Ricochet is no longer the Intercontinental Champion as his reign came to a shuddering halt on Friday Night SmackDown.
Despite winning the Intercontinental Title all of the way back on March 4th, Ricochet’s bout against Gunther was only his fourth defence. Not that the match was a happy occasion for the show former champion.
Ricochet started quickly, attempting to use his superior speed, and it was a tactic for all of 30 seconds until Gunther delivered one devastating chop.
However, the champion wasn’t ready to give up just yet. While he was undoubtedly taking a beating, Ricochet fought back, earning a couple of near falls, refusing to quit. But in the end, Gunther was simply too big, and too powerful. The undefeated star delivered a heavyweight-sized dropkick before finishing the job with Powerbomb.
With the win, Gunther claimed his first title on the main roster.
The star made his WWE debut back in January 2019 where he appeared in NXT UK to confront Pete Dunne. The giant Austrian known as WALTER went on to win the United Kingdom Championship, holding the title for a record 870 days.
After eventually losing the championship to Ilja Dragunov the star moved to NXT and was renamed Gunther in January 2022. After losing to Bron Breakker on the April 5th episode of NXT 2.0 the former WALTER moved to the main roster where he was joined by Marcel Barthel, now known as Ludwig Kaiser.
Since arriving on the blue brand European star has remained unbeaten, demolishing everyone who has dared step into the ring with him.