Gunther surpasses WWE icon to reach another huge milestone
Gunther has hit the 414-day mark as Intercontinental Champion, moving him into third place on the all-time list of longest reigns in the title's history.
The Austrian has now surpassed Macho Man Randy Savage's legendary Intercontinental Championship tenure, which lasted 413 days. Savage's reign ended at WrestleMania III, where he lost to Ricky Steamboat in a match widely viewed as one of the greatest in wrestling history.
WWE's Instagram account acknowledged The Ring General's latest accomplishment with a special Intercontinental Championship post. The graphic also showed how he is closing in on Pedro Morales (424 days) and The Honky Tonk Man (453 days).
The Imperium leader has held the Intercontinental Championship since defeating Ricochet on the June 10, 2022, episode of SmackDown. He has retained the title against several high-profile names since then, including Drew McIntyre, Matt Riddle, Sheamus, and Shinsuke Nakamura.
On August 5, the RAW star will receive one of his toughest challenges yet when he defends his title against McIntyre at SummerSlam.
Will Gunther break his own title record?
Before joining the main roster in 2022, Gunther held the NXT United Kingdom Championship for 870 days between April 5, 2019, and August 22, 2021. The reign was the longest in the title's history.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta, Gunther recently admitted he is not too concerned about surpassing his past accomplishments:
"I think it's apples and oranges a little bit. One thing was one part of my career. The other thing is the present, so I don't compare those two things to each other. If it happens, it's a nice milestone, and if it doesn't I'm fine with that too."
The 35-year-old needs to retain the Intercontinental Championship until September 7 to break The Honky Tonk Man's 453-day record.
Do you think The Ring General should become WWE's longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in history? Let us know in the comments section below.