The Intercontinental Championship is one of the most neglected titles in WWE at the moment. The Championship has not been defended at all six pay-per-view events that have taken place this year. Gunther is the new champion and it is to be seen what he does with the championship.
The title has been held recently by Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn, and Ricochet, and now it rests on the shoulders of Gunther.
Ricochet won the Intercontinental Championship from Sami Zayn thanks to an assist from Johnny Knoxville. The fan Favorite Ricochet seldom got the opportunity to defend the title. He failed to retain the once-prestigious title last week on SmackDown as he lost to the commanding Gunther.
The Ring General has been on a roll since moving on to the main roster on SmackDown. He decimated enhancement talents during his first few weeks on the blue brand. He shifted his focus to Drew Gulak over the following weeks and finally challenged Ricochet for the Intercontinental title.
5. Dominant run
Gunther, accompanied by Ludvig Kaiser is an intimidating duo. Kaiser is the mouthpiece of Gunther and a capable competitor in the ring as well. We also saw him assist Gunther from outside the ring during the Intercontinental Championship match against Ricochet.
The two heels could continue their dominance over the next few months, thrashing opponents left, right, and center. Gunther’s run as the Intercontinental Champion could end up being one of the most dominant runs with the title in recent years.
4. Gunther and Ricochet go back and forth
Gunther’s rivalry with Ricochet started when the latter tried to motivate Drew Gulak to stand up to the big man. Ricochet teamed up with Gulak to take on Gunther and Kaiser but the heels won the match convincingly.
During the closing moments of the Intercontinental Championship match between Ricochet and Gunther, we saw Kaiser get involved. Ricochet went up to the top rope and was looking to finish the match with a 450 splash but Kaiser got up on the apron and caused a momentary distraction. Gunther took advantage and flattened the high-flying Ricochet with a devastating powerbomb to secure the win and his first title on SmackDown.
Ricochet might well be seen facing Gunther on a few more occasions trying to win back his title. However, we do not feel that Gunther will drop the title soon so Ricochet might have to wait long for his second reign as the Intercontinental Champion.
3. Gunther turns on Ludvig Kaiser
Another possibility is that Gunther might not want the services of the Kaiser and get rid of his German compatriot. We have seen heels in the past do away with their partners after being successful. Kaiser might suffer the same fate.
However, this seems quite unlikely. At least shortly, Gunther and Kaiser might not go separate ways. It will be interesting to see if WWE takes the separation route like they have done in the past and make Kaiser a face.
2. Unified Tag Team Championships
A possible direction that the duo of Gunther and Kaiser could take is to try and take the Unified Tag Titles from The Usos. Kaiser is a successful tag team competitor and has achieved a lot of accolades in tag team divisions across various promotions.
The dominance of Gunther and Kaiser could be upped by a few notches if they manage to carry the tag titles around their shoulders. However, we feel that this could take time as The Usos might not drop the titles this soon.
1. Eventually losing the title to Theory
It’s a season of championship unification. First, the WWE Championship and Universal Championship were unified by the Head of the Table Roman Reigns. Recently, The Usos unified the RAW and SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
RAW commentator Corey Graves recently gave his opinion regarding unifying the Intercontinental and United States Championships. The former wrestler said that the unification of the two mid-card titles could be a great ploy.
Theory is currently holding the United States Championship on the red brand. The 24-year-old has been identified by WWE as one for the long haul. He is referred to as Vince McMahon’s protege and has taken part in many segments with the Chairman and CEO of WWE. There are rumors that Theory might face John Cena shortly and it would be a phenomenal moment for the young man.
If WWE decided to unify the Intercontinental and United States Championships, then it will only take Theory’s stocks northwards. Unifying the titles after winning against a brute force like Gunther will be an icing on the cake. Therefore, we might see the Austrian star drop the title to Theory sometime in the future.
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