Gunther Will Break Honky Tonk Man's WWE Intercontinental Title Record After Gable Win
September 5, 2023
Gunther defeated Chad Gable on Monday night's episode of WWE Raw to retain the Intercontinental Championship and ensure that he will surpass The Honky Tonk Man for the longest IC title reign in WWE history.
Gable put up a fight, but in the end, the Ring General managed to hold on to his belt and continue his march toward the record.
WWE @WWECan <a href="https://twitter.com/WWEGable?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WWEGable</a> pull off the miracle on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWERaw?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWERaw</a>?!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ICTitle?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ICTitle</a> <a href="https://t.co/TOPXkp4ZkA">pic.twitter.com/TOPXkp4ZkA</a>
The Honky Tonk Man—a WWE Hall of Famer—was recognized as being intercontinental champion for 454 days from 1987 to 1988, and entering Monday night, his record reign had lasted for a remarkable 35 years.
Gunther went into Raw just a few days shy of that 454-day mark, but it was made clear that Monday would represent his final title defense and hurdle before breaking the record.
Since winning the IC title from Ricochet on the June 10, 2022, episode of SmackDown, The Ring General has been a dominant force, beating all contenders placed in front of him.
Gable is far smaller than Gunther and hasn't often gotten extended chances to prove himself as a singles star during his WWE career, but there was something about him that gave the leader of Imperium issues.
On the July 31 edition of Raw, Gunther doubted Gable's ability to last five minutes in the ring with him. The Alpha Academy founder surpassed the five-minute mark and was initially ruled the winner, but Gunther insisted that the match continue.
Gunther did go on to win, but it was one of the first times during his reign that he looked vulnerable and like he had possibly met his match.
Gable beat Matt Riddle, Tommaso Ciampa and Ricochet in a Fatal 4-Way match to earn a subsequent Intercontinental Championship match, which occurred on the Aug. 21 Raw.
On that night, Gable became the first Superstar to beat Gunther in a singles match on the main roster, but since it was by count-out, The Ring General retained.
Gunther was incensed by the loss and vowed to get revenge in the rematch, while Gable reveled in the thought that he had gotten inside Gunther's head.
Despite that apparent mental edge, Gable could not upend Gunther on Raw, meaning the Austrian star will now go down as the greatest intercontinental champion in WWE history.
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