During a recent interview, WWE Superstar and Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER explained what makes a great champion. GUNTHER is the snake in the grass in WWE. He is a man with the IC title so Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins aren’t scared of him aren’t scare of him at the moment However, when he decides he wants to go after the main championship of the brand he is on, they will more than likely take notice. He is currently part of the Raw roster, so only Rollins should be the concerned party.
GUNTHER DISCUSSES HIS REIGN OF TERROR AS INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION
GUNTHER has the size, strength, and toughness to be a threat to anyone in the WWE. He has also expressed a desire to wrestle Brock Lesnar. As scary as Lesnar is, GUNTHER is equally intimidating and a real physical threat to him, which doesn’t happen very often.
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GUNTHER is currently the IC champion and has been for the past 419 days. He is the second-longest-reigning IC champion ever. The only person who has a longer reign is The Honky Tonk Man back in the late ‘80s, and GUNTHER is closing in on that record fast.
GUNTHER recently spoke to Daily Mail and explained why he thinks he is so good at being a champion. He stated the following:
“‘ve enjoyed it a lot and I think it’s something I’m good at. It might sound weird but I think I’m good at being a champion in wrestling because I carry myself a certain way, I add to the legacy of the title and I add my own legacy in the same process of that. It’s a big responsibility and I take it very serious, but it’s also very rewarding as well.”
GUNTHER has been the champion for so long that it is starting to get hard to remember a time when he wasn’t the IC champion or who he beat for the championship. It was Ricochet, but I had to look that up.
GUNTHER has proven himself as probably one of the best IC champions of all time, and that list includes some legends like Ricky Steamboat, Randy Savage, Mr. Perfect, Bret Hart, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, and many others. Holding the Intercontinental Championship is usually a precursor to going after the main title and becoming a huge main event star.
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So many legendary champions over the years have held the IC TItle that everyone has a different name that comes to mind when they think of the championship. GUNTHER was asked who was the first name which comes up when he thinks of the championship. He continued:
“I would say Shawn Michaels is the name most connected with it. I started watching all the tapes and he used to walk out of the matches and get counted out just so he could keep the title, that was thing going on back then.”
GUNTHER MAKES WAR, NOT PEACE
GUNTHER isn’t going to follow Michaels’ example and lose by count out so he can retain. He plans to go to war and retain the IC title like he does every time he enters the ring this coming weekend. Going to war is exactly what he is going to have to do this Saturday at SummerSlam when he faces off with former two-time WWE Champion and former IC Champion Drew McIntyre.
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This match isn’t the main event, but it could turn out to be the best match of the night. It has the potential to be a brutal slugfest. On a recent episode of WWE After The Bell with Corey Graves & Kevin Patrick, cohost Corey Graves weighed in on who he thinks will walk out as IC champion. He stated as follows:
“You mentioned Drew McIntyre and GUNTHER, and that’s about as simple as anything can be in this business. It’s two badasses who are going to war over the Intercontinental Championship. But to be perfectly honest, I know it hasn’t looked like the Ring General of old recently. I’m not worried about GUNTHER’s chances. I’m not worried. As highly as I regard Drew McIntyre, a guy who carried this place through the pandemic as champion. I believe Drew McIntyre, I respect him. Drew has not been competing since WrestleMania. Not with any sort of regularity.
GUNTHER, at least every couple Raw’s, gets in the ring and will go 15-20 minutes. The Ring General keeps himself razor sharp at all times, and I think that’s going to be the difference. The romantic wrestling fan in me goes, ‘Oh, it will be a great story. Drew didn’t manage to do it at WrestleMania, he went away for a while. He got himself healed up.’ Cool, but GUNTHER is so special right now.”
H/T To Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
SummerSlam has one of the best cards in a long time. It will see Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor for the World Heavyweight Championship, WWE Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair, and the next chapter in the Bloodline story Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso.
What have you thought of GUNTHER’s IC reign? Is he a good champion or should it be taken off of him? What do you think makes him such a great champion? Who do you think will walk out the IC champion after SummerSlam? Let us know if you think GUNTHER is ready to go after the World Heavyweight Championship on The Illuminerdi’s social media.
SOURCE: Daily Mail, Wrestling Inc., WWE After The Bell with Corey Graves & Kevin Patrick, Wrestling Inc.
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