Gunther will be back in the ring on television for the first time since the Royal Rumble on the February 17th episode of SmackDown.
On the show, the star will defend his Intercontinental Title against Madcap Moss, who will be challenging for championship gold for the first time in his career.
On February 10th, Moss overcame Santos Escobar, Rey Mysterio, and Karrion Kross in a Fatal-Four-Way Match to earn his shot at the champion. Moss picked up the win after hitting Mysterio with an Elbow Drop from the top rope.
Elsewhere on SmackDown, the drama within The Bloodline continued. The show opened with Paul Heyman in the ring who cut a promo about Roman Reigns’ upcoming match with Sami Zayn. Heyman was interrupted by Zayn who promised to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Title.
Later in the night, Jey Uso returned to the side of his brother Jimmy, entering through the crowd to compete against Richochet and Braun Strowman. When all was said and done, The Usos retained their Tag Team Titles.
After the match, Jey ran into Sami Zayn in the parking lot, and Zayn said that he acknowledged him.
The show went off the air with Paul Heyman telling Jimmy Uso that the Tribal Chief had instructed him and Jey to remain at home next week to watch the show on television to get a “TV perspective.”
This Fatal 4-Way Match is complete and utter chaos! 😲
Which one of these men will earn the right to challenge @Gunther_AUT for the Intercontinental Championship? @reymysterio@realKILLERkross@EscobarWWE@MadcapMoss#SmackDownpic.twitter.com/7wGY5Jdfkr
— WWE (@WWE) February 11, 2023
Gunther Enjoying Record-Breaking Reign
It had initially been believed that Gunther would be set for a huge match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 39, but more recent reports have stated that this speculation was “false.”
With a match against Lesnar off the table, it has been reported that Gunther will now defend his Intercontinental Title against Drew McIntyre and Sheamus at the spectacular.
The giant Austrian has held the Intercontinental Championship since defeating Richochet back in June 2022. With a reign now spanning almost 250 days, he has held the title longer than anyone else in the 21st century. In fact, he’s currently in the midst of the 8th longest reign in history and the longest reign since The Rock won the title in late 1997. The Great One held the gold for 265 days.