King of The Ring and Queen's Crown: Date, how to watch and all about WWE tournaments
Over five years since it was last aired, WWE is bringing back its famed 'King of the Ring' tournament in 2021. On October 1, the group put out a GIF announcing that the event would kick off on October 8, alongside the 'Queen's Crown' tournament. Beyond the announcement, few details were made so there's a lot of gaps to fill. Nonetheless, the announcement got social media talking as users seemed pretty excited for the return of the historical events.
The news should come as a welcome relief as well, given the many controversies WWE has been embroiled in over the past few years. Fans were slammed as the reason for Ronda Rousey refusing to return full time. WWE star Paige also had her private photos leaked, showing her having sex on her NXT champion belt. Hopefully, the King and Queen's tournaments can help restore some faith and much-needed ratings for the WWE.
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While the King tournament will be making a return for the first time since 2019, 2021 will mark the debut of the 'Queen's Crown' event. It's a pretty big moment, given that the King's event has been held intermittently since 1985. In the past, it has seen prestigious names like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Kurt Angle, and Brock Lesnar all grab the title of 'King of the Ring'. Here's everything you need to know about the 2021 events.
When will they take place?
According to WWE's announcement, the events will kick off on October 8, during the SmackDown season premiere. The premiere is set to take place at the SAP Center in San Jose. Action will then move to the Chase Center in San Francisco on October 11. According to numerous reports, the finals will take place during the WWE Crown Jewel event on October 21, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The date and venue for the finals have not been confirmed, but it appears to be Riyadh based on numerous reports.
How to watch
Again, this is a big question mark for now. WWE didn't make details available, but we are guessing you should be able to watch the events alongside WWE SmackDown. Given that the events are taking place along with SmackDown, it seems reasonable you won't have to pay extra or move to a separate channel to view the matches. SmackDown airs on Fox and is also available to stream on Fubo TV.
Who's participating
Notably, the WWE hasn't issued any fight cards for its premier events or even mentioned who could make the cut. The announcement, while expected, still caught many off guard leaving fans to place wild bets on who could fight. More details are expected over the coming days, so we will update this story when we know more about the cards for the events.
Also up in the air is the format for the event. Traditionally, the 'King of the Ring' has featured a single-elimination tournament format, so it is possible WWE could choose to stick to that format this year as well. Since the 'Queen's Crown' tournament is entirely new, we have no idea what to expect.