WWE Raw results, recap, grades: Gunther secures longest reign as intercontinental champion in main event
1 year ago
Gunther #Gunther
One of WWE’s longest-standing records effectively fell on Monday night when Gunther defeated Chad Gable to retain the intercontinental championship in the main event of Raw. With the win, Gunther will break The Honky Tonk Man’s record as the longest-reigning intercontinental champion in history.
The battle between Gunther and Gable was certainly worthy of main event status, with both men going all-out to deliver a drama-filled match. Gunther will officially break Honky Tonk Man’s record of a 454-day title reign on Sept. 7.
CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Gunther secures record for longest-reigning intercontinental
Intercontinental Championship — Gunther (c) def. Chad Gable via pinfall to retain the title. After some chain wrestling to start, Gable began to target the champion’s leg but ran face-first into a big boot. Gunther largely took over the match at that point, though Gable continued to scrap and find ways to stay in the match. Gable hit a big suplex outside the ring but had to make sure to throw Gunther in the ring instead of taking another count out victory, leading to a near fall as Gunther hit a big powerbomb. Gable hit a late superplex and diving headbutt for a two count and then locked Gunther in an ankle lock, but Gunther fought out. Gable hit the Chaos Theory but Gunther managed to kick out. Gable then went for a moonsault but Gable got the foot up to counter, only for Gable to lock in an ankle lock. Gunther eventually broke the hold and caught Gable in a rear-naked choke. After Gable countered the hold, Gunther locked it in again and turned it into a suplex, followed by a powerbomb and a lariat to retain the title and secure his place in the WWE record books.
The win guarantees that Gunther will break The Honky Tonk Man’s record as the longest-reigning intercontinental champion in WWE history. That record has stood for 35 years but will belong to Gunther before the week is over.
It was expected that Gunther would retain the title and break the record, but WWE deserves credit for picking the right man as his final pre-record opponent. Gable is a tremendous talent and the match had many convincing moments that drew the crowd into the belief that Gable was about to score the win. Instead, one of WWE’s weirdest records will finally fall and Honky Tonk Man will no longer hold a record that, honestly, is far bigger than his career deserved. Grade: A
What else happened on WWE Raw?
Jey Uso opened the show with a promo, making his return to Raw after Cody Rhodes announced the move during Payback. He was interrupted by Sami Zayn, calling back to their Bloodline history. After some tense moments, Zayn said that while not everyone in the locker room is happy he is there, Zayn is. Zayn offered a handshake after saying he was proud of Uso’s actions in leaving The Bloodline. Uso didn’t accept it before revealing he was just joking before the two shared a hug. Later in the show, Adam Pearce told Uso the locker room may have more problems with him because SmackDown would get compensation for him coming to Raw and depending on who it is, some may have issues with the move. Dominik Mysterio would also offer a spot in Judgment Day to Uso late in the show.
Seth Rollins arrived at the building and was confronted by Adam Pearce, who said medical told Rollins to not be at the show after the injuries to his back caused by Shinsuke Nakamura. Rollins insisted that he was fine, leading to Ricochet telling Rollins he appreciated his attitude but didn’t need to carry the full show on his own, which Rollins blew off.
The Viking Raiders def. Drew McIntyre & Matt Riddle via pinfall after putting Riddle through a table with Ragnarok. The finish came after Kofi Kingston ran in and attacked the Raiders before accidentally hitting Riddle with Trouble in Paradise. The Raiders then launched Kingston into McIntyre before finishing off Riddle.
Ricochet def. Shinsuke Nakamura via disqualification after Nakamura struck several times with a steel chair. The match came about after Nakamura refused Rollins’ demand for a rematch for some reason. The two brawled before Ricochet ran in to aid Rollins. After the match with Nakamura, Rollins ran in to save Ricochet from further attack, brawling again with Nakamura and tossing security before Rollins send him back-first into the ring steps before Ricochet ran him off with a chair.
Shayna Baszler def. Zoey Stark via submission with the Kirifuda Clutch. The two women agreed to a match earlier in the show and Baszler gave a fist bump after the match.
Raquel Rodriguez def. Chelsea Green via pinfall with a Tejana Bomb. Rodriguez announced after the match that she secured a rematch with Rhea Ripley for the women’s world championship next week and Dominik Mysterio would be banned from ringside.
The Miz hosted “John Cena” on Miz TV. “Cena” was invisible, a play on his “You can’t see me” catchphrase. All of this led to Miz challenging LA Knight to a one-on-one rematch after Knight won their match at Payback with Cena as special guest referee.
JD McDonagh def. Sami Zayn via pinfall with a roll-up. The match came about when McDonagh tried to continue working his way into Judgment Day, giving Damian Priest a new version of the Money in the Bank briefcase. Zayn interrupted a promo, challenging Dominik Mysterio to a match after Mysterio cost Zayn and Kevin Owens the undisputed tag team championship at Payback. Instead, McDonagh stepped up for the match. He won after Mysterio distracted Zayn for the finish. McDonagh then saved Mysterio from a Helluva Kick after the match but ended up eating the move from Zayn as Mysterio made his escape.
