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GUNTHER Reaches Incredible Milestone As WWE Intercontinental Champion

By John Canton • Published 10th June 2023
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GUNTHER is in a celebratory mood because it was one year ago when he won the WWE Intercontinental Title.

It was one year ago today on the June 10th, 2022 edition of WWE Smackdown at the Raising Cane’s River Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana when GUNTHER defeated Ricochet to become the Intercontinental Champion.

Since then, GUNTHER has been one of the most dominant Intercontinental Champions of all time while holding the championship for 365 days. The Intercontinental Title was created in 1979, so it has a 44-year history with dozens of WWE Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers holding that title in their careers.

Recently, there was a report about GUNTHER’s quest for the longest Intercontinental Title reign of all time. That longest IC Title reign is held by the Honky Tonk Man, who held the championship for 454 days. If GUNTHER is to beat the record, he will have to hold the IC Title until at least September 8th.

There are only four men that have held the Intercontinental Title longer than GUNTHER.

1. Honky Tonk Man – 454 days

2. Pedro Morales – 424 days

3. Randy Savage – 414 days

4. Don Muraco – 384 days

5. GUNTHER – 365 days

On Twitter, GUNTHER posted a photo shortly after midnight this morning that shows him smoking a cigar with the number 365 to represent one year as the Intercontinental Champion.

During his incredible Intercontinental Title reign, GUNTHER has beaten some of the biggest names in WWE including Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Rey Mysterio, Braun Strowman, Ricochet and many others. While most of his wins are clean, sometimes he benefits from the presence of Imperium members Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser as well.

There have been many great matches during this IC TItle reign, but there are two that stand out. At WWE Clash at the Castle in Wales in September 2022, GUNTHER and Sheamus had one of the greatest Intercontinental Title matches of all time that was considered by some to be the best match in WWE in 2022. Sheamus received a standing ovation after the match because it was so great.

At WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles, GUNTHER defended the Intercontinental Titel against Sheamus & Drew McIntyre. That trio of European stars had an outstanding match where it looked like the champion might finally lose, yet GUNTHER found a way to win again.

GUNTHER’s Intercontinental Title reign has been incredible, it’s not even his longest title reign in WWE. When he was using the name WALTER, he had an 871-day reign as the NXT UK Champion. Obviously, the IC Title is a bigger deal, but it just shows how tough it is to beat GUNTHER, especially while he’s holding a title.

While GUNTHER hasn’t defended the IC Title against top guys like Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar, he did look impressive against both men in this year’s Royal Rumble. The IC Champion has said many times that he wants to face Brock Lesnar some day soon.

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