Tonight’s WWE Raw went off the air with GUNTHER retaining the WWE Intercontinental Championship in a main-event match against Chad Gable. This now ensures GUNTHER will break The Honky Tonk Man’s record to become the longest-reigning champion in the title’s history. GUNTHER will officially surpass the record on Friday, once he has held the title for a monumental 455 days. GUNTHER’s title reign has seen 15 defenses thus far, with victories against the likes of Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, and Braun Strowman, among others.
The Raw main event started off with GUNTHER using his size and brute strength to his advantage over Gable, while Gable attempted to steer the match into a pure wrestling bout to show off his prowess. Gable began working the knee of the Intercontinental Champion, gaining short bursts of momentum before GUNTHER was eventually able to get back on the offensive. While the match featured some nail-biting moments, and Gable took GUNTHER to the edge, the champ was able to get out of an ankle lock, hitting Gable with a powerbomb and clothesline to pin the challenger and continue his record-breaking run with the Intercontinental Championship.
Last month, 37-year-old Gable became the first person to defeat GUNTHER on the WWE main roster, though it was by countout. This took place on the August 21 edition of Raw, with the former Olympian going on to defeat Ludwig Kaiser during last week’s episode. Gable’s current push has been a long time coming. Since his days teaming with Jason Jordan as American Alpha in NXT up through his current partnership with Otis and Maxxine Dupree, Gable has long been one of the unsung talents of the WWE roster, and tonight gave him a chance to prove it.
While it has certainly had its share of ups and downs over the years, the WWE Intercontinental Championship is still one of the most storied titles in wrestling. The title’s history dates back to Pat Patterson in 1979, with champions over the years including Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, The Honky Tonk Man, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Edge, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, and many more. In more recent years, champions like Seth Rollins, Big E, and GUNTHER have helped bring prestige back to the championship.