WWE Raw results, recap, grades: King and Queen of the Ring tournaments kick off, Dragunov and Gunther shine

Iyo Sky and Jey Uso were also among the six wrestlers to advance on Monday night

WWE's King of the Ring tournament has a history littered with major moments, notably being one of the key moments along Steve Austin's path to superstardom. On Monday, WWE began the path toward crowning a 2024 King and Queen of the Ring with a total of six first-round matches across the two brackets.

The men and women's tournaments will conclude on May 25 at the King and Queen of the Ring premium live event from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

King and Queen of the Ring tournaments kick off

Raw was extremely heavy on in-ring action this week, though there were some changes to the planned King and Queen of the Ring matches. With Drew McIntyre announced as not medically cleared to compete, he was replaced by Jey Uso. Asuka was also not able to compete and her Damage CTRL teammate Dakota Kai filled her spot against Lyra Valkyria. Also, it was announced that Rey Mysterio vs. Kofi Kingston and Shayna Baszler vs. Zelina Vega would not take place on Raw and would instead be held on WWE Live events over the coming weekend.

Read on for complete results from the six tournament matches featured on Monday night.

I'll never complain when a wrestling show is filled with wrestling matches. Furthermore, when some of those matches are among the best TV matches of the year, I'm even happier. Ilja Dragunov vs. Ricochet and Sheamus vs. Gunther were the two stand-out matches from the night. The only tournament match that fell flat was Zoey Stark vs. Ivy Nile, which the crowd was nearly silent for and hurt the feeling of the bout being meaningful in a major tournament. Grade: A

What else happened on WWE Raw?

• First-round match in the men's King of the Ring tournament -- Jey Uso def. Finn Balor via pinfall after a spear. Drew McIntyre made his way to the ring from the crowd toward the end of the match, causing a distraction that nearly cost Uso the match but Uso was able to hit his second spear of the match to advance to the quarterfinals.
• CM Punk cut a promo on McIntyre. Punk arrived at the building just as McIntyre left, walking to the ring to cut a promo. McIntyre told the crowd to tweet at McIntyre and tell him to come back so he can give him a beating. McIntyre didn't return and Punk said this was further proof that McIntyre is afraid of him.
• First-round match in the women's King of the Ring tournament – Iyo Sky def. Natalya via pinfall with a moonsault to advance to the quarterfinals.
• First-round match in the men's King of the Ring tournament – Ilja Dragunov def. Ricochet via pinfall with an H-Bomb. This was the kind of match you need to go out of your way to see and a perfect way to truly introduce non-NXT fans to what Dragunov brings to the ring, literally and figuratively.
• First-round match in the women's King of the Ring tournament – Zoey Stark def. Ivy Nile via pinfall with Z-360 to advance in the tournament.
• R-Truth pitched a title defense to Adam Pearce, suggesting he and The Miz defend the titles against the UConn Huskies NCAA basketball team. After that, Bron Breakker confronted Pearce asking why he wasn't in the King of the Ring tournament.
• Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed ended in a no-contest when Sami Zayn ran in to attack both men. After Zayn got the upper hand, Reed came back, putting down both Zayn and Gable before leaving the ring. Reed then confronted Pearce, saying he doesn't care about Zayn or Gable, just the intercontinental championship and that Pearce knows what to do if he wants things under control. Zayn later called for a triple threat match for his intercontinental championship at King and Queen of the Ring.
• Becky Lynch agreed to give Liv Morgan a title match at King and Queen of the Ring. Morgan interrupted a Lynch interview, leading to the agreement. Damage CTRL then came out to surround the ring, Morgan bailed, saying the situation wasn't her problem. Lyra Valkyria ran to the ring to help Lynch fight Damage CTRL off.
• First-round match in the women's King of the Ring tournament – Lyra Valkyria def. Dakota Kai via pinfall with Nightwing to advance in the tournament.
• First-round match in the men's King of the Ring tournament – Gunther def. Sheamus via submission with a half-crab. The incredibly hard-hitting match turned when Ludwig Kaiser interfered, trapping Sheamus' leg between the ropes and delivering a dropkick that hobbled Sheamus the rest of the match. Gunther eventually kicked out after a Brogue Kick before locking in the submission to advance to the quarterfinals.