In two weeks, WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER will defend his title against Braun Strowman.
Imperium came to the ring on the final SmackDown of 2022 to brag about GUNTHER’s recent dominance, declaring that no man on SmackDown can dethrone The Ring General. Strowman then interrupted, saying that they might be correct, but he’s a monster.
Strowman continued the segment by demanding a title shot. GUNTHER chuckled and turned to walk away, but Strowman grabbed him. The Imperium then attacked Strowman, but he fought back. At ringside, the Strowman Expressed ran over Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci, but GUNTHER sent Strowman crashing through the barrier into the timekeeper’s area. GUNTHER hit Strowman with two chair shots before Imperium launched The Monster of All Monsters into the steel ring steps. GUNTHER drew Strowman back into the ring for a submission on his arm, but Ricochet came up with a chair save.
WWE later announced that Strowman would face GUNTHER for the title on January 16 from the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. As of this writing, no other matches for the show had been announced.
Click here for WWE SmackDown results. Here are some highlights from the segment:
IN TWO WEEKS on #SmackDown@Gunther_AUT defends the #ICTitle against Braun Strowman! pic.twitter.com/MDM1d8mcsO
— WWE (@WWE) December 31, 2022
?!#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/RuNQ3VwKDi
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) December 31, 2022
GUNTHER is trying to break The Monster's arm! @Gunther_AUT #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/lpxMOgpLLR
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) December 31, 2022
Here comes @KingRicochet!#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/DB1rRQecFo
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) December 31, 2022
.@Gunther_AUT and #Imperium just took out Braun Strowman with a brutal assault ?#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/zZgAC4XcTY
— WWE (@WWE) December 31, 2022
