Kofi Kingston started hot in his King of the Ring quarterfinal against Gunther by attacking him before the opening bell and targeting his right leg and knee, avenging the brutal assault The Ring General dealt his New Day tag team partner, Xavier Woods.
However, an ill-fated flight landed Kingston in the arms of his opponent, who sent him back-first into the ring apron and the barricade. Visibly angered by his rival’s attack, Gunther applied a Boston Crab on the announce table.
Both men nursed their injuries throughout the bout. At one point, though, Kingston rocked Gunther with Trouble in Paradise on the arena floor, but the heel was able to make it back into the ring before the count of 10.
The Ring General delivered a powerbomb and transitioned into a Boston Crab for the submission victory.
It should surprise no one by now, but this was another show-stealer from Gunther, who is far too often left out of the conversation for best wrestler in the world. This was a smartly wrestled contest, with an overarching story and some punishing physicality from both men.
This was great and sets up Gunther for a showdown with either Jey Uso or Ilja Dragunov. Either option would make for an extraordinary encounter.
Result
Gunther defeated Kingston
Grade
B+
Top Moments and Takeaways
-
- Chad Gable continued to berate and mistreat his Alpha Academy teammates before revealing Otis will battle Sami Zayn, and Akira Tozawa will square off with “Big” Bronson Reed. He then expressed interest in training Ivy Nile while further insulting Maxxine Dupri.
- Samantha Irvin welcomed legendary WWE announcer Lilian Garcia, who introduced the next match. It was nice to see one of the voices of the Ruthless Aggression and PG Eras back if only for a night. She worked double-time to put Irvin over, too.
- Backstage, Kiana James arrived officially on Raw, interrupting a back-and-forth between general manager Adam Pearce and world tag team champions The Miz and R-Truth.
The ONE PERCENT has arrived on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/3ZYmzg6niL
— WWE (@WWE) May 14, 2024
-
- Gunther, typically excellent at paying attention to the small details, appeared to alternate between selling his right and left knee.
