The first round of the 2024 Queen of the Ring Tournament kicked off Monday night on “WWE Raw,” although due to some last-minute changes, it neither featured all of the previously announced participants, nor did the round get completed within the episode. Early on in the show, Fightful Select reported via X that the Shayna Baszler vs. Zelina Vega match would no longer be on “Raw” but instead would take place at a WWE Live Event this weekend (as would Kofi Kingston vs. Rey Mysterio on the men’s side of things). Soon after, Dakota Kai announced that her Damage CTRL stablemate Asuka was injured and that she would be taking her place in the tournament against a debuting Lyra Valkyria.

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Natalya appeared to be in position to defeat IYO SKY, taking control with a Superplex in tribute to her late uncle, Owen Hart, but SKY was able to maneuver out of the Sharpshooter while leaving Natalya in a compromised position. From there, SKY hit a moonsault to secure the win and now awaits the winner of Baszler vs. Vega this weekend (which presumably will take place either Saturday in Chattanooga, Tennessee or Sunday in Macon, Georgia).

Meanwhile, Zoey Stark had control for most of her first round match with Ivy Nile, avoiding a flurry from Nile late by blocking a series of suplex attempts, ultimately sending her into the turnbuckle to set her up for what ultimately ended things, the Z360. Later, before her first ever match on “Raw” (and her first ever singles match against Kai), Lyra Valkyria had to get WWE Women’s World Champion Becky Lynch’s back as Damage CTRL poised for an attack. Thereafter, the former NXT Women’s Champion earned her first main roster win following a Nightwish on Kai. Valkyria is now set to face Stark in the quarterfinals.

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