Former champion destroyed by Gunther in first SmackDown singles match in almost two years

Gunther has been making waves on Friday Night SmackDown. Although he has he hasn't been involved in any active storylines, WWE has done a good job of presenting him as a dominant star.

This week on SmackDown, he faced and squashed former Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak, who happened to wrestle a singles match on the blue brand for the first time in almost two years. Gulak's last one-on-one match on SmackDown came in August 2020, when he was defeated by Braun Strowman.

Recently, Gulak has been involved in a storyline where he has auditioned for multiple roles - first as a backstage interviewer, second as Adam Pearce's assistant, and third as the timekeeper. Unfortunately, he failed on all three instances, and he was attacked by either Charlotte Flair or Ronda Rousey in consecutive weeks.

He was the subject of ire in Charlotte Flair's opening promo on SmackDown, but this week, he returned to the ring, where he said he "belonged."

Gulak's challenger was introduced as Gunther, who then proceeded to make short work of the former Cruiserweight Champion. The former NXT UK Champion proceeded to chop Gulak before applying the sleeper hold and then finishing the match with a powerbomb.

Whether this loss will lead to Gulak pursuing a new job or not is yet to be seen. But Gunther's run of dominance continues on the blue brand.