Let’s all sip some coffee (or coffee alternative) and get the facts clear for a second, shall we?
The Intercontinental Championship didn’t exactly have the best championship reigns in the past couple of years. The pandemic definitely didn’t help matters any.
And yet, somehow, we’re here.
One night it ended up in the hands of Gunther (In my house, we call him Goontha! It’s more Gangsta.) And the rest is history.
So, here we are over a year later, Gunther has all of these amazing matches; he’s made history with having the longest single reign in WWE history. Sooo, now what?
WWE is clearly setting the stage for a big championship change. But, the timing is going to be key here.
No Mercy?! Hell no! Fastlane? No mane! Crown Jewel? Absolutely not! Why is Crown Jewel even still a thing?!
And Survivor Series? Now we all know good and damn well he’s gonna survive!
Not a single one of these pay per views feels ideal for him dropping that title. Not one. Now That doesn’t fully mean anything though.
This is the same man who won the championship on a random episode of Smackdown, not a pay-per-view. That wasn’t exactly ideal either.
However, just because that’s how his championship reign started doesn’t mean that’s how it should end. And we’re way past him dropping that title at just any PPV at this point. Not with Gunther.
I know this is going to sound crazy. But, Gunther shouldn’t lose that title until at least WrestleMania!
But, Candice, that’s all the way in April! I know!
He needs to reign a little bit longer though. Hear me out!
First of all, Gunther’s championship seems like it’s more about his matches than storylines.
Don’t get me wrong, that’s great! It’s really not a bad thing to have great matches as champion. It is part of the criteria after all. But, that’s just half the battle.
Storylines tend to be how championship reigns are better remembered for years to come. He hasn’t had a lot of those to me.
It’s cool seeing Gunther make history and the type of history we rarely see in WWE today. But, his reign doesn’t really feel complete. At least, to me. He still has some work to do.
Chad Gable is definitely delivering on building himself as a credible threat to Goontha. You know, a real G.
You get it? A real G? Shorty G?! You know what, never mind. lol
Anyway, Chad is obviously the guy. But, we can’t have just Chad.
We need to build the whole scene. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa seem like good people to stick in there.
Xavier Woods is tied up in New Day and Drew McIntyre stuff. So is Kofi.
Otis makes no sense. Richochet has been tied up with Seth Rollins and Shinsuke stuff.
So, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa make the most sense.
A hot feud or two, a twist or two, some hot promos, give all of that a couple of months and WrestleMania would be the perfect time to reach the biggest peak leading into the next era of the Intercontinental Championship and that championship scene.
I’ve already seen people suggesting him being part of the 2024 Royal Rumble.
I don’t know if it’s entirely necessary for him to be in it. But, it would be cool though.
Gunther breaking the record for the most eliminations would be really cool! It would definitely further elevate him more than he is already.
Build off of that, and leave the IC championship scene at WrestleMania better than how he found it. It would be perfect!
So much could be spun off from this one championship reign.
If Gunther ever did go back to the Intercontinental Championship one day down the line, it likely wouldn’t even feel like a step down for him. If anything, it’ll be a homecoming!
Gunther has given the IC title something it’s been missing for years.
It would be wise for WWE to capitalize on this momentum that this championship currently has or else this record-breaking championship reign will have basically been for nothing.
