Battle Royale On Monday's WWE Raw Will Decide GUNTHER's Next Title Challenger

As announced by Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser earlier this week on "WWE Raw," GUNTHER will arrive on the red brand next week for the first time since the WWE Draft. It has now been confirmed that the first person on the "Raw" brand to step up to "The Ring General" will be decided via a battle royale, the winner of which will receive a future Intercontinental Championship match against GUNTHER.

While WWE has yet to name any of the participants in the battle royale, GUNTHER's Imperium stablemates seemingly began a rivalry with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn during their "Raw" debuts, mocking the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions in a backstage segment that led to an impromptu match. During the segment, Imperium warned Owens and Zayn to prepare for the arrival of GUNTHER, the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of the modern era.

GUNTHER last defended his championship against Xavier Woods on the April 21 episode of the blue brand show, which marked his first title defense since his win over Drew McIntyre and Sheamus at WrestleMania 39. Having held the Intercontinental Championship for 335 days, the Austrian is less than 80 days away from surpassing Randy Savage's 414-day reign from the mid-1980s. GUNTHER will surpass Honky Tonk Man's record-setting 454-day reign if he were to hold the title until the end of 2023.

Besides the battle royale, the confirmed lineup for Monday's show includes Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The Miz and WWE Women's Tag Team ChampionsLiv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defending their titles against Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville. Furthermore, Becky Lynch is expected to address her ongoing issues with WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus. The show will emanate from Greensboro, North Carolina.