WWE Raw kicked off this year’s King and Queen of the Ring tournaments. A series of qualifying matches took place, including three Queen of the Ring match ups — Zoey Stark vs. Ivy Nile, Natalya vs. IYO SKY and Lyra Valkyria vs. Dakota Kai who is replacing an injured Asuka. Though the King of the Ring tournament has been around for decades, the first iteration of the Queen’s Crown was introduced in 2021. Vega defeated Doudrop in the finals to become the inaugural Queen.ย
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She’s been the only crowned Queen since its establishment but when WWE announced during WrestleMania 40 that the tournaments would make a comeback, it made a lot of fans excited for this year’s potential. There are many new faces that weren’t part of the roster in 2021, including several NXT talents that were recently called up and are looking to make a new for themselves. On the red brand that includes former NXT Women’s Champion Valkyria.
Lyra Valkyria Defeats Dakota Kai
In the final match of the night for the Queen of the Ring qualifiers on Raw, former NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria looked to pick up a huge win over Damage CTRL’s Dakota Kai who replaced Asuka. Valkyria appeared incredibly dominating in the match, which is exactly what you want to see from someone making their main roster debut. She picked up a victory with the Nightwing maneuver to advance in the tournament where she will next face Zoey Stark, a former NXT Champion in her own right.
Zoey Stark Defeats Ivy Nile
The second match of the night on the women’s side of the tournament was Zoey Stark against Ivy Nile. Stark largely dominated Nile in this match and ultimately won with her Z-360 finisher. Stark will move on to face the winner of Dakota Kai vs. the former NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria. Kai is replacing Damage CTRL’s Asuka who is said to not be medically cleared for competition. Asuka and Kairi Sane defended the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships against Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair who won the match and their first tag team titles within WWE.
Iyo Sky Defeats Natalya
For the Queen of the Ring tournament, Natalya and former WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY kicked off the action. Damage CTRL accompanied SKY to the ring. During the match, Natalya hits a top rope superplex but is just shy of a three count. SKY rolls through with a stomp to Natalya’s chest, then kicking her in the face. They get quick counters over one another but Natalya catches her into a sit-up power bomb. Unfortunately it’s not enough for the three-time women’s champion.Natalya goes for the sharpshooter but SKY is able to counter it, sending her straight into the turnbuckle where she sets her up for her moonsault, then getting the pin and advancing in the tournament.
