Intercontinental Champion Gunther to battle Gauntlet Match winner at WrestleMania

Intercontinental Champion Gunther will have his WrestleMania challenger determined by a Gauntlet Match between former Intercontinental Champions Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn, promising up-and-coming Superstars JD McDonagh and “Big” Bronson Reed, and a former challenger who makes a compelling case for a rematch, Chad Gable. Which of the six Superstars will have a chance to make history by punching his ticket to The Showcase of the Immortals to challenge the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time?




– The usual "WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together." opening signature airs and then we shoot inside the Toyota Center in Houston, TX. as Michael Cole welcomes us to the show.

– Michael Cole mentions The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth "Freakin'" Rollins being announced for WrestleMania XL. We see rap star Travis Scott arriving with "Main Event" Jey Uso. GUNTHER is shown arriving.

– The theme for Drew McIntyre hits and out comes "The Scottish Warrior" to kick off this week's show. He settles in the ring as Pat McAfee joins Cole on commentary to talk about McIntyre challenging Seth "Freakin'" Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XL.

"Selfish, delusional, hypocrite, arrogant, junkie," is how McIntyre begins. He says Rollins couldn't help himself and just had to accept the tag match with Cody against Rock and Reigns for night one ahead of their showdown for the title on night two of WrestleMania.

The fans start giving McIntyre the "What?" treatment. He comes up with a gem of a response. "Say 'What?' if you're glad I got rid of CM Punk" and the fans do, but then break out in a loud "CM Punk! CM Punk!" chant. He laughs and says he's the only one keeping Punk relevant right now.

As McIntyre continues to run down Rollins for thinking everything revolves around him, he is cut off by the theme of Seth "Freakin'" Rollins. Out comes the WWE World Heavyweight Champion asking McIntyre to do us all a favor and "shut our mouth, big man!" He gets in the ring with Drew.

He tells McIntyre he's starting to sound a lot like CM Punk, because up until now, he thought Punk was the biggest cry baby hypocrite. He says McIntyre seems to be wanting to become an honorary member of The Bloodline lately, despite claiming to hate them so much.

He says he couldn't of beat Cody without The Bloodline's help or Jey Uso without their help last week. He says he thinks McIntyre would love nothing more than to have The Bloodline help him win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XL. He would love to be The Rock's chosen boy.

Rollins vows that he and Cody will beat The Bloodline duo of The Rock and Roman Reigns on night one at WrestleMania XL, so they won't be there to help him on night two. He also vows to leave McIntyre laying at WrestleMania XL and when he wakes up, he'll hear the fans singing his music. The fans start singing.

Drew goes to walk off but Seth stops him and says one more thing. He tells him his blown out knee, his back, The Rock, Roman Reigns as problems he has going into WrestleMania XL. He says at the very bottom of that list of problems is Drew McIntyre. Drew walks back and looks angry. Seth tells him take your shot but he walks off.

– We see the arrival of The Kabuki Warriors backstage as Cole and McAfee plug their title defense of the Undisputed WWE Women's Tag-Team Championships later tonight against Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark.

Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan

Back inside the arena, we hear the familiar sounds of Becky Lynch's theme song. Out comes "The Man" to kick off action inside the ring on this week's show. Lynch takes on Liv Morgan, as Morgan's "Liv Morgan Revenge Tour" continues next. We head to a pre-match commercial.

As we settle back in from the break, Cole talks about WWE passing the 100 million subscriber mark on YouTube, and brags about how many people this is more than, such as the NBA, etc. Liv Morgan's theme hits and she makes her way out to the ring. The bell sounds and off we go.

Lynch takes it to Morgan early on as Cole talks about this being their first singles match in a couple of years. Lynch knocks Morgan to the floor. She goes for a baseball slide, but Morgan dives back into the ring, hits the ropes and splashes on Lynch at the floor after diving through the ropes.

We shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as the action continues with Morgan in the offensive driver's seat. When we return, we see Liv still taking it to Becky, including hitting a power bomb from the ring apron to the floor for a close near fall back inside the ring.

"The Man" ends up taking back over and she hits a Man-Handle Slam with violent authority. She can't go for the follow-up pin attempt, however, as Morgan manages to roll out to the floor. We head into a second mid-match commercial break as the match continues.

When we return, we see Lynch looking for the Dis-Arm Her submission. Liv counters it into a submission of her own. Liv hits her Ob-Liv-ion finisher but can't go for the pin, because Lynch rolls to the floor, just like Liv did earlier in the match. Back inside the ring, Lynch catches Morgan off the middle rope for another Man-Handle Slam, this time for the win.

Winner: Becky Lynch

– After the match, Lynch gives Liv a nod of respect. Liv goes to leave the ring and head to the back. As she does, we hear the familiar sounds of Rhea Ripley's theme music. Out comes "Mami" to a big pop. Liv yells in her face as they pass each other on the ramp. Ripley heads to join Lynch, her opponent for WrestleMania XL, in the ring.

Ripley is critical of her for leaving more and more of herself in the ring every week in matches as they get closer and closer to WrestleMania XL. Lynch says when people believe in me, I'm good, when they doubt me, I'm great. She heads to the back.

– Now we shoot to Raw and SmackDown G.M. Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis for a special dual announcement. They reveal The Judgment Day duo of Damian Priest and Finn Balor will be defending their Undisputed WWE Tag-Team Championships at WrestleMania XL in a Six-Pack Ladder Match.

The five teams will be determined in a series of qualifying matches that will take place over the next few weeks on Raw and SmackDown. After the announcement is made, we see Priest and Balor freaking out with JD McDonagh in The Judgment Day Clubhouse. They head off to find Pearce and Aldis as we head to another break.

Ivy Nile & Maxxine Dupri vs. Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell

Back inside the arena, we see Ivy Nile and Maxxine Dupri and the team of Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell already in the ring. The bell sounds and off we go with this one. Nile and Hartwell kick things off for their respective teams.

Dupri does well early on. As she goes for the Catapillar, in comes LeRae, who backs her into a corner and scolds her like a child, yelling in her face how if she thinks people online hate her, she should hear how the women's locker room talks about her behind her back.

She says she doesn't belong her. Durpi gets upset and leaves. They drill her and covers her for the win. After the match, we head to another commercial break.

Winners: Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell

– Backstage, we return to The Judgment Day complaining to Pearce and Aldis about their dual announcement from moments ago. They ask which one of them came up with the idea. They say they got it from talking to R-Truth and The Miz. Priest and Balor demand a match against them tonight.

Pearce says they aren't here, but R-Truth walks in like nothing's going on and starts talking. The match ends up getting made. Back inside the arena, Michael Cole is in the ring and he introduces a video package recapping what went down on Friday's SmackDown with Cody Rhodes slapping The Rock.

– Back live, Cole introduces his guest at this time, Cody Rhodes. The theme for "The American Nightmare" plays and out he comes for his advertised interview with the Raw lead commentator. The fans sing along with his entrance tune as he heads to the ring to exploding fireworks behind him.

He takes a seat in a chair next to Cole in the ring and the two begin talking. Cody gets emotional and choked up, tearing up at one point when he talks about what "finishing the story" means and how his father and sister might not be around for him to give the title to, but his mom is, and his wife is.


Undisputed WWE Women's Tag-Team Championships"The Kabuki Warriors (C) vs. Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark

We see another video package for tonight's Gauntlet match main event and then we return inside the Toyota Center where Damage CTRL comes out. It's time for The Kabuki Warriors duo of Asuka and Kairi Sane to defend their Undisputed WWE Women's Tag-Team Championships.

They will do exactly that when we return, as we head into a pre-match commercial break.

