On the June 1 edition of Monday Night Raw, the WWE King of the Ring 2026 tournament officially got underway.
The bracket was revealed following WWE Clash In Italy and has already seen Oba Femi move on to the next round.
With top stars in the tournament and some other notable names wanting to win the crown, there could be some massive surprises along the way as the tournament progresses.
Here are six potential surprises in the WWE King of the Ring 2026 tournament.
6. Sami Zayn Finds His Way Into The Tournament
Over the past few months, Sami Zayn’s frustrations over his failure to win a world title has seen his character evolve before the fans’ eyes.
After losing to Drew McIntyre in an Undisputed WWE Championship match at Royal Rumble 2026, Zayn started to express his disappointment in his failures as well as show jealousy towards his friend Cody Rhodes.
Despite being one of the most prominent characters on SmackDown, Zayn was a noteworthy omission from the field for this year’s King of the Ring.
It would be very fitting for his character if Zayn finds a way to sneak his way into the King of the Ring 2026 tournament in some way over the next few weeks.
5. Solo Sikoa Replaces Talla Tonga
Talla Tonga has yet to lose in one-on-one competition in WWE
On the June 1 episode of WWE Raw, Oba Femi defeated Solo Sikoa, Carmelo Hayes and Penta to advance to the King of the Ring Tournament Semifinals.
This loss came after a ton of interference from Talla Tonga, who tried to help The MFTs leader get the win in the bout.
Now on the June 8 Monday Night Raw, Talla will be the next MFTs member to compete in the King of the Ring as he will face Ricky Saints, Je’Von Evans and Seth Rollins.
However, Sikoa could use his power in The MFTs to interject himself into the tournament in the place of Talla to give himself one more shot to win the King of the Ring.
4. LA Knight Turns Heel
Another individual who will be competing in the King of the Tournament is LA Knight.
On the May 25 edition of Monday Night Raw, “The Megastar” was the first WWE star to announce the return of the King of the Ring tournament.
Considering his ongoing storyline with The Bloodline, it feels like Knight has to be viewed as a favorite to win the crown and go on to challenge Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship.
With Jey Uso competing in the same Fatal Four Way Quarterfinal match with his WrestleMania 42 partner, Knight could turn heel out of frustration if The Bloodline member stops him from winning and advancing in the tournament.
3. Drew McIntyre Comes Back & Gets Himself Inserted Into King of the Ring
Drew McIntyre won his fourth world championship in WWE on January 9 episode of SmackDown, but lost it back to Cody Rhodes 56 days later.
Ahead of the June 1 episode of WWE Raw, the company revealed a brand new bracket for the King of the Ring 2026 tournament.
In this new bracket, it had the returning Drew McIntyre inserted in the field for the King of the Ring.
However, WWE would soon announce the first bracket as correct by announcing that Ricky Saints and Talla Tonga were still in the tournament and not replaced by McIntyre or Sami Zayn.
“The Scottish Warrior” making his return to get inserted into the King of the Ring would be a great way to bring him back into the fold in a prominent way.
2. Brock Lesnar Returns To Cost Oba Femi The Tournament
At WWE WrestleMania 42 Night Two, Oba Femi defeated Brock Lesnar in what was the biggest win of his career. After the bout, it seemed like Lesnar had retired after taking his gloves and boots off, leaving them in the ring.
Then at WWE Clash In Italy 2026, Lesnar avenged his Mania loss by defeating Femi in a rematch.
However, “The Ruler” showcased that this loss was not that much of a setback by advancing to the WWE King of the Ring 2026 Tournament Semifinals.
Lesnar returning to cost Femi in the tournament might be the only way to stop Oba from winning and heading to WWE SummerSlam 2026 for a shot at a world championship.
1. Bron Breakker Beats Seth Rollins To Win King Of The Ring
Bron Breakker defeated Seth Rollins at WWE Backlash 2026
On the June 1 edition of Monday Night Raw, Seth Rollins defeated Bron Breakker in a WWE Backlash 2026 rematch.
Now, both men will have to focus on the WWE King of the Ring 2026 Tournament where Rollins and Breakker are looking to become the number one contender for Roman Reigns’ World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam 2026.
To many fans and pundits, Rollins seems like an odds-on favorite to win due to his history and record against Reigns as well as never losing the World Heavyweight Championship after suffering a serious shoulder injury in 2025.
However, it would be a nice twist in their ongoing story if Breakker were to be the one to defeat Rollins and win the King of the Ring to set up a long awaited showdown with “The OTC” at “The Biggest Party of the Summer.”
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