When WWE announced the Queen’s Crown Tournament back on 1st October, fans were cautiously optimistic. As a counterpart to the male superstars’ King of the Ring tournament, the Queen’s Crown presented an opportunity to give centre stage to the diverse female talent in WWE. Much like the Mae Young Classic was a competitive tournament for new-comers, Queen’s Crown could’ve been a breakthrough showcase for the women of Raw and Smackdown. Instead, it’s the opposite. A gigantic wasted opportunity.
WWE Queen’s Crown Tournament Is Bad
As soon as WWE announced the tournament brackets, it was apparent they weren’t really trying. Just four opening round matches. Four. On cable and network TV alone, WWE have 6 hours of television per week. Throw in 205 Live and NXT UK and you’re up to eight. Yet, somehow, for this brand-new Queen’s Crown tournament, WWE have thus far managed a whopping eight minutes and 12 seconds of match time. As reddit user u/SplitDSkies pointed out, Finn Balor and Cesaro’s King of the Ring match on SmackDown went 11:25. That’s three minutes longer than all four women’s matches combined. It’s actually pretty shameful.
The crazy thing is, the King of the Ring tournament has never really meant that much either. It’s not like WWE has ever really cared about putting on great matches and elevating all the participants. Hell, even the winners aren’t elevated by it. But to see the Queen’s Crown get even less than that is truly disappointing. What happened to the “Women’s Revolution” that WWE were so keen to tout a few years ago? Between this tournament and the ever diminishing TV time for the women, it’s clear that glorified PR exercise is a thing of the past.
There’s reportedly significant frustration backstage about the booking of the Queen’s Crown tournament. And it’s obvious why. Liv Morgan, who is getting over with the fans, lost in the first round. Toni Storm, another star with huge potential, was also knocked out before she even got started. Why? And more importantly, why weren’t they given competitive matches to showcase their skills?
I can’t say I expected much from the Queen’s Crown tournament. But, once again, WWE has proven they can always do worse.
Who did you want to see win the inaugural tournament? Let us know in the comment section, and don’t forget to check out our other film and TV articles.
