Drew McIntyre’s mighty Claymore kick was not enough to put away the Austrian juggernaut known as WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther. Just now, at WWE SummerSlam, Gunther picked up a definitive victory over the returning WWE star, bringing him closer to breaking The Honky Tony Man’s record for the longest WWE Intercontinental Championship of all time.
The match delivered on brutality, as expected, as both men laid in stiff chops to each other’s chests and generally worked a very stiff style. Toward the end of the bout, McIntyre looked to have put the Imperium leader away with his signature flying big-boot maneuver, but to the surprise of nearly everyone in attendance, he kicked out. At that point, the audience leaped to their feet in excitement for the first time in nearly half an hour, as the prior match, Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler, was largely met with crickets and “this is boring” chants. It wasn’t long after, however, that Gunther could get his wits about him and dropped the Scottish Superstar with his big powerbomb.
As mentioned, Gunther now has a relatively clear path to surpassing The Honky Tonk Man’s 453-day reign, as he stands at 421 days. If he can retain his title for just over a month, he will enter the record book as the new title holder for the longest reign. WWE’s next premium live event will be Payback on September 2 in Pittsburgh, PA, just a few days shy of when Gunther will need to hold on. If he is to have his reign cut short just before surpassing The Honky Tonk Man, it will likely be at that event, but we shall see.