Gunther retains the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Gunther held his own after defending his title over Sami Zayn in the main event of the first two-hour episode of WWE Raw in 12 years.

For weeks, Zayn had hoped for a match with The Ring General with the world championship on the line, but after nearly 20 minutes of fighting, he fell short. After the win, Cody Rhodes made a surprise appearance and faced Gunther as the show went out. Rhodes and Gunther are expected to compete at WWE Crown Jewel for the newly created WWE Crown Jewel Championship.

Gunther and Zayn have a long history together. Zayn defeated Gunther at WrestleMania 40 this year, winning the Intercontinental Championship and ending Gunther’s historic reign at 666 days – the longest IC title reign in WWE history.

This week’s episode of Raw began with a promo from CM Punk. Punk walked to the top of the stage and talked about his future after defeating Drew McIntyre at Hell in a Cell at Bad Blood. Punk was confronted by Seth Rollins, who went to the ring to deliver a message to Bronson Reed. Rollins challenged Reed to a match whenever he wanted.

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Speaking of the Intercontinental Championship, Jey Uso successfully defended this title against Xavier Woods this week. Last week on Raw, Kofi gave Kingston Woods a shot at the title, but a superkick from Jey Uso turned the tide and gave Uso the win in the match. Afterwards, Woods rejected Jey’s handshake attempt.

The other match featured on Raw this week was a Donnybrook Brawl between Sheamus and Pete Dunne. Dunne and Sheamus fought with kendo sticks and other weapons. In the end, Sheamus dropped Dunne off a series of barrels and through a white noise table to pick up the win.

WWE has confirmed two matches for next week’s episode of Raw. Bron Breakker will face Kofi Kingston in a singles match and Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill will defend their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships against Damage CNTRL.

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