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WWE's next premium live event, Royal Rumble, is scheduled for Saturday, January 27, at Tropicana Field, Florida.
While plenty of big matches are booked for the show, the reigning, defending, and longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time, Gunther, has yet to be booked in a match for his title.
The Austrian star has been on a hiatus after successfully defending his title against The Miz on the December 18, 2023, edition of red brand. With The Ring General set to return to RAW tonight, we will look at four potential challengers for him to face at the Royal Rumble.
#4. Chad Gable finally gets the job done
During his 581-day reign as champion, Gunther has taken on many top names, and while many have almost taken the belt off of him, none have come closer than Chad Gable.
The former RAW Tag Team Champion took the Austrian to the limit in the latter stages of 2023, with Gable even picking up a win against Gunther via countout.
Speaking to WWE Die Woche, Chad reflected on the time he spent in the ring with the leader of Imperium.
"Oof, I wish I could show you my chest after some of those matches, and you could see how it feels. But it’s definitely some of the most intense, hard-hitting matches I’ve had in my entire career. So you get what you see on TV with him. It’s not a joke. You can see the chops, they look like they hurt. They hurt. They sound like they hurt, they hurt. He hits hard. Nothing is wasted with him," said Gable. [H/T Fightful]
With Gunther seemingly set for the main event scene in 2024, Gable may be the perfect and most deserving star to take the IC title off of him.
#3. A young star shocks the world
The former NXT Tag Team Champion, Julius Creed, is one of the most exciting stars to emerge on the main roster in the past few months.
The 29-year-old has seemingly impressed those both in and out of the company with his incredible athleticism.
While he may be in a tag team with his brother Brutus, a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Radio has stated that the company sees him as a future main event star.
"Julius Creed is one of those guys that they are very, very high on. They've been high on him since he debuted. People down there were telling me he's gonna be a main roster main eventer." [H/T GiveMeSport]
A further way the company can begin his push as a top singles star would be for him to battle the ring general for the Intercontinental title at the Royal Rumble.
#2. It's a New Day in WWE
One superstar who knows all about the prestige of the Intercontinental Championship is Kofi Kingston. The former WWE Champion has held the title on four separate occasions, first in 2008 when he shocked Chris Jericho to win the gold at Night of Champions.
Over the past decade or so, however, the championship has eluded him, with him mainly focusing on tag team glory alongside his new-day teammates, Xavier Woods and Big E.
In recent weeks, however, Kofi and Woods have been feuding with Gunther's Imperium teammates Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci.
With Gunther set to return to RAW this evening, the ring general may receive a challenge from Kofi to face him at the Royal Rumble.
#1. A former WWE Champion goes for the general
While fans would be more than happy to see Kofi do battle with the leader of Imperium at the Royal Rumble on January 27, many are still hoping for the return of Kingston's teammate, the former WWE Champion Big E.
The powerhouse of the new day has been out of the ring for almost two years after picking up a severe injury on SmackDown.
Since then, WWE fans have been wishing him the best of luck in his recovery, and many have asked him when he thinks he will make his long-awaited comeback.
During an interview on Busted Open Radio in November 2023, Big E shared an update on the current state of his physical well-being.
"I wish I had more information for you. Right now, there is really no timeline. I’ve been to a few different doctors who have looked over my scans. I don’t have any issues, I feel great, but I broke my C1 in two different places, it’s called a Jefferson fracture and because of the nature of the fracture, it takes longer to heal. Initially, they told me three months. I thought three months and I would be back to wrestling, but things ended up being more complex. There are chances I might take with a broken forearm or finger. An ACL [injury], I’ve had before." (H/T Fightful)
Although Big E's words do not fill many with optimism, over the years, WWE and their performers have tended to quash the chance of any potential comeback for their shock return to gain an even bigger reaction.
If Big E returns to WWE soon, what better way for his comeback to be completed than for him to end the iconic Intercontinental title reign of Gunther at Royal Rumble.
A WWE Hall of Famer called out AEW fans HERE
