Gunther vs. Sami Zayn: Hidden Detail Teases WWE Making Major Change to WrestleMania 40 Title Match
Chad Gable's shoulders were not fully on the mat during Zayn's 1-2-3.
The Ring General has found his WWE WrestleMania 40 challenger. This past Monday on WWE Monday Night Raw, six superstars competed in a main-event gauntlet match to determine the No.1 Contender for Gunther's WWE Intercontinental Championship. The bout kicked off with Ricochet taking on JD McDonagh and eventually culminated in a final match-up of Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable. At this point, Zayn had already been through two matches, defeating Bronson Reed and Shinsuke Nakamura to reach this point. Things looked bleak for the former Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion when Gable cinched in an ankle lock, but Zayn was able to reverse the momentum into a rollup pinfall for the 1-2-3.
Despite Zayn's popularity, this decision has left fans divided. Gable's storyline with Gunther goes back months, as the Imperium frontman bested him in a critically-acclaimed title defense that left audiences yearning for Gable to finish his story. That said, one hidden detail from WWE Monday Night Raw could hint at Gable getting another chapter sooner than later.
Was Chad Gable Actually Pinned on WWE Raw?
Sami Zayn's WWE Monday Night Raw victory appears to have been tainted.
The rollup that secured Zayn the win over Chad Gable was not a standard small package, as he executed the pinfall by reversing an ankle lock. This left Zayn with an elevated bridge for the 1-2-3, consequently bringing Gable's shoulders off the mat. Beyond that, it's worth noting that referee Rod Zapata's line of sight was directly pointed at Zayn's back, leaving him with no visual of Gable's shoulders.
This finish could set the stage for Gable to be inserted into the WWE Intercontinental Championship match, making it a triple threat between himself, Zayn, and champion Gunther. Last year's WWE WrestleMania 39 also saw the Intercontinental Title defended in triple threat action and it ended up being one of the most widely-praised matches in all of 2023.
Going further than that, it feels extremely unlikely that WWE would leave Gable off of the WWE WrestleMania 40 card completely following the calendar year he's had. His loss here would indicate that he would go back to the tag division, but with his Alpha Academy stablemates Akira Tozawa and Otis representing the group in the Undisputed Tag Team Championships Ladder Match qualifying contest, that leaves Gable without a path to WWE WrestleMania 40.
WWE WrestleMania 40 goes down on Saturday, April 6th and Sunday, April 7th.