Gunther tapping out might be a part of WWE's ingenious long-term plan, explains Hall of Famer

The Night One opener of WWE WrestleMania 41 ended in a predictable yet unpredictable fashion. While many had Jey Uso winning, no one expected Gunther to tap out, and JBL believes there may be a long-term reason at play.

Heading into WrestleMania, Jey Uso held the unfortunate honor of being winless against Gunther, but the challenger managed to unearth a never-seen-before side of himself when it mattered the most.

Jey hit Gunther with The Ring General's moves and ended the World Heavyweight Championship title match by forcing Gunther to tap out to the Sleeper Hold.

The sight of Gunther giving up shocked several fans, and many were even left fuming over the finish. During a special episode of Something To Wrestle, JBL argued that WWE might just have begun conditioning its fans to expect the match to end in chokeholds.

The WWE Hall of Famer felt there could be an extended plan at work to ensure viewers just didn't wait for a pinfall ending after a finishing move and that anything was possible after the bell rung.

"Well, now all of a sudden, it works, and now it changes the dynamic and adds something to the repertoire of Jey Uso. I think long-term it could be good. I think we will find out. It might not be definitive, but we will know down the line if they do something with it. Because now you have something viable, an alternative to the one-two kickout, finally, one-two-three, yay!" he said. [1:33-1:57]

JBL acknowledged the crowd's influence on the booking of a certain match but believed it shouldn't always determine which way WWE goes.

The promotion can and seemingly is switching up the outcomes, and JBL didn't see any issues with opening up alternatives:

"If the crowd is telling you, 'Hey, we're going to pop more for a pinfall or submission, maybe you should give it to them,' but maybe you shouldn't let them lead you. That's an alternative to it. I don't know what the correct answer is. But sometimes you do things like this because you want to open up." [1:00-1:25]

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JBL comments on women stealing the show at WWE WrestleMania 41

While WrestleMania 41 Saturday opened with Jey Uso becoming champion, Night Two kicked off with IYO SKY, Rhea Ripley, and Bianca Belair putting on an instant classic.

The trio wrestled a high-octane and near-perfect title match, with The Genius of The Sky emerging victorious. JBL noted that if he were an active talent, he would have hated following up after what the women did at WrestleMania.

JBL initially predicted Ripley becoming champion at the PLE, but he was glad to see IYO SKY retain her championship after a phenomenal match.

"Yeah, if I'm on last, I'm glad they are on first. I don't want them on sixth when I'm seventh because they stole the freaking show, and how big for IYO SKY. Look, I had Rhea winning. I thought they would probably put the title on her. Everything is about her. Terrific! And the match was absolutely blow-away fantastic." [From 23:48 onwards]

The RAW after WrestleMania proved to be a promising peek into what the future might hold, as WWE packed the show with some big moments.

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Please give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.