Hall of Famer to keep major record, first-time title win - 5 reasons why Xavier Woods should defeat Gunther for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

WWE SmackDown revealed some big-time matches to be showcased on the blue brand in the coming weeks. For starters, The Usos will attempt to regain the Unified RAW & SmackDown Tag Team Titles from Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens in two weeks.

Additionally, two big tag team bouts will take place next week. Braun Strowman & Ricochet will clash with The Viking Raiders, plus Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green will challenge Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.

Of all the matches announced, however, the most intriguing may be Gunther vs. Xavier Woods for the Intercontinental Championship on the next episode of SmackDown. This will be Woods' first major title opportunity in quite some time, and it's one he certainly won't take lightly.

While many expect Gunther to walk away as the victor, there's an argument that could be made for a Woods win. This article will look at several reasons why the UpUpDownDown host should win the coveted title next week.

Below are five reasons why Xavier Woods should defeat Gunther for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

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#5. Xaver Woods hasn't yet held a singles title

Xavier Woods is an incredibly well-decorated star. Since joining WWE, he's held a dozen tag team titles alongside Big E & Kofi Kingston. Their domination of the tag scene has been historic.

While the group has had a ton of success together, both Big E & Kofi had success as singles stars too. Both are former Intercontinental and WWE Champions. Woods, on the other hand, has yet to win a singles title.

Woods should arguably defeat Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship so he can finally have a singles title added to his resume. The belt being one that both Big E & Kofi Kingston have already held only adds further value to a potential win.

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#4. Gunther may be ready for the main event scene

Gunther on SmackDown

Gunther is a dominant superstar. He's been the WWE Intercontinental Champion since June 10th, 2022, meaning he's less than two months away from crossing a year as champion.

While his title reign has been impressive, it could be argued that his ceiling isn't and shouldn't be the Intercontinental Championship. The Ring General is good enough to be a main eventer.

Xavier Woods should win the Intercontinental Championship so that the Austrian star can move on and challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Whether the belt is held by Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, or somebody else entirely, Gunther is a threat to whomever is champion.

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#3. Xavier Woods is extremely talented

Xavier Woods and LA Knight

One key reason why Xavier Woods should win the Intercontinental Championship is just how talented he is. People often forget how good a wrestler Xavier can be because of his infectious charisma, bright colors, and over-the-top antics.

Woods was recently able to prove just how good he was in a singles match when he had a barn burner with LA Knight on WWE SmackDown. The match was built incredibly well, and before long, the crowd was fully invested in the outcome.

As noted, Woods is yet to hold a singles title in World Wrestling Entertainment. Given his immense level of talent, that's a shame. Xavier should finally win his first piece of singles gold and show off his skills in a whole new way.

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#2. The company may not want to break Honky Tonk Man's record

As noted, Gunther is rapidly approaching the one-year mark as Intercontinental Champion. He's currently the fifth longest Intercontinental Champion in history, behind only Don Muraco, Randy Savage, Pedro Morales, and The Honky Tonk Man.

While many are predicting Gunther to go on and beat Honky Tonk Man's incredible record of 454 days as champion, The Ring General would need to be champion for a long time for that to happen. Gunther is only about two-thirds of the way to hitting that impressive milestone.

There's a chance, however, that WWE doesn't even want Gunther to break the record. The Honky Tonk Man is well-respected and the promotion may have Xavier Woods defeat The Ring General to avoid having the legendary record broken.

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#1. There are a lot of heel champions in WWE right now

Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman

WWE has been a heel-dominated company for quite a while now. Roman Reigns won the Universal Championship almost 1,000 days ago in 2020. He then won the WWE Championship at last year's WrestleMania. That means both world titles are held by a heel.

Meanwhile, Gunther has been the Intercontinental Champion for 10 months. Austin Theory has been the United States Champion since last year. Even Rhea Ripley recently captured the SmackDown Women's Championship.

With so many heel champions, now may be the time for Gunther to drop the Intercontinental Championship. Xavier Woods winning the belt would be a great moment and his reign would be drastically different to the others.