Examining the King and Queen of the Ring Semi-Finalists

As I’ve said before, I love a good tournament. G1, Owen Hart Cup, King & Queen of the Ring. If it involves brackets, I’m usually here for it. I love them even more when the semi-finals are filled with wrestlers who haven’t had their opportunity yet. It helps to add to the unpredictability of the tournament, and you know you are going to see someone new climb the mountain. And so, I wanted to take some time to examine the possible winners of the 2026 King and Queen of the Ring.

As far as new blood is concerned, the King of the Ring is primed for someone who hasn’t been to the top to win. Jey Uso is the only former World Champion in the semi-finals. And with Oba Femi, Dominik Mysterio, and Je’Von Evans filling out the rest of the brackets, it feels like we are getting someone new going for a World Championship at SummerSlam.

For the women, it’s a different story. Charlotte Flair, Liv Morgan, and IYO SKY are all former or current Women’s World Champions. Raquel Rodriguez is the only woman not to hold a World Championship in the semi-finals.

Even with a predictable-looking Queen of the Ring, I think we could still be in for a surprise. So, let’s look at all eight semi-finalists and the possible paths to victory for each.

Queen of the Ring

Charlotte Flair

The Queen from the Queen City. Flair could add a Queen of the Ring victory to solidify that she really is the Queen of the WWE. Having earned every other accomplishment in the WWE, Queen of the Ring is the only thing missing from the list. Over the last year, Charlotte has regained a lot of respect from the fans. Her work with Alexa Bliss has done a lot to repair her reputation and given her some needed time away from the World Championship scene.

It could be the time for the Queen to reclaim her throne. But she has some stiff competition in front of her. Liv Morgan is the current Women’s World Champion and has been on a hot streak since returning from injury last Fall. But if the past 11 years have taught us anything, it’s to not doubt Charlotte Flair’s ability to win. No matter the odds, Charlotte can usually find a way to get a win, and we may be seeing the Queen finally getting her crown at Night of Champions.

Liv Morgan

Morgan claims she entered the tournament because no one wants to step up to her and become a double champion. With the Judgement Day behind her, Liv Morgan looks to be the odds-on favorite to win. When you have four people to run interference for you, it makes it hard for your opponents to prepare.

Also, you can imagine the heel heat she would get as she proclaimed herself as the best Queen of the Ring eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvvvveeeeer! I look at this as similar to when the current IWGP Champion enters the G1. While Morgan won’t decide on her opponent, she will get to challenge her old rival, Rhea Ripley, for a chance to become a double champion. And while Ripley and Morgan have been done a lot, this would provide a fresh wrinkle to the match.

I don’t think most fans are ready for another Morgan vs Ripley match, but is it something they should be preparing for?

IYO SKY

The Genius of the Sky could soon be the Queen of it as well. SKY has long been one of the best wrestlers on the planet. And adding a Queen of the Ring win would be another big accomplishment for her. SKY would be an intriguing choice as Queen of the Ring. She has a long history with Liv Morgan and the Judgement Day. But on the other hand, Rhea Ripley has never beaten her, and SKY could decide to face her longtime friend instead.

I’m always here for Sky vs Ripley; they always put on great matches together. And with SKY always finding a way to beat Rhipley, it at least makes the match intriguing. SKY vs Morgan could also be good, and I’d love to see SKY get rewarded with another World Championship run. Hopefully, one that includes more defenses this time.

And she’d have plenty of challengers: Becky Lynch, Morgan, Lyra Valkyria, and a returning Stephanie Vaquer.

Raquel Rodriguez

And we get to my prediction for the 2026 Queen of the Ring. I think the best story the tournament can tell is Raquel finally breaking free from Morgan. It’s been teased for a long time, and now is the right time to pull the trigger. Rodriguez has more than earned a shot at the top, and that starts with winning Queen of the Ring.

There are two ways they can do this. Morgan gets the win over Charlotte, and Morgan expects Rodriguez to lie down for her. Or Charlotte beats Morgan, and Rodriguez beats Charlotte, only for her to decide to go after Morgan. I think the latter is the better option. We save Morgan vs Rodriguez for SummerSlam, instead of running it twice in a row.

