WWE's Gunther Retains Intercontinental Title in Savage WrestleMania Match

By Matthew Aguilar

The third match of WrestleMania Night 2 was the anticipated battle for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, a match that was expected to be, as Sheamus would say, a banger. Gunther was set to defend his Intercontinental Championship against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre, two former tag partners who have all sorts of history with Gunther as well. As a result, the match was going to be a physical and brutal brawl, and it certainly was. All three stars delivered massive chops, huge punches, and brogue kicks, powerbombs, and claymores galore. At a few points, it looked like we would have a new Champion, especially as Sheamus went to cover McIntyre, but Gunther came out of nowhere with two powerbombs and got the win on McIntyre, retaining his Title.

After the bell all three stars approached with caution and Gunther looked to taunt both of the others, telling them to take each other out. McIntyre dropkicked Gunther out of the ring and then faced off with Sheamus, and they traded uppercuts, punches, and chops. Gunther returned and knocked down both stars, setting up Sheamus for a slam and McIntyre for a throw into the post.

Gunther hit Sheamus in the head with a big boot and then hit Sheamus with massive chops. Sheamus came back with punches but then got hit with a backbreaker before locking in a Boston Crab. McIntyre kicked the Champ and slapped him before he broke the hold, and then they exchanged punches to the face. So many chops followed as McIntyre and Gunther exchanged them in the ring, but McIntyre seemed to win out and knock the Champion back.

Sheamus went after Gunther and then McIntyre and Sheamus kept punching each other before turning their attention towards the Champ. Gunther knocked down McIntyre and then kicked Sheamus in the face, knocking him to the mat. Sheamus set Gunther up for the 10 Beats of the Bodhran, but alternated with McIntyre on chops. Then Sheamus turned his attention to McIntyre and hit the same move, but didn't stop at 10, hitting 29 in total.

Sheamus picked up McIntyre but Gunther kicked him in the face to drop him, and Gunther hit Sheamus with a German Suplex. He went for the pin but Sheamus kicked out. Gunther was yelling at Sheamus to get up and he hit a huge clothesline, but Sheamus kicked out of the ensuing cover. McIntyre then jumped off the top rope and clubbed Gunther before slamming him down again, and then he launched Sheamus into Gunther in the corner.

McIntyre then hit a Future Shock on Gunther before charging up in the corner, but Gunther dodged the Claymore. He hit a dropkick and a powerbomb on McIntyre but the challenger kicked out. More chops followed and then Sheamus picked up Gunther up top and hit a White Noise. He then went for the Celtic Cross and went for the pin but Gunther kicked out. Sheamus pulled Gunther further into the ring and locked in a submission but McIntyre put him in a sleeper and broke it.

Sheamus hit a big knee to the head and then hit Gunther with it too. Sheamus hit the big kick and almost had Gunther pinned, but McIntyre pulled him out at the last second to break it. They started fighting on the outside, and McIntyre collided with Sheamus after a dive through the ropes. McIntyre went for a Claymore but Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick instead and went for the cover, but McIntyre kicked out. McIntyre knocked Sheamus to the mat and went for the cover but Sheamus kicked out.

McIntyre and Sheamus exchanged punches and clubbing blows, and then Sheamus hit another Brogue Kick on McIntyre. Sheamus took a while to cover McIntyre, and he almost had the 3 count but Gunther dove from up top and broke it up, following up with a powerbomb to Sheamus that knocked him out of the ring. Then Gunther powerbombed McIntyre and pinned him for the win, retaining his Intercontinental Championship.

What did you think of the match? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!

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