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Gunther is seemingly unstoppable in WWE at the moment. Upon first joining the promotion, The Ring General won the United Kingdom Championship and held it for a record-setting 870 days. He then moved to NXT briefly before joining the main roster.
Since joining the big-time brand, The Ring General has set a new record. He is the reigning Intercontinental Champion and has held it since June 10, 2022. Being over 475 days as champion, he broke the record for the longest consecutive title reign in the belt's illustrious nearly 45-year history.
On the most recent edition of Monday Night RAW, Gunther battled Tommaso Ciampa in the main event. While the bout was extremely entertaining and physical, The Blackheart could not pull off the win. Instead, The Ring General stood tall yet again.
Naturally, this puts all eyes on the champion and whomever he may clash with next. This article will take a look at a handful of possible challengers who could step up in an attempt to try to dethrone the seemingly unbeatable Intercontinental Champion.
Below are four possible opponents for Gunther after his win on WWE RAW.
#4. Ivar is getting a steady push
Ivar is one of the most athletic big men in all of professional wrestling. At 39 years of age, he has been in the industry for around two decades but joined WWE via NXT alongside Erik. The pair were initially known as War Machine outside of the company but later became the War Raiders.
Upon joining the main roster, the two became The Viking Raiders. They held Tag Team gold together in New Japan, Ring of Honor, NXT, and even on RAW. Unfortunately, Erik recently suffered an injury, and he will be out of action for the foreseeable future.
In his absence, Ivar has received a bit of a singles push. The big man has been either outright defeating or beating down the competition. The agile super heavyweight clashing with The Ring General over the WWE Intercontinental Title could be a very interesting clash of titans.
#3. Kofi Kingston is a multi-time champion
Kofi Kingston is a highly decorated athlete. Since joining WWE, he has managed to hold over 20 titles. Kingston has held the Tag Team Championship on 13 separate occasions. Meanwhile, he has also held singles championships eight times, one of which was a world title.
Kingston is perhaps best known for being a member of The New Day. The trio was an extremely popular act, but Big E unfortunately suffered a neck injury and may never return to action. This leaves The New Day as just a tag team.
Despite being united with Xavier Woods, The New Day members have sought after and captured singles gold before. The former four-time Intercontinental Champion may want to attempt to win the coveted prize for a fifth time, inching him closer to The Miz's record of holding the belt most times.
#2. Johnny Gargano returned to WWE TV
Johnny Gargano is another highly decorated WWE star, however, his championship victories have been exclusively on NXT. While on the black & gold brand, Johnny won every title available to him, both in the singles rank and as part of a tag team.
His main roster run has thus far been less successful, however. After around a year on WWE RAW, Johnny has dealt with some injuries and has otherwise been absent. Thankfully, he just returned to television during the most recent episode of Monday Night RAW.
Given that Johnny helped Tommaso Ciampa fight off Imperium upon his return, it would make sense for DIY to feud with the stable. That could potentially lead to a big-time Johnny Gargano vs. Gunther match, which could main-event an episode of RAW in the future. Could Johnny finally pick up the main roster gold? Only time will tell for now.
#1. Ilja Dragunov is Gunther's biggest rival
Ilja Dragunov is a very special superstar. He first joined WWE through NXT UK, where he won the United Kingdom Championship. He battled and defeated Carmelo Hayes at No Mercy this past weekend and became the new NXT Champion.
The Mad Dragon has plenty of history with Gunther. While the two were on NXT UK together, it was Ilja who managed to dethrone The Ring General of the United Kingdom Championship in an epic bout between two of the very best wrestlers in the world.
Despite holding the NXT Championship, WWE could call Ilja up to the main roster sooner rather than later. If Dragunov is brought to Monday Night RAW, he could attempt to end a second historic Gunther title reign.
Which opponent do you think would be the most challenging for Gunther? Sound off in the comments section below!
