Veteran NFL writer and Pat McAfee Show correspondent Mark Kaboly makes his predictions for the King and Queen of the Ring Semifinal matches happening on Raw this Monday, leading up to WWE Night of Champions on June 28 from the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, streaming live on Peacock in the United States and Netflix internationally at 1 p.m./10 a.m.
King of the Ring Semifinal Match – Cody Rhodes vs. Jey Uso
Jey Uso managed his way into the Semifinals of the King of the Ring Tournament, and he did it by getting through (literally) the toughest opening-round bracket that included 300-pounders Sheamus, Bronson Reed, and Rusev. Uso took a beating but survived, and in any tournament play, the key is to survive and advance and that’s what Jey did.
Now, you would think that would give Uso a much-needed confidence boost heading into the semifinals against Rhodes. Instead, he just may be questioning himself. He lost his World Heavyweight Championship to Gunther and was saved by his Semifinal opponent Cody Rhodes from an utter beatdown twice within a few weeks – first by John Cena and last week by Seth Rollins. Uce can’t be feeling good about himself, even though he’s a win away from having a chance to potentially reclaim his title. Let’s face it: Uso a lot of his current singles success to Rhodes and his orchestrating his move to the Raw brand. Cody pretty much is responsible for the success Uso has had outside of the tag team division, in my opinion, and that might rear its head sooner rather than later in terms of Uso. Regardless, Uso’s confidence in himself has to be wavering, and that doesn’t fly in high stakes matches like the Semifinals of the King of the Ring. You have to consider that the Uso & Rhodes vs. John Cena & Logan Paul match at WWE Money in the Bank took a sudden left turn with the return of Ron Killings when it seemed to be all heading for a SummerSlam matchup between Cena and Rhodes. That can still happen, but just in a different way, and it starts with a convincing win over Uso in the Semifinals. There is no way I see Uso upsetting Rhodes at this point of time in the tournament unless shenanigans are involved.
Prediction: Cody Rhodes def. Jey Uso
Queen of the Ring Semifinal Match – Jade Cargill vs. Roxanne Perez
In an interesting Semifinal Match, it is anybody’s guess who will come out on top. Both are highly regarded and are on the fast track to the top of the division. What makes this matchup intriguing is the difference in styles between the two.
Cargill uses her strength and size to dominate opponents, while Perez is smaller but extremely agile and could give Cargill problems. There is no doubt the difference in styles is going to be a big part in the outcome of this Semifinal.
The Queen of the Ring provides the opportunity for one more than the other to accomplish a push closer to a World Title – Perez. Perez is a true “bad guy” in the division, and that means a lot when you look at the other side of the bracket. Trying to think this out logically takes me to the Money in the Bank briefcase holder. Naomi isn’t going to sit around and wait a couple of weeks until Cargill gets through the QOTR tournament and potentially wins it and gets a title opportunity at SummerSlam.
Naomi and Cargill still have beef, and the change in demeanor to the evil side for Naomi makes anything possible, including costing Cargill her Tag Team Titles by jumping her backstage months ago to prevent her from advancing to the Finals of the Queen of the Ring Tournament. Either way, this matchup has all the ingredients to deliver in a big way.
Prediction: Roxanne Perez def. Jade Cargill