Sami Zayn is in active pursuit of his first world championship within WWE. Following Gunther‘s successful defense of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton at WWE Bash in Berlin, Zayn confronted his former rival on WWE Monday Night Raw. Zayn used his victory over Gunther at WWE WrestleMania 40, Gunther’s first singles pinfall loss on the main roster and an L that ended his record-setting reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion, as evidence for why he is deserving of challenging the Ring General for his current prize. Zayn vs. Gunther was made official for tonight’s edition of WWE Monday Night Raw.
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Despite Zayn’s track record against Gunther, this match appeared to be a safe lock for the former Imperium leader. Gunther is known for having lengthy title reigns, and his run as WWE World Heavyweight Champion only began two months ago when he defeated then-champion Damian Priest to capture the prize at WWE SummerSlam.
Then, this weekend happened.
Halfway through WWE Bad Blood, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque hit the ring to reveal the WWE Crown Jewel Championship, a title that would bestowed upon the winners of the champion vs. champion matches at WWE Crown Jewel next month. Gunther, the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, interrupted to gloat about his dominance and throw shade at WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg, a native Atlantean who was seated ringside for the premium live event. Goldberg didn’t take kindly to Gunther’s choice words, hopping the barricade before security prevented him from getting physical with the Ring General.
“You’re next, boy,” Goldberg said to the camera as the segment concluded.
Goldberg has been classified as a WWE Crown Jewel merchant in recent years. The former WCW Champion has regularly competed on WWE’s Saudi Arabia shows, as the kingdom tends to dish out top dollar for legends of yesteryear to wrestle on their shows. If Goldberg vs. Gunther is going to happen, the likeliest site of it is WWE Crown Jewel next month. That said, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion is occupied with a clash against the WWE Champion.
If WWE is dead set on running Goldberg vs. Gunther at its next premium live event, the only real way to make that possible is for Sami Zayn to win the gold tonight on WWE Monday Night Raw. This would then set up Zayn vs. WWE Champion Cody Rhodes at WWE Crown Jewel, a match that is somewhat easier to book that Rhodes vs. Gunther.
A freshly-crowned Zayn could get a shock victory over Rhodes, which would not hurt him that much, or the longer-established champion Rhodes could beat Zayn in a hard-fought bout that leaves both men looking strong. In a Rhodes vs. Gunther scenario, Gunther is really the only one that should leave that match victorious, and how much damage does a loss like that do for Rhodes as he approaches future programs with Kevin Owens and The Rock?
Goldberg’s mere presence at WWE Bad Blood has made one of the more predictable matches of the fall completely uncertain. Will WWE dethrone Gunther solely to make a three-minute bout with Goldberg possible? Is this how Zayn should win his first world title? Would Zayn vs. Rhodes really be a better champion vs. champion match than Rhodes vs. Gunther?
All will be answered when WWE Monday Night Raw airs tonight at 8 PM ET on USA Network.
