WWE could kill Gunther by having him drop the Intercontinental title to a 3-time champion, says veteran (Exclusive)

Gunther has inarguably been one of the breakout stars of the year on the WWE main roster as he's nearing the 200-day mark in his Intercontinental title reign. However, his incredible run could end next week against Ricochet, and Dutch Mantell recently explained why a title change would be a bad idea.

Ricochet won the SmackDown World Cup last week and secured a guaranteed shot at Gunther's Intercontinental Championship. The highly anticipated title match is set for the upcoming SmackDown episode. The two competitors were predictably involved in a heated contract signing segment on this week's show.

While Ricochet has regained some credibility as a performer on WWE TV, Dutch Mantell was against having Gunther lose to the high-flying superstar when they face each other for the championship.

The former WWE manager claimed that Gunther dropping his title would kill the intimidating superstar in kayfabe. Gunther's image seems to have already taken a hit due to his interactions with Braun Strowman, as Dutch Mantell revealed below on Sportskeeda's Smack Talk:

"I don't think so. He can win it if they just want to kill Gunther completely. They did a good enough job a week or two ago when they had him run from the Monster of all Monsters. Probably he's running from his breath. But I don't think Ricochet will win it." [42:36 – 43:10]

You can check out the episode below:

What happened on WWE SmackDown between Ricochet and Gunther's Imperium?

Ricochet and Gunther faced off in the ring for an explosive contract signing angle ahead of their title clash. The SmackDown World Cup Winner thankfully got some backup in the form of New Day, who offered their support in his fight against Imperium.

An all-out brawl ensued between the two groups after Ricochet and Gunther's promos before Adam Pearce walked out to announce an impromptu match.

The babyfaces had the last laugh tonight as Ricochet and New Day defeated Imperium after the former NXT star hit Kaiser with a massive splash.

Ricochet, a three-time champion in WWE, has the momentum heading into his match against Gunther.

But does he have it in him to pull off an unexpected upset? Sound off in the comments section below.

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