GUNTHER Will Defend Title Against Both Drew McIntyre And Sheamus At WWE WrestleMania

For weeks, WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER has been waiting to find out who his WrestleMania 39 challenger (singular) will be. Last Friday on "SmackDown," he didn't receive a definitive answer as both Sheamus and Drew McIntyre pinned opponents at the same time, thus winning the five-way match at the same time. On Friday's "SmackDown," a one-on-one bout between Sheamus and McIntyre was supposed to give us that answer.

Unfortunately, GUNTHER and the rest of Imperium's involvement ultimately meant that the champion will now be defending his IC Title against both Sheamus and McIntyre, per WWE official Adam Pearce. That's challengers, plural. The match between the two lifelong mates was about as physical as one might expect, and at one point they connected with their signature Brogue Kick and Claymore respectively. That's when GUNTHER first got involved.

With both men down, the referee proceeded to do his job and start a ten-count. At the count of eight, the champ proceeded to get in the ring and get in the referee's face, who then stopped the count. GUNTHER then implored both men to get to their feet so they could finally decide his opponent for WrestleMania, only for Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci to attack both Sheamus and McIntyre, thus causing a disqualification.

Adam Pearce then appeared on the big screen, saying that GUNTHER's actions and his words last week told different stories and that he had no choice but to book a Triple Threat match for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 39. The former "NXT UK" Champion has held the IC title longer than anyone else this century, but "The Show of Shows" may be his toughest test yet.