WWE SmackDown: Three Men Advance in King of the Ring Tournament

WWE's Carmelo Hayes, Tama Tonga, and Randy Orton move on in the King of the Ring Tournament on SmackDown

By Matthew Aguilar

The Men's King and Queen of the Ring Tournament continued on SmackDown, and the first match of the night was between two new SmackDown additions Baron Corbin and Carmelo Hayes. The second match was between Angelo Dawkins and The Bloodline's Tama Tonga, while the third match was between AJ Styles and Randy Orton. Hayes would get a major win early in his SmackDown run, and The Bloodline would successfully get Tonga onto the next round. The main event was Styles vs Orton, and despite suffering damage to his knee, Orton would get the win against Styles, moving onto the next round.

Hayes stayed out of Corbin's reach and then dropkicked Corbin's legs and knocked him to the mat. Hayes celebrated a bit too long though and Corbin had enough, going on an offensive onslaught that ended with Hayes regrouping outside of the ring. Back in the ring Corbin stayed aggressive, but Melo refocused and was able to reverse a Deep 6 and roll up his opponent for the pin and the win, moving on to the next round of the tournament.

In the second match, Tonga went right after Dawkins, charging forward and getting him caught up in the corner. Then Tonga came right back and delivered even more strikes and punches to Dawkins, knocking him down in the opposite corner. Dawkins dodged a charge and went on a run, leaving Tonga dizzy after a dropkick and then sending him to the floor out of the ring.

Sikoa tried to get involved but Montez Ford came to his partner's aid and knocked Sikoa to the floor. Then Tonga kicked out of a pin, and that led to Sikoa and Loa delivering a spike to Ford outside of the ring. That set up Tonga for the slam and the win, moving Tonga to the next round, but Sikoa hit another spike to Dawkins before leaving the ring, sending a clear message that The Bloodline isn't going anywhere.

The third match of the night was Styles vs Orton, and these two wasted no time in going after each other. Orton had the edge early, knocking the Phenomenal One to the mat and celebrating a bit with the crowd. Orton continued to control the match, connecting with multiple punches in the corner and dropping Styles to the mat shortly afterwards.

Styles got back on track with a dropkick and then knocked Orton out of the ring, where he connected with a knee strike to the head of Orton. Orton slammed Styles down onto the top of the barricade and then followed it up with a DDT attempt, but Styles cut it off in time. Styles then went to jump off the table, only to get caught and slammed onto the ring apron before being thrown onto the announce table right after.

Orton slammed Styles down on the table a second time and even gave the crowd a bow. Styles ran around the ring and connected with a chop block on Orton, and he immediately grabbed his knee in pain. Styles used that to his advantage and kept targeting the knee in the ring, but Orton was able to push him away and knock him to the floor to get some much-needed time to breathe. Orton couldn't plant on his left leg but still had enough to slam Styles down with two lariats.

Styles countered Orton and then only caught a piece of an uppercut from the Viper. Styles was able to grab Orton's leg and pull it over the ropes as he hit the floor. Orton countered a Phenomenal Forearm attempt, knocking Styles down from the top rope. Styles was able to grab Orton's leg and lock in a submission, but Orton was able to break the hold.

Orton hit the power slam and went for the cover, but Styles quickly kicked out. Orton got Styles up top but Styles got away, only to end up being hit by a DDT. Styles countered an RKO and then hit the Phenomenal Forearm, but Orton grabbed the bottom rope to break the count. Orton then hit an RKO out of nowhere and got the pin and the win, moving on to the next round.

What have you thought of the tournament so far? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

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