It was confirmed on this week’s WWE Raw by Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser that GUNTHER will return to WWE programming during the May 15 episode. The Intercontinental Champion will arrive on the red brand for the first time since the WWE Draft and being a workhorse champion, he will be waiting to receive his next challenger.
It has now been confirmed that the first person on the WWE Raw brand to step up to the longest-reigning IC Champion of the modern era will be decided via a battle royal. The winner of this battle royal will receive a future Intercontinental Championship match against GUNTHER.
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As seen on the May 8 episode of WWE Raw, GUNTHER’s Imperium buddies, Vinci and Kaiser began a rivalry with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. After mocking the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions in a backstage segment, they also lost an impromptu match to the champions on the show. It was during the confrontation segment with the tag champs that Imperium warned Owens and Zayn to prepare for the arrival of GUNTHER.
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If this segment is any indication then Owens and Zayn should be competing in the battle royal. However, WWE is yet to confirm any of the participants of the matchup. There’s also no update on when WWE would eventually put GUNTHER for his next title defense after he appears on WWE Raw.
GUNTHER last defended his championship against Xavier Woods on the April 21 episode of Smackdown. Before that, he had a win over Drew McIntyre and Sheamus at WrestleMania 39 in a Triple Threat.
Also, announced for WWE Raw is Becky Lynch’s appearance to address Trish Stratus after weeks of mockery by the WWE Hall of Famer. Miz vs. Nakamura is also booked while Cody Rhodes will respond to Brock Lesnar’s attack. The Women’s Tag Team Championships will also be on the line.
WWE Raw May 15 Episode Match Card
The May 15 Episode of WWE Raw will take place at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina and the updated match card for the upcoming episode goes as follows,
* WWE Intercontinental Title Number-One Contender’s Battle Royal: Competitors TBA
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville
* Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The Miz
* Becky Lynch addresses Trish Stratus’ attack
* Cody Rhodes speaks