When we return, we see Liv Morgan sitting backstage after her loss to Becky Lynch earlier. Lynch walks up and the two shake hands, only to be attacked from behind by Nia Jax. She mocks them as she puts them through tables.

Back inside the arena, The Kabuki Warriors' theme wraps up and then the theme for their opponents hits and out comes the duo of Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this women's tag-team title tilt.

After some early back-and-forth action, we head to a mid-match commercial break with Baszler and Stark in the offensive lead. When we return, we see the challengers nearly pull off the win a few times. Ultimately, however, Kairi Sane hits a top-rope elbow for the win to retain.

Winners and STILL Undisputed WWE Women's Tag-Team Champions: The Kabuki Warriors

– Backstage, we see all of The Judgment Day, minus Dominik Mysterio, together in The Judgment Day Clubhouse. They see Andrade and he enters the clubhouse. They bring up Dominik Mysterio vouching for him and they ask if he's interested.

He said he's always willing to do business. After he leaves, they agree he might be a good addition because he brings a lot to the table. Damian Priest wants them to focus on their tag title six pack ladder match and their business tonight.

– We return from the break to a new video message from Shinsuke Nakamura, who tells us to keep our eyes open. Another video airs to promote tonight's Gauntlet main event and then we return inside the Toyota Center in Houston, TX. where The Judgment Day theme hits.

R-Truth vs. Damian Priest

Out comes "Senor Money In The Bank" and one-half of the Undisputed WWE Tag-Team Champions, Damian Priest. As soon as Priest hits the ring, he runs over and decks Truth. Cole reminds us how worked up Priest is over R-Truth being responsible for Pearce and Aldis' announcement for WrestleMania XL.

Priest continues to manhandle Truth after the bell sounds to get the match officially started. He pummels Truth for a minute or two and then launches him out to the floor. As Truth recovers at ringside, we see DIY run out down to ringside.

Damian goes out after R-Truth on the floor in front of them, but Truth sends Priest into the ring post. He then runs off the apron with a flying clothesline to Priest on the floor. On that note, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as the action continues.

As we settle back in from the break, we see some back-and-forth action, with Truth hitting some of John Cena's trademark spots, including the "You Can't See Me" five knuckle shuffle and the STF. In the end, however, it was Priest who picked up the win. After the match, The Judgment Day beat Truth down some more.

Winner: Damian Priest

– After the post-match beat down of Truth from The Judgment Day, we see "Main Event" Jey Uso walking backstage with his "Yeet!" sunglasses on. We head to another commercial break.

– When we return, Becky Lynch challenges Nia Jax to a Last Woman Standing match for next week's Raw. We also learn from Michael Cole that on tomorrow's new episode of Logan Paul's "IMPAULSIVE" podcast at 11am, Paul will be making a big announcement.

– Back in the arena, Jey Uso's theme hits and out he comes as Pat McAfee loses his crap and marks out as usual. He settles in the ring for our next match of the evening. His music dies down and he gets on the mic. "I said 'Main Event' Jey Uso is now in your city!" The fans chant "YEET!"

He then continues, "Jimmy Uso ..." the crowd gasps. He says he wants to holler at his big brother Jimmy for a minute. He then issues an official challenge for a one-on-one match against Jimmy Uso at WrestleMania XL. After the segment wraps up, we see a quick GUNTHER interview hyping the Gauntlet main event.

Gauntlet For Intercontinental Championship Shot At WrestleMania XL: Ricochet vs. Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bronson Reed vs. JD McDonagh

The theme for Ricochet hits and out he comes to the ring for our Gauntlet match to determine the opponent for "The Ring General" GUNTHER's latest defense of his record reign as the longest-running WWE Intercontinental Champion in company-history at WrestleMania XL.

As Ricochet settles inside the squared circle for our main event of this week's show, we shift gears and head into a pre-match commercial break.

