Gunther Will Make His WWE Raw Debut Next Week

GUNTHER, the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of the modern era, is set to make his "WWE Raw" debut next week.

On this week's show, GUNTHER's Imperium stablemates – Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser — had an encounter with Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in the backstage area, which led to Kaiser delivering the news of GUNTHER's imminent debut. However, Owens mocked Imperium and refused to take the tag team seriously.

"Are these like GUNTHER's henchmen — like The Usos are to Roman?" Owens asked Zayn, as Vinci and Kaiser looked on. "What's with everyone having henchmen around here? Can anybody do anything themselves?"

The segment set up an impromptu match between the two teams, which Imperium lost. Despite their "Raw" debut loss, Imperium seems primed to make a big impact on the red brand going forward. The segment also possibly set up a future rivalry between Imperium and the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions.

GUNTHER, currently at over 330 days and counting in his title reign, is less than 100 days away from surpassing Randy Savage's 414-day reign, which was set in 1986. The Honky Tonk Man's 454-day reign still tops the list of longest-reigning Intercontinental Champions in history. For what it's worth, GUNTHER would surpass that record by holding onto the title until the end of 2023.

Besides GUNTHER's debut, the confirmed lineup for next week's "Raw" includes Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The Miz and a title defense for WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, who will face the winners of the Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai and Bayley) versus Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville match set for this Friday's "WWE SmackDown."