WWE icon to come out of retirement and cost Gunther the World Title before SummerSlam? Exploring the possibility

After defeating Goldberg at the 40th edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, Gunther now has his sights set on The Biggest Party of the Summer. On this week's Monday Night RAW, CM Punk won a Gauntlet Match to become the number-one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. However, The Ring General might not be holding the title by the time SummerSlam comes, courtesy of the Hall of Famer.

The WWE icon recently appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show, where he reflected on his match against Gunther last weekend. The former Universal Champion admitted he wasn't entirely satisfied with how his retirement match went down. The veteran expressed regret that his final bout wasn't held on a premium live event.

Considering this, the Stamford-based promotion may bring Da Man back for one more match at SummerSlam. With PLE expanding to two nights for the first time, the creative team could be looking to book as many marquee matches as possible, and featuring a legend such as Goldberg would only add to the show's star power. Here is how this potential scenario could go down:

Considering Bron Breakker's dominant performance in the Gauntlet Match, Paul Heyman could leverage his backstage influence to secure a World Title match for Breakker against Gunther on next week's RAW. Heyman and Bron had already sent a message to The Ring General this past Monday, putting him on notice ahead of the Gauntlet Match.

Adam Pearce could succumb to Heyman's mind games and make the match official. During the bout, Da Man may interfere and cost the former Imperium leader both the match and the World Heavyweight Championship. This would set the stage for Goldberg vs. Gunther II, this time in a non-title match at SummerSlam.

A non-title match would make the outcome less predictable, as the possibility of Goldberg coming out on top substantially increases. It would give the Hall of Famer the proper send-off he had hoped for, while also delivering a massive showdown at one of WWE's biggest events of the year.

That said, it is just speculation for now. Only time will tell what the Triple H-led creative team has in store for The Biggest Party of the Summer.

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Former WWE writer criticizes Gunther's booking on RAW

On this week's RAW, Gunther watched the Gauntlet Match between Bron Breakker, Penta, LA Knight, Jey Uso, and CM Punk from his private suite. The Ring General had a brief staredown with Punk after the latter won the bout.

Former WWE writer Vince Russo did not like how The Ring General was sitting idle during the bout. While speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Legion of RAW, Russo felt that it would have been better if the reigning champion was on commentary.

The winner of this faces Gunther at SummerSlam. Why wasn’t Gunther on color commentary throughout this match? Why do you have him sitting up there by himself like a jabroni when the guy can talk? Why was he not on color during this match? Unbelievable. Unreal!" he said.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for The Ring General in the Stamford-based promotion.