GUNTHER has had an incredible run since signing with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2019. When he debuted for the company as WALTER back in the NXT: UK days, he became the second longest reigning champion since 1988 after holding the United Kingdom championship for a staggering 870 days.
However, his United Kingdom championship reign may not be the only record-setting achievement for the Austrian. He looks set to hit another astounding milestone in his short career thus far.
GUNTHER Set For Incredible WWE Milestone
On June 10th, 2022, GUNTHER defeated Ricochet for the Intercontinental Championship during an episode of SmackDown. As Intercontinental Champion, GUNTHER has defended his prize on more than thirty occasions through live events and TV shows, but this isn’t the milestone he is about to reach.
GUNTHER is set to become the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in over a decade. The record is currently held by Shinsuke Nakamura, whose 2019 reign lasted an impressive 201 days. However, if he manages to keep the championship until December 30th 2022, he will surpass Nakamura’s reign.
The subsequent reign for GUNTHER to beat would be Cody Rhodes’ 2011 reign with the Intercontinental Championship, which lasted 236 days. Then if he were to beat Shelton Benjamin’s 2004 reign at 244 days, and The Rock’s 1997 reign at 265 days, he would become the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of the past quarter-century.
Both milestones seem well within the Imperium leader’s reach as he continues to bulldoze through competition on SmackDown, with his most recent win coming against Ricochet on last week’s episode.
Unfortunately for GUNTHER, he still has a long way to go if he wishes to become the all-time longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion. The Honky Tonk Man’s reign through 1987-1988 lasted 454 days. On December 30th, GUNTHER won’t even be halfway there, but with his run being this dominant so far, it doesn’t look like he will be dropping the championship in the near future.