Gunther vs Sami Zayn: Breaking Down The Future Of Every Outcome
It’s official. As of Monday night, Gunther will face Sami Zayn and put his WWE Intercontinental Championship on the line. We’ve been waiting a few weeks to find out who WWE would choose to go up against the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time. Gunther vs Sami Zayn seemed like an understandable choice for the WWE, considering Zayn has not yet challenged for the gold. Zayn earned his way into the match after winning a gauntlet match involving six competitors on WWE RAW.
The last match came down to Zayn and Chad Gable. Both are fan favorites and both were favored to win the gauntlet. Gable put up a heroic effort and came up short, an outcome we will talk about soon. For now, it’s Zayn and Gunther going one-on-one at WrestleMania 40. Can Zayn end Gunther’s historic reign as IC Champ? Time will tell, but for now, we need to talk about the outcomes.
Let’s talk about the potential outcomes and what it means for everyone involved.
HOW GUNTHER GOT HERE
It was unclear if Gunther, a former NXT UK standout, would ever make the move stateside. Everyone who watched NXT and NXT UK programming knew what a force Gunther (aka WALTER) was and what he could do on the main roster. After all, he had the NXT UK Championship on lock for a long time too. He held this title for a total of 870 days! You could say he knows a thing or two about holding onto gold.
Gunther used to be much larger than he is now. Picture a man at his same height but at least 65 pounds heavier. Luckily for Gunther, he’s tall and could turn some of his body into pure muscle while losing the rest. The impressive physical transformation made him even greater. While already impressive in the ring, known for his chops and overall physical style, he’s now more agile with added speed.
When he jumped to the SmackDown Brand on the main roster, he’d capture the Intercontinental Title. He’s held it ever since. Many assumed this reign might last several months. However, very few expected he’d beat the Honky Tonk Man’s IC Title reign record.
Sure, Roman Reigns has held the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship for much longer than Gunther has held the IC Title. However, you could easily argue that from a match standpoint, there’s been no better championship run than Gunther’s. He has defended the title nearly 100 times across television and PLE events.
Gunther’s reign has been in a class all by itself. He’s likely created a title run that won’t be broken for quite a long time. Yet we must ask…how long will it go, and is Sami Zayn the guy to break it?
WAS SAMI THE RIGHT GUY TO FACE GUNTHER AT WRESTLEMANIA?
Picking an opponent for Gunther has gotten a lot harder. It’s similar to Roman Reigns and his title run. The longer it goes, the harder it is to pick an opponent to face him and make him seem like a credible threat. It’s even harder to find someone Gunther “HAS NOT” beaten.
One month into his title reign, the idea of Miz beating him for the championship seems plausible. It seems far less plausible, almost two years into it, given where Miz is on the card right now. Miz is just an example, but the point is that with every passing week, you need someone who rises to the level of Gunther.
Enter Sami Zayn.
While his run on top has cooled since he headlined Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania in 2023, he’s still a force that is incredibly over with the fans. He’s elevated himself from a mid-card performer into someone they can reasonably put in a big spot and make it believable. Many fans thought HE should have been the one to dethrone Reigns. Therefore, one could argue they believe that he can beat Gunther.
Gable had the most heart-wrenching storyline, and they did a great job of making you think that maybe, just maybe, he’d get the nod at WrestleMania. There’s still a world in which this becomes a three-way dance in Philadelphia. However, this is Sami’s first attempt and he deserves a clean opportunity. Gunther vs Sami Zayn needs to happen on its own.
We need to believe a single challenger can do it. For a roster filled with great wrestlers, Zayn makes as much sense as anyone to beat Gunther.
WHAT IF GUNTHER RETAINS?
We’re starting with what we think is the lesser of the two outcomes here. Gunther may retain.
WWE wants him to look as strong as possible, and having him lose the title doesn’t necessarily make him look his strongest. Some argue that Gunther might need to remain champion. Considering Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns could both drop their titles. A semblance of continuity is sometimes necessary.
Gunther’s retention might telegraph what they have planned for the summer. They have The Bash At Berlin this summer in Germany. Having the Austrian walk in as a champion might be something that they are interested in.
However, if Gunther retains, we’d have to ask…what are we waiting for? Is there any man that can beat him? Could Jey Uso pop into the picture again? What about CM Punk, Rollins, or McIntyre? Someone has to beat Gunther, so who does it if not Sami? One could argue Chad Gable makes sense if you want him to redeem himself as a father & wrestler. Yet wouldn’t this have been a great story for WrestleMania?!? This is why Gable seems unlikely.
It feels like now is the time. If it’s not, then it’s likely Gunther holds the title until after Bash in Berlin. He’d need to compete for or defend his title at this show, as nothing else makes sense.
When it comes down to Gunther vs Sami Zayn, it’s clear Gunther has bigger stakes win or lose. Zayn’s stakes just are not as high. He can always talk himself into a title shot any time. He might not have the reputation of a Rollins or Reigns, but he’s never out of a possible title contention.
WHAT IF SAMI ZAYN WINS?
People forget that Sami is already a 3-time Intercontinental Champion. Yet winning this match feels different and offers him another level of credibility. No disrespect to guys like Jeff Hardy & Shinsuke Nakamura who he beat for his other IC Title wins. It’s just that beating Gunther at this point means so much more.
It automatically allows him to challenge anyone for anything, at any time. Heck, 6 months later, Gunther could hold the World Heavyweight Championship. Only for Zayn to make the case that: “I beat you once, I can do it again.”
Gunther vs Sami Zayn for the World Heavyweight Title down the line seems like a legitimate possibility. One that we would not mind watching.
The win at WrestleMania does need to be clean. Doing so offers him the credibility to think bigger and even make that plausible too. It also opens up the field again for the RAW Brand. Unless WWE wants another 2-year title run for the IC Title, Zayn can credibly lose at any time. Perhaps Gable beats Zayn. Maybe Bronson Reed does. There are endless possibilities.
One can argue that Gunther dropping the title does not hurt him very much. He’s already a top player in WWE now. Even if he loses clean, this loss won’t hurt his standing in the main event picture.
WHAT HAPPENS IF GUNTHER LOSES?
While one can argue this is the same thing to bring up if Sami Zayn wins, we already know Zayn is going to get a lot out of the win. What happens to Gunther though? As we said, he’ll remain a top player. It is doubtful that he’ll care much about chasing Sami down to get back into the IC Title picture. He’ll want to capture a World Championship. It does not make him look weak and makes a ton of sense. We’d have to wonder how quickly WWE will want to have him do this.
They could do this right after WrestleMania. However, one could argue that he’d get the title match at the Bash in Berlin PLE. This makes the most sense at the end of the day. What do you do with him until that PLE?
Some might assume losing the IC Title hurts Gunther’s storyline possibilities. In reality, it opens up far more interesting story opportunities for him. We could see Gunther decide to “prove himself.” He could face top main eventers, possibly former World Champions, wanting to beat them to prove he’s at their level.
Gunther has built a character that has respect for the art of pro-wrestling too. Therefore, WWE could tell a story of him disrespecting others he feels are beneath him. Someone else can do that with him too, to add a nice twist to things.
If it’s about respect, there are endless opponents for Gunther to put down. You could even throw Gable back into that mix.
Gunther vs Sami Zayn at WrestleMania will be big for both men. However, Gunther’s loss could set him on a path to superstardom the likes of which we have never seen.