When we return, it is announced that there will be Six Pack Ladder Match Qualifying bouts on next week's Raw, in addition to the Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax Last Woman Standing bout. We then see promotion for CM Punk's return to Raw in two weeks.

Back inside the arena, the theme for JD McDonagh hits and out comes The Judgment Day member to kick off this high stakes Gauntlet match against Ricochet. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. Ricochet jumps into an early offensive lead.

We see some decent back-and-forth action for a few more minutes, with McDonagh starting to focus his offense on the ribs of Ricochet. Ricochet ends up hitting his finisher to pin McDonagh. With the pin, McDonagh is eliminated and Ricochet continues in the Gauntlet.

"Big" Bronson Reed's theme hits and out he comes as the next competitor in this six person Gauntlet match to determine GUNTHER's challenger for the I-C title at WrestleMania XL. The bell sounds and these two get after it, with Reed immediately going after Ricochet's ribs.

Reed hits his Tsunami finisher off the top-rope for a very quick pin fall victory over an already weakened Ricochet. Sami Zayn's theme hits and the crowd goes wild in Houston as he makes his way down to the ring ready to find his path to a title match on "The Grandest Stage of Them All."

Zayn immediately hits some high spots and the action spills out to the floor, where he runs and hits another one. After that, we shift gears and head into another mid-match commercial break as our main event of the evening continues. Zayn hits a sunset flip power bomb to eliminate Reed when we return.

The theme for Shinsuke Nakamura hits as "The King of Strong Style" is out next in this Gauntlet. After being eliminated, Reed attacks Zayn. He beats him down and hits a top-rope Tsunami on him as Nakamura watches on. Reed finally leaves and now Nakamura comes in to pick the bones.

Nakamura looks to take out Zayn immediately with a Kinshasa, but Zayn avoids it. Regardless, Nakamura continues to beat down an already worn out and exhausted Zayn. He hits a drop kick to knock Zayn off the apron and onto the floor. He sends him over the commentary desk as we head into a mid-match break.

When we return from the break, we see Nakamura beating Zayn down some more. Zayn ends up connecting with a Helluva Kick out of nowhere for the pin fall. With the pin, Nakamura is eliminated. Chad Gable comes out next and he is the sixth and final competitor in this match. The bell sounds.

Whoever wins next gets GUNTHER at WrestleMania XL. Gable refuses to attack Zayn while he's still down. He helps him up and points to the WrestleMania XL sign. He says he wants to get there the right way. The two start getting after it. We head into a mid-match commercial break, our final of the evening.

Gable is still working over Zayn when we return from the commercials. Zayn starts to fight back and take over. The two start hitting high spots, with Gable going for a moonsault off the top, Zayn looking for a Helluva Kick and Gable slapping on an Ankle Lock. Zayn hits another Helluva Kick and slowly crawls over for the pin.

Gable counters into a roll-up, but Zayn also kicks out. The crowd comes to life as both guys are down. Gable hooks Zayn from behind for a German suplex or Chaos Theory, but Zayn avoids it. Gable hits Zayn with clubbing forearm blows to the sides of Zayn's head. He takes the straps down and hits Chaos Theory.

He goes for the cover, but Zayn kicks out. Gable slaps on the Ankle Lock again. Zayn reverses and rolls Gable up for the pin fall victory. With the win, Zayn is going to WrestleMania XL to challenge GUNTHER for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The crowd roars with a big pop as Zayn's theme plays after the pin.

Winner and ADVANCING to WWE Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania XL: Sami Zayn

– The commentators talk us through replays and highlights of the Gauntlet. Gable looks emotional realizing he came up short. He sees Zayn still down on the mat. He helps him up and pats him on the back. Zayn hugs Gable to comfort him in defeat. The theme for GUNTHER hits. Out comes "The Ring General" to boos from the crowd. It's GUNTHER vs. Sami Zayn for the I-C title on "The Grandest Stage of Them All." That's how this week's show goes off the air.