36-year-old former champion sets his sights on Intercontinental Championship upon WWE return
If Gunther retains the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam against Drew McIntyre, a returning WWE Superstar might be his next challenger.
The Ring General has been Intercontinental Champion since June 10, 2022, edition of SmackDown, where he defeated Ricochet. During his lengthy title reign, one of his former challengers was Xavier Woods of The New Day.
Woods unsuccessfully challenged Gunther for the Intercontinental Title on the April 21, 2023, episode of SmackDown. The former King of the Ring once again has his sights on a championship, telling Josh Martinez of Z100 that he would like to win either the Intercontinental or the United States Championship.
"In my head, I feel like in order to climb that mountain and become world champion, one day I need a U.S. Championship run, I need an Intercontinental Championship run," Woods said. "I need to not only prove to everybody but more importantly prove to myself that I can stand on my own. That I can do this as a solo guy." [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
With Xavier Woods on RAW, it's more likely that he would want to go after the Intercontinental Championship. Woods' first singles title in WWE remains elusive, but he's ready for it upon his return.
Why is Xavier Woods absent on WWE television?
In the same interview with Josh Martinez of Z100, Xavier Woods explained that he's busy with outside commitments but is due to return on WWE television.
"I've just been getting big at home," Woods said. "I've been getting huge. I've been doing Dungeons and Dragons appearances. We're doing USFL appearances and that's the interesting thing so, we haven't been on TV in a minute, like a month, two months." [H/T Post Wrestling]
Woods added that Kofi Kingston is still recovering from ankle surgery, and The New Day will return soon.
It's been a while since The New Day has been all together in WWE. Big E's future remains in doubt after his neck injury. Kofi Kingston is recovering from an ankle injury, currently, Xavier Woods is the only member of the group active on the main roster.
Woods last competed in May 2023 on an episode of RAW, where he was defeated by Dominik Mysterio in a singles match.
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