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WWE Superstar Gunther is nearing The Honky Tonk Man’s record WWE Intercontinental Championship reign of 454 days. He has been challenged numerous times for the title, but those opponents failed to snag the belt from him.
With that in mind, Gunther may well seem to be an unbeatable champion, not to mention that he could be well on track to holding the IC Championship for a long time. However, The Imperium leader's reign looks like in peril after his loss to Alpha Academy’s Chad Gable via count out.
Despite his dominance in the ring, there were instances when other Superstars bested him. But who are they? Let’s take a look at these in-ring warriors that defeated the formidable Ring General.
#3 Chad Gable’s historic win
The aforementioned Alpha Academy spearhead now holds the distinction of being the first-ever WWE Superstar to have beaten Gunther in a singles match since The Ring General’s debut on the main roster in April of last year. This was during the August 21 episode of Monday Night RAW where Gunther defended his WWE Intercontinental Championship against the Olympian.
The two Superstars went back and forth during this championship match, though it was Chad Gable who wowed the fans. There were even spots during the bout where the "Shoooosh" Superstar almost pinned The Ring General for the win.
At the tail end of the match, Gable delivered a German Suplex to Gunther sending the champ into the timekeeper’s area. This, while the referee was nearing the 10-count which the Olympian answered just in the nick of time.
#2 Bron Breakker defended his belt against The Ring General
Another WWE Superstar that emerged victorious when he fought Gunther inside the ring was former NXT Champion Bron Breakker. This happened over a year ago, days before the WWE Intercontinental Champion got called up to the promotion’s main roster.
The two superstars fought for the NXT Championship during the April 5 episode of the White-and-Gold brand. Breakker held the title at the time. It was one heck of a match as they brought everything they had in their arsenal to the ring. Many fans believed that the matchup should have been booked for one of NXT’s pay-per-views.
Breakker retained his NXT Championship after delivering a military press powerslam to Gunther before pinning him for the win. The second-generation superstar’s celebration was short lived, though when he learned that his dad, Rick Steiner, had been abducted by Joe Gacy and Parker Boudreaux.
#1 Ilja Dragunov and Gunther’s (Walter) brawl at NXT TakeOver 36
Both Ilja Dragunov and Walter (Gunther’s former in-ring moniker) went down in WWE history for their epic battle at NXT TakeOver 36. The latter was the NXT United Kingdom Champion at the time, and had defended the title for an astonishing 870 days. For those unaware, his reign was the longest for the now-retired title.
Come D-Day, and the two superstars would slug it out in what was deemed a critically acclaimed match. It sure was a spectacle as they exchanged blows, lariats, and suplexes. In line with this, thunderous chops could be heard across the WWE Performance Center.
Their epic match lasted for over 20 minutes and ended when The Mad Russian locked in a sleeper hold that made The Ring General submit, effectively ending his record reign as the NXT UK Champion.
As mentioned, the match was highly praised by both wrestling pundits and fans. WWE legends Shawn Michaels and Triple H even took to social media and commended the two superstars for their phenomenal match. Fans from across the globe who also witnessed it did the same as they praised the two fighters.
Due to their stellar performance, the Ilja Dragunov-Gunther match at TakeOver 36 became the highest-rated match, according to Cagematch.net. It received a rating of 9.69 out of 10, surpassing the record held by The Undertaker vs. The Heartbreak Kid at WrestleMania 25. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter gave it a 5.25-star rating, making it the fourth match in the history of the Stamford-based promotion to surpass the five-star rating.
