The main-event match on the March 17, 2023 episode of SmackDown was to be a singles match between Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. This match was supposed to determine the new #1 contender for GUNTHER’s Intercontinental title after the previous week’s SmackDown ended with an inconclusive finish.
This week’s SmackDown almost ended the same way…until GUNTHER’s plot blew up in his face.
Sheamus and McIntyre had an intense and physical match. They hit each other hard and went for big moves often, and one point, both Drew McIntyre and Sheamus hit each other at the same time with a Claymore Kick and a Brogue Kick, respectively.
As both lay on the mat, the champion got into the ring and stopped the referee from continuing his count. Then, his Imperium allies attacked both McIntyre and Sheamus at the same time, leading to a double disqualification.
After GUNTHER laid Sheamus out with a shotgun dropkick and McIntyre with a lariat, he left the ring feeling accomplished. However, before he left the arena, WWE official Adam Pearce appeared on the TitanTron to make him pay for his actions.
As a result of his interference here, the Intercontinental title match at WrestleMania 39 was made into a triple threat match: GUNTHER vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre.
GUNTHER to defend WWE Intercontinental Championship in triple threat match at WrestleMania
As of this writing, GUNTHER has been WWE Intercontinental Champion for 277 days. His reign is the fifth longest in WWE history, and assuming he keeps the title all the way until WrestleMania (barring any title changes or injuries or title changes on WWE live events), then he will go into his WrestleMania title defense with the third longest reign instead.
As of two weeks ago, GUNTHER surpassed The Rock (Dwayne Johnson)’s 264-day reign 1997 to 1998. If he holds the title for four more days he will surpass Mr. Perfect’s 1990-1991 IC title reign. And if he holds it for six days more, he’ll surpass Greg Valentine’s 285-day reign from 1984 to 1985.