WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER will be putting his title on the line in less than a week, according to an announcement made on this week’s episode of RAW. GUNTHER’s next title defense will take place on the upcoming Monday Night RAW. The number one contender for the championship, Chad Gable, earned his shot by winning a Fatal 4 Way match against Tommaso Ciampa, Ricochet, and Matt Riddle on the August 7 episode of RAW.
The ongoing feud between Imperium and Alpha Academy continued to heat up on this week’s RAW. Both factions engaged in a war of words, with Imperium’s leader, The Ring General, delivering a scathing verbal assault while standing on top of the announce table. As tensions escalated, Gable managed to secure a victory over Giovanni Vinci in singles competition. This only fueled GUNTHER’s trash-talking, as he continued to refer to Otis as a “freak,” a derogatory term Imperium has been using in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Ludwig Kaiser persistently attempted to persuade Maxxine Dupri to leave Otis, but his efforts backfired as she ended up slapping him. Following these confrontations, GUNTHER emerged victorious in a singles match against Otis.
Immediately after his win over Otis, Gable stormed back into the ring and executed a quick German suplex on GUNTHER as payback for last week’s cheap shot. Later in the show, Imperium was seen backstage, where Kaiser appeared to be berating Vinci for his loss. Frustrated with the situation, GUNTHER expressed his dissatisfaction, labeling the night as an embarrassment. GUNTHER questioned what should be done with Vinci, as he has been a disappointment since arriving on RAW. He also criticized Kaiser for not fulfilling his obligations due to his focus on “that woman,” referring to Dupri. In response, Kaiser promised that such a situation would not occur again. GUNTHER then declared that if Gable wants to challenge him for the title, he can have his opportunity next week.
GUNTHER’s reign as the WWE Intercontinental Champion began on the June 10, 2022 episode of SmackDown when he defeated Ricochet. He has held the title for 430 recognized days and counting. GUNTHER successfully defended his championship against Drew McIntyre at WWE SummerSlam on August 5, marking his 12th televised title defense. If GUNTHER can retain the Intercontinental Title until Friday, September 8, he will surpass WWE Hall of Famer The Honky Tonk Man’s record of 453 days, becoming the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time.
For those interested, you can watch related clips from the latest episode of RAW below:
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more updates on this developing story.
Follow Jeff Wolfe on Twitter at @prowrestlingw8r. For any news