Jey Uso advances in King of the Ring tournament at SmackDown

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Jey Uso has his eyes on becoming King Yeet. | (Photo: WWE) First-round action in WWE’s 2026 King and Queen of the Ring has wrapped up. Next are the semifinal matches, which begin this week and will determine who advances to the finals at Night of Champions on June 27 in Saudi Arabia. With less than two weeks to go before its next premium live event, WWE has yet to announce a full card beyond the King and Queen finals. Rather than focus on a show that’s yet to take shape, I’m focusing on the semifinal matchups and who will likely compete for the crowns in Riyadh. King of the Ring Semifinals Oba Femi vs. Dominik Mysterio Consider this: It took a pre-match assault and seven F5s from Brock Lesnar — an NCAA Division I Heavyweight Wrestling Champion and a former WWE, IWGP, and UFC Champion — to beat Oba Femi at Clash In Italy. All AAA Mega Champion Dominik Mysterio has going for him is Judgment Day: JD McDonagh, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, and Roxanne Perez. Even if he had former members Edge, Damian Priest, Finn Bálor, and Rhea Ripley with him, it likely wouldn’t be enough to hold the former NXT Champion down. Certainly, Lesnar could lend Mysterio a helping hand to set up a trilogy between him and “The Ruler.” But the smart money says Lesnar will lay back and wait for a more opportune time to challenge Femi. Prediction: Oba Femi def. Dominik Mysterio Je’Von Evans vs. Jey Uso In kayfabe, Jey Uso’s veteran experience should overcome Je’Von Evans’ youthful exuberance. If it’s not, he could look to the Bloodline to bail him out, though the big Uce, Roman Reigns, was clear that Uso needs to win on his own. In reality, “Main Event” Jey’s star power and name recognition make him a more significant opponent for Femi in the final. Prediction: Jey Uso def. Je’Von Evans Queen of the Ring Semifinals Liv Morgan vs. Charlotte Flair Charlotte Flair is in the midst of a career resurgence that will likely lead to another world title opportunity. But with WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley’s future status questionable due to a knee injury, Flair may not need to win the Queen of the Ring to get back to title contention. Liv Morgan, the reigning Women’s World Champion, is only in this because she’s greedy and wants everything. Becoming the Queen of the Ring puts her in a position to challenge for the Women’s Championship at SummerSlam, where she could become a double champion. It’s an ambitious quest that makes Morgan the most attractive option. Prediction: Liv Morgan def. Charlotte Flair Iyo Sky vs. Raquel Rodriguez There’s a realistic possibility that Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez could make for an all-Judgment Day final. But with tensions slowly simmering, blowing it off at Night of Champions seems predictable and entirely too soon. Instead, there’s more heat to be had in Rodriguez falling to Iyo Sky and Morgan becoming even more insufferable as she insists she must defeat Sky to make up for her friend’s failure. Prediction: Iyo Sky def. Raquel Rodriguez Final Forecast If these predictions hold, they’ll have storyline implications that’ll make for a scorching SummerSlam. Oba Femi’s march toward an inevitable showdown against World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns will begin with Jey Uso, once the right-hand man of the Tribal Chief. Meanwhile, a Queen’s final between Liv Morgan and Iyo Sky could set the stage for a rematch with Morgan’s Women’s World title on the line if Sky can play spoiler.

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The first round of WWE’s King of the Ring tournament wrapped up in the main event of tonight’s (June 12) SmackDown with a 4-way match between LA Knight, Royce Keys, Jey Uso, and Finn Balor. Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa were at ringside for much of this bout, which had no disqualifications, so you knew there would be some Bloodline shenanigans involved in the finish. Before that happened, though, LA Knight kicked things off with a very funny mind game by running back his entrance music in front of Jey. Run it back?!@RealLAKnight took a page out of Jey Uso's book! 😅 pic.twitter.com/d4uuXNBvhy — WWE (@WWE) June 13, 2026 It was Sikoa whose actions ultimately decided the winner of the match after he blasted LA Knight with the Samoan Spike. Royce Keys didn’t see what happened and was in position to win after following up with a spinebuster. However, Jey came flying in with an Uso Splash outta nowhere and laid on top of both men for the pin fall win. Balor was essentially an afterthought in this ending sequence, in his first match since being traded to SmackDown. How did that happen?! Jey Uso pins LA Knight to move on in the King of the Ring Tournament! 😱@WWEUsos pic.twitter.com/gwkQO7btn2 — WWE (@WWE) June 13, 2026 Earlier in the show, Jey told WWE Champion Cody Rhodes that he will challenge him for the gold after he wins the King of the Ring. All Jey has to do to make that happen is beat Je’Von Evans in round two, and then either Oba Femi or Dominik Mysterio in the finals. Do you think Jey Uso has a real chance to win this year’s King of the Ring and bring home another world title to The Bloodline at SummerSlam? If not, then who will beat ‘yo favorite wrestler’ in the tournament? Let me know in the comments below, Cagesiders. Catch up on all the results from SmackDown in our live blog right here.