"The Ring General" Gunther, becomes the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWE history

#WWE #Gunther #Prowrestling

The Austrian wrestling superstar Gunther, also known by his moniker “The Ring General” broke the Honky Tonk Man’s Intercontinental Championship record, which stood for 35 years. Gunther officially surpassed Honky Tonk Man on September 8, 2023.

WWE recognized The Ring General's accomplishment on X, formerly known as Twitter, and celebrated his 455th consecutive day as IC champ. WWE exclaimed that "history made" as it announced The Ring General's accomplishment on X, formerly known as Twitter, with his 455th consecutive day as IC champ.

On the September 4, 2023, Monday night episode of Raw, Gunther faced Chad Gable in the main event with the understanding that he would surpass The Honky Tonk Man's record reign of 454 days if he managed to retain, which he obviously did.

Gable had control over the match early on as he picked apart the champion’s leg to set up his submission finisher, the ankle lock. Gable kept pushing forward even after repeated fierce chops by the champ. Gable almost got the job with a two-count off a Chaos Theory German suplex. And even locking in the ankle lock. Gunther used his good leg to kick him away. Gunther secured his victory after escaping a sleeper with a counter spot. Gunther then hit sleeper suplex, a powerbomb, and a lariat in succession and pinned Gable. USA Network, which airs Monday Night Raw, shared the highlights of this match on its official YouTube channel.

Gunther describes the professional wrestling ring as a "sacred mat" and has revitalized the prestige associated with the Intercontinental Championship. Gunther has delivered a long line of stellar performances since defeating Ricochet for the title on June 10, 2022. His triple-threat match against Drew McIntyre and Sheamus at WrestleMania 39 is considered one of the best in WrestleMania's long history. Gunther won the IC Belt on June 10, 2022, and has defended it successfully fifteen times since then. Several of these title matches, have been hailed by WWE fans as some of the best matches in modern times. WWE's official Youtube channel showcased highlights from this match.

Following the 2023 WWE Draft, the IC title is currently exclusive to the Raw brand . Overall, there have been 89 different Intercontinental Champions. Chris Jericho holds the record for the most reigns with nine.

WWE Hall of Famer and head of creative Triple H also acknowledged Gunther cementing himself as arguably the greatest Intercontinental champion of all time on his official X account by congratulating him:

Honky Tonk Man's status as the intercontinental king has always been a topic of conversation within the wrestling world. The Elvis impersonator was a comedy character, yet he held the title of longest IC Champ ever for over 3 decades. The IC title was usually a title for technically gifted wrestlers possibly about crossover with a huge push into the main event spotlight. Mind you the Honky Tonk Man did come through in 80’s when WWE was known as WWF, when gimmicks were integral. Almost every wrestler had an outlandish gimmick, almost to a comedy level or of a TV character, especially in the WWF.

Gunther is also the longest-reigning NXT United Kingdom champion, a belt he carried for 870 days during his reign. Congratulations to “The Ring General” on making history once again, by becoming the longest-reigning IC Champ and bringing prestige back to the IC belt.

Photo taken from Gunther's official Twitter account,