The SmackDown quarterfinals for the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments took place on tonight’s SmackDown. Opening the show was Bianca Belair and Tiffany Stratton. Going into the match, Belair was battling an injured knee and that came into play tonight. Stratton took full advantage and got a few close near falls but was unable to put the EST away. Tama Tonga and LA Knight followed and Knight was clearly the favored to win the match. As per usual with The Bloodline, shenanigans from Tonga Loa and Solo Sikoa would prevent Knight from picking up a victory and advancing to the semi-finals.
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The main event was recent NXT call-up Carmelo Hayes taking on “The Viper” Randy Orton. Melo comes out of the gate hot against Orton, clearly knowing the type of competitor he’s up against … or at least he thinks he does. Unfortunately for Melo, Orton takes advantage and gets him into the corner of the ring. As the fight continues outside of the ring, Orton’s knee gives out on him as Melo showboats on the announce table. Orton trips him up and delivers two back suplexes. Orton’s knee continues to be his downfall in the match as Melo focuses in on it and attacks it more, ripping the tape off. When Orton is in this condition in a match he goes to his special place to unlock “The Viper.” So he does, setting up for the RKO and connecting, advancing to the semi-finals of the tournament.
On next week’s SmackDown Bianca Belair will go up against Nia Jax who got a huge divisive win over Jade Cargill. It remains to be seen how Belair’s knee will effect her going into next week but Jax will surely be going after it as soon as the bell rings. On the red brand, Lyra Valkyria faces former WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY for a slot in the finals. Valkyria has won over fans early, just two matches into her main roster WWE career. She’s clearly the favorite to go over SKY, but it should be a great match nonetheless. Jey Uso and Gunther will also go head-to-head once again, which many fans online were upset by. While they wanted to see Ilja Dragunov and Gunther battle it out again, they’ll have to wait just a bit longer.
The King and Queen of the Ring finals take place on May 25 in Saudi Arabia.
