73-year-old veteran thinks record-breaking star will be Cody Rhodes' biggest threat after beating Roman Reigns (Exclusive)
Cody Rhodes is all set for the biggest match of his career. Just a year after his WWE return, he will headline WrestleMania 39 against Roman Reigns. But assuming he beats Reigns, there is a big question of what is next. 73-year-old legend Dutch Mantell thinks a record-breaking star could be Rhodes' biggest threat post-WrestleMania.
The record-breaking star happens to be none other than Gunther. The 35-year-old Intercontinental Champion achieved two major records in 2023 - first, he surpassed Rey Mysterio to have the longest time spent within one traditional Royal Rumble match - at 1 hour and 11 minutes.
After becoming the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of the 21st century, he recently became the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion since The Honky Tonk Man in the late 1980s.
On the latest episode of Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell discussed the upcoming Cody Rhodes-Roman Reigns match:
"I think that he [Roman Reigns] may try to get it back a couple of times. And they [he'd] say he wants some time off anyway. And he doesn't work half the time anyway, does he?" (2:11 - 2:21)
Mantell expects Gunther to step up to the plate and feels that he and Cody Rhodes will likely have incredible matches:
"I think Gunther and Cody [Rhodes] will have barnburners because Cody doesn't mind getting physical, that's what his daddy taught him, I guess. And Gunther, he doesn't mind getting physical and beating your a** either. So when you see those guys get in a ring, and I wasn't really aware of Gunther and his effect till I saw his match against Sheamus in Wales [Clash at the Castle]. But what a great match that was. I keep referring to him as the Johnny Valentine of this era. Because Valentine, he used to say, 'You might think wrestling is fake, but you won't think I am.'" (2:37 - 3:28)
You can watch the full video below:
Cody Rhodes and Gunther are both on the verge of making history
Some incredible statistics from this year's #RoyalRumble
- @CodyRhodes' win makes the No. 30 winning-est spot in the match (previously No. 27)
- @Gunther_AUT broke longevity record on a traditional 30-men match by clocking in 1 hr, 11 mins and 25 secs inside the ring
1/2 https://t.co/8XHc81LYdn
As mentioned, Gunther has broken records, but in terms of the Intercontinental Championship, there is one record he has to break - the longest reign of all time with the coveted title.
The record is currently held by The Honky Tonk man at 454 days. Gunther is currently at 286 days and has to go 129 more days to beat Randy Savage's run (which can be done by July 30, 2023), and a further 169 days to beat The Honky Tonk Man. This might be a difficult task as he has to hold the title past SummerSlam 2023.
If he beats Sheamus and Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania, he will be expected to go for the record. As for Cody Rhodes, he is on the verge of ending the longest world championship reign in four decades and also becoming the first member of the Rhodes family to win a world title in WWE.
If Gunther loses at WrestleMania, it could be a major sign that he is being pushed up the card.
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