to 22-year-old Je\u2019Von Evans. The victory advances Evans to the semi-finals, where his opponent will be decided tonight on SmackDown following a high-stakes Fatal 4-Way match between LA Knight, Jey Uso, <\/span>Royce Keys<\/span><\/a>, and Finn B\u00e1lor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Moving over to the women\u2019s side, we have seen far less unpredictability, apart from the bizarre involvement of reigning Women\u2019s World Champion <\/span>Liv Morgan<\/span><\/a>. In her opening qualifier, WWE made the unexpected decision to have her defeat Becky Lynch, Chelsea Green, and Alexa Bliss.<\/span><\/p>\n

Morgan will have to wait until tonight to find out who she\u2019ll meet in the semifinals, pending the outcome of the Fatal 4-Way match featuring Sol Ruca, Lyra Valkyria, Charlotte Flair, and Jade Cargill.<\/span><\/p>\n

The other half of the bracket has felt much more predictable, starting with IYO SKY winning her opening matchup against Roxanne Perez, Giulia, and Lash Legend. Her semifinal match is already set following <\/span>Raquel Rodriguez’s dominant performance<\/span><\/a> over Bayley, Jacy Jayne, and <\/span>Kiana James<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are still a few rounds away from crowning the 2026 King and Queen of the Ring, but we\u2019re tackling the daunting task – especially on the chaotic men\u2019s side – of breaking down who we think <\/span>should<\/span><\/i> win versus who we think <\/span>will<\/span><\/i> win. Let\u2019s see who is truly ready to claim the throne.<\/span><\/p>\n

WWE King and Queen of the Ring 2026 Predictions:<\/h2>\n

Who Should Win the Queen of the Ring Tournament\u2026<\/b><\/h2>\n

In terms of who <\/span>should<\/span><\/i> win the Queen of the Ring tournament, our pick is one of the established favorites: Charlotte Flair. Since her nickname is literally \u201cThe Queen,\u201d the possibility of her winning a tournament that shares the name with her own moniker feels incredibly fitting.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Since the tournament\u2019s inception in 2021, it is shocking that the most decorated female wrestler in WWE history has yet to compete in the event.<\/span><\/p>\n

WWE has been <\/span>dropping subtle hints<\/span><\/a> over the last couple of months that Flair could soon return to the singles main title scene. Most recently, Flair put Women\u2019s World Champion Rhea Ripley on notice last week on SmackDown, stating that she\u2019s going to win Queen of the Ring and challenge her at this year\u2019s SummerSlam.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even if Flair is the choice to win the whole tournament, the company has an intriguing, far more unpredictable alternative right in front of them. If Flair wins this Friday, she will collide in the semifinals with Liv Morgan, who is already holding the Women\u2019s World Championship.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Flair to win the whole tournament, she would already have to defeat one of the top champions to get the crown. A semifinal victory here could lead to Flair taunting Morgan, stating that she has already beaten her once and is confident she can repeat history at SummerSlam.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who Will Win the Queen of the Ring Tournament\u2026<\/b><\/h2>\n

When it comes to who <\/span>will<\/span><\/i> win the Queen of the Ring tournament, we\u2019re pivoting away from our “should win” favorite and backing IYO SKY. She is a phenomenal choice, and a Queen of the Ring victory might be exactly what she needs to propel her career right back to the top of the division.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"WWE
A WWE Raw graphic of IYO SKY and Raquel Rodriguez in the Queen of the Ring tournament. (Photo Credit: WWE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SKY was shockingly left off this year\u2019s WrestleMania card, despite arguably being WWE\u2019s best performer for all of last year. If WWE wants to re-establish IYO as one of the premier superstars on the roster, having her capture the Queen of the Ring crown is the perfect course of action.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the event that she wins, she is almost certain to challenge Liv Morgan, given that the only other option is Rhea Ripley. SKY and Ripley <\/span>put on an incredible match<\/span><\/a> whenever they square off as opponents, but considering their current friendship, it\u2019s highly unlikely SKY would target Ripley’s title.<\/span><\/p>\n

The story between SKY and Morgan could easily center around a simple question: who is truly the best? While Morgan can arrogantly claim that she\u2019s the greatest Women\u2019s Champion of all time, SKY can boldly declare that she is the best women’s wrestler.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Who Should Win the King of the Ring Tournament\u2026<\/b><\/h2>\n

