Gunther has all but clinched the title of longest-reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion. He overcame one last major obstacle, as he defeated Chad Gable to retain the gold on the September 4 episode of WWE RAW.
“The Ring General” headlined Monday’s show as he put the title on the line against Gable. The challenger previously scored a count-out win over Gunther on the August 21 episode of WWE RAW. The two stars battled it out in a buzzworthy bout, and Gable nearly had the match won on multiple occasions.
In the end, Gunther powered through Gable’s ankle lock, slammed him to the mat, and pinned him with a vicious powerbomb and lariat combination.
The victory essentially cleared Gunther’s way to breaking The Honky Tonk Man’s record Intercontinental Championship reign. Honky Tonk Man held the title from June 2, 1987 to August 28, 1988. Gunther is set to break the record on September 8, as his reign began on June 10, 2022.
Catch up on our coverage of the September 4 episode of WWE RAW here.
WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard spoke with GUNTHER about his Intercontinental Championship reign approaching the all-time record mark.
GUNTHER said he doesn’t track statistics, but it’s still nice to be mentioned in those discussions.
“I mean, it’s great, yeah. I’m not a big stats guy myself when it comes to that, like most matches won, this, that, blah, blah, blah. It’s nothing really for me,” he noted, “but it’s very charming to be in those circles if that makes sense.”
