SmackDown's newest superstar Gunther can save the forgotten Intercontinental Championship
WWE Superstar Gunther has arrived on SmackDown with a dominant debut. The blue brand is also where a certain forgotten mid-card title resides. But before we dive into the possibilities of this scenario, let's take a look back in history.
Remember the Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania X?
Before that, do you recall "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat in what many consider to be one of the best Intercontinental Championship Matches ever at WrestleMania III?
What about a bit more recently, when The Rock and Triple H launched their careers into overdrive after their Intercontinental title match at SummerSlam in 1998? Sadly, those days are long gone.
March 20th 1994, WrestleMania 10. 27 years ago today Razor Ramon defeated @ShawnMichaels in the first WrestleMania Ladder Match to win the Intercontinental Title, one of the greatest matches of all time. #WWE https://t.co/WMmkhONbnO
Over the past several years, the IC title has proven to be more of a hindrance to WWE Superstars than a launching pad for greatness, with the reigning champions frequently losing cleanly on TV. Though it's been held by some of the greatest to ever step into a WWE ring, it remains a mid-card championship that is most often treated as an afterthought.
Though there have been glimpses of greatness around the title now and again, it seems the Intercontinental Championship's days of prestige are gone for good. There is hope, though.
WWE SmackDown just gained a new "General" in Gunther
On the first edition of WWE Smackdown following WrestleMania 38, we saw the debut of Gunther, formerly known as Walter. He was accompanied by Ludwig Kaiser, formerly known as Marcel Barthel.
Both were a part of the group Imperium in NXT. Gunther had one job on his debut night, and that was to make short work of whoever stood across the ring from him. He did just that.
.@Gunther_AUT makes his dominant debut on #SmackDown. https://t.co/dyhKQX39lX
WWE recently unified the WWE and Universal Championships, leaving a hefty void across both RAW and SmackDown. They are in a situation where they could really benefit from having a viable secondary championship. The Intercontinental Championship is that secondary championship, but it needs some help.
Gunther is the perfect person to do this job. Across his time in NXT, he was treated as a spectacle, a powerhouse, and a monster. He should continue to dominate the enhancement talent for a couple of weeks before competing for the Intercontinental Championship. And that's where he should really let loose.
Gunther should destroy Ricochet within three minutes and claim the title. The former NXT UK sensation can then go on a year-long reign of terror, running roughshod over the entire division, until WrestleMania 39.
One year from now, you've got Intercontinental Champion Gunther coming off 12 months of destruction, taking on an obviously overmatched challenger. That overmatched challenger would get the upper hand though, upsetting the champion and ending his year-long reign.
Such an outcome would launch the newly-crowned champion into greatness, and the Intercontinental Championship would once again be coveted and sought after by the top names in WWE. If that happens, the company will be allowed to take its historic secondary title seriously again, and fans will do the same.