Massive confusion surrounding major WWE announcement; Potential CM Punk ramifications
The WWE Universe continues to buzz over CM Punk's eventual return to the ring. Officials have made it a point to keep the star on TV and involved in the storylines, and another gig may be booked for the multi-time champion this month.
The Second City Saint had a massive weekend earlier this month. He joined Big E and Jackie Redmond at WWE HQ studios in Stamford, CT for the Backlash France Kickoff pre-show. Punk claimed he went to change out of his suit after the pre-show, but he ended up being locked inside the restroom. This led to the former world champion getting locked inside the building until Monday. Now it looks like he could potentially camp out inside of company HQ a second time this month.
WWE originally announced that the inaugural King and Queen of the Ring PLE would have a special start time of 12 pm ET on Saturday, May 25. The 12 pm ET start time was still being listed as of May 6 when Triple H shared the updated promotional poster. However, just this week the company began advertising a start time of 1 pm ET for the main show.
There's a bit of confusion as the official WWE website still has the start time of 12 pm ET listed on some of the King and Queen of the Ring promotional graphics and match banners. Furthermore, the ticket provider in Saudi Arabia lists gates opening at 5 pm local time, which is 10 am ET and lists the show beginning at 7 pm local time, or 12 pm ET. It is possible that the ticket provider has not updated their listing to reflect the 1 pm ET start time.
On a related note, it was confirmed that Peacock will stream the one-hour King and Queen of the Ring Kickoff pre-show at 12 pm ET. As is the case for most international events, the Kickoff is expected to be filmed in Stamford.
Hosts have not been confirmed as of this writing, but Punk is likely unless he's brought to Saudi Arabia for some reason. Either way, CM Punk could be once again in the news whether he is a part of the Kickoff panel for the Saudi Arabia event to confront Drew McIntyre or simply cut a promo. With the timings being altered and Peacock announcing the Kickoff Show, it seems that Punk will once again be a part of the panel.
WWE RAW update for King and Queen of the Ring Tournaments
This week's WWE RAW saw the company move one step closer to crowning the 23rd King of the Ring and the 2nd Queen of the Ring.
The KOTR Tournament quarterfinals kicked off on Monday with Gunther defeating Kofi Kingston, and Jey Uso defeating Ilja Dragunov. Gunther vs. Uso will take place next week with the winner advancing to the finals at the King and Queen of the Ring PLE.
Quarterfinal matches for the QOTR Tournament were also held. IYO SKY defeated Shayna Baszler, and Lyra Valkyria defeated Zoey Stark. SKY vs. Valkyria is set for next week to earn a spot in the finals.
Friday's SmackDown will feature Randy Orton vs. Carmelo Hayes and LA Knight vs. Tama Tonga in the KOTR quarterfinals. The QOTR quarterfinals set for Friday are Nia Jax vs. Jade Cargill and Tiffany Stratton vs. Bianca Belair.