For who we think <\/span>should<\/span><\/i> win King of the Ring, we\u2019re going with someone who may look like an obvious favorite, but actually isn’t – purely because of the beast awaiting him: Oba Femi. While many are counting Femi out due to a highly anticipated rubber match with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, WWE has a golden opportunity to do something incredibly bold.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
A photo of WWE Raw star Oba Femi. (Photo Credit: By Jonathan Rivera – https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/202897796@N07\/54556546687\/, CC BY 2.0,)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If Femi were to win the tournament somehow, it would likely set him up to challenge Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of SummerSlam Night 2. This sets up an incredible dynamic where Femi could then tell Reigns that, before destroying him, he wants to handle some “unfinished business” in the main event of Night 1: putting an end to “The Beast” Brock Lesnar once and for all.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having Femi anchor both nights of SummerSlam in separate main events gives WWE a truly historic opportunity. If he finishes Lesnar on Night 1, it opens the door for a legendary retirement and passing-of-the-torch moment where Lesnar raises Femi’s hand. That unrivaled momentum would catapult Femi directly into his Night 2 clash with the “Tribal Chief.”<\/span><\/p>\n

In that matchup, Reigns could prove to be Femi\u2019s toughest opponent yet, becoming the first person to ever kick out of Femi\u2019s devastating signature move, “The Fall From Grace.” As the two continue to battle it out, Femi could ultimately hit three consecutive “Fall From Grace” powerbombs to seal the win – mirroring how <\/span>Cody Rhodes put away Reigns<\/span><\/a> to become the Undisputed WWE Champion at WrestleMania 40.<\/span><\/p>\n

If Femi were to retire Lesnar on Night 1 of SummerSlam and then go on to capture the World Heavyweight Championship from Roman Reigns on Night 2, WWE would be sending the ultimate signal to fans that Oba Femi is the undeniable new face of the company.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who Will Win the King of the Ring Tournament\u2026\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Predicting who <\/span>will<\/span><\/i> win the King of the Ring tournament has become incredibly difficult, thanks to WWE\u2019s recent track record of sharp, unpredictable booking. However, given everything that has unfolded over the last couple of weeks, we believe <\/span>LA Knight<\/span><\/a> will ultimately claim the crown and set up a blockbuster clash against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam.<\/span><\/p>\n

WWE\u2019s creative team has struggled for quite some time to find the right direction for Knight, making a tournament victory here feel like the ultimate feel-good moment. After constantly coming up short in high-stakes moments like Money in the Bank, this victory would be a massive, well-deserved reward for everything he’s endured.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
A photo of WWE star LA Knight. (Photo Credit: By Diego Serrano – WWE Royal Rumble 2025, CC BY 2.0,)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The story between Reigns and Knight writes itself. Knight can claim he has unfinished business with Reigns, stretching all the way back to their match at Crown Jewel 2023, where Jimmy Uso\u2019s interference cost Knight the championship.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the flip side, Reigns would fire back by letting Knight know he\u2019s been listening to all the trash talk about his family over the last couple of weeks. For the Tribal Chief, SummerSlam<\/a> represents the ultimate destination where he will finally force Knight to pay for the constant mockery.<\/span><\/p>\n

No matter what, one thing almost all fans can agree on is that WWE has successfully made this tournament feel far more unpredictable, especially compared to last year. It feels as though no matter who walks away with the crowns, we\u2019re in for a shocker. <\/span><\/p>\n

The only question left is just how far WWE will go to keep us guessing until the very end. The stage is set for chaos, and predictability is completely off the table. All that\u2019s left to do now is sit back and watch who takes the throne.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve officially hit the second week of this year\u2019s King and Queen of the Ring 2026 tournament, and things couldn\u2019t feel more unpredictable. Moving on isn’t just another notch on the belt; it’s about cementing a legacy and earning a ticket to the main event.\u00a0 With a guaranteed championship match on the line, the stakes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5699,"featured_media":161003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2192,25,26,3,320],"tags":[9744,9745],"class_list":["post-162920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wwe","category-wrestling","category-raw","category-smackdown","category-wwe-universe","category-wwe-women","tag-wwe-king-of-the-ring","tag-wwe-queen-of-the-ring"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5699"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162920"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":162931,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162920\/revisions\/162931"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}