Gunther Defeats Drew McIntyre, Retains Intercontinental Title at WWE SummerSlam 2023
Gunther beat Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam on Saturday to retain the Intercontinental Championship and move closer to the longest IC title reign in WWE history.
This was a hard-hitting, physical match with both men getting their shots in.
McIntyre looked for the win after hitting the Claymore, but the champ kicked out. Gunther later used a splash, lariat and a powerbomb in succession to get the pin.
The Ring General entered SummerSlam having held the intercontinental title for over 400 days after winning it in June 2022, and he largely dominated everyone who stepped in his path.
Prior to Saturday, the biggest challenge of Gunther's reign may have come at WrestleMania 39 when he faced both McIntyre and Sheamus in a Triple Threat match that proved to be the hardest-hitting bout on the card.
Gunther retained by pinning McIntyre, which led to The Scottish Warrior disappearing from WWE programming for the next three months.
McIntyre's hiatus came to an end last month at Money in the Bank in London when he confronted Gunther following a successful title defense against Matt Riddle.
In the weeks that followed, McIntyre joined forces with Riddle to combat Gunther and his Imperium stablemates in Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci. That included McIntyre and Riddle beating Kaiser and Vinci in a tag team match on Raw.
The following week, McIntyre was away to film for a movie, leaving Riddle to face Gunther in a singles match, which the Austrian Superstar won.
Following his victory, Gunther cut a promo about his superiority and expressed his belief that he is the greatest intercontinental champion of all time. He also took the opportunity to call out McIntyre.
Upon his return the next week, McIntyre stepped up to Gunther, and their Intercontinental Championship clash was made official for SummerSlam.
While he was pushed to the limit, Gunther escaped with his title reign intact, and he is now about one month away from surpassing The Honky Tonk Man's longstanding record of 453 consecutive days as IC champion.
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IF MCINTYRE WINS TITLE
Drew McIntyre beat Gunther at SummerSlam on Saturday to win the Intercontinental Championship and end the second-longest IC title reign in WWE history.
The Ring General entered SummerSlam having held the intercontinental title for over 400 days after winning it in June 2022, and he largely dominated everyone who stepped in his path.
Prior to Saturday, the biggest challenge of Gunther's reign may have come at WrestleMania 39 when he faced both McIntyre and Sheamus in a Triple Threat match that proved to be the hardest-hitting bout on the card.
Gunther retained by pinning McIntyre, which led to The Scottish Warrior disappearing from WWE programming for the next three months.
McIntyre's hiatus came to an end last month at Money in the Bank in London when he confronted Gunther following a successful title defense against Matt Riddle.
In the weeks that followed, McIntyre joined forces with Riddle to combat Gunther and his Imperium stablemates in Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci. That included McIntyre and Riddle beating Kaiser and Vinci in a tag team match on Raw.
The following week, McIntyre was away to film for a movie, leaving Riddle to face Gunther in a singles match, which the Austrian Superstar won.
Following his victory, Gunther cut a promo about his superiority and expressed his belief that he is the greatest intercontinental champion of all time. He also took the opportunity to call out McIntyre.
Upon his return the next week, McIntyre stepped up to Gunther, and their Intercontinental Championship clash was made official for SummerSlam.
McIntyre made the most of his opportunity by beating Gunther to once again win the first title he ever held in WWE, and prevent Gunther from surpassing The Honky Tonk Man's longstanding record of 453 consecutive days as IC champion.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below.
