Gunther vs Sheamus vs Drew McIntyre Set for WWE WrestleMania 39
A triple threat match is set for WWE Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 39 as Gunther will defend the title against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre.
After an in-ring segment between Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, LA Knight and Karrion Kross, WWE booked a fatal 5-way match to determine a challenger for Intercontinental Champion Gunther for WrestleMania 39. Xavier Woods replaced Kofi Kingston in this match after Kofi got injured.
The match went down last week at SmackDown with several referees involved in the match due to its fast-paced action. In the end, two different referees counted the pinfall as Drew McIntyre and Sheamus pinned Kross and Woods simultaneously. After a disagreement between the referee, both Drew McIntyre and Sheamus were declared the winner.
Gunther called WWE Official Adam Pearce unprofessional as he failed to find one true challenger for him at WrestleMania 39. Pearce told him that Sheamus and Drew would actually clash in a singles match to find the title contender. This singles match went down on this week’s SmackDown episode with Gunther and his Imperium buddies present ringside.
After a hard-fought battle, Sheamus and Drew took out each other with Brogue kick and Claymore kick, respectively. Both men were about to be counted out when Gunther entered the ring and started arguing with the referee. Just moment later, Imperium’s Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser attacked Sheamus and Drew to cause a double disqualification.
As Gunther was leaving to the back, Pearce appeared on the big screen and announced that since he caused a disqualification, Gunther would have to face both Sheamus and Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 39 to defend his Intercontinental Championship.
Sheamus had challenged Gunther for the title twice last year at Clash at the Castle 2022 and at a SmackDown episode in October, but came out on the losing side both times. Drew McIntyre and Sheamus recently united as a tag team in a battle against The Bloodline. Sheamus was aghast when Drew McIntyre challenged Gunther two weeks back, leading to things turning sour between them once again.
Gunther has held Intercontinental Championship since May last year and his current reign is the longest for the title since the turn of 21st century. Will either Sheamus or Drew be able to dethrone him at WrestleMania 39?
WWE WrestleMania 39 airs on April 1 & 2 from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. WWE also added two showcase 4-way tag team matches for men’s and women’s division. Keep tuned in for the latest updates on the card.
