Gunther's Intercontinental Championship match suddenly ends, superstar interferes in post-match assault

Gunther defeated Ricochet to retain his Intercontinental Championship tonight on SmackDown. Following the bout, Braun Strowman appeared as well.

For several weeks, Ricochet faced many opponents, such as Mustafa Ali, Strowman, and Santos Escobar, to finally earn his shot at Gunther's Intercontinental Championship.

Before the match, Adam Pearce leveled the playing field by asking Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci to leave the ringside area.

The match was a hard-hitting affair, with the Intercontinental Champion primarily dominating the bout. Anytime Ricochet would attempt some offense, the Ring General stopped him in his tracks.

However, at one point, it looked like Ricochet might defeat The Ring General when he hit the shooting star press and went for the cover. However, the Intercontinental Champion kicked out of it.

.@KingRicochet giving it everything he's got tonight as he clashes with @Gunther_AUT for the Intercontinental Championship! 👏👏👏

#SmackDown https://t.co/UyvyYkJ5uj

Ricochet showed remarkable resilience by kicking out of a powerbomb. However, the former NXT UK Champion quickly picked him and hit the last symphony for the win.

Following the match, Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci came out to the ring to celebrate with their leader. Just when they picked Ricochet up, and it looked like they were going to assault him, Braun Strowman came for the save.

#BraunStrowman rushes to the aid of @KingRicochet as #Imperium looks to brutalize him after his #ICTitle match. 😤

#SmackDown https://t.co/Cd7qbmn1d1

It looks like this storyline between Braun Strowman and Imperium is slowly gaining momentum. It will be interesting to see if this culminates in a match next week on SmackDown.

Did you enjoy watching Gunther vs. Ricochet tonight? Let us know in the comments section.