Gunther defeats 41-year-old top star for the 4th time in one month after SmackDown goes off the air

Gunther has been on a tear since joining the WWE main roster, and he rarely ever loses. After SmackDown went off-air this week, he defended his World Heavyweight Championship in a huge rematch and defeated a top star for the fourth time in over a month.

Gunther was spotted at ringside this week on SmackDown along with Ludwig Kaiser for the SmackDown season premiere. Among the legends present were Ron Simmons, former General Manager Teddy Long, Rob Van Dam, and William Regal. Another RAW star present was the man formerly known as "El Campeon" Damian Priest.

The 41-year-old Damian Priest has faced Gunther on four occasions, including SummerSlam 2024 in August, and has lost ever since then. In the post-SmackDown dark match, he once lost to the incumbent world champion once things were off the air:

During the previous dark match, Ludwig Kaiser faced a familiar foe in Sheamus - wrestling their fourth match together. While they are 1-1 on televised events, the score is now 3-1 to Sheamus if you include two dark matches.

Before SmackDown, the duo of Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin faced The OC's Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows.

The Ring General is expected to hold the world title for a long time.