Rodriguez can hold off on announcing who she is facing for a few weeks. Playing with Morgan’s head, “Oh, yeah, I’m totally going after Rhea, I’m just waiting for the right time.” And then you can have the Judgement Day in the ring, and Morgan puts Rodriguez on the spot, demanding she say who she is challenging. And then boom, Tejana Bomb to Morgan, and we are on for SummerSlam.

King of the Ring

Oba Femi

The Ruler seems like a perfect fit for King of the Ring. It would complete the Brock Lesnar comparisons. Winning the King of the Ring in his first year on the main roster and then winning the World Championship at SummerSlam. And if SummerSlam was in any other city, I’d agree. But SummerSlam is being held in Brock’s home state, and the two monsters are now 1-1.

I think Lesnar is showing up to screw Femi in his match with Dominik Mysterio. This will set up Lesnar vs Femi III, giving Femi the decisive final win to end the feud and Lesnar’s career. The Ruler will be World Champion sooner rather than later, and he doesn’t need the King of the Ring to get there. I’d rather see him win the Rumble or Elimination Chamber to win his first World Championship at WrestleMania 43.

Jey Uso

The most boring choice to win his qualifying match. Couldn’t we have given this to Finn Balor? Regardless, I don’t think Jey is leaving Night of Champions as King of the Ring. It just doesn’t make sense. We just had Jacob Fatu being taught to acknowledge Roman Reigns, a process Jey Uso was a huge part of. I don’t see him winning this and turning on Reigns.

I also don’t think we want to see Uso vs Rhodes, or another Uso vs Gunther match. So, Uso either loses to Evans in the semi-finals or to Dominik in the finals. Either way, King Uso is not something we are getting this year. And look, I don’t hate Jey as most do. I get why he was pushed to the top. I also don’t think he did enough to maintain that spot, and that’s why he has fallen back to being Reigns’ lackey. And he hasn’t done enough to make me think he needs another chance at the top.

Je’Von Evans

Remember when everyone was assuming we were going to get the predictable Rollins vs Breakker finals? Yeah, about that. Neither of them even made it to the semi-finals. They didn’t need the King of the Ring to build their feud, and it opened the door for guys like Je’Von Evans to make it to the semi-finals.

Evans has had a breakout year since debuting on the main roster. Racking up big wins and putting on great matches with everyone. The fans have gotten behind him in a big way, and barring any major issues, Evans is a future World Champion. I don’t think this is his moment, though. I think he will make it to the finals, only to fall to the numbers game of the Judgement Day.

I love the idea of two of the future pillars of the WWE meeting in the finals of the King of the Ring. And Evans and Dominik will be able to put on a fantastic match worthy of the King of the Ring finals. And this time next year, we may see Evans crowned king.

Dominik Mysterio

In my opinion, this is Dom’s year. If Rodriguez is turning on Morgan and possibly taking her World Championship, then having Dom win the King of the Ring and face Roman Reigns would give them something positive at least. Dom also has JD, Liv, and Perez to help mitigate the numbers game. Of course, when Reigns has Fatu, you have to wonder how much help they’ll be.

The King of the Luchadores becoming King of the Ring just makes sense. And Dom has spent the last few years putting together a main event-worthy career. The fans love to boo him, and his run as Mega Champion has prepared him for being a part of the main event scene in the WWE. It’s time to pull the trigger fully. Do I think he dethrones Roman? Ehh, probably not. But someone has to be the one to win the King of the Ring and not win the title.

And if anyone can recover from that kind of loss, it’s Dom. Dom is a heat magnet, and a loss to Roman won’t hurt him. What a King of the Ring win will do is solidify Dom as a main event player. Dom as World Champion is going to happen, but for so long, he has been right on the cusp of fully breaking out as one of the top players. That ends with the 2026 King of the Ring. King Dom is going to use that gimmick to its fullest. I expect him to find a way to customize the crown to fit his gimmick and wear it all year. The Dirty King will be glorious, and I can’t wait to hear Liv call him King Daddy Dom.