WWE has resurrected the King of the Ring tournament. Immediately following WWE Backlash, WWE kicked off this year’s bracket with eight first round matches. On the WWE Monday Night Raw side of the standings, Gunther defeated Sheamus, Ilja Dragunov bested Ricochet, Kofi Kingston took down Rey Mysterio, and Jey Uso pinned Finn Balor. The bouts continued later that week when the WWE SmackDown field saw Tama Tonga defeat Angelo Dawkins, Carmelo Hayes beat Baron Corbin, Randy Orton vanquish AJ Styles, and LA Knight conquer Santos Escobar. All eight victors advance to the quarterfinals, which will begin tonight on WWE Monday Night Raw.
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The Mad Dragon is set to close the show.
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As reported by Fightful, the quarterfinal King of the Ring matchup between Ilja Dragunov and Jey Uso is scheduled to main event tonight’s WWE Monday Night Raw. Gunther vs. Kofi Kingston, another King of the Ring quarterfinal, will take place earlier in the broadcast.
Dragunov’s placement on tonight’s WWE Monday Night Raw represents one of the fastest accelerations up the card in recent WWE memory. Fellow former NXT Champion call-up Carmelo Hayes also experienced a recent televised main event honor, competing against WWE Champion Cody Rhodes in the main event of the April 26th edition of WWE SmackDown. Prior to that, would-be future world champions like Finn Balor saw similar surging trajectories, as The Prince defeated Roman Reigns in a headlining match on his first appearance on WWE Monday Night Raw.
Fans have been divided on the Dragunov vs. Jey match ever since it was solidified last week. Despite his years spent in NXT UK and NXT, Dragunov is considered a “rookie” within the WWE main roster, and he is competing against a talent that has multiple WWE premium live event main events under his belt. Beyond that, Jey is coming off a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WWE Backlash where he was considered so over in his entrance that many pushed for WWE to and crown him in France.
On the contrary, Dragunov is cherished by the diehard WWE fans that have followed him since his NXT UK beginnings. He is one of only four people within WWE to have pinned Gunther. While he is starting anew on the main roster, Dragunov has a ton of momentum right now and is already receiving acclaim from the general WWE Monday Night Raw audience. Beyond that, a Dragunov victory would likely set the stage for a renewed rivalry with Gunther in the semifinal, something many fans are desperate to make a reality.
Then again, this match is taking place in the main event, which everyone knows gives “Main Event” Jey Uso a +5 overall.
Stay tuned to ComicBook for live coverage of WWE Monday Night Raw, which airs at 8 PM ET on USA Network.
