WWE Raw: Gunther Moves Onto Finals of King of the Ring Tournament

The first finalist of this year's King of the Ring tournament has been set!

By Haley Miller

WWE Raw hosted the semifinals of both the King and Queen of the Ring tournament. While Lyra Valkyria advanced after defeating IYO SKY, Gunther had a major challenge to overcome in Jey Uso. The "Main Event" was undoubtedly one of the stand out favorites to win the whole tournament, even after picking up a shocking win over the dominant Ilja Dragunov last week. 

Although Gunther may no longer have the Intercontinental Championship, he's looking to further cement himself as one of the greats with the crowning of King of the Ring. Many male superstars have held that honorable title over the years, including Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Owen Hart, Xavier Woods, Bret Hart, Edge, Kurt Angle and "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

The tournaments haven't taken place since 2021. While there were rumblings that it would be making a grand return last year in Saudi Arabia, WWE instead announced Night of Champions. While Uso began the match as the one in charge, "The Ring General" quickly turned things around, slamming the former multi-time tag team champion into the post and the steel steps. He continues his assault on Uso's arm throughout the match, but Uso is able to recollect himself for an avalance Samoan drop.

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They have some pretty even back and forth after that, trading shots with one another, and Gunther hits the Gojira Clutch for a near fall. This continues for a beat with both men desperate to pick up a pin at this point in the match. Uso hits the Splash in a last ditch effort, to no avail. Gunther once again goes for the Gojira Clutch, this time trapping his arm, forcing Uso to tap out.

On this week's SmackDown, Valkyria and Gunther's opponents will be determined when Bianca Belair goes up against Nia Jax and The Bloodline's Tama Tonga tries to put away "The Viper" Randy Orton. Belair has been working an injured leg for basically the whole tournament after "tweaking it" during a match. It's been the one thing that each of her opponents have taken advantage of, so Jax will likely target it straight out of the gate. Belair's tag team partner and other half of the tag team champions, Jade Cargill, fell to Jax on last week's SmackDown, surprising a lot of fans given Cargill's dominant streak in WWE since her debut. 

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