Predicting winners for Monday Night Raw's King and Queen of the Ring first round matches

The schedule for the Queen and the King of the Ring tournament is out. The first round of the matches for the tournament is set to start on Monday Night Raw with four matches from the men's and the women's divisions each. The matches involve some of the best talents in the company who have been regulars in Raw and have risen to the ascendance from NXT.

In the past, the King of the Ring served as a tournament to establish top stars and give prominence to their careers. The likes of Triple H, Bret Hart, Edge, Kurt Angle, and Stone Cold Steve Austin won it in the past and made a name for themselves. Several top stars in the company have an opportunity to achieve similar feats. The first round of matches features top talents.

Let us have a look at the match cards and see who could emerge victorious:

Men's Division

Ricochet vs Ilja Dragunov - Ricochet recently became the maiden WWE Speed champion by defeating Johnny Gargano in a match that was not televised. On the other hand, Ilja Dragunov lost his NXT Championship in the main event against Trick Williams. In the WWE Draft 2024, the Mad Dragon got drafted to the main roster, as he is now a part of Raw. The match will be a battle of athleticism and artistic wrestling. Given the momentum, Ricochet is likely to emerge victorious. But Ilja will give a good run for the money.

Drew McIntyre vs Finn Balor - Drew McIntyre lost an opportunity to be the number one contender on Raw to face Damian Priest in Backlash 2024. CM Punk cost him the match as Jey Uso capitalized to claim a win. Finn Balor lost the Undisputed Tag Team title with Damian Priest to the duo of Austin Theory and Grayson Waller (Smackdown) and Awesome Truth (Raw). The match between the two will witness artistic wrestling. These are two of the best wrestlers in the company currently. Drew must be able to claim a win despite the fight from Balor.

Kofi Kingston vs Rey Mysterio - Kofi Kingston is the teammate of Xavier Woods in the New Day. The latter is the champion of the previous edition in 2021. To achieve the feat his teammate did, Kofi Kingston must be able to beat Rey Mysterio as his first opponent. The WWE Hall of Famer has had a rough time. His mental confidence would have been shaken following the betrayal of Carlito. It will be a match of athleticism. Though Kingston looks to be the favourite, one cannot look past the experience of Mysterio. It will be an evenly contested battle and Mysterio could win.

Sheamus vs Gunther - Sheamus and Gunther have a history against each other dating back to 2022. Their feud produced some of the best matches like those in Clash at the Castle 2022 and WrestleMania 39. Sheamus returned to action a night after WrestleMania XL on Monday Night Raw. He has so far won matches against Ivar and Shinsuke Nakamura. Gunther lost the Intercontinental Championship to Sami Zayn on the Night One of WrestleMania XL. He won the match against Woods on Raw last week. It could be the match of the first round with hardly anything to separate between the two. However, given the time spent by Gunther in the ring in recent times, he has an advantage. The Ring general would emerge victorious.

Women's Division

Lyra Valkyria vs Asuka - Lyra Valyria has not had a good time in the last five weeks. She lost the NXT Women's Championship to Roxanne Perez on NXT Stand and Deliver. Weeks after it, her partner, Tatum Paxley, betrayed her to set a triple-threat match for the NXT Championship. Perez defended the title and Valkyria got drafted to Raw a week later. With Kairi Sane, Asuka lost the Tag Team Championship to Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair on Backlash 2024. She would be hungry to win matches. It has been a long time since Asuka won a singles match. But she must be able to overcome Valkyria.

Zelina Vega vs Shayna Baszler - Zelina Vega was the Queen of the Ring when it happened the last time in 2021. Since then, a lot of things have changed and Vega is no longer the star she once was. Zelina lost the match to Elektra Lopez recently on Smackdown and has not wrestled enough. Shayna Baszler is a better performer in the ring and has not won a lot in recent times. She took part in the Battle Royal to be the Women's World Champion but failed. Baszler helped Lola Vice to win the first-ever women's Underground match on NXT. Predicting the winner in this would be difficult. But Vega could win it as she is the defending champion.

Zoey Stark vs Ivy Nile - Zoey Stark and Ivy Nile are two talented wrestlers on Monday Night Raw. Both of them took part in the Battle Royal to be the Women's World Champion but could not emerge victorious. Their next target would be to win the Queen of the Ring. The contest between the two is likely to be even. But given the calibre of Zoey and her accomplishments in 2023, she must be able to put out a defiant Nile. 

Iyo Sky vs Natalya - Iyo Sky lost the WWE Women's Championship to Bayley on the Night Two of WrestleMania XL. She has not been in action since then. The Japanese wrestler, along with the rest of the members from Damage Control, got drafted to Monday Night Raw. Natalya recently has been in action and looks at her finest. The WWE Hall of Famer put on a show before losing to Lola Vice in the first-ever women's Underground match on NXT. Iyo Sky starts as the firm favourite to win the match. It can be one of the one-sided matches given the good run of Sky as the World Champion.