WWE presented the final RAW before Bad Blood on Monday. Gunther has shut down Sami Zayn's challenge for the World Heavyweight Title for weeks but finally gave in after a heated and personal exchange in the middle of the ring, which became physical. The Imperium leader is now reiterating his harsh shots at Zayn.
The Ring General had his historic Intercontinental Championship reign ended by The Great Liberator at WrestleMania XL. After Sami's fourth reign ended in 118 days, he quickly put his focus on the World Heavyweight Championship. Gunther dethroned Damian Priest for the title at SummerSlam, the same event where Zayn dropped the IC Title to Bron Breakker.
Sami confronted Gunther again on this week's episode of RAW but was dismissed like before. The heated exchange included mentions of The Ring General's father and both of their families. After a brief fight, the champion laid Zayn out and finally granted his title shot for next Monday. The former Bloodline member sat up and yelled, "I got you," as the 2024 King of the Ring walked away.
The Bull From Vienna took to X/Twitter today to share a clip of the personal jabs from Monday's in-ring promo. He doubled down on his words with a one-word caption.
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
"Alright!" Gunther wrote with the video below.
The Zayn vs. Gunther series of televised matches is currently tied at 1-1. WWE officials recently considered nixing a new fan-favorite premium live event tradition as next week's title match was rumored for Bad Blood at one point.
Sami Zayn vs. Gunther set for high-stakes WWE RAW
World Wrestling Entertainment will return to Enterprise Center in St. Louis for next Monday's RAW. This will be the post-Bad Blood episode, which will also mark the temporary return to a two-hour show.
There are currently three matches confirmed for next week, and all three are special bouts. Below is the current lineup:
- World Heavyweight Championship Match: Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn
- Intercontinental Championship Match: Jey Uso (c) vs. Xavier Woods
- Good Ol' Fashioned Donnybrook Match: Sheamus vs. Pete Dunne
While not announced, several superstars are also advertised to appear next week. The WWE and arena websites have the following names listed: Liv Morgan, Finn Balor, Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest, Drew McIntyre, Chad Gable, The Miz, R-Truth, and The New Day.